Islamic Exorcisms in Morocco
Islamic Exorcisms in Morocco
In the Islamic faith, it is believed that people, places, or objects can become possessed by "jinn," or spirits. These spirits are believed to be the underlying cause of certain maladies and often serve as an explanation for health, wealth, evil, and ascension to power in society. The spirits can be removed through exorcism, a practice called "ruqya," which is performed by a "raqi," or healer. In a typical exorcism, the possessed person lies down and the raqi places his hand on their forehead whilst reciting verses. The process of exorcism can be divided into three stages:
1. Any and all distractions such as musical instruments, jewelry, pictures in the home, etc. are removed.
2. The raqi then determines if the client is possessed. If there is a spirit present, the raqi then enters into a conversation with it to determine its nature. After this process, the raqi cleans himself and asks the others in the room to do the same.
3. The exorcism itself begins with the reciting of certain Quranic verses a certain number of times, the specific practice varies depending on the spirit present.
The other night we had the chance to experience one of these exorcisms, however, our experience was a different one for a few reasons. The first reason being that there was no possessed person present, for this reason, the practice was not focused on one individual but rather on the group as a whole. Our experience revolved around the music itself, which consisted of certain prayers and dancing as a means of releasing the "jinn." The music was predominately joyful and at a moderate tempo, as the drums became faster and faster, the tone of the music changed from joyful to cathartic. Upon observation, it seems as though the tempo of the drums are meant to force the demons out, and often the fast drum beats cause convulsions in the client. All in all this experience served as somewhat of a symbolic exorcism for all of us, the music and dancing releasing certain negative feelings to bring us closer to God or the divine.
Informational Links
Islamic Revival and the Definition of Morality in Moroccan Exorcism
Demons, Djinns, and Devils of the Medieval Islamic World
Sophia, I really love how you add the poetic element to our experience of dancing. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, dance has many meanings such as a form of expression, physical release, a form of communication, rituals even in some mating practices for certain animals, a way to practice forms of fighting in tribal warfare. As can be witnessed by our group at this point, I love to dance. I was on the dance team in high school, have been teaching Zumba for nearly 15 years and part of the Modern Pinups in Athens for nearly 12 years. For me dance is community, dance is a release, dance is memorization and regurgitation, dance is performance even if only for me, dance is fun, it is joy and peace and connection for me. I appreciate your recognition of how as the rhythm of the drum is felt in the body either pulling you towards or away from something as a spiritual release...perhaps an exorcism of sorts.
ReplyDeleteSophia, you talked about a topic that I never would have even thought to touch. I love how in the end, you made the idea of the supernatural feel a bit more natural when you talked about the way dance has the ability to make room for emotional or even spiritual release as well. It makes the idea of medicinal exorcism less foreign.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a site I visited, the concept of exorcism is not mentioned in the Quran. In fact, apparently jinn is only mentioned a couple times in a different context. This makes me wonder how large of a practice exorcisms are in Islam and whether they developed as a sort of folk practice or if they are widely identified.
Here is the website for reference- https://www.alhakam.org/islam-and-reality-of-exorcism-and-jinn/