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Jani Dembele, formerly possessed by spirits, saw his own image on screen for the first time in 2001, 25 years after the possession ceremony of Nya at which he officiated was filmed. Ethnologist Danielle Jonckers was the one who pointed the camera. She filmed the Minyanka bamana people of Mali on several occasions. In 2001, she puts in perspective her images of trance states and the way these are perceived depending on the religious affiliation and age of the person possessed, whether child or…

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Watching trances

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