Essay: Analysis of ‘In The Weight of the Past’ by Michael Lambek

Spirit possession and ancestral rituals have and continue to be an important topic of inquiry, retaining anthropological interest. Alternatively, different parts of Madagascar and neighbouring countries, such as Mayotte, have been the subject of a number studies by Jean-Francois Bare, Gillian Feely-Harwick, and Jacques Lombard.
In The Weight of the Past: Living with history in Mahajanga, Madagascar, Michael Lambek offers a compelling ethnographic study of the Sakalava ancestors’ ritual of possession in Mahajanga, Madagascar. He describes the social dimension and the historical consciousness that emerges from the spirit possession tradition. It is based on practical dimensions of field research and ethnographic study (participant observation, interviews, individual narratives) between 1993 and 1996 and in 1998 and 2001.
Michael Lambek asserts that the Sakalava, through the ancestors’ spirit appearances, carry and bear their history and thus ensure the continuity of the past into the present. Referring to this as historical consciousness or historicity, the Sakalava bear their history through a combination of artistic, political, and ethical acts and performances embodied in the presence of past monarchs’ spirits (p. 266). His emphasis is on ‘the content of the form’ (p. 55) and specifically on how the relationship of the present to the past is constituted. For this purpose, he uses a diverse and creative theoretical concept to facilitate the anthropological understanding of historicity.
First, basing his idea on Baskhtin’s chronotope, he considers Sakalava history as a chronotopic maze. Chronotopes are ‘configurations of time and space that organize and emerge from particular cultural productions’ (p. 58). The chronotopic maze is manifested through time and into the present in the form of a connection with deceased royalty through their mediums. It is then diffused into space not only in the seating arrangement during the ceremony of the Great Service but also in the landscape where particular cemeteries and the shrine of the relics are located.
Moreover, the history of the Sakalava is carried out by living people through a careful division of labour based on Durkheim organic solidarity. Considered the basis of the political cohesion attributed to Ndramisara, the founder of the Boina kingdom, (p.93), it applies distinctions among people, in which each group holds a distinctive responsibility. Some functions are harder than others or have less benefits, such as the Jingo, who (in the past) were sacrificial victims and subjected to the living monarchs’ life and death. However, according to Lambek, although the burden differs from one group to another, the Sakalava are honoured by participating in the bearing of their history (p. 123).
Lambek provides penetrating and observant descriptions throughout the book regarding the coexistence of the medium’s life with the obligations of bearing their ancestors’ history. Examples of this are the coexistence of Islamic and Christian ancestral practices, immobility on certain days, and co-living with taboos linked to the dislikes of the ancestors and transferred to their mediums. The description of the Great Service, the handling of conflict and change, and the stories of Kassim, Mme Doso give a riveting glimpse of the culture and traditions of the Sakalava. However, although reaction to change is covered the book, one may question how the ancestors’ possession affect events on regional or national scale in Madagascar (i.e., elections, political instability) (BBC, 2015)
Lambek sees the performance and the making of Sakalava historicity through Aristotle’s Poïesis and Phronesis. Poïesis is linked to the combination of craft and creative energy in a performance. The performance in this case is central, and Aristotle’s dramatic settings of Pity and Fear are present. The ancestors are characterised by personal particularism and are distinguished as individuals carrying with them a division of knowledge where each piece or act contributes in transmitting a history that guides the actions of the present. The novelty of the history of the Sakalava is that it is performed in ritual rather than being written or oral. A striking example is the use of the knife for the ritual sacrifice of Ndramandikavavy, one of the Queens in Sakalava history. Her story is not narrated or told, but it is performed by repeating and showing the value of sacrifice that became inherent to the establishment of the monarchy.
The Phronesis is present here in the way that the spirit mediums do not perform for their own advantage but because they believe that it is the right thing to do. The ethical creativity (passion and action), caring about bearing history engenders the creative force that ensures the continuity from the past to the present.
Performance of spirit possession based on having an ethical dimension differs from other anthropological perspectives that have often neglected the moral and ethical dimensions in their interpretations. However, spirit possession involves pragmatic actions in the world and commitment that influences their daily lives. Actions go beyond the abstract, as many of them suffer from sickness and physical consequences of the wrath of the ancestor. However, explaining it through an extrinsic ethical lens is novel and necessary but not sufficient. The ethics in this case are intrinsic to other dimensions, such as power relations. For example, the violence of the spirit on Mme Doso and the disappearance of the clothing had political ramifications, persuading the public that the shrine manager is at fault. While there is no doubt that the spirit action on the medium was performed out of the belief that it is the right thing to do, alongside it, it is an action that is aimed to reinstate the power of the medium and the continuous belief in the power of ancestral practice.
The Weight of the Past: Living with History in Mahajanga, Madagascar is an interesting take on ancestral practice in the form of spirit possession. It offers a cultural and ethical perspective on the practice of the Sakalava that bears their history and ensures a continuous connection to it. The author succeeds in explaining and maintaining the reader’s attention, and offers a powerful understanding the historical and ethical dimension of anthropology of the Sakalava in Madagascar