The spirits, now including the Holy Spirit (dinini holi), may influence any aspect of life. Illness may be seen as evidence of their disfavour, so that whatever other measures are taken, patients or those caring for them may attempt to appease the spiritual agent suspected of being responsible. In this chapter I will consider illnesses explained in this way. Such explanations may constitute the only cause of cases of illness, or they may coexist with any of the explanations that I have discussed thus far. They represent the highest level of explanation of illness, answering the question, Why did I become ill?, and often the questions, Why me? and Why now?.

Classes of dama

Spirits are known as dama. Amongst the profusion of dama a number of different sorts can be distinguished according to their origins and their relationships with men. A general characteristic of dama is their ability to harm by bringing disease, death or other misfortune. But they may also be persuaded to serve people's interests, and in some cases it may be their task to do so.

The original founding ancestors are generically known as Kebali, though the ‘true name’ (mini tene) of the Kebali of each clan or group of clans may differ according to their origin myths. Kebali can harm men, producing disease in individuals or generalised misfortune such as famine, epidemics or rout in war.