Here on the Nicola Peninsula in Costa Rica, the medical news that dominates headlines today is not swine flu but a mysterious affliction called grisi siknis (or "jungle madness," in the language of the Miskito). In neighboring Nicaragua, an outbreak of grisi siknis that sickened 120 teenage girls and closed three schools in the village of Kamla has apparently receded after an angry mob captured a drifter suspected of practicing black magic, bound him with rope, and nearly beat him to death. The police took the man into custody and burned his spell books in a public square, but he was soon released because witchcraft is not a crime in Nicaragua.
Grisi siknis is a contagious collective hysteria that strikes indigenous people in Nicaragua, primarily young pubescent women, who fall into a trance, become manic or violent, and often imagine that the devil is sexually possessing them.
Western medicine, while acknowledging the disease, has had difficulty explaining it. The American Psychiatric Association's DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) describes grisi siknis as "a psychological disorder due to stress, upheaval, and despair." According to Phil Dennis at Texas Tech University, the disorder is "a wild, orgiastic rite of sex and violence." Western physicians who have traveled to villages where grisi siknis is epidemic have been unable to help those afflicted. The Miskito believe that grisi siknis is caused by evil spirits conjured up by sorcerers, and that herbalists and witch doctors can exorcise the spirits and cure the disease. The epidemic that just claimed 120 teenage women in Kamila, Puerto Cabezas, may be the largest on record. Here's a YouTube video recently posted by a journalist at The Nica Times.
Discuss
Musycks on August 11, 2009, 2:30 AM
Another ancient superstition, a couple of hundred years behind the times that’s all. Xtianity was doing much the same not too long ago and Fundamentalist Islam is still at it. In Africa in Christian villages, in a strange hybrid of traditional superstitions and Xtianity, they are condemning children as witches, beating them or abusing them. Xtian priests are denouncing children from the pulpit, only to have local witch doctors perform crude exorcisms… all for a price of course. Suffer the little children?
HerbieP on August 11, 2009, 5:03 AM
I suspect that the reason that it is geographically localised is that it is simply a form of hysteria. Susceptible young women hear of events in another village, talk it up and allow themselves to be ‘possessed’ in order to gain attention/ express adolescent sexual tension etc in a way that is acceptable to the community psyche. As Musycks says this kind of thing has been exploited by religions for thousands of years.
People are still expriencing religious ecstasy, speaking in tounges and so on in the most ‘advanced’ nation on earth.
Verisoph sapiens on August 11, 2009, 5:57 AM
This kind of thing seems to happen all over the world and goes back a long time, hysteria is an ancient disorder. But I think “speaking in tongues” is is a bit different to hysteria which is due to intense anxiety and repressed sexuality, among other things.
You are right, it is often associated with religion.
Salem 1692 springs to mind…
tim hall on August 11, 2009, 9:06 PM
I do not believe that they are possessed by anything. I would have to stay there for a couple of weeks to observe the community and the girls rules and rituals that are forced or implied upon them. This is most likely no more than what Herbie was saying about hearing about it from nearby and acting on it out of attention, or more simply couriosity. The human brain can psych itself up to do all sorts of strange things with it’s body. it is most likely less harmful than the ignorant weekly rituals that the girls are used to.
sciencesaves on August 12, 2009, 11:10 AM
It appears that crude civilizations seem to promote these types of incidents.
Simply too much superstition, and not enough real knowledge available to offset the effects of the various control freaks touting “salvation”, or worse, inhuman acts of desperation stemming from general ignorance?
I’m continually amazed by these stories, and thankful?… to only have mildly deluded but fairly civilized folks in my proximity, here in the stagnation of the “bible belt”, USA.
Matt Pidlysny on August 12, 2009, 9:03 PM
No, they’re possessed by the Devil, all right. It just so happens that you don’t know shit about the Devil!
Oh, wouldn’t it be nice if the real gods and demons were people? I mean, we’ve got these aliens that wanna come harvest Earth for it’s spiritual momentum gained by the Lightworkers and other such gullible people, we’ve got lizard people, we’ve got Illuminati…
Do the tools become aspects of the Gods because they are the will of Nature and Truth? Or should I remind you that he who is in control of how the stick beats him IS a God?
