Dreamwork, art worlds and miracles in Malaysia
D. S. Farrer
World Art January 2, 2020 DOI: 10.1080/21500894.2020.1725103 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Malay artist Mohammad Din Mohammad and the Malay art world in Malaysia and Singapore |
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Keywords | Sculpture Malay Painting Agency philosophy Dream Martial arts Power physics Modernity Psychic The arts Alchemy Aesthetics Battle Visual arts Art history Law Ancient history Social science |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Dreamwork in the Malay art world questions the occult power of artistic agency, revealing a political battle of Sufi versus Wahhabi notions in the constitution of Malay modernity. |
Abstract
Dreamwork recorded in the Malay art world questions the occult power of artistic agency. As I did participant observation in Malaysia and Singapore, the artist Mohammad Din Mohammad divulged knowledge of Sufi lore, shamanic healing, and Malay martial arts (silat). On a quest to comprehend, discover, create and articulate esoteric skills, secret knowledge and mysterious artifacts, the artist produced fine art paintings, talismanic jewelry and assemblage sculptures. These were to be used in psychic defence, dream incubation, for inspiration, and as medicine. A field site discussion as to whether a reported vision of a mysterious shadow warrior is a true, false, or meaningless dream forms the kernel of a dreamwork dialogue regarding miraculous agency. The artwork raises questions pertaining to sorcery, Islam, agency, and power in Southeast Asia, revealing a political battle of Sufi versus Wahhabi notions in the constitution of Malay modernity.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... | 2017 | Qualitative study with mixed-methods | |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Anger regulation in traumatized Cambodian refugees: the perspectives of Buddhist monks. Buddhist Cambodian monks in Massachusetts | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 6 |
| The Lived Experiences of Experienced Vipassana Mahasi Meditators: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Experienced Vipassana Mahasi meditators | 2018 | Qualitative study |