MALAYSIAN LIFE AND MALAY BLACK MAGIC

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Malaysian Life And Malay Black Magic   by Ghani Othman
in Travel    (submitted 2008-08-01)

A Malay medicine man, shaman or witchdoctor is called a dukun in Malaysia. In some states, a dukun are also referred to as the bomoh. The dukun is closely related to animism and the supernatural in Malaysia and Indonesia. The dukun or bomoh's traditional role is that of a witchdoctor who has extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs, Malay geomancy and the supernatural. A dukun is fluent with Arabic verses for spell and prayers, some dukuns are also fluent in reciting mantera (mantras) in the ancient language of Sanskrit following the historical Hindu-Buddhist influence in this region.
Malaysians although comprise of different races, but every racial group in
Malaysia has their very own medicine man or shaman. The Chinese dukuns are called mediums. The Indians have their priests and mediums. The indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have their own shamans and bomohs.
Some dukun use summon free roaming spirits to fulfill requests, while others only deal with a single spirit. It is believed that sometimes the
dukun selects the spirit, while at other times, it is the spirit who chooses the dukun or bomoh. Spirits can apparently perform healing, seek missing persons or even investigate reasons for bad luck. Spirits are also be used to possess peoples, cause sickness and miseries and many other bad things. Medicine men from different cultures and religion usually incorporate their religious practices into their craft.
The bomoh works with
spells and rituals.
The believe in the dukun has remained prevalent especially in the rural areas even after Islam became the dominant religion in Malaysia in latter half of the 20th century. The believe in the dukun or bomoh is seen as deviant from the Muslim faith because of their invocation of spirits and the use of potentially harmful black magic practiced - a kind of voodoo. In modern times whilst there is a major decline in authentic dukun, many
fraudulent shamans arose to fill the void.
People consult dukun these days for special purposes - politics, business, money, fame instead of for health. Thus it is normal for politician, film stars and businessmen to consult the dukun or bomoh to further their special ambitions.
The famous Malaysian dukun or bomoh is Mona Fendy. In 1993 She was tried in court and sentenced to death for killing and chopping her client, a politician of Batu Talam, Datuk Mazlan Idris into 18 pieces.
About the Author
Ghani Othman is a student of Asian cultural studies at a university in Malaysia.