Bomoh

A bomoh, dukun or pawing/pawang in various languages, is a Malay shaman.

Etymology

The word Bomo(h) (medicine man) was mentioned as early as ±1600-1625 in Hikayat Aceh, which was written in Jawi script.

Background

The bomoh's original role was that of a healer and their expertise was first and foremost an in-depth knowledge of medicinal herbs and tajul muluk or Malay geomancy. This was supplemented by Sanskrit mantera (mantras) owing to the ancient Hindu-Buddhist influence in the region.

Since 1980s

The bomoh's craft remained largely unchanged even after Islam became dominant until the Islamic revival in the 1970s and 80s. Bomoh were then seen as deviant from the Muslim faith because of their invocation of spirits and the potentially harmful black magic they were accused of practicing. This period saw a drastic decline in authentic bomoh and many fraudulent shamans filled the void. As a result, bomoh are today looked at with suspicion even though they are still commonly consulted for personal reasons.