Jomanda
Encyclopedia
Johanna Wilhelmina Petronella Damman, known under her nickname Jomanda (born May 5, 1948), is a controversial Dutch
New Age
guru who refers to herself as the Lady of the light.
, Jomanda is a Dutch spiritualist who described herself as being "a healing medium
." She claims to have psychic powers of clairvoyance
, empathy
and prescience, aided by her late father and other powers from the "world divine". She is known to be a devoted fan of paranormal author Jozef Rulof
.
. In the next decade, she held public gatherings in Tiel
where she announced that she would be performing healings, which drew large groups of people. During these sessions she would 'infuse' bottles of tap water
, which she claimed would make them gain healing properties. She also appeared on radio shows, where people were asked to put a bottle of water in front of their radio in order to have it remotely 'infused'.
who later died of cancer
. In 2004, the Dutch Health Inspectorate filed suit against Jomanda claiming that she and three alternative
therapists misled Millecam by claiming that the actress was merely suffering from an inflammation. In October 2006, the investigation was dropped, but in April 2008 an Amsterdam court ruled that Jomanda and two doctors who practise alternative therapies should be prosecuted for their roles in Millecam's death.
The trial started at 30 October 2008. On 12 May 2009 Ronald ter Heegde, her former assistant, confessed on TV in Dutch newsmagazine Nova that Jomanda used other persons to gather information about Sylvia Millecam. She then told Sylvia she had gathered this information as a medium. At 12 June 2009, Jomanda was considered not guilty by the court for being (also) responsible for Sylvia's death. The court criticised her actions, but stated that she could not be held fully responsible for Millecam's fate.
The Dutch Federation Against Quacks (Nederlandse Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij) listed her as #15 on their top 20 list of quack
s.
In October 2004 Jomanda drew publicity again by stating, in accordance with the ideas of Jozef Rulof, 'Cremation hurts'.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
guru who refers to herself as the Lady of the light.
Background
Born Johanna Wilhelmina Petronella Damman in DeventerDeventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
, Jomanda is a Dutch spiritualist who described herself as being "a healing medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
." She claims to have psychic powers of clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
, empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
and prescience, aided by her late father and other powers from the "world divine". She is known to be a devoted fan of paranormal author Jozef Rulof
Jozef Rulof
Josephus Gerhardus Rulof was a Dutch author who was known as a psychic and trance medium or spirit medium. He wrote about thirty books about life, death, and the hereafter....
.
Career
In 1991, she gained national fame after making an appearance on a popular talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
. In the next decade, she held public gatherings in Tiel
Tiel
' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....
where she announced that she would be performing healings, which drew large groups of people. During these sessions she would 'infuse' bottles of tap water
Tap water
Tap water is a principal component of "indoor plumbing", which became available in urban areas of the developed world during the last quarter of the 19th century, and common during the mid-20th century...
, which she claimed would make them gain healing properties. She also appeared on radio shows, where people were asked to put a bottle of water in front of their radio in order to have it remotely 'infused'.
Controversy
In 2001, Jomanda was the medical and spiritual adviser of popular Dutch actress Sylvia MillecamSylvia Millecam
Sylvia Millecam was a Dutch actress and comedian. She was featured regularly on Dutch television, hosting several shows, appearing in nationwide distributed movies and releasing two albums.She died of breast cancer in 2001...
who later died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. In 2004, the Dutch Health Inspectorate filed suit against Jomanda claiming that she and three alternative
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
therapists misled Millecam by claiming that the actress was merely suffering from an inflammation. In October 2006, the investigation was dropped, but in April 2008 an Amsterdam court ruled that Jomanda and two doctors who practise alternative therapies should be prosecuted for their roles in Millecam's death.
The trial started at 30 October 2008. On 12 May 2009 Ronald ter Heegde, her former assistant, confessed on TV in Dutch newsmagazine Nova that Jomanda used other persons to gather information about Sylvia Millecam. She then told Sylvia she had gathered this information as a medium. At 12 June 2009, Jomanda was considered not guilty by the court for being (also) responsible for Sylvia's death. The court criticised her actions, but stated that she could not be held fully responsible for Millecam's fate.
The Dutch Federation Against Quacks (Nederlandse Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij) listed her as #15 on their top 20 list of quack
Quack
A quack is a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess.Quack may also refer to:* Quack , an independent-comics series published by Star Reach in the 1970s...
s.
In October 2004 Jomanda drew publicity again by stating, in accordance with the ideas of Jozef Rulof, 'Cremation hurts'.
See also
- Arthur FordArthur FordArthur Ford was an American psychic spiritual medium, clairaudient and in 1955 founded the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship.- Biographical problems :...
- Char MargolisChar MargolisChar Margolis is an American psychic medium. She stars in her own show, Char, on Dutch television, in which she utilises her intuition to contact the spirits of deceased relatives of guests in her show...
- Clever HansClever HansClever Hans was an Orlov Trotter horse that was claimed to have been able to perform arithmetic and other intellectual tasks....
- Cold readingCold readingCold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...
- Forer effectForer effectThe Forer effect is the observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people...
- Hot readingHot readingHot reading is the use of foreknowledge when giving a psychic reading in stage magic performances, or in other contexts. The reader can gain information about the person receiving the reading through a variety of means, such as background research or overhearing a conversation...
- James PikeJames PikeJames Albert Pike was an American Episcopal bishop, prolific writer, and one of the first mainline religious figures to appear regularly on television....
- John EdwardJohn EdwardJohn Edward McGee, Jr. is an American television personality and professional psychic medium. He is best known for his TV shows Crossing Over with John Edward and John Edward Cross Country....
- Mirin DajoMirin DajoMirin Dajo was the pseudonym of Dutch fakir Arnold Gerrit Henskes .He became famous for radically piercing his body with all kinds of objects and apparently without injury, even astounding the medical community at the time.-Early life:He was born in Rotterdam. He started out trying a career in the...
- Peter HurkosPeter HurkosPeter Hurkos , born Pieter van der Hurk, was a Dutchman who allegedly manifested extra-sensory perception following a head injury and coma resulting from a fall from a ladder when he was age 30. During World War II he was a member of the Dutch Resistance against the Nazis and was imprisoned in...
- Peter PopoffPeter PopoffPeter Popoff is a German-born American faith healer and the president of Peter Popoff Ministries. He conducts revival meetings and has a national television program...
- Uri GellerUri GellerUri Geller is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to achieve the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy...