One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers

Traditional healers are widely accepted by traditional societies but literature shows that they are extensively employed by the urban people of Malaysia and South Africa. Traditional healers, including witchcraft practitioners and spirit owners have a connection with cultural beliefs and illness irr...

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Main Author:	Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English English
Published:	2015
Subjects:	GN Anthropology H10 Societies HM621 Culture HM711 Groups and organizations HM826 Social institutions
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/1/ABSTRACT_TRADITIONAL_HEALERS.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/4/49253-program.pdf

id	iium-49253
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-492532016-05-12T06:43:08Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/ One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura GN Anthropology H10 Societies HM621 Culture HM711 Groups and organizations HM826 Social institutions Traditional healers are widely accepted by traditional societies but literature shows that they are extensively employed by the urban people of Malaysia and South Africa. Traditional healers, including witchcraft practitioners and spirit owners have a connection with cultural beliefs and illness irrespective of their socio-cultural background. This study attempts to identify the beliefs and practices of traditional healers in Malaysia (bomoh) and South Africa (shaman). Secondary sources are employed to obtain relevant data for this study. The data is analyzed using qualitative approach. This study reveals that traditional healers of both countries coexist with the modern healthcare system and give support to the society by fulfilling different social responsibilities such as treating illnesses, enhancing group solidarity, appeasing spirits, protecting homes, crops as well as animals. Such healers are respected in both countries. Interestingly, patients with HIV, malaria and cancer in both countries sought assistance particularly in terms of psychological and spiritual guidance, which extends the appeal of bomoh and shaman from village folks to the urbanites. Bomoh and shaman are categorized under different specialization, skills, services and accessibility which attracted different patients. However, South Africa institutionalizes traditional healers by establishing several registered organizations and laws, which are not typical in Malaysia due to its religious understanding. Thus, the position of a shaman in South Africa is more socially recognized compared to the bomoh in Malaysia. In short, the beliefs and practices of bomoh and shaman are considered as an integral part of the people and society in both countries; making them relevant until today. Keywords: traditional healers, Malaysia, Africa, beliefs, illness, Islam 2015-12-07 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/1/ABSTRACT_TRADITIONAL_HEALERS.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/4/49253-program.pdf Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura (2015) One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers. In: One Day Conference on Africa (ICAFRICA2015), 7th December 2015, IIUM Gombak. (Unpublished)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English English
topic	GN Anthropology H10 Societies HM621 Culture HM711 Groups and organizations HM826 Social institutions
spellingShingle	GN Anthropology H10 Societies HM621 Culture HM711 Groups and organizations HM826 Social institutions Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers
description	Traditional healers are widely accepted by traditional societies but literature shows that they are extensively employed by the urban people of Malaysia and South Africa. Traditional healers, including witchcraft practitioners and spirit owners have a connection with cultural beliefs and illness irrespective of their socio-cultural background. This study attempts to identify the beliefs and practices of traditional healers in Malaysia (bomoh) and South Africa (shaman). Secondary sources are employed to obtain relevant data for this study. The data is analyzed using qualitative approach. This study reveals that traditional healers of both countries coexist with the modern healthcare system and give support to the society by fulfilling different social responsibilities such as treating illnesses, enhancing group solidarity, appeasing spirits, protecting homes, crops as well as animals. Such healers are respected in both countries. Interestingly, patients with HIV, malaria and cancer in both countries sought assistance particularly in terms of psychological and spiritual guidance, which extends the appeal of bomoh and shaman from village folks to the urbanites. Bomoh and shaman are categorized under different specialization, skills, services and accessibility which attracted different patients. However, South Africa institutionalizes traditional healers by establishing several registered organizations and laws, which are not typical in Malaysia due to its religious understanding. Thus, the position of a shaman in South Africa is more socially recognized compared to the bomoh in Malaysia. In short, the beliefs and practices of bomoh and shaman are considered as an integral part of the people and society in both countries; making them relevant until today. Keywords: traditional healers, Malaysia, Africa, beliefs, illness, Islam
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura
author_facet	Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura
author_sort	Mohamad Diah, Nurazzura
title	One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers
title_short	One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers
title_full	One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers
title_fullStr	One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers
title_full_unstemmed	One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers
title_sort	one common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of malaysia and south africa traditional healers
publishDate	2015
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/1/ABSTRACT_TRADITIONAL_HEALERS.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/49253/4/49253-program.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T21:09:39Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T21:09:39Z
_version_	1777411167188156416

One common world, two different stories: the beliefs and practices of Malaysia and South Africa traditional healers

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