"Rasmussen's study is detailed and nuanced, with thick ethnographic description, snippets of Tuareg poetry, and a fine exposition of music, dress, and other aesthetic dimensions of personal identity. ...Rasmussen's study of Tuareg identity, knowledge, and healings is important and satisfying." Choice

• Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Illnesses of the heart and soul: the case of Asalama; Part I. Images of Possession: 2. Inversion and other tropes in spirit possession rituals; 3. 'Like a tree branch swaying in the wind': the head dance; 4. Illnesses of God: personhood, knowledge, and healing; Part II. Art, Agency, and Power in the Ritual Sessions: 5. Sound, solitude, and music; 6. The tande n goumaten songs; Conclusions; Notes; References, Index.

"Rasmussen's study is detailed and nuanced, with thick ethnographic description, snippets of Tuareg poetry, and a fine exposition of music, dress, and other aesthetic dimensions of personal identity. ...Rasmussen's study of Tuareg identity, knowledge, and healings is important and satisfying." Choice

• Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Illnesses of the heart and soul: the case of Asalama; Part I. Images of Possession: 2. Inversion and other tropes in spirit possession rituals; 3. 'Like a tree branch swaying in the wind': the head dance; 4. Illnesses of God: personhood, knowledge, and healing; Part II. Art, Agency, and Power in the Ritual Sessions: 5. Sound, solitude, and music; 6. The tande n goumaten songs; Conclusions; Notes; References, Index.

"Rasmussen's study is detailed and nuanced, with thick ethnographic description, snippets of Tuareg poetry, and a fine exposition of music, dress, and other aesthetic dimensions of personal identity. ...Rasmussen's study of Tuareg identity, knowledge, and healings is important and satisfying." Choice

• Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Illnesses of the heart and soul: the case of Asalama; Part I. Images of Possession: 2. Inversion and other tropes in spirit possession rituals; 3. 'Like a tree branch swaying in the wind': the head dance; 4. Illnesses of God: personhood, knowledge, and healing; Part II. Art, Agency, and Power in the Ritual Sessions: 5. Sound, solitude, and music; 6. The tande n goumaten songs; Conclusions; Notes; References, Index.