Summer 2011 - Volume 15 Number 3

“Healing Evil Possession”
24x36
acrylic on canvas
Mohamed Osman, MD
 
A variety of evil possession cults are practiced in many regions of the world. In such cultures, people believe that many spirits live in the world. In contrast to good spirits, the evil spirits carry sickness by possesing their victims. In an attempt to appease such evil spirits, healers conduct extensive ceremonies that involve dancing to a level of ecstasy. In Somalia such cults include Mingis, Wadaabo and so on. Mingis is an Amharic word. It is reported that possessed individuals often speak in Oromo, a language spoken in Ethiopia.

Dr Osman is formerly a physician from Group Health Cooperative. He is a self-taught artist and credits his early life in Somalia, his medical education in Russia, and his medical experiences in Kenya and Somalia as major influences on his art.
 

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