This is the first in-depth study of the Malay martial art, silat, and the first ethnographic account of the Haqqani Islamic Sufi Order. Drawing on 12 yearsof research and practice in Malaysia, Singapore, and England, social anthropologist and martial arts expert D.S. Farrer considers Malay silat through the transnational Sufi silat group called Seni Silat Haqq, an off-shoot of the Haqqani-Naqshbandi Sufi Order. This account combines theories from the anthropology of art, embodiment, enchantment, and performance to show how war magic and warrior religion amalgamate in traditional Malay martial arts, where practitioners distance themselves from 'becoming animal' or going into trance, preferring a practice of spontaneous bodily movement by summoning the power of Allah. Silat and Sufism are revealed through the social dramas of 40-day boot-camps where Malay and European practitioners endeavor to become shadows of the Prophet, only to have their faith tested through a ritual ordeal of boiling oil. The unseen realm and magical embodiment is further approached through an account of Malay deathscapes where moving through the patterns of silat summons the spirits of ancestral heroes. Those interested in Malaysia, Sufism, transnational Islam, and the study of religion, conversion, magic, sorcery, theatre and martial arts will find this book indispensable. Provides the first performance ethnography of Malay martial arts Offers the first ethnographic account of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order Facilitates a new undestanding of how magic, religion and sorcery are embodied in the performance and practice of Malay martial arts Demonstrates a deep and wide knowledge of Malay culture and society (including its arcane and secret domains) and an expert practitioner’s knowledge not simply of Malay silat but of Asian martial arts generally Is a major contribution to the study of Malay culture, to the comparative study of martial arts,and to the anthropology of dance, magic and ritual based upon ten years fieldwork in Southeast Asia INDICE: List of Maps, Tables and Genealogies. List of Illustrations. Dramatis Personae.- Part I: Reflections. 1. Seni Silat Haqq Melayu: A Sufi Martial Art. 2. Silat: Art, Magic and Performance.- Part II: Echoes. 3. The Performance of Enchantment. 4. The Enchantment of Performance.- Part III: Doubles. 5. The Guru Silat. 6. Social and Aesthetic Drama.- Part IV: Shadows. 7. Divination and Revelation. 8. Deathscapes of the Malay Martial Artist.- Appendix A: BasicMotions of Pattern Formation. Appendix B: The Golden Chain.- References.- Index.
- ISBN: 978-1-4020-9355-5
- Editorial: Springer
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Páginas: 316
- Fecha Publicación: 05/08/2009
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés