Yinsheng, yishi yu yiliao: Yinni zhaowa minsu liaoyu wenhua yu huodong by Ted Tsung-Te Tsai (review)

Review Summary in Chinese

民族音樂學學者蔡宗德，長期研究東南亞與伊斯蘭地區的音樂文化，是台灣少數關 注此議題的學者。蔡宗德的近作《音聲、儀式與醫療：印尼爪哇民俗療癒文化與活 動》，以醫療民俗音樂學的角度切入，來解讀印尼爪哇島的民俗療癒體系，是這個研 究領域的第一本中文著作。全書以印尼爪哇伊斯蘭與薩滿民俗醫療為主軸，探討醫 療儀式與各種音聲及表演藝術型態之間的關係。期待此開創性的研究，能夠引發民 族音樂學界，對於印尼民俗療癒體系更多興趣與討論。

Ted Tsung-Te Tsai (蔡宗德), an ethnomusicologist of Indonesian and Islamic music, is one of the few scholars in Taiwan who studies the music culture of Southeast Asia. His earlier works examine the Islamic music tradition in Indonesia as well as in Chinese Turkestan. The present study, Yinsheng, yishi yu yiliao 音聲、儀式與醫療 (Sound, ritual, and medicine) is the first ethnomusicological work in Chinese that considers the role of music in the folk-healing traditions of Java. The book uses Javanese Islamic and shamanistic practices (perdukunan) as lenses to consider the interconnections between various forms of medical rites, sound, and artistic expressions. It seeks to demonstrate the dissemination of culture and healing systems, religion and medical thoughts, as well as the use of sound and music in Javanese healing practices.

This book consists of eight chapters grouped into three parts. Part 1 discusses the concepts of medical ethnomusicology and provides background information on the folk-healing tradition in the Javanese region of Indonesia. Chapter 1 examines the basic concepts of music therapy, medical anthropology, and medical ethnomusicology. Tsai reviews the literature on the medical ethnomusicology in the region of Southeast Asia and attempts to bring healing music into the discussions. He adopts an ethnomusicological approach by focusing on three themes: sound, religion, and healing methods. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the cultural and religious diversity of Indonesia. He discusses the history of traditional Indonesian shamanistic practices and the influences of China, Japan, and Islam on Indonesia's culture. The arrival of these various foreign influences, as well as indigenous medical knowledge, not only influenced the medical system of Indonesia but also created a new hybrid form of the Javanese folk-healing system.

Part 2 investigates the Islamic medical system in Java. Chapter 3 discusses the recitation of the Quʾran and its function of healing in the traditional Muslim society of Java. Javanese Muslims believe that the recitation of sacred texts is able to cure physiological and psychological illnesses. Tsai presents various recitation methods and the pedagogical approaches to using the recitation of the Quʾran for healing. Chapter 4 presents the role of the pesantren, the Islamic boarding schools, in the promotion of religious views regarding devotional healing. It also discusses Sufi practice in Java. Chapter 5 introduces the medical theories and healing methods of Sufi sects, which rely on a range of methods such as the use of mantras, talismans, and holy water for folk healing. Tsai offers two interesting case studies to show how such practices were used to treat a patient with a brain tumor and another with a drug addiction. Chapter 6 presents the Islamic ruqyah healing practices and discusses their method of Quʾranic recitation, including other clinical case studies of ruqyah practices based on the author's fieldwork.

Part 3 studies shamanistic practices and trance dancing (kuda lumping) as healing methods in Java. Tsai suggests that sound and music play their pivotal role in Javanese healing by pointing out that despite the prevalence of Islamic practices in Java, many Javanese people continue to depend on shamanism and supernatural activities for their physiological and psychological well-being. They often go to faith healers who offer "medical treatment" through the recitation of mantras, the singing of songs, and the invocation of deities. Chapter 7 focuses on "illegal" shamanistic healing practices. According to Tsai, although shamanistic practices are prohibited by Indonesian Islamic religious authorities, many Javanese consider shamanistic healing practice an effective and dependable "white magic" for medical treatment. Regarding alternative practices, chapter 8 describes music and trance dancing in Yogyakarta and Malang, which combine music, dance, and performance to generate a form of "supernatural" and "magical" healing power.

This study benefits from Tsai's...