Ritual possession is a religious experience, which is approached through asceticism, heightened by music, song, and dance, and culminates in convulsions. In addition, certain aspects such as cathartic release of inhibitions, and hysteric symptoms in voodooism, seem relevant to contemporary psychoanalytic therapy. Examples are drawn from Haiti, Sudan, and MelanesiIn these cultures, ritual possession is considered a normal phenomenon because it is a social one.