While the article Empowering Spirits: Women and Zaar Spirit Possession went into great detail regarding the ceremonies women partook in when possessed, the article The Work of Zar: Women and Spirit Possession in Northern Sudan, not only tells of these rituals but also explains the true meaning of Zar.
Zar are like Jinn in numerous respects. They have lives of their own, they form families as well as take numerous shapes in order to disguise themselves, and they can assume human form. Unlike the Jinn, which reside within humans, Zar appear above human heads. They apply pressure to the human head as well as their necks and have the power to control people’s moods, bodily sensations, and desires (Sax, 114). When the Zar disagrees with the human and causes pain to the human, an appeasement ceremony takes place.
During the appeasement ceremony, the Zar and human reach an understanding and the Zar returns the human to its original state of health. While the women are in the appeasement ceremony, the women enter into a state of trance. This trance is where the Zar and human can communicate. One does not know how to trance until taught how to do so in a controlled manner by following the trance ritual. This controlled manner allows for a setting where they can control their own bodies, rather than having the Zar enter the human realm and overtake their bodies(Sax, 115). If the women have a child later on life, the child will then have the same Zar.
I thought it was interesting to read about how women and men’s rituals throughout this religion differ drastically. There was much inequality in the traditions as evidenced throughout the passage. When reading this passage I learned how women are meant to be kept behind the wall and in their homes. They are supposed to supply the men with children and raise these children. Their jobs remain in the household. This limitation leaves the women with little freedom. While the men are circumcised which opens them up to the world, the act of clitoral tissue removal and the infibulations of their external labia close the women off to the outside world. These circumcisions parallel the way women and men of this religion actually live. While men are open to live their lives, women must spend the rest of their lives in confinement. While living on the “outside,” men are given the job of protecting and providing for the women.