The Healing Arts of the Malay Mystic

The legacy of Alfred Gell offers a rich stock of ingenious ideas to apply and extend to the thought‐provoking artwork of Mohammad Din Mohammad, who combines the skills (ilmu) of the Malay martial art silat with the knowledge of the traditional Malay healer, to press life, breath, and divine power in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inVisual anthropology review Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 29 - 46
Main Author FARRER, D. S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.05.2008
Subjects
Agency
Arts
Calligraphy
enchantment
Healing
Koran
Malaysia
Martial arts
Muslims
Mysticism
Nature
silat
Sufism
Visual anthropology
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Summary:The legacy of Alfred Gell offers a rich stock of ingenious ideas to apply and extend to the thought‐provoking artwork of Mohammad Din Mohammad, who combines the skills (ilmu) of the Malay martial art silat with the knowledge of the traditional Malay healer, to press life, breath, and divine power into his painting and sculpture. The artist's agency is said to open a gateway to the unseen realm. By painting calligraphic motifs derived from the Quran with his bare hands, the artist channels Allah's energy from within, energy that is embodied and suspended within his artworks, to protect the patient from spiritual attack. The artwork serves as a protective talisman during spiritually vulnerable moments, such as birth, marriage, fasting, and death. During crisis, the power stored within the artwork may be unleashed to counter attacks from ghosts, vampires, or other nefarious creatures.
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ISSN:1058-7187
1548-7458
DOI:10.1111/j.1548-7458.2008.00003.x