Magical-religious, social or psychiatric zombie: Interdisciplinary analysis of new recent cases of « zombies » in Haiti

Q3 Medicine

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101100

J.-R. Senatus , P. Charlier

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Haitian zombies are an anthropological entity corresponding to four legal, administrative, and pathological states: ritual poisoning with social death, criminal poisoning, psychiatric disorders, and identity theft.

Methodology

In this article, we review the latest data from the anthropological, legal, and medical literature on this uniquely Haitian phenomenon. We also discuss new, unpublished cases recently examined in Haitian courts, with clear implications for public health and law.

Results

These new cases question the status of the human person, the identification, and the care of individuals desocialized and deliberately placed in a state of social death.

Conclusion

An interdisciplinary approach is absolutely necessary, with collaboration between the humanities and fundamental sciences, around this complex phenomenon of zombies in Haiti. Their frequency (around 50,000, for a total population of around 11 million inhabitants) is certainly marginal, but significant, and constitutes a real public health problem, as well as a relevant concept in medical anthropology and health law.

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魔法-宗教，社会或精神僵尸：海地最近新的“僵尸”案例的跨学科分析

海地僵尸是一种人类学实体，与四种法律、行政和病理状态相对应：仪式中毒与社会死亡、刑事中毒、精神障碍和身份盗窃。在这篇文章中，我们回顾了关于海地这一独特现象的人类学、法学和医学文献的最新数据。我们还讨论了海地法院最近审查的未公布的新案件，这些案件对公共卫生和法律具有明确的影响。结果这些新病例对人的身份、鉴定和对非社会化和故意置于社会死亡状态的个人的护理提出了质疑。在人文科学和基础科学的合作下，采用跨学科的方法来研究海地僵尸这一复杂现象是绝对必要的。它们的发生频率（约5万例，总人口约1 100万）当然是微不足道的，但意义重大，构成了一个真正的公共卫生问题，也是医学人类学和卫生法中的一个相关概念。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

107

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： This review aims to compare approaches to medical ethics and bioethics in two forms, Anglo-Saxon (Ethics, Medicine and Public Health) and French (Ethique, Médecine et Politiques Publiques). Thus, in their native languages, the authors will present research on the legitimacy of the practice and appreciation of the consequences of acts towards patients as compared to the limits acceptable by the community, as illustrated by the democratic debate.