A remarkable account of " tarantism" and "possession" is given
in last Saturday's Times by an English correspondent who has been settled for many years near Yenishehr, the ancient Sigeum, in the Troad. In two cases of nervorn paroxysms among his reapers which occurred on two separate occasions several years ago be is satisfied that they were caused by bites of the tarantula spider, and the drastic) treat- ment prescribed by the head reaper—that of intoxicating the sufferers with raki and baking them in an oven—proved successful. Again last June four girls at Thymbra were seized with similar paroxysms and danced like the " tarantularized " reapers. Here a treatment with a preparation of zinc, a specific in chorea, or St. Vitus's dance, rapidly relieved the symptoms. In this case, however, they were attributed to the spiritual prompting of St. George, the patron saint of the church at Yenishehr, and on inquiry the Times corre- spondent ascertained that for three years past there has been an annual epidemic of dancing mania affecting persons of all ages and both sexes at the time of the festival of the saint.
Previous page
