BRUNEI MALAY TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: PERSISTENCE IN THE FACE OF WESTERN MEDICINE AND ISLAMIC ORTHODOXY Virginie Roseberg Master of Anthropology from the University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne, France. This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia School of Social Sciences Anthropology and Sociology 2017 THESIS DECLARATION I, Virginie Roseberg, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in the degree. This thesis does not contain material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. No part of this work will, in the future, be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. The work(s) are not in any way a violation or infringement of any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. The research involving human data reported in this thesis was assessed and approved by The University of Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee. Approval no. RA/4/1/5585. The work described in this thesis was funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award and UWA Safety Net Top-up Scholarship. This thesis does not contain work that I have published, nor work under review for publication. Signature: Date: 25 June 2017 i Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to examine the continuity and transformation of Brunei Malay traditional medicine in the face of assaults by representatives of Western medicine and Islamic reformists, who both regard traditional healing knowledge as “irrational, inefficient and superstitious”. Practitioners of traditional medicine are still very much in demand amongst some Brunei Malays for the treatment of certain chronic diseases or psychosomatic disorders, and for illnesses believed to be caused by supernatural agents that are excluded from the scope of Western medicine. Western medical knowledge is regarded by some Brunei Malays as valuable only for symptomatic treatment, while traditional treatment is believed to address the real underlying cause of suffering. The different traditional Brunei Malay theories of illness causation, including consideration of biological, dietetic, humoral, emotional, social, and spiritual factors, often overlap. Consequently, distinctive therapeutic approaches, encompassing Western medication and magical incantations to chase away evil spirits, are all perceived as equally appropriate treatments, for they effectively deal with different links on the causal chain of sickness. My ethnographic study of traditional medicine in contemporary Brunei reveals that the multi-dimensional approach to illness etiology and treatment has survived the encroachment of Western medicine, which has come to represent only one additional therapeutic resource amongst others. This thesis shows that Brunei Malay traditional illness concepts and healing practices are characterized by an admixture of animistic, Indic, Persian and Islamic elements. Since the coming of Islam into the Malay world, pre-Islamic beliefs and practices have fused with Islamic ones and there was, for more than five centuries, a degree of tolerance for the practices which did not strictly comply with the Islamic ideals. Since the development of a State ideology called “the Malay, Islamic and Monarchical state” (Melayu Islam Beraja, MIB) at the time of independence, the process of Islamization has accelerated and syncretic ideas and practices have been increasingly criticized by Islamic reformists, who are trying to “rationalize” healing by replacing all ceremonial performances acknowledging the presence of spiritual beings other than Allah by “proper”, solely scriptural forms of Islamic prayer. Traditional healers, who are perceived as spiritual cornerstones of animist belief systems, represent a threat to the authority of a ruling elite dependent on religious orthodoxy, and are severely dealt with if they are found to contravene Islamic teachings. ii This study reveals that the recent campaigns conducted in Brunei by the State-backed reformist movement against “superstitious beliefs” and “heretical practices” may have been successful in eradicating all shamanistic healing rituals involving trance (menurun), as well as the recourse to spirit helpers (gimbaran), which violate the tenet of strict monotheism. The recent creation of the Islamic Medicine and Welfare Association (Darussyifa Warrafahah) to respond to the demand of the public for a complementary healthcare system, as a result of the widely perceived limitations of Western medicine, is meant to deter Muslims from turning to bomoh and their “heretical” practices to combat illnesses thought to be due to supernatural agency and encourage them to resort instead to proper Islamic medical treatment. However, this research also demonstrates that the relentless efforts of the religious authorities to persuade the public against resorting to unorthodox practices have only had a limited success. Even when non-ustaz healers affirm that they only recite Quranic verses and appear on the surface to be orthodox Muslim medical practitioners, they combine their recitations with practices that are deeply rooted in pre-Islamic times and have been depicted by the religious authorities as manifestations of paganism, such as the prescription of amulets, gilir, bertangas, and medicinal plants which are believed to have intrinsic magical powers. Similarly, the practice of sorcery, which is strictly condemned by Islam, is still prevalent in Brunei today, according to all my informants and some government officials. The process of eradication of many magical practices, which are under increasingly heavy fire from Islamic reformists, is far from being completed, because these practices have been responding to the social, personal and psychological problems of the Brunei Malays for centuries, and neither Western medicine nor Islamic medicine can fulfill these needs in quite the same way. iii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. i Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... .iii List of Appendices .........................................................................................................vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................. viii Glossary of Malay Terms ................................................................................................ x List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................... xiv Notes on the Brunei dialects of Malay ........................................................................... xv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 The resilience of Brunei Malay Traditional Medicine ................................................ 1 The pressure of Western medicine ................................................................................... 1 The pressure of Muslim orthodoxy .................................................................................. 3 Central argument .............................................................................................................. 5 Scope of the Research ..................................................................................................... 5 People and place ............................................................................................................... 5 Brunei Darussalam ............................................................................................... 5 The study population .......................................................................................... 10 Traditional medicine ....................................................................................................... 13 Problematic definition of traditional knowledge ................................................ 13 Traditional medicine versus Western medicine: The biomedical model at the heart of theoretical debates in medical anthropology ......................................... 16 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 24 Ethnographic literature……………………………………………………....................24 Local newspapers as a source of data………………………………….….....................25 A sensitive subject .......................................................................................................... 26 Informants ....................................................................................................................... 27 Participant observation…………………………………………………………………30 Unstructured and semi-structured interviews..................................................................30 Definition