The Trickster and the Paranormal

by George P. Hansen

  In April 1981, some months before his late-night talk with the singer, Toelken had taken part in a conference that discussed the trickster. It was out of season to tell the stories, so he obtained a special dispensation from a medicine man. Even so, as he was about to leave for the conference, he bent over to pick up his luggage and passed out. He struck his chin and bled profusely; this was followed by other problems and several synchronicities involving coyotes. Those no doubt helped make him receptive to the singer’s warning, but he was ambivalent about any “rational” explanation for the events.

  Toelken’s experiences and discussion raise perplexing questions, not just for the study of the trickster, but for ethnographers and folklorists generally. Even at the basic level of intellectual understanding, an outside investigator may fail to grasp some of the most essential aspects, especially those that do not fit into Western logic. Toelken was very candid about his experiences, but one suspects that many investigators would dismiss similar ones if they occurred to them. They might justifiably fear the ridicule and scorn of their professional colleagues.

  But obviously the questions are far deeper, and more disturbing. Probing the religious and supernatural aspects of other cultures may unleash forces alien to Western understanding, even when the information is packaged as humorous stories for children. The very idea that this might be possible goes completely against the ethos of scientific rationalism that decrees that all topics should be open for investigation. Yet close intellectual study and analysis may have unexpected repercussions. Perhaps just possessing certain types of knowledge is dangerous. There are ample examples of Western scientific hubris, and scientific rationalism may be yet another. Toelken’s papers should be read by anyone thinking of pursuing fieldwork, especially into the sacred, supernatural, or paranormal.

  Psi and Anti-structure

  Anti-structure and the paranormal are closely affiliated, and this will be repeatedly illustrated in coming chapters. The next few paragraphs give the reader a brief introduction. Turner made explicit acknowledgement of mystical power in relation to liminality: “In preindustrial and early industrial societies with multiplex social relations, spontaneous communitas appears to be very frequently associated with mystical power and to be regarded as a charism or grace sent by the deities or ancestors … by impetrative ritual means, attempts are made, mostly in the phases of liminal seclusion, to cause the deities or ancestors to bring this charism of communitas among men … it [is] expected best to arise in the intervals between incumbencies of social positions and statuses, in what used to be known as ‘the interstices of the social structure.’”

  The direct mention of ghosts, gods, and ancestors in relation to liminality is of particular note because all are sources of supernatural power. They sometimes appear as “hallucinations” and convey verifiable, previously unknown information. The vision quests of shamans and the lives of mystics and mediums are replete with accounts of meetings with supernatural beings and demonstrations of psychic abilities. These people typically cultivate altered states of consciousness (ASCs), and surveys, case studies, and laboratory experiments all verify that ASCs facilitate the occurrence of psychic phenomena.

  Biblical prophets displayed anti-structural characteristics. Abraham Heschel described them in his The Prophets (1962). Many were outsiders, and indeed, some appear mad, and Heschel devoted an entire chapter to prophecy and psychosis. Turner similarly noted that: “Prophets and artists tend to be liminal and marginal people, ‘edge-men,’ who strive with a passionate sincerity to rid themselves of the clichés associated with status incumbency and role-playing and to enter into vital relations with other men in fact or imagination. In their productions we may catch glimpses of that unused evolutionary potential in mankind which has not yet been externalized and fixed in structure.

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  Turner spoke of the “powers of the weak” and noted the sacred attributes of temporary or permanent low status. He also commented that moral powers reside with them. As I will discuss shortly, mystics often voluntarily take on low status, and mystics have often chastised church authorities (mystics have also displayed some of the most extreme psi functioning ever reported). Turner’s allusion to moral powers residing in those with low status pertains to our culture as well. Pollster George H. Gallup, Jr. and Timothy Jones studied saintly people and wrote The Saints Among Us in 1992. They found that older, poor black women in the South (the lowest of the low) had an exceptionally high percentage of saintly persons.

  Geographic boundary crossing is associated with anti-structure and tricksters. It is also related to psychic functioning. Wanderers and gypsies live outside the larger social structure and its rules and laws. Traditionally they are famous for fortune-telling and clairvoyance, and gypsies also have a reputation for duplicity and thievery. It is no coincidence that Hermes is also the god of thieves. By the way, Victor Turner traveled with a band of gypsies early in his career, and that probably enhanced his appreciation of outsiderhood, marginality, and liminality.

  Susan Niditch discussed the association of prophecy with travelers in her Underdogs and Tricksters. She noted that biblical tricksters typically were gifted with prophecy but were at times forced to move from their homelands. The geographic boundary crossing idea has wider applicability however, and the relationship can be seen in our society today. Sociologist William Sims Bainbridge found that in metropolitan areas with relatively high mobility (in terms of frequency of change of residence), elevated levels of paranormal experiences were reported. This is just one example how these ideas apply to us.

  As will be described, we find openness to the paranormal in marginal, low-status groups and individuals, i.e., those associated with anti-structure. In our own society, paranormal ideas and practices have been kept alive by them. The work of anthropologist Michael Winkelman, covered later, shows that direct, intentional engagement with paranormal practices is associated with low status in a wide range of cultures. This has profound implications for those who wish to study psi scientifically.

  To briefly summarize the major points of this chapter, the concepts of anti-structure, liminality, interstitiality, betwixt and between, and marginality are at the core of the trickster and the paranormal. In addition, the matter of binary oppositions is key. These themes will inform the rest of this book. They are all crucial for a theoretical understanding of the trickster as well as many other concepts in the humanities and social sciences. So far they have had virtually no impact on theories of the paranormal.

  Part 2

  Overview

  The next two chapters cover mystics and shamans. They have demonstrated some of the most extraordinary paranormal phenomena ever recorded. They are also prime exemplars of anti-structure, liminality, and the trickster.

  I have met a number of people who had limited familiarity with the concept of liminality. They thought that it only referred to rites of passage and transition. They did not realize that individuals can be liminal, some even permanently. This Part focuses on such persons.

  Mystics are truly fascinating, and quite exotic. Their trickster and anti-structural qualities are strong, disruptive, even grotesque. I will present a number of bizarre specimens from other cultures. Were they alive now, they would probably be incarcerated. Many are eminently memorable, but most are little known.

  Shamans were perhaps the first humans to intentionally wield supernatural power. They have also been observed in trickery. This signals the deep connection between liminality and deception, and highlights the importance of the trickster. Western scholars seem to find shamanic trickery embarrassing, and like the reality of paranormal phenomena, they avoid discussing it.

  CHAPTER 5

  Mysticism, Holy Madness,

  And Fools for God

  Mysticism is a confusing word. It refers to the belief in, and experience of, a direct, sublime union with the divine. But it also means secret or occult knowledge, or vague and confused speculation. Many saints we
re mystics, but performers of magic tricks sometimes adopt the label for themselves. The divergent definitions reflect the ambiguous nature of the phenomenon. (I will restrict my usage to the religious sense, but I will not neglect the commonalities with the other types.)

  Mystics engage in extended periods of meditation and contemplation and can become detached from the everyday world. They seek to unite with God—obliterating the boundaries between self and divinity. Mysticism is ultimately about boundaries because it inherently challenges the clear separation of God and human, a major binary opposition for all cultures. Mystics can embody liminality.

  Victor Turner recognized this saying: “Nowhere has this institutionalization of liminality been more clearly marked and defined than in the monastic and mendicant states in the great world religions.” In his essay “Betwixt and Between” Turner noted: “A further structurally negative characteristic of transitional beings is that they have nothing. They have no status, property, insignia, secular clothing, rank, kinship position, nothing to demarcate them structurally from their fellows. Their condition is indeed the very prototype of sacred poverty. Rights over property, goods, and services in here in positions in the politicojural structure. Since they do not occupy such positions, neophytes exercise no such rights.” One could hardly hope to find a better description of the cloistered life. Monks and nuns take vows of poverty and obedience; they are apart from their families and have little or no secular life.

  Mystical experiences are ineffable. They cannot be fully described by words. Mysticism is explicitly nonrational, and at times it is greeted with hostility. Academic scientists sometimes use the term as one of disparagement, thereby signalling the unconscious taboos surrounding it. Mysticism has an uneasy position in our culture, even in religion, and many denominations now subtly avoid the topic. It is often connected with the paranormal, but not always comfortably. Some of the most saintly religious mystics have shunned psychic powers while acknowledging their existence.

  Mysticism has its disreputable aspects, and many famous mystics and saints were exceedingly disruptive of the social order. They disconcerted people, were persecuted as heretics and often imprisoned or even killed. Many seem decidedly odd and even insane, and there is a long history of “fools for God.” This is reflected in book titles such as Holy Madness (1991) by Georg Feuerstein and Perfect Fools (1980) by John Saward. Mystics have also displayed some of the most extreme manifestations of the trickster. A number of them had ambiguous sexual orientations; some sexually abused their devotees; some simulated paranormal phenomena in order to lure followers. This association between mysticism and deception is long-standing, and many times it is difficult to tell the difference between a holy man and con artist, or even if it is meaningful to speak of any such distinction.

  Nevertheless, mystics have fostered important religious traditions. They have also demonstrated some of the most powerful psychic phenomena ever recorded, including instantaneous healings, immunity to fire, and levitation. Herbert Thurston’s The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism (1952) presents an impressive number of them. (Thurston was a Jesuit, a member of the Society for Psychical Research, and he also helped revise and edit Butler’s Lives of the Saints. His works are some of the classics of psychical research.)

  The examples that follow will illustrate just how odd and grotesque mystics can be. Perhaps understandably, many writers have an aversion to addressing the more unsavory matters. Many try to sanitize the topic and discuss only the respectable features. That is unfortunate because mystics are some of the most extraordinary specimens of humankind, and extreme cases illuminate elemental aspects of human existence.

  Some Illustrative Cases

  Nityananda of Ganeshpuri (1896?—1961), a renowned Indian teacher and mystic, was especially colorful, and his biographer M. U.

