essay
LATAH in Sarawak, with special reference to the Iban
Female and male in Borneo : contributions and challenges to gender studies • 1 • Published In 1991 • Pages: 317-333
By: Winzeler, Robert L..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
LATAH is a dramatic and exotic behavior found in many parts of Southeast Asia, particularly in the Malayan-Indonesian area. An individual upon being startled or otherwise provoked will typically exclaim an obscenity, strike out, or throw an object. Those who are strongly affected with LATAH will often '…enter a state of altered consciousness and repeat words or sounds, imitate gestures or patterns of movement and follow orders' (p. 317). In this paper Winzeler discusses the significance of LATAH in Borneo, then its occurrence in Sarawak, with particular emphasis on the Iban. Winzeler concludes that among the Iban as well as other groups, LATAH is not considered to be a form of 'psychopathology,' but a means by which women (who are most frequently affected), call attention to themselves and express aggression in more socially acceptable or excusable ways (p. 328).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Adjustment processes
- Personality disorders
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Sociocultural trends
- Humor
- Gender status
- Sexuality
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Iban
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1995
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southeast Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- December 1985 - June 1986, July and August 1987 (p. 329)
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1985-1987 (p. 329)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Thirty-nine scattered longhouses located mainly on the Saribas, the Rajang, the Oya, the Igan, the lower Baleh, and Mujong Rivers, Sarawak, Malaysia (p. 329)
- NotesAdditional notes
- Robert L. Winzeler
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 331-333)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 91072229
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ibans (Bornean people)