Bobohizan

Bobohizans of Putatan

Anthropology of religion
Part of a series on
Basic concepts Afterlife Animism Bora Communitas Comparative religion Divination Divine language Evolutionary origin of religions Fetishism Great Spirit Henotheism Initiation Liminality Magic Mana Monotheism Polytheism Transtheism Revitalization movement Rite of passage Ritual Sacred language Sacred–profane dichotomy Shamanism Theories about religions Totem Veneration of the dead
Case studies Magic Coral Gardens and Their Magic Neo-Paganism Dukun Kebatinan Ritual Slametan Revitalization movement Cargo cult Ghost dance Handsome Lake
Related articles The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life Purity and Danger Myth and ritual Archaeology of religion and ritual Poles in mythology
Major theorists Akbar S. Ahmed Talal Asad Joseph Campbell Mary Douglas Émile Durkheim Arnold van Gennep E. E. Evans-Pritchard James Frazer Clifford Geertz Robin Horton Claude Lévi-Strauss Robert Marett Roy Rappaport Saba Mahmood Marshall Sahlins Melford Spiro Stanley Tambiah Victor Turner Edward Burnett Tylor Daniel Martin Varisco Anthony F. C. Wallace
Journals Anthropological Perspectives on Religion Folklore The Hibbert Journal The Journal of Religion Oceania
Religions Buddhism Mahayana Nichiren Pure Land Shingon Theravada Tiantai Tibetan Vajrayana Zen Christianity Adventism Anglicanism Armenian Apostolic Church Baptists Calvinism Catholic Church Coptic Eastern Orthodox Coptic Orthodox Lutheranism Methodism Pentecostalism Protestantism Quakers Russian Orthodox Hinduism Hindu denominations Shaivism Vaishnavism Shaktism Islam Ahmadiyya Ibadi Mahdavia Non-denominational Quranists Shia Sufism Sunni Yazdânism Jainism
Social and cultural anthropology

A Bobohizan or Bobolian is a high priestess or a spirit medium in Kadazan-Dusun pagan rites.^[1]

One of the primary roles of a Bobohizan is to appease the rice spirit Bambaazon during harvest festival or Kaamatan. During the event, she will lead a procession of people from her village through the paddy field under the full moon, to give thanks and to seek a bountiful harvest for the rice-cultivating Kadazan-Dusun people.^[2] A Bobohizan also plays a role as a mediator between the spirits and the people. One of the commonest duties of a Bobohizan is to heal and cure illnesses with herbal remedies and rites.

Origin

Bobohizan is said to stem from the first ancestors of the Kadazan-Dusun people, Kingaan and his wife Suminundu.^[3] Long after their passing to Hibabou (Heaven), the rites, prayers, and incantations (Rinait or Inaait) were lost and forgotten. This is when Suminundu sent a spirit to earth to teach the people about the rinait. The spirit came every evening, calling upon anyone brave enough to learn. The call was repeated for years but no one was brave enough to come forth until one day a brave woman went out and meet the spirit in the dark. She soon learned the art of rinait and rites from the spirit and passed it on to other women in the village. According to legend, because it was the woman who were brave enough to meet the spirit, all Bobohizan in Penampang was by custom, women only.

Roles of Bobohizans

A Bobohizan plays a pivotal role in a daily life of the Kadazan people before the advent of Christianity. This ranges from appeasing the rice spirit during Kaamatan and Magavau festivals, appeasing the skull spirits during the Magang celebration,^[4] appeasing and offering sacrifices to the spirits of the sacred jars (Gusi) and to exorcise evil spirits. Bobohizans are also involved in charms, reading omens and to a lesser extent augury.^[5]

References

↑ Keat Gin, Ooi (2009). Historical Dictionary of Malaysia. Scarecrow Press. p. 37. ISBN 0810863057.
↑ "The Last of the Shamans, The star, 6 June 2009". Thestar.com. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
↑ Luping, Herman (8 June 2013). "Looking at the Origins of the Bobohizan". Daily Express Sabah.
↑ Phelan, Peter (2001). Head-hunting and Magang ceremony in Sabah. Natural History Publication (Borneo). ISBN 9838120456.
↑ Rutter, Owen (1929). The Pagans of North Borneo (First ed.). Hutchinson & Co (Publishers) Ltd, London. pp. 227–245.

Malaysian mythology

Legends	Badang Mahsuri Mount Ledang Princess Nunuk Ragang Seri Gumum Dragon Siti Wan Kembang

Malay Saint	Datuk Keramat

Chinese spirit places	Na Tuk Kong Tua Pek Kong Sin Sze Ya and Si Sze Ya

Types of Malaysian ghosts	Hantu Air Hantu Demon Hantu Raya Hantu Tinggi Orang Bunian Orang Minyak Penanggal Pocong Polong Pelesit Pontianak Toyol

Priestess, shaman etc.	Bobohizan Bomoh Dukun Pawang

See also	Ghosts in Malay culture Superstitions of Malaysian Chinese Ghost Festival Bisan

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.