Lester David
Psychology Program, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, USA.
Omega (Westport). 2009;59(1):1-18. doi: 10.2190/OM.59.1.a.
Scholarly writing on voodoo death is reviewed. Criticisms that voodoo deaths in indigenous societies have never been well documented are refuted with cases medically documented in developed nations. The work of Cannon and Richter on sudden death in animals is reviewed and dismissed as irrelevant for understanding voodoo death. The role of starvation and dehydration is discussed, and it is suggested that the given-up/giving-up hypothesis best fits the phenomenon of voodoo death. Hypotheses for future research are suggested.
对伏都教死亡的学术著作进行了综述。有人批评说，本土社会的伏都教死亡从未得到充分记录，而发达国家有医学记录的案例反驳了这一批评。对坎农和里希特关于动物猝死的研究进行了综述，并认为其与理解伏都教死亡无关而不予考虑。讨论了饥饿和脱水的作用，并提出“放弃/听天由命”假说最能解释伏都教死亡现象。还提出了未来研究的假说。
