Permeable Bodies: Posession in Dersim

Authors : Gülkızılca Yürür

Pages : 39-45

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Publication Date : 2018-09-30

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Abstract: The local etiology of mental disorders in the Alevi healing tradition of Dersim point to intruders from mystical realms, "mılaket”, who posess human selves with a weakened sense of personal will. Liminal temporalities and spaces are categorized as providing the setting for symbiotic encounters between the human selves and nonselves. In this work, a short introduction into the local belief on posession will be provided. The actual operation of agency in the experience of posession is exemplified on the narrative account of a local healthcare officer, who stands between modern medicine and the local healing tradition. The co-existence of biomedicine and Alevi healing tradition in Dersim is less burdened by the necessity of "trans-cultural translation”, as many of the practicing biomedical professionals and administrative workers in healthcare are rooted in the Dersim Alevi culture. The reason for the possibility of co-existence can be that, the marcation lines between biomedicine and Alevi healing tradition is drawn by Dersim Alevi healthcare professionals themselves.
Keywords : Medical pluralism, spirit posession, Alevi healing tradition, Dersim, subjectivity, liminality