("passed away," "died") The spirit of someone who has just died but is still improperly linked to the living world, frequently as a bothersome or unpleasant presence to the departed's family or the broader public.
Prets are said to be the souls of persons who died as
children and left behind certain unmet ambitions, notably those connected to
marriage and family life.
Prets communicate with live people in one of two ways:
dreams or possession.
They may have particular demands that may be met via worship
and offerings in certain situations.
In such cases, dreams provide a means of communicating with
the living, allowing important measures to be taken for the sake of the future.
In other circumstances, the soul may take control of the
body in order to directly satisfy unmet wishes.
These spirits are usually malicious and must be exorcised in
order to be exorcised.
Ann Grodzins Gold, Fruitful Journeys, 1988, has further
information on the care of unquiet family spirits; Sudhir Kakar, Shamans,
Mystics, and Doctors, 1991, has a psychological interpretation of spirits,
possession, and healing.
