SHS Heritage Speakers Series: “Preserving Indigenous Knowledge of Melanau Traditional Healing Rituals” – Sat 25 Nov 2023 2:30pm

Traditional healing rituals within the Melanau community are being forgotten. Several types of Melanau traditional healing rituals that are no longer carried out today due to the availability of modern medicine and religious conversion. Dakan/bilum are two of the rituals that are still practiced, but the number of practitioners with the knowledge is dwindling. Muhammad Faiz has conducted a study on indigenous knowledge of the Melanau in traditional healing practices and sago cultivation. He will present in this talk his findings on traditional healing as practiced by the two remaining active healers.  Due to rapid modernization, preserving the practices of indigenous knowledge, especially Melanau traditional healing rituals is challenging.

The Speaker, Muhammad Faiz is completing his postgraduate study (Master in Social Sciences (Anthropology) at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UNIMAS (University of Malaysia – Sarawak).  His study addresses the indigenous knowledge of sago cultivation and the traditional healing rituals of Melanau in Sarawak. He has won several awards such as the Gold Award for Malaysia Technology Expo 2022, SDG International Innovation Award & Expo (Category: Zero Hunger) and Gold Award for Social Sciences & Humanities Cluster in Innovation Technology Expo (InTEX22). Recently, he has shared his findings of his study on national television (Panorama, TV1 & SejahteraAsia, TVS).