Sita and the goddess: A case study of a woman healer in Nepal

The phenomena of Mother Goddess possession is not exclusive to Nepal. A similar phenomena has been identified in Punjab, northern India (Erndl). The goddess usually possesses a female and being possessed is seen as a grace, not an affliction. Erndl's interpretation is that the goddess 'plays' in people and speaks through them as a means of helping her devotees and showing them her power. The author was told by several informants that in Nepal this tradition has been in practice for the last 25 years. One woman told me that she has been regularly possessed by the goddess for the last 18 years. This tradition may have once been exclusive to Sita's ethnic group (Newars) but appears to have become manifest in other groups in the last ten years. In the case of Sita, many of Ma's devotees are Parbatiya (Nepali speaking people), mostly of Brahmin-Chhetri caste. Ma said she no longer speaks Newari because most of the people who come to her speak Nepali.