Samoan taulaitu and spirit-possession ethnography

Record summary

The Samoan term taulaitu and related discussions of spirits, healing and possession provide a lead for researching Pacific models of agency and altered behavior. Comparison with Western dissociation, mediumship and psi literature may be productive if the investigation retains Samoan social and religious context. The term and its interpretation vary across sources, and the literature may describe historical practices rather than a single dated encounter. Researchers should locate a named ethnography or article and establish whether the source concerns Samoa, American Samoa or another Polynesian setting.