Evoking the spirit of a deceased Madagascan boy, or Why we believe

Abstract

This paper describes an evocation ritual of a deceased boy in Madagascar that the author happened to witness. A few days before the ceremony the author met the Anik family, whose cousin Zara was a mediator between the world of the living and the spirit of the boy who died about a hundred years ago. The preparational part, during which the medium gets ready for the ritual, is described as well as some peculiarities of the relevant surroundings, the major part with questioning the spirit and the final part of the ceremony are described.