What is it about?
This is the first in-depth study of the Malay martial art, silat, and the first ethnographic account of the Haqqani Islamic Sufi Order. Drawing on 12 years of research and practice in Malaysia, Singapore, and England, social anthropologist and martial arts expert D.S. Farrer considers Malay silat through the transnational Sufi silat group called Seni Silat Haqq, an off-shoot of the Haqqani-Naqshbandi Sufi Order.
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Why is it important?
This book facilitates a new understanding of how magic, religion & sorcery are embodied in the performance & practice of Malay martial arts. Demonstrates a deep and wide knowledge of Malay culture & society (including arcane & secret domains) & an expert practitioner’s knowledge of Malay silat & Asian martial arts. A major contribution to the study of Malay culture, to the comparative study of martial arts, & to the anthropology of dance, magic, & ritual based upon 10 years of field research,
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Shadows of the Prophet, January 2009, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9356-2.
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Resources
Art of Silat
The film "Art of Silat" regards Malay culture through dance & martial arts in Singapore, Malaysia, & England to provide a visual accompaniment to Shadows of the Prophet. The Malay martial art, silat, is enacted through wedding dance, martial arts, violence, magic, film & theater. Filmic motifs include lines drawn between this realm—the shadow realm—and the ultimate reality of the afterlife; and magical circles regarded as portals to divine mystical power.
Academia.edu
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Dr. D.S. Farrer on the Big Show, K57 radio, with Travis Coffman
Discussion of Shadows of the Prophet
Art Buehler’s Review
Journal of Islamic Studies (2011)
Jean-Marc de Grave's Review
Pacific Asia Inquiry, Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2011
Contributors
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