This chapter examines therapeutic sounds in Sakai shamanic healing rituals (dikei) that mobilize ethereal matter (semanget) to repair bodies. The Orang Sakai, an animist group living near the Malay kingdom of Siak, use dikei as an ensounded performative event that brings together ethereal beings and humans for healing and reconstructing boundaries between human and ethereal dimensions. The author explores this material in relation to Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of double “turning away of face.”
This chapter examines therapeutic sounds in Sakai shamanic healing rituals (dikei) that mobilize ethereal matter (semanget) to repair bodies. The Orang Sakai, animists living on the edge of the Malay kingdom of Siak, use dikei as an ensounded performative event that brings together ethereal beings and humans for healing and boundary reconstruction. The author proposes exploring this material in relation to Deleuze and Guattari's concept of the double "turning away of face."
Anthropologists studying altered states of consciousness (ASC) have argued for using local terms instead of psychological concepts. Drawing on fieldwork with the Orang Sakai of Sumatra, this paper shows that practitioners who use ASC do recognize changes in awareness as necessary for spiritual or numinous encounters. The paper also critically examines the term "ASC" itself.