Table Of ContentThe Mind Possessed
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The Mind Possessed
The Cognition of Spirit Possession in an
Afro-Brazilian Religious Tradition
emma cohen
1
2007
3
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Cohen,Emma,1979–
Themindpossessed:thecognitionofspiritpossessioninanAfro-Brazilianreligioustradition/
EmmaCohen.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN978-0-19-532335-1
1. Psychology,Religious. 2. Spiritpossession–Brazil. 3. Afro-Braziliancults. I. Title.
BL53.C6432007
266.6'12160981–dc22 2006032578
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PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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To Renato Cohen and Fla´via Bassalo,
in appreciation of your love, kindness,
and support in Bele´m and beyond
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Preface
Thisisabookaboutspiritswhopossessbodies.Moreprecisely,itisa
book about various people’s beliefs aboutspiritswho possess bod-
ies,withaparticularfocusonanAfro-Brazilianreligiouscommunity.
In this community, as in many others across the world, people
maintainthatbodilessagents,orspirits,maytemporarilypossessthe
bodiesoflivingpeople. Some of these spirits neverhad bodiesof
their own. Someofthem did, having once been ordinary mortals. In
some cases, these spiritsare perceived as unwelcome intruders, and
in others, they are warmly and excitedly receivedafter longweeks
and months ofpreparation and waiting. Why do such beliefs occur
at all? That isthecentral question this bookssets out to answer.
We must start with people’s fundamental notions about bod-
ies, persons, and spirits and the cognitive capacities that give rise
to these notions. Understanding these mental processes is crucial to
explaining the idea that a person’s control over his or her body
maybereplaced,oreclipsed,byanothercontrollingagent.Whatsort
of mind would conceive of its own eviction from the body? Draw-
ing on recent theories and findings in the growing field of cogni-
tion and culture and on ethnographic fieldwork in Brazil conducted
during eighteen months in 2002–2004, I seek to explain how pos-
session beliefs come about.
For anthropologists and scholars of religion, the originality of
this account lies in its integration of ethnographic description with
recent explanatory approaches in the cognitive science of religion.
viii preface
These approaches seek to generate generalizable, cognitively informed ac-
countsofthetransmissionofreligiousconceptsandpractices.Whenscholars
inthisareaencounteranitemofculturethathasrecognizablycross-culturally
widespreadfeatures(whetheraritual,concept,orartifact),theyconsiderhow
(and which) mechanisms and processes of our minds may be implicated in
the generation and spread of the item. Memory, early emerging and deep-
seated intuitions about how the world works, emotions, and motivation
(among many others) are all potentially significant factors in cultural trans-
mission. They mediate the production and the ebb and flow of cultural ele-
ments in broadly similar ways across all cultural landscapes. As such, they
possess considerable explanatory utility in generalizable accounts of cultural
phenomena. For the cognitive sciences, the originality of the account lies in
the application of these largely lab-based cognitive approaches to a real em-
pirical, ethnographically rich case, namely, the Afro-Brazilian religious tra-
ditions of the northern Brazilian city of Bele´m. For those readers who have
neither (or no) scholarly perspective on the topic, but are curious to find out
more, I encourage you to read on. This book was written for nonspecialist
readers also. Its focus, Afro-Brazilian religion, is a particularly colorful, vi-
brant, entertaining, yet relatively little-known cultural tradition with a proud
but harrowing past. For these reasons, and more to be outlined in the fol-
lowing chapters, Afro-Brazilian religionists are hopeful, and currently
‘‘struggling’’ (as they often said) for an equally proud, but more acceptant,
future. For those who are at the forefront of this struggle, communicating
their religion to those who asyetknow little of itscolor, vibrancy, andpastis
no longer merely a novel privilege, but a priority.
