Ritual Sociality and the Limits of Shamanic Efficacy among the Luangans of Indonesian Borneo
Anthropological Forum January 2, 2021 DOI: 10.1080/00664677.2021.1886903 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractSociality with nonhuman beings and among participants is central to Luangan healing rituals in Indonesian Borneo, yet it is not sufficient for success and can even conflict with it. A myth reveals that this ritual sociality is built on a 'conditional ontology' of not-knowing and human finitude. Because ritual outcomes are inherently uncertain, there is a constant risk of 'reversibility' that demands ongoing efforts and cautionary measures, including repeated dramatized acts of 'undoing and redoing' to manage that uncertainty.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Sociology |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key finding | Luangan healing rituals rely on sociality with nonhuman beings and participants, but its success is uncertain and requires constant cautionary acts of 'undoing and redoing' due to a conditional ontology of not-knowing. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT This article uses a myth of the Luangans of Indonesian Borneo to reflect upon the value of sociality and its role in promoting well-being in their healing rituals. In these rituals, sociality with nonhuman beings and between participants is crucial, yet insufficient for, and sometimes at odds with, success. The article describes the multiple modes and valences of this ritual sociality, and how it is fundamentally predicated on a ‘conditional ontology’ of not-knowing and qualified by human finitude. An inherent risk of ‘reversibility’ of ritual sociality propagates constant efforts and cautionary measures, such as recurrent dramatised ritual acts of ‘undoing and redoing’, to counter the inevitable uncertainty of ritual outcomes.