[12][13] Among the varied tribes of southern Nigeria such as the Yoruba and the Igbo, Spirit Spouses of the Sea are common features of life due to the geographical closeness of their cultures to the Atlantic Ocean, though attitudes to their supposed existence depend largely on the religious inclinations of the individuals concerned.
For example, a Yoruba traditionalist might look at a conjugal visit from a dream-based lover in much the same way as the aforementioned Ewe and Baule do, whereas a Muslim or Christian tribesman in the same situation would most likely look at it as a grave misfortune and seek the mystic aid of a spiritual counsellor to rectify what he would see as a probably dangerous connection to an otherworldly demon.
[15] This goddess of Wu Shan "transformed into the fungus-like yaocao 媱草",[16] the "edible mushroom"[17] being a metaphor in courtship for marriage.
[18] Yukaghir of Siberia, along upper Kolyma River: The goddess of hunting is "a lustful young woman whom hunters must persuade to provide them with prey animals by seducing her in their dreams.
Some sources state that they are acquired through sexual promiscuity and are prominently connected with witchcraft spells, love potions, and lust.
[26] In France, there is a belief that "during the night, in dreams, which he contrives to excite, he takes care to be the principal object of her ideas...'tis her sylph that causes her those pleasing reveries".
"[31] Kodi of Sumba Island in southern Indonesia – A man "dreamed that he had an encounter with two wild spirits who lived in the forest ...
The wild spirit takes the form of a seductive woman, asking for ... sexual favors in return for the magical powers she controls."
The type of shamanism practiced in this region has similarities with those of ethnic groups residing in Siberia and these include the process of initiation.
"[34] In addition, the "male elders who decide on community leadership roles all possess female personal icons (bara) which commonly manifest themselves in dreams as women.
[37] Events that highlight the role of the spirit spouse include the Andean people's Tinku Festival, held in the first week of May.
The festivity includes a ceremonial ritual, wherein participants shed blood as sacrifice and offering to the goddess in order to acquire blessing and guarantee a plentiful harvest.
The latter practice (of opposite-gender spirit-possession mediumship) is attested in, e.g., Okinawa, Siam, and Burma, in each of which areas it would appear to be mainly (if not entirely) based on non-remembered (putatively non-conscious) trance.