An Analysis of Malay Magic

The book is a study of the traditional non-Moslem or 'folk' religion of the Malays of the Malay Peninsula. It attempts to describe the basic beliefs and their interrelationship and to bring out the logic behind the various 'magical' practices. It reveals a coherent system of ideas encompassing the visible and invisible worlds and the men, plants, animals, souls and spirits that inhabit them. The order manifest in this belief system is examined for the light it sheds on the beliefs themselves and for its general interest as a type of cultural pattern especially suited to situations in which cultural traditions are mixed.