Devil-Possession in Honan
By Eva Allum
DURING the past summer we witnessed some cases of genuine devil-possession and worship in Chowkiakow, as well as in the surrounding villages and cities we passed through or visited. We are told that this was the first time in ten or twelve years that the Chinese have had this particular ceremony. Very little rain had fallen all summer, and it was impossible to prepare the ground for the wheat crop; so at last the people decided to hurry their gods. Here in Chowkiakow, one tent was erected right in front of the compound where we have been conducting our girls' school, and where some of our workers live; but upon our request, it was moved a little to one side. This was only one of five or six similar places in this city. Men were hired to beat drums and bang great brass gongs in front of a table full of gods, with the hope that the spirit would soon leave one of the gods and possess some individual. This man was then a living god, and was supposed to have the power to make it rain. Some days a number of men would lie on benches in front of the gods and the men beating the drums, waiting for the spirits to control them. After seven days of drumming and banging, a spirit got possession of a man, and threw him down trembling, but the man was not wholly under its influence. Over a hundred gunshots were fired, and firecrackers were set off for over two hours, in the endeavor to get the man wholly under the influence of the spirit, but without success. After ten days, however, five men were completely controlled by the spirits. Great processions were made in their honor, large numbers of firecrackers were exploded, and incense was burned before them. The drums had to be continually beaten, or else the men would come out from under the influence of the spirit. The more noise there is, the more complete the possession. One Sabbath, just as we had completed our Sabbath-school lesson on the “Work of the Evil Angels,” the first of these possessed persons passed our door in a procession. Our lesson had been very opportune. There was no mistaking by whom he was possessed. The terrible expression of his face, the convulsive movements, the sound of his voice, all showed too plainly the influence of the evil one. We afterward witnessed a great many such processions, sometimes five or six men being possessed at a time. These men were carried through the street sitting in chairs supported on the shoulders of men. In some of these chairs great knives were arranged, such as the Chinese use to cut straw in preparing feed for their animals. The men sat on the sharp edges of two of these knives, with their bare feet resting on two more, and each arm resting on a knife. Every little while the procession paused, and the men would get down from the chairs, and perform various feats, such as walking barefooted on red-hot irons, handling red-hot iron bars, etc., without being hurt. We were told that some could wash their faces in boiling oil without feeling pain. Some stayed under this influence for about half an hour, while others would be possessed for several hours, great crowds gathering to watch them. When the spirit was about to leave them, the men would suddenly stiffen out. Some would vomit dreadfully, so that their lives would almost be despaired of. Once a person has been possessed, he is never so strong-minded as before, and it is easy to get him under the control of the spirits a second time. Previously, we had supposed that devil-possession and insanity were practically the same; but we are convinced they are altogether different. A mad person could not do the things those who are possessed of devils can do. These people are very persistent in calling on their gods to send their spirit into some of their number, sometimes spending a whole month beating their gongs before they succeed. What a lesson for us who need the Spirit’s power in our work so much! These people are willing to yield their bodies to the control of Satan in order that they may gain a few strings of cash. How much more willing should we be to yield ourselves completely to the control of the Spirit of God in order that we may gain a few souls for His kingdom!