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Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred

This article examines an indigenous religion in Malaysia - that of the Semai of Kampung Chang, Sungai Gepai in Bidor, Perak - and expounds the changes in women's position in Semai cosmology, rituals, and roles. We show that the Bidor Semai religion is neither hierarchical nor egalitarian in ter...

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Main Authors: Thambiah, Shanthi, Chopil, Tijah Yok, Leong Yoke Lian, Rosalind
Format: Article
Published: Brill Academic Publishers 2018
Subjects:
HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/20484/
https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-17402002
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spelling my.um.eprints.204842019-02-25T07:42:26Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/20484/ Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred Thambiah, Shanthi Chopil, Tijah Yok Leong Yoke Lian, Rosalind HQ The family. Marriage. Woman This article examines an indigenous religion in Malaysia - that of the Semai of Kampung Chang, Sungai Gepai in Bidor, Perak - and expounds the changes in women's position in Semai cosmology, rituals, and roles. We show that the Bidor Semai religion is neither hierarchical nor egalitarian in terms of the position of women and men; rather, a much more complex situation exists. However, while male authority is becoming more prevalent, the existence of transmutable spirits and an ungendered creator allows men to actively participate, but does not give them religious power. However, due to outside pressure we are beginning to see a breakdown in these social features. The broader implication of reclaiming the female in the sacred is that it makes a strong social-justice argument for Semai women's rights and, by so doing, gives us a richer understanding of Semai connections to their land and their rights to that land. Brill Academic Publishers 2018 Article PeerReviewed Thambiah, Shanthi and Chopil, Tijah Yok and Leong Yoke Lian, Rosalind (2018) Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 174 (2-3). pp. 264-290. ISSN 0006-2294 https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-17402002 doi:10.1163/22134379-17402002
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
spellingShingle HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Thambiah, Shanthi
Chopil, Tijah Yok
Leong Yoke Lian, Rosalind
Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred
description This article examines an indigenous religion in Malaysia - that of the Semai of Kampung Chang, Sungai Gepai in Bidor, Perak - and expounds the changes in women's position in Semai cosmology, rituals, and roles. We show that the Bidor Semai religion is neither hierarchical nor egalitarian in terms of the position of women and men; rather, a much more complex situation exists. However, while male authority is becoming more prevalent, the existence of transmutable spirits and an ungendered creator allows men to actively participate, but does not give them religious power. However, due to outside pressure we are beginning to see a breakdown in these social features. The broader implication of reclaiming the female in the sacred is that it makes a strong social-justice argument for Semai women's rights and, by so doing, gives us a richer understanding of Semai connections to their land and their rights to that land.
format Article
author Thambiah, Shanthi
Chopil, Tijah Yok
Leong Yoke Lian, Rosalind
author_facet Thambiah, Shanthi
Chopil, Tijah Yok
Leong Yoke Lian, Rosalind
author_sort Thambiah, Shanthi
title Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred
title_short Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred
title_full Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred
title_fullStr Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred
title_full_unstemmed Reclaiming the Eclipsed Female in the Sacred
title_sort reclaiming the eclipsed female in the sacred
publisher Brill Academic Publishers
publishDate 2018
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/20484/
https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-17402002
_version_ 1643691292770697216
score 13.211869

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