Demonic Possession as a Pathetic Response to the Alien Invasion: The Case of Bashkirs

Authors : Miliausha Sirazetdinova, Margarita Suleymanova

Pages : 549-566

Doi:10.22559/folklor.4892

View : 65 | Download : 43

Publication Date : 2025-05-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :In this article we examine jinn possession (yenlenep auyryu) representations in Bashkir epic literature and contemporary cultural practices. We show how widely held Islamic and pre-Islamic religious and cultural beliefs of Bashkirs describe the ways of invisible jinns’ penetration to human bodies and talk or act through them, sometimes making them experience medically relevant symptoms or without any sign of illness. Based on post-phenomenology method, we compare the applicability of the contagion and contamination models for explaining spirit possession and examine its interpretations by possessed victims and their social environment. We conceptualize possession as a consequence of infection with the alien that causes pathetic forms of involuntary response to a non-standard challenge. Once released into one’s lifeworld, the alien contaminants spread throughout community and region, constantly mutating and taking new forms as they interact with the social environment. Finally, our findings suggest treating possession to be caused by alien invasion, as a presence of external beings violating traditional routines and destroying the lifeworlds of the victims.
Keywords : Başkurtlar, etnopsikoloji, fenomenoloji, yenlenep ayuryu (şeytani mülkiyet), manevi iyileşme