Abstract

The reliability and validity of psychiatric categories and diagnoses are regularly reviewed and revised, some new entities are added and some removed. Over the decades since the two main international classification systems (DSM & ICD) were adopted, these exercises have been repeated time and time again. Zar is one such diagnosis appearing briefly in DSM IV-TR and is no longer included in the current classification systems of mainstream psychiatry. The aim of this paper is to review the historical, phenomenological and sociocultural aspects of “Zar spirit possession” hoping to help clinicians identify this condition in clinical settings in order to avoid misinterpreting symptoms of distress as a mental disorder. The structure of the article is based around Zar cult in Sudan in east Africa but is expanded and compared to the cult elsewhere in the world. Although the word cult is used in the article, it really doesn’t describe the wealth of phenomena, its inclusiveness, versatility and the dynamic nature of the groups that use it as a healing method. The cult has been diluted over time and is disappearing from urban areas and has almost vanished in many countries

Keywords: Psychological trauma, Disaster psychology, Traumatic stress, Addiction behaviors