The phenomenon of Itatira
and the prophecy of Joel
 

In early June, dozens of youths felt sick in a school of Itatira, countryside of Ceará, after a supposed vision of the spirit of a dead colleague. They went into a trance and many had to be taken to hospital. Some students made reference  to the vision of the deceased colleague. 

The first idea to explain the phenomenon, which was attributed to a psychiatrist from Ceará and a Catholic priest, has linked the facts to a possible attack of hysteria. Experts say that hysteria is a kind of explosion of feelings, of repressed desires, which is triggered in several people simultaneously. The feelings repressed in the unconscious would be saved because they had not been expressed. An unspoken idea, a fear, sadness, anguish - all that would have escaped in a non usual way, creating the hysteria. 

It was then remembered that several occurrences of mass hysteria have been recorded throughout history, as the one occurred in 2007 in a convent school in Mexico, where about 600 students began to have difficulty in walking. After thoroughly studying the subject, the conclusion was that the rigid school rules were the cause of hysteria. 

In the Itatira case, it has not occurred to anyone that it could have simply been the phenomenon of appearance of the Spirit of the youngster, whose description was made by the students who were present at the moment and not by third parties. 

Heard by journalists from  São Paulo, the clinical psychologist Julio Peres, a PhD in neuroscience at USP, said it was necessary to take into consideration the possibility that the youngsters of Ceará have suffered a problem related to their spirituality, and not a psychiatric disorder. "It may have been a spiritual experience. The DSM IV [diagnostic manual of mental health used in many countries worldwide] recognizes the existence of religious and spiritual problems," said the expert. 

People who watched TV Globo’s coverage on the case (1) could see one of the youngsters mentioning the colleague, whose Spirt supposedly appeared. And they also have seen references  about the state in which several youths were at the time of the facts, seemingly out of their minds, as if drunk or in a trance. 

The episode reminds us of the Pentecost phenomena, described in Acts of the Apostles, a work written by Luke, which we summarize below.

According to Luke, on the day of Pentecost, the apostles of the Lord were all together  in one place when suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 

Jews, religious men, from several nations lived in Jerusalem. When this sound occurred, a crowd of people gathered and they were stunned, because each one could hear them speaking in their own language and all were astonished, saying to one another: "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?” 

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. (Act of Apostles, 2:1-13.) 

We cannot say whether or not a case of appearance hapened in the school of  Itatira, but remember that this is a possibility to consider, since Chico Xavier was also branded as crazy by people of the Church and his own family when said, in the simplicity of a child, that he could see the dead.

(1) The TV Globo coverage on the phenomenon of Itatira can be accessed by clicking on the below link: http://g1.globo.com/ciencia-e-saude/noticia/2010/06/histeria-coletiva-surge-de-vontades-recalcadas-diz-psicologa.html