essay
To converse with the Gods: the Rungus BOBOLIZAN -- spirit medium and priestess
seen and the unseen : shamanism, mediumship and possession in Borneo • 2 • Published In 1993 • Pages: 3-53
By: Appell, George N., Appell, Laura W. R..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article is on female spirit mediums, the BOBOLIZAN. The Appells argue that the bobolizan are distinct from shamans and other religious types, because their trances are not soul journeys, or forms of spirit possession. Rather they are disassociative states akin to dreaming. A trance consists of a conversation between the bobolizan and her spirit familiar, or LUMA'AG. There are two major groups of supernatural beings: celestial gods (OSUNDUW) and spirits, which include the ROGON and rice spirits (ODU-ODU). The ROGON are spirits of the physical and social environment. They are generally feared because they cause of sickness. RUSOD are a more benevolent type of rogon and are household guardians. Rice spirits are responsible for agricultural yields. The body has multiple souls that correspond to the different gods and spirits. The HATOD is the counterpart of the RUSOD and the DIVATO, or LUGU', are counterparts to celestial gods. With the help of her spirit familiar, the bobolizan intercedes in cases of disease, misfortune, infertility, and crop failure. Seven photos are included.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theory of disease
- Religious beliefs
- Revelation and divination
- Magicians and diviners
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Rungus Dusun
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2002
- 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.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1959-1963, 1986-1992
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1959-1992
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Kudat District, Sabah, Malaysia
- NotesAdditional notes
- George N. Appell and LAura W. R. Appell
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-53)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 93072413
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Dusun (Bornean people)