Latah in South-East Asia
The History and Ethnography of a Culture-bound Syndrome

A critical reassessment of latah, the Malayan hyperstartle pattern, and 'culture-bound syndrome'.

Robert L. Winzeler (Author)

9780521472197, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 January 1995

192 pages, 3 maps 9 tables
23.6 x 15.7 x 1.7 cm, 0.409 kg

'Winzeler's book is a well written and well documented monograph on a difficult topic, based on thorough research, carefully argued … convincing.' Bijdragen

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 ways in which local people understand it. Arguing that latah has specific social functions, he concludes that it is not appropriate to regard it as an 'illness' or 'syndrome'.

Introduction
Part I. The Problem of Latah: 1. The study of latah
2. Latah, history and gender
3. 'Latah' elsewhere
Part II. Latah, Society and Culture: 4. Latah in Kelantan: an overview
5. Latah and Malay culture
6. Symbolic meanings and social uses
Part III. Borneo Comparisons and Perspective: 7. Latah in Borneo
8. Latah and the Iban
Part IV. Conclusions: 9. Explaining latah: paradigm and paradox, syndrome and ritual, nature and culture.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC]