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El Duende and Other Incubi: Suggestive Interactions Between Culture, the Devil, and the Brain

El Duende and Other Incubi: Suggestive Interactions Between Culture, the Devil, and the Brain Abstract The belief in persecution or possession by evil spirits is still popular in Latin American countries. Observations were made on 12 Colombian families who were haunted by "el duende" (a special kind of imp, goblin, or poltergeist) and other spirits. Interviews elicited a detailed account of events, a demographic and socioeconomic description of the families, exploration of the pscyhosocial antecedents, and a psychiatric evaluation of individual members of the group regarded as key persons. Possible psychodynamic mechanisms are involved in the production of the phenomenon and factors in the successful "therapeutic" interventions of spiritualist rather than psychiatric or religious healers. The interaction of culture, folk belief, and the brain impaired by lesion or faulty learning appears as the important accountable dimension. References 1. León CA: The devil and the calendar: Changes in the content of psychopathological productions in relation to the passage of time . Foreign Psychiatry 1:376-393, 1972. 2. Zilboorg G, Henry GW: A History of Medical Psychology . New York, WW Norton & Co Inc, 1941, p 106. 3. Feijoo F, Benito J: Ensayos . Barcelona, Spain, Obras Maestras, Editorial Iberia, 1964, vol 1, pp 157-168. 4. Maple E: The Realm of Ghosts . London, Pan Books Ltd, 1967, pp 36, 119, 120, 150, 171, 180. 5. Masters REI: Eros and Evil . New York, Lancer Books, 1969, pp 134, 135, 139. 6. Hughes P: Witchcraft . Baltimore, Penguin Books, 1965, p 77. 7. Lethbridge TC: Ghost and Ghoul . London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961, pp 34, 35. 8. Johnson RC: Psychical Research . New York, Funk & Wagnails, 1968, pp 81-88. 9. Granada D: Supersticiones del Rio de la Plata . Buenes Aires, Guillermo Kraft Ltd, 1947, pp 325, 326. 10. Lhermitte J: Diabolical Possession, True and False . London, Burns & Oates, 1963, p 24. 11. Rogler LH, Hollingshead AB: The Puerto Rican spiritualist as a psychiatrist . Am J Soc 67:17-21, 1961.Crossref 12. Frank JD: Persuasion and Healing . Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1961. 13. León CA: El espanto: Sus implicaciones psiquiatricas . Acta Psiquiátr Psicol Arg 9:310-321, 1963. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of General Psychiatry American Medical Association

El Duende and Other Incubi: Suggestive Interactions Between Culture, the Devil, and the Brain

León, Carlos A.
Archives of General Psychiatry , Volume 32 (2) – Feb 1, 1975
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References (16)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1975 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-990X
eISSN
1598-3636
DOI
10.1001/archpsyc.1975.01760200019001
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract The belief in persecution or possession by evil spirits is still popular in Latin American countries. Observations were made on 12 Colombian families who were haunted by "el duende" (a special kind of imp, goblin, or poltergeist) and other spirits. Interviews elicited a detailed account of events, a demographic and socioeconomic description of the families, exploration of the pscyhosocial antecedents, and a psychiatric evaluation of individual members of the group regarded as key persons. Possible psychodynamic mechanisms are involved in the production of the phenomenon and factors in the successful "therapeutic" interventions of spiritualist rather than psychiatric or religious healers. The interaction of culture, folk belief, and the brain impaired by lesion or faulty learning appears as the important accountable dimension. References 1. León CA: The devil and the calendar: Changes in the content of psychopathological productions in relation to the passage of time . Foreign Psychiatry 1:376-393, 1972. 2. Zilboorg G, Henry GW: A History of Medical Psychology . New York, WW Norton & Co Inc, 1941, p 106. 3. Feijoo F, Benito J: Ensayos . Barcelona, Spain, Obras Maestras, Editorial Iberia, 1964, vol 1, pp 157-168. 4. Maple E: The Realm of Ghosts . London, Pan Books Ltd, 1967, pp 36, 119, 120, 150, 171, 180. 5. Masters REI: Eros and Evil . New York, Lancer Books, 1969, pp 134, 135, 139. 6. Hughes P: Witchcraft . Baltimore, Penguin Books, 1965, p 77. 7. Lethbridge TC: Ghost and Ghoul . London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961, pp 34, 35. 8. Johnson RC: Psychical Research . New York, Funk & Wagnails, 1968, pp 81-88. 9. Granada D: Supersticiones del Rio de la Plata . Buenes Aires, Guillermo Kraft Ltd, 1947, pp 325, 326. 10. Lhermitte J: Diabolical Possession, True and False . London, Burns & Oates, 1963, p 24. 11. Rogler LH, Hollingshead AB: The Puerto Rican spiritualist as a psychiatrist . Am J Soc 67:17-21, 1961.Crossref 12. Frank JD: Persuasion and Healing . Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1961. 13. León CA: El espanto: Sus implicaciones psiquiatricas . Acta Psiquiátr Psicol Arg 9:310-321, 1963.

Journal

Archives of General Psychiatry – American Medical Association

Published: Feb 1, 1975

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