The devil is no person/thing/whatever. He is the dark aspects of your thought patterns, the evil thoughts, the thoughts that rage against good things. Now here we have SS possessed by the Devil, for his thoughts have been corrupted against these “Crude Civilizations”. I’m sure if you met any of these people, SS, they would revere you, honor you, and be kind to you, even if they’ve never met you before. You’re more advanced than them. You would be a God to them, and look what their God calls them.
Nice, SS. The Devils got you whether you like it or not. They’re just gripped by paranoia and fear, and yes, nature has to evolve like this to make this scenario even possible. Of all the possible things to erupt from that region, it’s this.
Musycks on August 12, 2009, 11:44 PM
Yet again more confused verbiage form Matt. Is he saying the devil is all in our minds? like God? does he mean the Illuminati are real? the aliens are real right? are the lightworkers real?
at least I’ve figured out SS is the devil? or was that the Pope?
Matt… take your meds, there’s a good boy.
tim hall on August 14, 2009, 8:37 AM
Oh no! no! The devil is on a materialisticly invisible vibrating wave somewhere in the cosmosphere. You can however bounce him off or split him into smithereens by channeling good spirits or in a severe case, go right to the high commander and chief. If you choose the comander he may only sit in his golden thrown and flip his big toe at the devil. It all depends on how rightously you worship his magisty and if your prayers are unselfeshly for him and his herd instead of yourself. Gawd works in misterious ways and those golden vibrating bands of light can be very ficile.
facile: having a superficial knowledge or approach. a light of facile and shallow intellect.
S.S. secretly has the Gorbi mark on his forehead that he only exposes during his short trips to the Pennsylvania Appalachia to reincarnate his snake handelers and teach crafts people how to professionally make Black Snake Whips. I heard it from the big Buck named Joe who came directly from the bowls of hell.
Matt Pidlysny on August 15, 2009, 2:43 PM
“Yet again more confused verbiage form Matt.”
The sooner you realize I mean every word I say, and that I do not take nor need medication, the sooner you’ll understand how retarded your posts look to me. Seriously, if you can’t understand what I’m saying, describe it to me instead of making me look like an ass, ass.
tim hall on August 15, 2009, 11:50 PM
Well Matt, some times your explanations are clear of any mythical religion. It is when you start eluding to devils, gods or demons that makes me want to respond with sarcastic gibberish. I would much rather take statements from your post and research to see if I can find some satisfaction in a new theory. I cannot possibly believe in these early gnostic writings when they show no evidence and some are even expanded on earlier writings with claims of being their own. It will always be gibberish to me. I started my history research on the very earliest man under the canopy of a tree first using some primitive form of sign language, then adding grunts and first drawing primitive iconography in the paleolithic period. Then went on to study Akkadians, Babylon and Mari, The Code of Hammurabi, Darius and Xerxes, Osiris, Horus, Seth, Minoans of Crete, Lysippos (a self taught Roman who asserted that nature was his God). I came up through time and studied every god, church, writing devise, carving tool, myth, river, kingdom, disappearing nations, crossing into Yemen, Early Chinease and Indian travels to exchange religious ideas, I even know which shades of red were allowed to wear according to hierarchy. I cannot possibly believe in gods or goddesses, I was there.
Yes, I always feel bad after responding with gibberish, but I don’t lose hope that you can either be able to fully explain your extreme findings or produce some physical evidence. I never give up on those who are trying. I really like people.
Musycks on August 16, 2009, 8:37 PM
Matt, I don’t doubt you mean every word you say…. you’re not the first to think they’ve unlocked some mystical connection or information and that ‘if only people would listen’ to their truth humanity will be saved. I have no problem with anyone stating their case coherantly, to be argued and understood in a public forum. But you simply do not have the tools to do this. The myriad meanderings of your mind are just that… all in your mind. Multiple opportunities for you to reveal some real information have always found you lacking even the basic skills to communicate and reason.
ed hardy on August 28, 2009, 4:13 AM
thanks, the article is very good~~
by ed hardy
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