User:Berntley/practice

Zar is a term applied to the culturally specific phenomenon in which people experience the feeling that they are being possessed by spirits. It is most commonly found in areas such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, and other North African and Middle Eastern cultures. The people experiencing Zar usually relate to having dissociative episodes, as well as shouting, laughing, hitting one's head against the wall, singing, or weeping. They may also become apathetic and withdrawn, as well as refusing to eat or meet their personal responsibilities. In some cases, a long-term relationship may be developed between the person and the believed possessing spirit.

Treatment
Cases of Zar are treated by support from those around the sufferer, who attempt to please the spirit in order to coerce it to leave. This may include singing and sacrifices, as well as bribery with various goods such as coffee, clothes, beads and other items. However, the spirits are rarely exorcised, and the treatments simply calm the spirits to keep the person from hurting themselves. In some cases, the person becomes part of a Zar group, which involves a group of people suffering from Zar, lead by a man who suffers from, but has come to terms with his Zar, known as a balezar. He sometimes will go into a trance and lure other person's demons out to negotiate with them. Through these Zar groups, multiple sufferers of Zar are able to calm their symptoms in order to carry out a more normal life.