Spirit spouse
Encyclopedia
The spirit spouse of dreams is one of the most widespread elements of shamanism
, distributed through all continents and at all cultural levels. "The spirit spouse visits in dreams. Female shamans give birth to spirit children". The person dreaming will habitually dream of having, in the dream, a spouse accounted as divine, that spouse able to assist in waking-world activities by controlling categories of events which may in the waking-world impinge on the life of the dreamer. Dreams about Christ by nuns, who are considered to be "brides of Christ", are said to occur, as they sometimes do to other devout Christian women.
, in Chile—"human-like wekufe include Punkure and Punfüta, nocturnal ... spouses ... in their dreams".
, Guatemala—Diviners "are recruited in a classical shamanic fashion, including divine election – through ... dreams – and their initiation involves a marriage to a spirit spouse." The "male elders who decide on community leadership roles all possess female personal icons (bara) which commonly manifest themselves in dreams as women." "Quichés openly talk about the bara as a spouse". "Quichés are open and expressive in talking about and playing with their bara, or metaphoric 'spouses,' kissing, fondling, opening, and caressing them".
could ... have sex with living persons during the night. These spirit mates ... could be of help".
Kaluli on the northern slope of Mt. Bosavi in Papua—"Mediums are men who have married spirit women in a dream". "The medium is always a man who is married (in a dream) to a woman of the invisible world. When he has a child by her, he is able to go to sleep, leave his body, and walk about in the mama world."
Kodi of Sumba Island in southern Indonesia—A man "dreamed that he had an encounter with two wild spirits who lived in the forest ... The wild spirit takes the form of a seductive woman, asking for ... sexual favors in return for the magical powers she controls." A generation later, this man's son "was seduced by the wild spirit woman he saw and entered into a "spirit marriage" (ole marapu)" with her, she becoming "his "spirit wife" (ariwyei marapu)".
Goldi of Siberia, along Sea of Japan—A male shaman may have in dreams a divine wife as ayami ("spirit-helper").
Yukaghir
of Siberia, along upper Kolyma River—The goddess of hunting is "a lustful young woman whom hunters must persuade to provide them with prey animals by seducing her in their dreams."
Yakut
of Siberia—The daughters of the abassy
("deities"), "in appearing to the shaman in his dream, ... enter into sexual intercourse with him." Thereby she imparts to him "luck".
Nganasan
of Siberia—A woman in a shamanist family married the smallpox-spirit: she "became a wife of the Smallpox in her dream."
Buryat of Siberia—In shamanic dreams, "The soul of a Buryat novice travels to the center of the world, where it meets, in an amorous encounter, the nine wives of Tekha, the god of ... dance. Eventually, the soul meets there his future celestial spouse."
Akkad—"Hemerologies reveal that the ardat lilī-demoness could pick a man as mate (hâru)" The "ardat lilī-demoness (associated with Lilith of Jewish mythology)" appeared to men in dreams.
French—"During the night, in dreams, which he contrives to excite, he takes care to be the principal object of her ideas – ... 'tis her sylph that causes her those pleasing reveries". "Humans long to mate with sylphs, according to the Comte de Gabalis, because they want to live forever".
of Togo
: variant in Haiti (Vodou)—"Wedding ceremonies between Vodou divinities and their devotees take place ... It is also believed that there is sexuality between the conjugal pair, by way of dreams."
Baule
of the Ivory Coast—"Baule statuary is dominated by elaborate figures carved to symbolize "spirit spouses". Baule mythology dictates that every adult, male or female, has such a spouse, manifested through dreams." Each woman has a blolo bian ("spirit-husband"), and each man has a blolo bla ("spirit-wife"): these may be encountered in dreams; "Every Baule man and woman living in the world has in the blɔlɔ a "spirit spouse". Women have a blɔlɔ bian ... and men have a blɔlɔ bla ... This dream partner is always described as very beautiful". Figurines representing them made be made for particular reasons. The blolo is able to give "good luck".
Amongst the varied tribes of southern Nigeria
such as the Yoruba
and the Igbo
, Spirit Spouses of the Sea are common features of life due to the geographical closeness of their cultures to the Atlantic ocean
, though attitudes to their supposed existence depend largely on the religious inclinations of the individuals concerned. For example, a Yoruba traditionalist might look at a conjugal visit from a dream-based lover in much the same way as the aforementioned Ewe and Baule do, whereas a Muslim
or Christian
tribesman in the same situation would most likely look at it as a grave misfortune and seek the mystic aid of a spiritual counsellor to rectify what he would see as a probably dangerous connection to an otherworldly demon.
concept in his book The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill. He supports this with the thesis that the questing/rescuing heroes in myths, legends, and fairy tales can be seen as the soul, and rescued maidens as the fetch bride. However, he does not make it clear if this occurs in dreams, shamanic journeys in a trance
state, or both—though trance work is an important part of his theology and recommended practice. Some other Neopagan authors from very different traditions have also hinted at the possibility spiritual-sexual union of some sort with divine or spirit being.
