Articles
Constructing a New Imagined Space: Idioms of Alien Cultures in the Ayana Possession Cults of the Hor in South Omo
2009 年 2009 巻 13 号 p. 17-32
詳細
2009 年 2009 巻 13 号 p. 17-32
This paper explores how new possession cults in an agro-pastoral society have appropriated idioms from alien cultures and constructed a new identity based on a geographical image of state rule that had been repressed by their traditional ideology. The Hor is an agro-pastoralist group residing in the South Omo Zone. During the1960s, the ayana possession cult, originating in Borana, was introduced to the Hor and spread rapidly. Despite oppression during the Derg regime, this cult has steadily expanded its sphere of influence. Notable features of ayana cults include: 1) their adoption of the cultural idioms of Ethiopian highlanders in rituals, even though these are considered as abhorrent according to aada (tradition), and 2) the fact that their membership consists of more than 80% women.
Although the cult has its own social organization constructed with idioms appropriated from the age system of the Hor, it violates such Hor patriarchal systems as lineage, clan, territorial group, and age. By holding séances, rituals, and divinations, influential female mediums and their followers can cross these traditional social boundaries. In the past, spirit possession had been interpreted as possession by ancestral spirits and treated with rituals intended to soothe ancestors, thus consolidating the patriarchy. However, most ayana spirits are reported to come from outside the Hor people. Indeed, reports of spirits of the Amhara (Sidaama) and of white men (Farenji) have been increasing recently. Thus, the ayana possession cult has offered an alternative interpretation of possession by introducing alien spirits and has restructured the imagined space that represents the foundation of the Hor patriarchy.
These features are closely intertwined and give followers the basis for resisting tradition. The cult provides not only a social space in which they are liberated from patriarchal rule, but also a symbolic space in which they can imagine the vast world outside of the patriarchal community.
