Religious Syncretism among the Semelai Orang Asli Muslims in Sungai Lui Village, Malaysia
The Semelai are a proto-Malay Orang Asli tribe settled around Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, Malaysia. Their settlements in Negeri Sembilan are in Sungai Lui village and Sungai Sampo village in Jempol. A few of their number also settled in some areas in Bera, Pahang. A majority of this community still...
| Published in: | Fieldwork in religion |
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| Authors: | ; ; ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox
2021
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| In: |
Fieldwork in religion
Year: 2021, Volume: 16, Issue: 2, Pages: 172-192 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Negeri Sembilan
/ Semelai
/ Syncretism
/ Islam
/ Animism
/ Buddhism
|
| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AX Inter-religious relations BB Indigenous religions BJ Islam BL Buddhism KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Orang Asli
B Semelai B Religion B Malaysia B Syncretism B Culture |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Semelai are a proto-Malay Orang Asli tribe settled around Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, Malaysia. Their settlements in Negeri Sembilan are in Sungai Lui village and Sungai Sampo village in Jempol. A few of their number also settled in some areas in Bera, Pahang. A majority of this community still adhere to ancestral faiths, although some have converted to Islam since the 1990s. At the same time, practices introduced by a Buddhist shaman took root among the community over the last thirteen years. This article discusses the religious beliefs and practices of this community, especially among Muslim adherents. The study uses a qualitative approach through data collection via interviews with key informants in Sungai Lui village, Jempol. The data were later analysed through a descriptive interpretive method, and the research found that syncretism spread among the belief practices of the Semelai Muslims in Sungai Lui village following the exploits of a Buddhist shaman that succeeded in curing the chronic disease of a villager. At the same time, they still practise inherited customs and wisdoms from animist times, even after their conversion to Islam. |
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| ISSN: | 1743-0623 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Fieldwork in religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/firn.21248 |