mind, self, and other in demonic illness: the negation and reconstruction of Self

Abstract

Major exorcism rituals in Sri Lanka attempt to transform the identity of a patient from one of illness to one of health. The cultural “logic” of this is described and understood in terms of an analytical approach developed from the work of G. H. Mead and the closely associated work of certain social phenomenologists. The approach adopted in this paper, although argued mainly in relation to Sinhalese healing rituals, is considered as being capable of extension to other forms of transition rites, or rites of passage.