Spirit Possession in the Malaysian Industry

Paper Summary:

This paper talks about the rise of spirit possession of modern factory workers in Malaysia. The paper first discusses the Malaysian economy and its agriculture history. The paper then gives an in-depth view of Malaysia's culture and values, linking the increase of spirit possession to the progress of capitalism and industrialization of the country, as a form of conflict management in reaction to the obtrusive capitalists industries.

From the Paper:

"This is a large step in changing the face of the Malaysian economy and social structure, as now it placed a definite division between the rich and poor as many found it difficult to obtain land ownership, giving rise to the peasant status among many Malay. This also changed the availability to grow certain crops, which required a large amount of land and manpower; such crops were now only availably grown on larger plantations. This again stratified Malaysian society even further, and pushed them further from their natural way of life, which as we will see later is a prime cause of discontent and spirit possession among female Malay factory workers."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ackerman S.E., 1981.Communication and Cognitive Pluralism in a Spirit Possession event in Malaysia. American Ethnological Society Vol. 8, No. 4, p. 789
• Jones, Herbert C. 1886. The "Torrens system". Toronto : Carswell.
• Dodd, W. Joseph, 1969. The Colonial Economy 1967: The case of Malaysia. Asian Survey Vol. 9, No. 6, p. 438
• Ong, Aihwa. 1987. Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist Discipline: Factory Women in Malaysia. State University of New York Press.
• Ong, Aihwa, 1988. The Production of Possession: Spirits and Multinational Corporation in Malaysia. American Ethnologist Vol. 15, No. 1, Medical Anthropology, p. 28

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