essay
LATAH behavior by females among the Rungus of Sabah
Female and male in Borneo : contributions and challenges to gender studies • 1 • Published In 1991 • Pages: 121-152
By: Doolittle, Amity Appell.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of the Malaysian LATAH, or OBINGSALA, as the Rungus call it. OBINGSALA involves verbal and kinesthetic errors, such as the use of paradigmatic grammar in speech, saying tabooed names, mimicking someone's speech or movement, and references to genitalia. According to Doolittle, the Rungus do not consider OBINGSALA a sickness, but see it as part of normal behavior. It is considered an aspect of a person's personality and a part of their fate. It is not stigmatized, nor associated with marginal status. This study is based on interviews with 55 women sampled from a community of 680. More than half of the women sampled exhibited OBINGSALA behavior. Doolittle agrees with the Rungus that OBINGSALA is not a pathology. Rather it is learned, patterned, and situational; and is usually triggered by an unexpected sound or gesture. Doolittle theorizes that OBINGSALA is a form of anti-structural behavior which helps to maintain the boundaries of proper behavior.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Adjustment processes
- Personality disorders
- Comparative evidence
- Sociolinguistics
- Sexuality
- Ethnopsychology
- 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
- 1986
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1959-1986
- 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
- Amity Appell Doolittle
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-152)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 91072229
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Dusun (Bornean people)