Sagwora
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A Sägwora is a wizard known to the Gurage people of Ethiopia. They are visited when one is struck with an illness believed to be brought on by evil spirits and there is a lack of home remedies. The Sägwora then prescribes a remedy to rid the person of the spirit. Oftentimes this includes the sacrifice of a certain colored sheep along with prayer. The flesh of the sacrificed animal is then eaten by the relatives of the sick as well as others that are present at the ceremony. This type of exorcism is not always permanent, however, but it does allow the affected to develop a "friendly" relationship with its possessing spirit.
[edit] References
- Nutritional Processes and Personality Development among the Gurage of Ethiopia. Shack, Dorothy N., Ethnology, 8, 3: 292-300.
- Hunger, Anxiety, and Ritual: Deprivation and Spirit Possession among the Gurage of Ethiopia. Shack, William A., Man, New Series, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Mar., 1971), pp. 30-43.
