Cohabiting with Spirits – The Biography of a Marriage in Mayotte Lambek Hardback

Cohabiting with SpiritsThe Biography of a Marriage in Mayotte\nAuthor(s): Michael Lambek\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: University of Toronto Press, Canada\nImprint: University of Toronto Press\nISBN-13: 9781487559618, 978-1487559618\nSynopsis\nPossession aptly describes the explicit manifestations of spirits when they temporarily displace individuals by assuming control of their bodies and minds, but the word does not account for what it means to cohabit with them. Cohabiting with Spirits offers an intimate portrait of the intertwined lives of a married couple together with the various spirits who came to possess each of them. Set against the backdrop of the island of Mayotte during the twentieth century, the book paints a vivid picture of the couple's lives, navigating the demands of their respective spirits while practising an art of cohabitation, both with the spirits and with each other.\n\nWhile studies of spirit possession often focus on ceremonial practices and dramatic perfor.