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The Healing Arts of the Malay Mystic
Author(s) -
FARRER D. S.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
visual anthropology review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.346
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1548-7458
pISSN - 1058-7187
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-7458.2008.00003.x
Subject(s) - sculpture , realm , mysticism , martial arts , painting , art , malay , visual arts , creatures , shamanism , aesthetics , power (physics) , the arts , craft , art history , literature , history , philosophy , theology , linguistics , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , natural (archaeology)
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.