  Hatengdi has recounted some of his antics in Nityananda: The Divine Presence (1984). During his early years Nityananda walked around naked and greatly embarrassed his devotees. He lived in forests and caves and violated a number of orthodox Hindu laws. Occasionally when a cow would pass by, he would wait for it to defecate and then grab the cowpat and eat it. Nityananda once smeared excrement over his entire body and then sat with large piles of it, offering some to passers-by as a sweet, again mortifying his followers. Yet he was famous for miraculous healings, prophetic powers, and even weather control. Excrement is seen in particularly extreme and primitive manifestations of the trickster and liminality. Nityananda inverted the food-excrement binary opposition. This challenges our current notions of the sacred.

  Saint Simeon Salus (d. ca. 590) of the Catholic tradition was another

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  odd character. Simeon was born into a well-to-do family, but in his early twenties, he abandoned his elderly mother and entered a monastery, along with a friend who had abandoned his new wife. The two soon left it for the desert, becoming hermits. After 29 years, Simeon had had enough of the desert and went to the city of Emesa (Homs in modern Syria) where he became known as a fool. Sometimes he simulated madness. For instance he once found a dead dog on a dung heap, tied it to his belt and dragged it along after him. Not surprisingly, he was ridiculed and even beaten for that, but he willingly accepted the consequences. On another occasion he went to church and extinguished the candles, just as the service was beginning. When some of those present tried to remove him, he ran to the pulpit and began throwing nuts at women. He ate sausages on Good Friday, and he was known to run through women’s baths. He was notorious for eating beans, which caused him to expel large quantities of gas. He defecated in the marketplace and consorted with prostitutes. Yet St. Simeon possessed miraculous powers. He held hot coals in his hands, predicted the future, and displayed telepathy. He was also known for multiplying food.

  Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is one of the most popular of all saints. His father was a financially successful merchant, but in his early twenties he renounced his inheritance and began associating with lepers and beggars. He stole cloth from his father, sold it, and refused to make any restitution. His father complained to a bishop, who commanded St. Francis to return the money. A large assemblage was present at the time, and upon hearing that command, he took off all his clothes and stood naked. This incident has been immortalized by a number of artists. St. Francis’ stigmata included not only bleeding, but also black nail-like protuberances formed from his flesh making it difficult for him to walk.5 His confessor, Brother Leo, saw him levitate during prayer, sometimes so high that he was not able to touch him. St. Francis was also gifted with prophecy and healing.6

  Victor Turner discussed St. Francis in his The Ritual Process (1969). He mentioned that St. Francis strived to maintain a permanent liminal state. Turner also pointed out that the saint thought in primary, concrete visual images and spoke in parables, rather than abstractions, in order to illustrate his points. St. Francis operated satisfactorily with small groups, but the abstraction required for organizing larger numbers of people was beyond him. He and his followers depended on the church for support, and he insisted that his order own no property or money. This caused the institutional church great difficulties, and the Franciscans were viewed with suspicion. Eventually however, organizational structures were established that contained at least some of the Franciscan ideals. This was partly accomplished through the greater administrative ability of St. Bonaventure, who is considered the second founder of the Franciscan order. (St. Bonaventure was a contemporary of the Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas, whose writings on theology somewhat eclipsed those of St. Bonaventure. Aquinas is associated more with rationalist and Artistotelian traditions, Bonaventure more with mystical and Neoplatonic traditions, including the concept of the coincidence of opposites. )

  St. Francis was renowned for his communion with nature, particularly with birds. Tricksters and liminality also share this feature. Barbara Babcock pointed out that the Winnebago trickster was in close contact with nature, and she quoted from Paul Radin’s book The Tr
ickster that says that the trickster calls “all the objects in the world younger brothers when speaking to them. He and all objects in the world understood one another, understood, indeed, one another’s language.” This strikingly parallels St. Francis, who in his “Canticle of Brother Sun” refers to Brother Son, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, and others. The similarity to the Winnebago tales powerfully confirms the trickster pattern across cultures. St. Francis’ association with birds is very well known, but medieval fools were also frequently connected with birds, as were novices in liminal periods. Religious scholar Mircea Eliade in his book Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (1951) noted that many shamans were reputed to understand animals’ language and communicate with them. Classical scholar E. R. Dodds in his The Greeks and the Irrational (1951) noted the role of birds in Greek magical practices. Birds can be seen as living between the heavens and the earth and as messengers between the realms. Thus birds have a betwixt and between quality.

  Saint Lydwine of Schiedam (1380-1433) was one of the most exotic saints. She was clairvoyant, made prophecies and performed miraculous healings, but her biography is one of the most gruesome ever recorded.14

  Not only was she plagued with stigmata, but she was bedridden for most of her life, and her condition caused much festering. Large worms bred in the putrefaction, and they appeared as if boiling under her skin; over a hundred were taken out at one time. An eminent physician determined that her ills were divinely caused, but in order to ease her suffering, her intestines were removed, separated, cleaned and the fit portion was replaced. Nevertheless, the torment continued, and her belly burst like a ripe fruit, spilling out her entrails, yet she continued to live. Another time, still bedridden, skeptics taunted and ridiculed her, and after accusing her of fraud, they ripped open her abdomen. She was denounced as being in league with the devil, and some church authorities were hostile to her. She rebuked several.