In culture, in crisis- Who to call?

By: Michelle, Ian, Krystle, Sharane & Monitha

Photo credit: Malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 was reported missing on 8^th of March 2014. The flight mysteriously disappeared from the radar at around 1.21am.on its way to Beijing Capital International Airport from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Along with the missing aircraft were 239 people consisting of 227 passengers and 12 crews.

After the incident was announced publicly, many nations have offered their help in search and rescue (SAR) to recover the missing plane and possibly survivors. Among the countries that volunteered to help were China, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, United States and France.

Despite the continuous SAR by the military from all helping nations and the range of technology and expertise used, there are still no solid conclusions on what went wrong with the aircraft.

According to Malaysiakini, one of the online news publishers in Malaysia, the government had resorted to seek help from the “bomoh”, with the intention to locate the missing aircraft. However the “bomoh” invitation was denied by the acting Transport Minister Dato Hishammuddin Hussein.

In local Malaysian terms, a bomoh is a traditional faith healer, who acts as a religious medium between the concrete and spiritual worlds, and their expertise is first and foremost an in-depth knowledge of medicinal herbs and respective hymns.

The bomoh history was renewed when Ibrahim Mat Zin, the proclaimed “raja bomoh” (shaman king) and his followers carried out the cleansing ritual utilising coconuts, bamboo “binoculars” and fish hooks publicly in the KLIA that attracted a large crowd of attention.

According to Yahoo News, Ibrahim claims that the items have the miraculous powers to “shoo away bad spirits” in effort to find the missing aircraft. Ibrahim’s “magic carpet” act triggered outrage and embarrassment among social media users, who leveled criticism and ridicule at him.

The photos and videos of the “raja bomoh” spread like wildfire and quickly became a hot topic globally. 

Yahoo reports that the word "bomoh" (shaman) was tweeted more than 200,000 times and the main sentiment appeared to be a shame. It was so widely discussed throughout the social media that one can no longer stare at a carpet or coconut without laughing.

Below are a number of selected tweets condemning and mimicking the act of the “raja bomoh”:

As the credibility and reliability of the ‘raja bomoh” are questioned, we have asked around for the opinion of the public. We have found that 20 out of 25 people that we interviewed have somewhat negative impressions of Ibrahim and his antics in search for missing MH370 rather than appraisal.

Justwin, a student from Taylors University are among those who have a negative comment on the                   “cleansing ritual” performed at KLIA.                                       

“As far as I know, coconuts in the Hindu culture are used to cleanse themselves from negative entities and auras. The carpet is strictly for Aladdin. All in all, the KLIA incident was silly. I don’t see why this was done publicly. They helped with nothing,” she said.

Vino, 24, expressed her scepticism by saying, “I appreciate that the shamans made efforts to find the missing plane but the acts looked far too exaggerated. It is more like a joke. I think it made us Malaysians look silly in the eyes of the world.”

Jeffrey, 57, believed that science should be prioritized in the searching of the missing plane.

“Super-naturals should only ever be used as a last resort. This is only for those who still hold steadfast to traditional beliefs. It reflects a sense of insecurity and incapability that we have resorted to the supernatural,” he added.

While some look at is as a joke, there are people in the society today who practice and believe in shamanism.

Some agreed that sometimes they willingly or unknowingly participate in elements of these practices, particularly during the special occasion such as funerals, weddings, pregnancy and some difficulties in life.

Rachel, 23, a student from Segi University said “Some are just fakes. They make things up and yet they act like they are experts.”

However she also remains a positive attitude in the practices of bomoh by adding, “I believe there are those shamans who genuinely want to help and have the ability to see beyond the normal threshold to heal or solve problems but it is important for us to be wise enough to see through their real intention and not fall into the traps of the frauds out there.”

Rachel further explains that bomohs work best when their clients are emotionally unstable. When they are emotionally vulnerable, it is easier to attack them by saying the things that they want to hear.

Man Lin, 26 who used to visit Chinese bomoh revealed her experience.

“Months after my beloved grandmother passed away, my mother and I went to consult a Chinese bomoh (Mei Po in Mandarin), we ask about grandmother’s well-being in the afterlife, and if she has any unfinished business when she was alive,” she said.

“When the Mei Po told us that she is doing alright, we feel a sense of relief. Although my siblings doubt the credibility of the Mei Po but I still believed that my grandmother is doing fine over there,” added Man Lin.

The ritual performed by the “raja bomoh” has caught the attention of bomohs from other religions and practises as well.

Kaneshwaran, 46, an Indian bomoh from Batu Pahat who practices for more than 20 years has provided us some information about the practices of shamanism in his context.

He explained that every item used by a bomoh has its own meaning and it varies between individuals.

 “I use keris and elephant tusks. The keris possesses special power as it is transcended by a great spirit, while the elephant tusks on the other hand, has the ability to heal health problems,” he said.

Kaneshwaran remains a neutral ground on the use of the objects in the ritual performed by the “raja bomoh”.

“I respect that there are so many religions and sects out there that follow different customs and practices. It is foolish for us to judge other practitioners. Each of the items utilized during the ritual serve their purposes.”

“However, the practitioners themselves should be clear about their own intention and limitation in performing their rituals. Their intention should be helping others and not with some hidden agenda,” he added

(LEFT)The Keris that is used to chases away the evil spirits.

(RIGHT)The “tools”, consist of elephant trunks and keris.

An interview with another shamanism practitioner is Leong Kok Wah, 56, a retired medium.

The medium is used as a channel possessed by deities to answer questions mainly on health, wealth and love life. The “Fu” or talisman, usually given by the medium is believed to protect the bearer from danger and bad luck.

Leong explained that, as a medium he basically helps to convey the answers of the questions being asked.

“I am usually unconscious of what happened during the trance. The answers to the questions are provided by the deities. I am only conveying the message. Many usually are concerned of their health and there are some who want to search for their missing family members.”

Leong further explains, “The intention of the rituals is important. It determines whether it attracts bad spirits or good deities. Medium with bad intentions usually ended up using the help of bad spirits instead of deities.”

Leong expressed disapproval of the rituals performed by the “raja bomoh”.

“That is not the right way, definitely not in public. It is good that they are trying to help but performing such rituals in the public is not right,” he said.

When he was asked whether possession of deities can provide answer on the missing plane he commented, “Most likely it would not help in the search of missing plane but no harm trying if it helps in comforting the family members in anyway. Usually any types of rituals and deities possessions cannot be done in public. It would not work.”

“Most of the people who asked for medium’s help in the past are those who have a strong belief in their religion. It cannot be performed if they do not believe that it will work,” Leong added.

To gain insight on shamanism in a more scientific manner, we spoke to Shankar Thiruchelvam, a clinical psychologist and also a psychology lecturer at Segi University to gain further insight on the psychological effect of such rituals.

According to him, “Shamanistic rituals can create psychological healing if one truly believes it in. In that sense, bomohs can be seen as a kind of psychologist for they are treating the mental ailments.”

“We often find that these rituals tend to have placebo-like effect, in that if one has firm belief in the rituals being performed, it can have a psychologically positive effect on them even if nothing was really achieved from the rituals,” he added

At the end of the day, it is truly a matter of opinion and belief.

Shamanism obviously stirs confusion among people. There is a split in people’s perception towards shamanism. Some believes that it is completely bogus and it should not be practised, there are others who have faith in them.

Shamanism can be beneficial if the person truly believes in what the bomoh is doing. If you are a believer keep on believing and if you are not then stay away from such practices and find solace in other things.