e 3 a s h i g R E F L E C T I O N S

Diagnosis: Possesed - 2

Read the first part of the story here.

So the decision was taken to proceed with the Mawled plans. Phones were made and, within a day, a contractor was found who could organise the whole thing. A stage was set, complete with microphones and lights and a tent for the procedure to take place. People started coming after Maghreb prayer and shortly afterwards, the gentleman who organised it appeared with a group of people, holy men I guess, and few drums.

I was about 13 at the time. Memories of this experience are vivid in my mind. I remember walking in front of a long line of people seated on the periphery of a big square on large rugs and colourful cushions. It was a summer night and the whole thing was done outdoors away from the comfort of air conditioning so it was very warm. The air filled with the smell burning scented wood and the stench of sweat. The lights were intense, the drums were loud and the electronic speakers exploded with poems about God and idols and religion and heaven and hell. Hours passed before anything interesting happened. Past midnight, a mixture of exhaustion and the heightened sensory experience began to take its toll on people. As I walked, I saw a man suddenly move his head to the extreme right, pose for few seconds and then rotate his head to the extreme left, the muscles of his neck tensing to the point his veins all stuck out. Beside him were two gentlemen having coffee and talking casually, uninterested in what is going on. He suddenly leapt up, never completely standing up but remaining on his knees as if he could not extend them. His face was dripping wet and his eyes were rolled upwards. He did this repeatedly for a few minutes before reaching for some ashes from the fire and stuffing his mouth with them. People now restrained him and pinned him to the ground and tried to communicate with him to no avail. He was in a weird form of seizure but he maintained control; he was still able to look at people and say things, incomprehensible things, and was able to co-ordinate his muscular activity at least enough to eat hot ashes from the fire. Few minutes later, an other guy developed similar jerky movement and then wrapped his Ghetra (head gear) around his head and over his face so that only his eyes are now visible and said in an angry feminine voice:” I am not going to leave this body until I kill him”. “How?” someone shouted. “I will make him walk into a deep well and drown him”. “Why?”. I walked away as the bizarre conversation continued.

The centre of this activity was my grandfather. He was seated in the middle of two rows of men who were drumming and reciting poems. He remained uninterested in what is going on around him, hunched, looking down, catatonic, and ignoring the whole euphoric atmosphere. He did not speak to anyone, did not eat or drink anything and did not appear to be listening at all. Nothing happened to him and I began to wonder if that is meant to be. Some people started to leave. A about 2:00 am though, he developed the same jerky movement that appears to have been infecting people all night. He rose from his hunched position, eyes open wide, looked straight into the eyes of the men beside him one by one. He then released a short but very loud and definite sigh. The drums and poetry stopped. One of the men approached him and said:

”Who are you?”

No reply. Once again, the man repeated the question:

“Who are you?”

“Sheik”, my grandfather said in voice that I could not recognise as his.

“That we know. But who are you?” the man said. “what’s your name?”

“No name”, my grandfather replied in the same strong and deep voice.

After more questioning, the creature that supposedly possessed the old man said what his name was. He said that he means no harm but that my grandfather has sworn a “Nathr” that he did not fulfil. Nathr in Islam, is a pact you make with God. If such and such happens, I will do such and such. As far as I know, you can not undo this pact or excuse yourself from it once its made. My father said he will take responsibility for fulfilling that Nathr.

“is there anything else you require for this man to regain his former health?”

“No”, he said, and with that his muscles relaxed, his face lightened and he ran the palm of his right hand over his face saying in his regular normal voice: “ashhad anna la elaha ella allah, w ash-hado ana mohammadan rasool allah”. It was the complexion of my grandfather again, looking puzzled and wondering where he was and who all these people around him were. Five minutes later, he was sat eating and talking like his normal self again. The symptoms of the two months before have completely disappeared.

Catatonic depression and bizarre seizures or possession by Jinn?

PS: This post is dedicated to Michael Shermer for his talk “Why people believe strange things“