The practice of dream-based spirit-marriage would appear likewise to exclude and be excluded by shallower trances involving some partial degree of control (but permanently and continuously, instead of merely intermittently as was the case in non-remembered trance) of the practitioner by a spirit-entity of opposite gender from that of the practitioner; which is attested not only among the berdache in tribes of the Great Plains of North America, but also among the manang in Borneo, and perhaps also among numerous other persons and geographic regions (including European practitioners of homosexual magick, etc.).
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
, distributed through all continents and at all cultural levels. "The spirit spouse visits in dreams. Female shamans give birth to spirit children". The person dreaming will habitually dream of having, in the dream, a spouse accounted as divine, that spouse able to assist in waking-world activities by controlling categories of events which may in the waking-world impinge on the life of the dreamer. Dreams about Christ by nuns, who are considered to be "brides of Christ", are said to occur, as they sometimes do to other devout Christian women.
South America
MapucheMapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
, in Chile—"human-like wekufe include Punkure and Punfüta, nocturnal ... spouses ... in their dreams".
North America
K'iche' in MomostenangoMomostenango
Momostenango is a municipality in the Totonicapán department of Guatemala. The municipality is situated in the North-West of Totonicapán, in the Western highlands of Guatemala.-Population:Momostenango's population is predominantly of Maya K'iche' descent...
, Guatemala—Diviners "are recruited in a classical shamanic fashion, including divine election – through ... dreams – and their initiation involves a marriage to a spirit spouse." The "male elders who decide on community leadership roles all possess female personal icons (bara) which commonly manifest themselves in dreams as women." "Quichés openly talk about the bara as a spouse". "Quichés are open and expressive in talking about and playing with their bara, or metaphoric 'spouses,' kissing, fondling, opening, and caressing them".
Oceania
Sandwich Islands—"ʼaumakuaAumakua
In Hawaiian mythology, an aumakua is a family god, often a deified ancestor. The Hawaiian plural of aumakua is nā aumākua , although in English the plural is usually aumakuas. Nā aumākua frequently manifested as animals such as sharks or owls. Nā aumākua were worshipped at localities where they...
could ... have sex with living persons during the night. These spirit mates ... could be of help".
Kaluli on the northern slope of Mt. Bosavi in Papua—"Mediums are men who have married spirit women in a dream". "The medium is always a man who is married (in a dream) to a woman of the invisible world. When he has a child by her, he is able to go to sleep, leave his body, and walk about in the mama world."
Kodi of Sumba Island in southern Indonesia—A man "dreamed that he had an encounter with two wild spirits who lived in the forest ... The wild spirit takes the form of a seductive woman, asking for ... sexual favors in return for the magical powers she controls." A generation later, this man's son "was seduced by the wild spirit woman he saw and entered into a "spirit marriage" (ole marapu)" with her, she becoming "his "spirit wife" (ariwyei marapu)".
Asia
China—"King Xiang (Hsiang; third century B.C.E) is said to have dreamt of a tryst with a goddess on Wu Shan (Witch's Mountain), with the goddess seizing the initiative." In another translation, "Witch's Mountain" is "Shamanka Mountain". This goddess of Wu Shan "transformed into the fungus-like yaocao 媱草", the "edible mushroom" being a metaphor in courtship for marriage.Goldi of Siberia, along Sea of Japan—A male shaman may have in dreams a divine wife as ayami ("spirit-helper").
Yukaghir
Yukaghir
The Yukaghir, or Yukagirs , деткиль ) are a people in East Siberia, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.-Region:The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Yukaghirs in the Upper Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic and in Srednekansky District of...
of Siberia, along upper Kolyma River—The goddess of hunting is "a lustful young woman whom hunters must persuade to provide them with prey animals by seducing her in their dreams."
Yakut
Yakut
Yakut may refer to:* Yakuts, the Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic* Yakut language, a Turkic language also known as Sakha.* Ruby in Turkish language* Yakut , a breed from Russia*Yakut Pony, horse breed from Siberia, Russia...
of Siberia—The daughters of the abassy
Abaasy
The Abaasy are demons in the mythology of the Sakha . Yakut Shamanism divides the universe into upper and lower layers, with the earth being "a kind of indeterminate space or matter" in between...
("deities"), "in appearing to the shaman in his dream, ... enter into sexual intercourse with him." Thereby she imparts to him "luck".
