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Shamanism in Malaysia
Joanna Datuk Kitingan, Director of Sabah Museum with the bobohizan (traditional Dusun priests and priestesses)

Shamanism in Malaysia refers to the traditional spiritual and healing practices found among the Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and the indigenous groups of Borneo. These belief systems center on communication with spirits, ancestors, and unseen forces, playing a key role in healing, divination, and communal rituals.^[1]

Before the spread of Islam and European colonization, many Malay and indigenous communities practiced forms of Austronesian animism. Early shamans acted as mediators between the human and spiritual worlds through ritual songs, offerings, and trance states. According to comparison studies of shamanism in Southeast Asia, shamans in the Malay Peninsula heal “with the help of celestial spirits or by using crystals of quartz,” and enter a trance state in which spirits may possess them.^[2] Among the indigenous groups in Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak), ritual specialists such as the bobohizan (Kadazan‑Dusun) act as mediums between spirits and people and perform harvest rituals, healings, and other ceremonies.
Over time, these practices absorbed elements from Hinduism and Buddhism, and later adapted to Islamic influences beginning in the 13th century.^[3]

Early traditional period

In early Malay society (Malay Peninsula), practitioners such as the bomoh, pawang, or dukun served as healers, diviners, and ritual specialists. For example, the term bomoh (often translated as “shaman” or “traditional medicine practitioner”) appears in Malay texts and is thought to have roots in regional linguistic borrowing. In their cosmology, the Malay healers often held a worldview influenced by the classical four‑elements (earth, water, fire, wind) and believed that illnesses might result from imbalances of those elements or from spirit attack.^[4] Among the Temiar Senoi in Peninsular Malaysia, shamanistic relational systems (between people, spirits, and other worlds) were documented (though the Temiar are in Peninsular Malaysia / share the Malay Peninsula context).^[5]

Contact with external religions

With the arrival of Hinduism and Buddhism (and later Islam) in the Malay world, many of the older shamanistic practices were influenced, adapted or syncretised. For example, some bomohs and pawang incorporated Islamic recitations or Quranic verses in their rituals. In Borneo, the bobohizan among the Kadazan‑Dusun maintained their ritual specialist role even as Christian or Muslim conversions took place, though often the role and cosmology shifted.

Colonial and modern era

During the colonial period and early nation‑building years, shamanistic practices were sometimes looked upon with suspicion, especially by modernising elites and religious authorities. However, they remained resilient in rural and indigenous contexts. In recent years, references to “shamanism” in Malaysia have surfaced in the media, for instance when Kuching (in Sarawak) hosted a national conference on shamanism in 2022.^[6] Also, in some states (e.g., Terengganu) efforts to regulate shamanism and witchcraft through Syariah legislation have appeared.^[7]

Shamanic practices in Malaysia encompass a wide range of healing, divinatory, and protective rituals rooted in animistic and Austronesian worldviews. Practitioners—known variously as bomoh, dukun, pawang, or balian—serve as intermediaries between the human and spiritual realms. Their work typically involves diagnosing illness, invoking protective spirits, and restoring harmony between individuals, communities, and the unseen world.^[8]

Rituals often include chanting (jampi or mantera), drumming, singing, and the use of incense, herbal preparations, and sacred objects such as keris (daggers), betel leaves, and bowls of water. Many ceremonies are performed at night or in liminal spaces such as riverbanks and forest edges, reflecting a cosmology that associates particular places and times with spiritual potency. During the ritual, the shaman may enter a trance state (kerasukan or dirasuk) to communicate with spirits or ancestral entities, often aided by rhythmic movement and music. Some bomohs employ spirit familiars (semangat) or guardian spirits (penunggu) believed to assist in healing or divination.^[9]

Illness in these traditions is typically understood as the result of spiritual imbalance, loss of the soul (semangat lari), or attack by malevolent forces. The shaman’s role is to identify the cause and perform the necessary ritual to restore equilibrium. Among Malay communities, the Main Puteri ceremony of Kelantan and Terengganu combines trance, dialogue, and music to restore the “inner winds” (angin) that govern emotional and physical well-being.^[10]
Similarly, among the Orang Asli, especially the Temiar and Senoi, healing often involves dream communication and negotiation with forest spirits (ruwai or halak), reinforcing the interconnectedness of humans, nature, and the spirit world.^[11]

The spiritual cosmology underlying Malaysian shamanism is populated by a hierarchy of spirits of nature, ancestors, and deities. These include river and mountain spirits, rice guardians, and ancestral souls that oversee human affairs. Ritual offerings—such as rice, betel nut, or chicken blood—are made to appease or summon these beings. In Borneo, the Iban and Bidayuh peoples perform complex agricultural and life-cycle ceremonies led by ritual specialists such as the lemambang or dayung borih, who recite epic chants and guide the community through spiritual transitions.^[12]

Over centuries, shamanic traditions in Malaysia have adapted to changing religious contexts. With the spread of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, many shamans integrated new religious idioms into their practices. For example, Islamic bomohs may recite Qur’anic verses, use holy water (air yasin), or invoke Allah’s names during healing sessions, blending Islamic prayer with older animistic rituals.^[13]

