Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka
We describe three patients from different religious backgrounds in Sri Lanka whose possession states were strongly influenced by their religious beliefs. Patient A was a Buddhist who claimed to have special powers given by a local deity named Paththini. Patient B was a Catholic who experienced spiri...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Psychiatry |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/232740 |
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| _version_ | 1832561880308121600 |
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| author | Raveen Hanwella Varuni de Silva Alam Yoosuf Sanjeewani Karunaratne Pushpa de Silva |
| author_facet | Raveen Hanwella Varuni de Silva Alam Yoosuf Sanjeewani Karunaratne Pushpa de Silva |
| author_sort | Raveen Hanwella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We describe three patients from different religious backgrounds in Sri Lanka whose possession states were strongly influenced by their religious beliefs. Patient A was a Buddhist who claimed to have special powers given by a local deity named Paththini. Patient B was a Catholic who experienced spirits around her whom she believed were sent by Satan. Patient C was a Muslim and believed she was possessed by spirits. The religious beliefs also influenced the help-seeking behaviour and the rituals or treatments to which they responded. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e860384cc8c3438bbdb53e55bb4d325f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-682X 2090-6838 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Reports in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-e860384cc8c3438bbdb53e55bb4d325f2025-02-03T01:24:04ZengWileyCase Reports in Psychiatry2090-682X2090-68382012-01-01201210.1155/2012/232740232740Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri LankaRaveen Hanwella0Varuni de Silva1Alam Yoosuf2Sanjeewani Karunaratne3Pushpa de Silva4Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, 08 Colombo, Sri LankaDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, 08 Colombo, Sri LankaFinley Hospital, Finley, NSW 2713, AustraliaUniversity Psychiatry Unit (Ward 59), National Hospital of Sri Lanka, 08 Colombo, Sri LankaUniversity Psychiatry Unit (Ward 59), National Hospital of Sri Lanka, 08 Colombo, Sri LankaWe describe three patients from different religious backgrounds in Sri Lanka whose possession states were strongly influenced by their religious beliefs. Patient A was a Buddhist who claimed to have special powers given by a local deity named Paththini. Patient B was a Catholic who experienced spirits around her whom she believed were sent by Satan. Patient C was a Muslim and believed she was possessed by spirits. The religious beliefs also influenced the help-seeking behaviour and the rituals or treatments to which they responded.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/232740 |
| spellingShingle | Raveen Hanwella Varuni de Silva Alam Yoosuf Sanjeewani Karunaratne Pushpa de Silva Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka Case Reports in Psychiatry |
| title | Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka |
| title_full | Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka |
| title_fullStr | Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka |
| title_full_unstemmed | Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka |
| title_short | Religious Beliefs, Possession States, and Spirits: Three Case Studies from Sri Lanka |
| title_sort | religious beliefs possession states and spirits three case studies from sri lanka |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/232740 |
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