Nganasan
Nganasan people
The Nganasans are one of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. They are the northernmost of the Samoyedic peoples, living on the Taymyr Peninsula by the Arctic Ocean. Their territory is part of Krasnoyarsk Krai. Their "capital" is the settlement of Ust-Avam...
of Siberia—A woman in a shamanist family married the smallpox-spirit: she "became a wife of the Smallpox in her dream."
Buryat of Siberia—In shamanic dreams, "The soul of a Buryat novice travels to the center of the world, where it meets, in an amorous encounter, the nine wives of Tekha, the god of ... dance. Eventually, the soul meets there his future celestial spouse."
Akkad—"Hemerologies reveal that the ardat lilī-demoness could pick a man as mate (hâru)" The "ardat lilī-demoness (associated with Lilith of Jewish mythology)" appeared to men in dreams.
Europe
Norse—The fylgja ("fetch") is "visible in dreams". "In men the fetch is seen as female, and in women it is male." It is able to impart hamingja ("luck").French—"During the night, in dreams, which he contrives to excite, he takes care to be the principal object of her ideas – ... 'tis her sylph that causes her those pleasing reveries". "Humans long to mate with sylphs, according to the Comte de Gabalis, because they want to live forever".
Africa
EweEwe people
The Ewe are a people located in the southeast corner of Ghana, east of the Volta River, in an area now described as the Volta Region, in southern Togo and western Benin...
of Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
: variant in Haiti (Vodou)—"Wedding ceremonies between Vodou divinities and their devotees take place ... It is also believed that there is sexuality between the conjugal pair, by way of dreams."
Baule
Baoulé
The Baoulé are an Akan people and one of the largest groups in the Ivory Coast. The Baoulé are farmers who live in the eastern side of Côte d'Ivoire . The Baoule people are represented by religion, art, festivals, and equal society . There are more than sixty-five different Akan-speaking ethnic...
of the Ivory Coast—"Baule statuary is dominated by elaborate figures carved to symbolize "spirit spouses". Baule mythology dictates that every adult, male or female, has such a spouse, manifested through dreams." Each woman has a blolo bian ("spirit-husband"), and each man has a blolo bla ("spirit-wife"): these may be encountered in dreams; "Every Baule man and woman living in the world has in the blɔlɔ a "spirit spouse". Women have a blɔlɔ bian ... and men have a blɔlɔ bla ... This dream partner is always described as very beautiful". Figurines representing them made be made for particular reasons. The blolo is able to give "good luck".
Amongst the varied tribes of southern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
such as the Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
and the Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
, Spirit Spouses of the Sea are common features of life due to the geographical closeness of their cultures to the Atlantic ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, though attitudes to their supposed existence depend largely on the religious inclinations of the individuals concerned. For example, a Yoruba traditionalist might look at a conjugal visit from a dream-based lover in much the same way as the aforementioned Ewe and Baule do, whereas a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
or Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
tribesman in the same situation would most likely look at it as a grave misfortune and seek the mystic aid of a spiritual counsellor to rectify what he would see as a probably dangerous connection to an otherworldly demon.
Neopaganism
The controversial, self-proclaimed traditional witch Robin Artisson includes a variation of the Norse fetchFetch
Fetch may refer to:* Fetch , the length of water over which a given wind has blown* Fetch , a game played between a human and a pet in which the human throws an object for the pet to retrieve...
concept in his book The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill. He supports this with the thesis that the questing/rescuing heroes in myths, legends, and fairy tales can be seen as the soul, and rescued maidens as the fetch bride. However, he does not make it clear if this occurs in dreams, shamanic journeys in a trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
state, or both—though trance work is an important part of his theology and recommended practice. Some other Neopagan authors from very different traditions have also hinted at the possibility spiritual-sexual union of some sort with divine or spirit being.
Contrast against opposite-gender spirit-mediumship
The practice of dream-based spirit-marriage would appear to exclude and be excluded by (i.e., not be practiced by the same practitioners, nor perhaps even ever known in the same ethnic culture, as) the practice of opposite-gender spirit-possession mediumship. The latter practice (of opposite-gender spirit-possession mediumship) is attested in, e.g., Okinawa, Siam, and Burma, in each of which areas it would appear to be mainly (if not entirely) based on non-remembered (putatively non-conscious) trance.The practice of dream-based spirit-marriage would appear likewise to exclude and be excluded by shallower trances involving some partial degree of control (but permanently and continuously, instead of merely intermittently as was the case in non-remembered trance) of the practitioner by a spirit-entity of opposite gender from that of the practitioner; which is attested not only among the berdache in tribes of the Great Plains of North America, but also among the manang in Borneo, and perhaps also among numerous other persons and geographic regions (including European practitioners of homosexual magick, etc.).