The medium’s body during possession ritual is the technology for divination or deciphering the causes of illnesses. Hence, utmost attention is accorded to the medium’s body for clues to answers the participants are wanting. The medium only gives hints to these answers and it is the participants who conjure up the full meanings of spirit enunciations. This means that in ritual, understandings of why things have transpired the way they had or will happen in the future are co-constructed by the participants and the medium, i.e., via a ritual interpreter who referees the conversational floor.

    The medium is like a puppet who listens and responds to the ritual conversations. Interestingly, different spirits--like stock characters in ancient theater--incarnate as a means of demonstrating what is going on in the various moments of ritual performance. There are a number of these spirit-personas, the most important of which are:

The singing spirit

Spirits of Manobo Cosmos

The male elder spirit

Spirit possession scene