Abstract

Participants in Northern Brazilian Tambor de Mina dance and spirit possession rituals demonstrate three principal discourses concerning memory and states of consciousness during possession. Most dancers claim, as "unconscious" mediums, to remember essentially nothing of their trance experiences. Many, however, speak of "faked" or incomplete forms of possession. In fact, my research eventually revealed that some experienced mediums and religious leaders regard, if secretly, "conscious" possession to be a more—not less—advanced form of mediumship. I consider some potential implications of the apparent growth, particularly due to the influence of European origin Kardecist and other spiritist movements, of conscious mediumship in this Afro-Brazilian tradition.