160. performance
itly) that the possessing entity is an epiphenomenon, that is, that it does not “really”
exist. Anthropologist Manuel Moreno, however, has argued for what he calls a
“processual” view of deities, as opposed to a “structural” view. The structural view
sees deities as “disembodied symbols” of social realities and human relationships.
The processual view, in contrast, accepts deities as effective agents, as personal be-
ings who interact with humans. While acknowledging the value of structural analy-
sis for illuminating aspects of social structure that are not readily apparent through
observation, Moreno argues that such an analysis fails to take into consideration the
dynamics of the interaction between deities and humans as Hindus themselves un-
derstand them.^1 His position is very close to my own: to understand the phenome-
non of Goddess possession, one must treat the Goddess herself as an agent who in-
teracts with both the person possessed and the devotees who worship her.
The wordherat the end of the last sentence is deliberately ambiguous, for the
devotees worship both the Goddess and the person who is possessed; both are Mata.
But the question still remains as to whether the Goddess and her human vehicle are
completely separate entities, one of which temporarily “overtakes” the other, or
whether they are in some sense in a relation of identity with each other, perhaps in
a process of exchange or transformation. Here the line between human and divine
becomes blurred (so much so that I was tempted to entitle this essay “The Mother
Who Is Possessed” rather than “The Mother Who Possesses”). Is it the human ve-
hicle who becomes the sacred female by virtue of the infusion offakti?Or is it the
Goddess herself who “inhabits” the human vehicle as her chosen means of mani-
festing herself to her devotees? Of course, both are true, in much the same way as
the “duck-rabbit” drawing is simultaneously both a duck and a rabbit, although
only one at a time can be perceived. Also, one must know what to look for in order
to see either one. A woman trembles, her eyes glazed, her hair disheveled. Some see
a woman expressing her own power. Some see the Goddess herself. Others might
see a psychological disorder or an outright fraud. It all depends on one ’s point of
view. Here, my point of view will shift back and forth between that of the Goddess
and that of her human vehicles, in keeping with the fluid nature of their complex
relationship.
THE SEMANTICS AND DYNAMICS
OF GODDESS POSSESSION
My area of study is northwest India, including the territories of Delhi and Chandi-
garh and the states of Punjab, Haryana, and much of Himachal Pradesh. While cer-