In contemporary settings, this syncretism reflects both cultural continuity and theological tension: while some view such practices as part of Malay heritage, others consider them incompatible with Islamic orthodoxy.^[14]

Beyond their healing functions, shamans continue to play a role in social cohesion and cultural expression. Their performances reinforce collective values and cosmological understanding within rural and indigenous communities. In urban Malaysia, references to shamanism occasionally surface in popular culture, media, and political discourse—illustrating its enduring presence in the national imagination despite ongoing debates about its religious legitimacy.^[15]

With the gradual Islamization of the region, shamanic traditions have been partially integrated into Islamic frameworks. Some practitioners identify as Islamic bomohs, blending Qur’anic prayers with traditional rites.
The pawang hujan (“rain shaman”) remains a well-known example of such syncretic practices that continue to hold cultural significance in modern Malaysia.^[16]There are also various types of shamans across the country due to the vast religion in Malaysia. In Malay Muslim communities,bomoh and pawang often intergrate Islamic prayers and Qur’anic verses with pre-Islamic animist or Hindu-Buddhist rituals. This blending is evident in jampi serapah (“incantations”) that may invoke the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad alongside traditional spiritual formulas, as noted by Shuhairimi Abdullah (2006) in Institusi Bomoh dalam Masyarakat Melayu Menurut Perspektif Islam.Contemporary studies, such as those focusing on perbomohan in Kelantan, highlight the ongoing tension between Islamic healing and traditional ritual practices. Certain forms of shamanism involve rites and chants whose sources are unclear in the Qur’an and Hadith, and may contain elements regarded as shirk (“polytheism“). Islamic scholarship generally considers such practices inconsistent with tawhid, as prophetic traditions (hadith) explicitly prohibit sorcery (“sihr”), fortune-telling (kahānah), and divination (‘irrāfah).^[17] Nevertheless, such traditions continue to hold cultural significance in modern Malaysia. For instance, during the 2014 MH370 incident, a self-proclaimed bomoh gained widespread media attention for performing rituals at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in an attempt to locate the missing plane, reflecting the persistence of shamanic beliefs in the public consciousness.^[18]

Among the Orang Asli—including the Temiar, Senoi, and Jakun groups—shamanism is closely tied to dream communication and forest spirits. Healing and communal harmony are central themes in their rituals.^[19]
In Borneo, the Iban, Bidayuh, and Kadazan-Dusun peoples maintain complex ritual systems involving agriculture, ancestor worship, and spiritual ceremonies.

Traditional forms of shamanism in Malaysia have declined since the mid-20th century, mainly due to formal education, modern medicine, and the growing influence of orthodox Islam and Christianity.^[20] Despite this, many rural and indigenous communities continue to consult traditional healers—known as bomoh among Malays or by other names among the Orang Asli and Borneo peoples—for ailments and problems believed to have supernatural causes.^[21]

In contemporary practice, many bomoh integrate Islamic prayers and Quranic verses into their rituals to align with accepted religious norms, while others perform healing ceremonies such as the main puteri to address psychological or emotional distress.^[22] Shamanic elements are also being reinterpreted in cultural performances and tourism, reflecting their ongoing symbolic and artistic significance.^[23]

The social role of the bomoh remains ambivalent: some regard them as guardians of traditional knowledge, while others, especially Islamic authorities, condemn certain practices as shirk (associating partners with God).^[24] The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) have recently monitored online advertisements for “bomoh” services claiming to offer supernatural cures.^[25] There have also been cases of fraud involving shamans promising to expel evil spirits for large sums of money.^[26]

Among indigenous peoples, however, shamanism continues to serve as a key medium of cultural identity and spiritual continuity. For example, Temiar shamans in Peninsular Malaysia are described as mediators between the spirit world and the living, maintaining a relational system that links religion, ecology, and healing.^[27]

Malaysia has developed a strong reputation as a regional hub for higher education in Southeast Asia, offering a wide range of academic opportunities across both public and private institutions. The country is home to internationally recognized universities such as the University of Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Sains Malaysia, as well as branch campuses of foreign universities like Monash University Malaysia, the University of Nottingham Malaysia, and Heriot-Watt University Malaysia. Academic studies in Malaysia emphasize bilingual or multilingual education, with English widely used as a medium of instruction, especially in higher education. The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) oversees academic standards and accreditation to ensure the quality and international recognition of degrees. Malaysia attracts a large population of international students due to its affordable tuition fees, multicultural environment, and strategic location in Asia. The country’s education system promotes innovation, research, and collaboration between academia and industry, particularly in fields such as engineering, information technology, business, and the medical sciences.^[28]

• Skeat, W. W. (1900). Malay Magic: An Introduction to the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula. London: Macmillan.
• Laderman, Carol. (1983). Wives and Midwives: Childbirth and Nutrition in Rural Malaysia. University of California Press.
• Benjamin, Geoffrey. (2012). Temiar Religion, 1964–2012. NUS Press.
• Endicott, Kirk. An Analysis of Malay Magic. Oxford University Press.
• Shuhairimi .(2009).Institusi Bomoh Dalam Masyarakat Melayu Menurut Perspektif Islam. UUM Press.