True believers -- tales of being possessed

True believers -- tales of being possessed

By Maria Kegel

JAKARTA (JP): "Rose" considers herself a typical young
Canadian. She does not go to church and never believed in the
supernatural. But two years after her scuba diving holiday in
Manado, North Sulawesi, she is still trying to find a logical
explanation for the events that followed.

It was her first time in Indonesia, and one night her scuba
instructor asked her for a lock of hair.

She complied, thinking it was a sweet gesture, but when she
confided in a local friend, she was shocked by her reaction.

"My friend said she didn't want to scare me, but I should get
my hair back."

Rose scoffed at the suggestion her friend was making, and did
not think about it again.

However, after she left Manado, she suffered insomnia for five
nights. Upon her arrival in Hong Kong, she found she was unable
to return to Canada. The next day she flew back to Manado and
stayed two more weeks.

At home finally, she grew disinterested in life. She quit her
well-paying job, dumped her boyfriend of five years and enrolled
in a college program to become an English teacher.

Fifteen months later, she was living and working in Jakarta,
and returned to Manado four more times for holidays.

One of her private students, a devoutly religious Arabian
diplomat, told her he had performed numerous exorcisms. After
looking into her eyes, he stated that she was possessed.

"He was dead serious, and he offered to get rid of whatever
was inside. I just laughed at him, and avoided the subject
altogether."

Some time later they were having a class over lunch in a busy
restaurant. Without warning, her student reached across the table
and grabbed her left arm with his hand. At the same instant he
began rapidly speaking in Arabic in a low voice.

"This is no lie. I began to become strangely dizzy. Voices in
the restaurant began echoing, buzzing, and I was having problems
focusing, keeping my eyes open. I tried desperately to keep them
open, but I felt I was falling backward down a long dark tunnel."

She said she struggled hard for what seemed to be several
minutes to stay conscious, frightened by the embarrassment of
fainting in a public place.

"He let go of my arm and stopped reciting, and I snapped back
into reality. He didn't explain what he did, and I didn't ask.
Instead we just carried on eating and chatting. By far, it was
the strangest experience I have ever had and I still cannot
explain what happened."

Bible

References to people possessed by supernatural forces have
been mentioned since the days of the Bible. Hollywood has
explored the theme in movies such as The Exorcist.

In Indonesia there are dukun (witch doctors) and orang pintar
(shamans), with dukun more associated with black magic, while
orang pintar heal the sick.

In strange manifestations which disturb people or places, an
orang pintar is called upon, as in the case of one young woman,
Uli.

After using a washroom in the back of the shop where she
works, Uli felt frail and sick, and later complained of a severe
headache.

Uli went home, and her mother saw that she was acting
strangely. The young woman had crying fits, which were
interspersed with screams and bursts of hysterical laughter.

"And she was so thirsty," her mother said. "During one
screaming fit, Uli demanded a glass of water. She finished it and
said she wanted more, stopping only after she drank eight
glasses."

The family's confusion mounted after a doctor said he could
find nothing wrong with Uli.

Her parents decided to consult the local orang pintar.

Ibu Dewi, the 60-year-old neighbor, said Uli's case was no
ordinary ailment; after looking at her face, she determined that
Uli was possessed by a stubborn spirit.

Before ridding her of the unwanted occupant, Dewi asked it
"Where are you from?"

Uli's voice immediately changed to a lower pitch and she
answered, "I am from the bathroom at the shop where Uli works".

"Why are you in Uli's body?" she demanded.

"Because I love her," it answered.

Dewi took Uli's hands and said a prayer. She then placed a
glass of water in front of Uli, and told her to drink it all.

"Now you have to go," she said firmly addressing the spirit.

It was not the end of Uli's ordeal. A few weeks later Uli's
condition returned and Dewi was called three more times to repeat
the exorcism.

Although the other times were not as strong as the first
possession, Dewi told Uli to keep clear of the corner bathroom at
her workplace.

Uli's problem, Dewi said, was that she was weak, her body was
rundown and she was often lost in daydreams, making her a prime
candidate for possession.

"She could still become possessed again if she starts
daydreaming again," she warned.

Psychologist

Psychologist and human resources consultant Sartono Mukadi has
dealt with many cases of reported possession, but he believes
there is usually a personal problem behind the claim.

"I have never seen a real case of possession. But on the other
hand, who is to say. There may be some honest cases, but I've
never seen one."

He said most cases involved single low-income female workers;
he rarely treats men or the well-to-do. He cited some case
examples, saying they were girls who were bearing the
responsibility of supporting their families, or were not able to
handle guilt in a particular situation, such as an illicit
affair.

"Because she has no one to discuss her (affair) with, she
copes by claiming to be possessed."

From his experience with these cases, he attributed at least
part of the problem to the victim's personality.

Weak

"They are weak people, not trained to solve problems by
rational discussion. They are introverted, closed and not too
genuine a person," he said.

Sartono said therapy was simple: take the victims into a
separate room and ignore them.

If you pay attention to their behavior, it gets worse, he
said.

"However, if you say you don't believe it, she will be ashamed
and stop her behavior. Sometimes she confesses to it, and makes
an appointment for counseling.

"In the East, we are not trained to solve our problems with
rational thinking, and this is a key factor (in alleged
possessions). We use a defense mechanism as it is a way to avoid
feeling guilty, and instead of rationalism, or recognizing the
causes of the problem, we say it is from a mystical source."