Latah in Southeast Asia
Subtitle: the history and ethnography of a culture-bound syndrome
By: Robert L. Winzeler.
Series: Publications of the Society for Psychological Anthropology ;; 7
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Cambridge [England]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 172
Subjects: Ethnopsychology -- Malaysia -- Pasir Mas (Kelantan); Ethnopsychology -- Malaysia -- Sarawak.; Latah (Disease) -- Malaysia -- History.; Malays (Asian people) -- Psychology.; Malays (Asian people) -- Social life and customs.; Pasir Mas (Kelantan) -- Social life and customs.; Sarawak -- Social life and customs.
Description: "Latah," the Malayan hyperstartle pattern, has fascinated Western observers since the late nineteenth century and is widely regarded as a "culture-bound syndrome." Dr Winzeler critically reviews the literature on the subject, and presents new ethnographic information based on his own fieldwork in Malaya and Borneo. He considers the biological and psychological hypotheses that have been proposed to account for "latah," and explains the way in which local people understand it. Arguing that latah has specific social uses, he concludes that it is not generally appropriate to regard it as an "illness" or "syndrome."
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-168) and index.