This book is based on doctoral research at Queen’s University Belfast
(2001–2005), funded by a research studentship from the Department of Em-
ployment and Learning, Northern Ireland. It could not have been written
withouttheadditionalsupport,interest,andexpertiseofmanycolleaguesand
friends. Many of these I have met as a consequence of the research. Their
generosity and friendship, however, has often extended beyond matters di-
rectly relating to the research process.
I particularly want to thank my former primary supervisor, Harvey
Whitehouse, and my secondary supervisor, Kay Milton, for their dedication,
encouragement, patience, and advice on both practical and academic issues,
as well as my examiners Pascal Boyer and Fiona Magowan for their con-
structive criticisms of my work. I have also benefited enormously from the
support of a number of colleagues working within the Centre for Anthro-
pology and Mind, University of Oxford and the Institute of Cognition and
Culture at Queen’s. To those in residence, whose company has been a daily
preface ix
pleasure, and to those affiliates with whom I have enjoyed e-mail dialogue, I
thankyou,particularlyJustinBarrett,JesseBering,ClaireCooper,E.Thomas
Lawson,PierreLienard,LutherMartin,JoelMort,JesperSørensen,andPaulo
Sousa. Many of you took the time to read parts of an earlier manuscript and
listened to me ‘‘rabbiting on’’ about it at various times. I wish to convey my
appreciation to you and to two anonymous reviewers for very helpful sug-
gestions for improvements and future lines of enquiry. For discussion and
adviceonmanydifferentaspectsofsourcingandgatheringdata,Iamgrateful
to Erika Bourguignon, Mundicarmo Ferretti, Nicola Knight, Seth Leacock,
James Lett, Ken Livingston, Stephen Nugent, and Dan Wright. I also wish to
thank family and friends who have offered practical and emotional support
and who have followed the research with keen interest since its beginnings.
In Bele´m, I met hundreds of truly generous people. I have incurred a
huge debt to all those who contributed to the quality of my research and
experience. Sadly, it is not possible to mention them all by name, simply
becausesomanypeopleplayedapart,andalsobecauseitismydutytoprotect
theidentityofthoseparticipantswhotookmeintotheirconfidenceandwhose
lives and thoughts are presented in this book. Nevertheless, my deepest
gratitude to the staff and student community of the Department of Anthro-
pology at the Federal University of Para´, particularly, Andrezza Barbosa,
Marilu´ Campelo,DeniseCardoso,Ta´ıssaLuca,HeraldoandAngelicaMaue´s,
and Anaiza Vergolino-Henry; to my dear friends in the il`e and the culto afro,
especially Pai and the core members of the terreiro–que saudades; to all my
neighbors, ‘‘family,’’ and friends: Claudia, Valmir and Fatima, Louis and
Ma´rlia, Paulo and Anna, Dona Rita and Carlinhos, Danilo and Rosa, Miguel
and Maria Clara, Catarina, Santiago, Dotoura Eva, Fla´via, Mara, Lorena,
Ta´ıssa, Bruno, Benjamin, Paulinho, Maur´ıcio, Minori, Roffe´, Rui, and Vin´ı-
cius; and to the families represented by all these individuals, for countless
enjoyablelunches,coffees,andconversations;tomyhusband,Renato,whom
I met after twelve months in the field, for unreservedly supporting this re-
search since that time.
Finally,IwouldliketothankGwenColvin,DanielGonzalez,andCynthia
Read and the whole editorial team at Oxford University Press for all their
assistance in the preparation and publication of this book.
I am greatly indebted to all those at home and abroad who have assisted
in the various stages of this research both practically and intellectually and
even inadvertently. There are times in the field when a good hug (conven-
tionalorelectronic)isaswelcomeasagoodinterview.Toallthosewhoplayed
a part, your contribution was invaluable, whether or not it is expressly reg-
istered in the following pages.
Description:The cognitive science of religion has made a persuasive case for the view that a number of different psychological systems are involved in the construction and transmission of notions of extranatural agency such as deities and spirits. Until now this work has been based largely on findings in experi
