The indigenous psychiatry of Ladakh, Part I: Practice theory approaches to trance possession in the himalayas

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Abstract
In traditional Ladakh (NW India) psychological distress is treated as possession necessitating identification and expulsion or control of the possessing agent. On marriage young women are commonly afflicted and men suffering stress from a variety of causes may also be affected. Aid for an individual may be sought from various helpers but a common treatment occurs in seance with a shamanic oracle‐healer (Iha.pa). These oracles are women or men who have themselves passed through an initiatory possession. Appeal may further be made to a high lama of a local monastery who places a persistent possessing agent under vow to manifest only when requested in order to help others through oracular pronouncements or healing. To achieve this the afflicted must undergo training with a senior lha.pa. Current theory of shamanic behaviour is examined to suggest that the prime mover here is psychological pressure within gender, family or social relations requiring an adjustment in an individuals sense of identity. Oracular consultation in trance is viewed as a mediating process limiting the potential for social discord where interfamilial reciprocation is a vital aspect of social life.