Women, Possession Trance Cults, and the Extended Nutrient‐Deficiency Hypothesis
(1977) has shown more clearly than I did, in Egypt and elsewhere where it occurs this cult is often associated with the embourgoisement of men and women--involving a curtailment of the latter's freedom (see also Ferchiou 1972:66; Lewis, forthcoming). Finally, while I have no quarrel with Kehoe and Giletti's characterization of my interpretation of possession cults as "political," I have never advocated a monocausal explanation of such protean phenomena. By the same token and contrary to their assertions, I have explicitly pointed out (Lewis 1966:325) that in this context the concepts "center" and "periphery" are relative and ambiguous. If authors choose to recycle the reductionist "explanations" of Marvin Harris and his school, they might at least take the trouble to get their facts right.
Culture and Mental Disorders
as suggestive evidence of a specific process. The mere existence of typical patterns, it seems to this reviewer, supports a concept of clinical entity but does not imply a common cause. There are other examples of striking thematic conformity as in the case of obsessive-compulsive states. If Kolle’s reasoning prevails here too, a specific underlying process would have to be postulated. Furthermore, the relationship between general paresis and primitive grandiose delusions appears less definitive than stated. The expansive-euphoric form is one of several dissimilar psychotic syndromes associated with this disorder. It has been observed time and again that the premorbid personality had decisive influence on the typological aspects of the early psychotic manifestations. Moreover, electroshock can abolish the psychotic disturbance before specific therapy is started. Since neither neurological, surgical or anatomical findings permit definite correlations between nature and extent of cortical lesions and mental symptoms, the case of the paralytic fails to qualify as a model in the considerations of the origin of delusions. Kolle’s inclination to reduce the complexity of potential variables to an almighty causal process appears over-rigid at a time when experimental investigations in the behavioral sciences provide growing evidence of multifactorial sets of causative forces. This is also overlooked by those whose therapeutic experiences with delusional patients have led them to construct highly imaginative genetic theories which have a peculiar way of acquiring an air of finality in the process of communicative circulation. It is a distinctive merit of Kolle’s style of presentation that the reader can profit from the liberal scope of the discussion without being asked to agree with particular conclusions. Since Kolle prefers questions to answers and maintains an attitude of cautious reserve in the establishment of his opinions, his essay can be highly recommended to all those who are still perplexed by the unsolved riddles of the nature of Wa/zn. F. A. FREYHAN, M. D., Farnhurst, Del.
ANALYSIS OF SAUDI ARABIAN MARITIME TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY
This paper analyses the past, present and future of the maritime transportation industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian seaborne trade and the shipping capacity are analysed for the past 15 years. Relationships between the declining Saudi shipping capacity and other economic measures are identified. Analysis of the Saudi Arabian maritime transportation is performed with respect to the world carrier fleets and models are developed to determine the theoretical shipping capacity required for transportation of the national seaborne cargo. Forecasts of the future shipping capacity requirement for the Kingdom are also presented. This paper illustrates the general approach for analysing a country's maritime industry and thus could help other researchers in that respect.