27 h 13 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does daily life look like when birth, marriage, work and death each call for a ritual?
In Malay Magic, Walter William Skeat explores the beliefs and customs of the Malay Peninsula. Drawing on villagers, magicians and earlier writers, he records ideas about souls, spirits and the rites that shape ordinary life. Trees, hills and rivers appear as places inhabited by spirits, according to the beliefs he describes.
Skeat follows ceremonies from the protection of mother and child to the planting and harvesting of rice. He introduces the magician and traces how older beliefs sit beside Islamic and Hindu ideas. Published in 1900, this detailed study also carries a British colonial outlook: it offers much to explore, but asks to be read with care.
What you’ll discover
- The wandering soul Explore semangat, the life spirit believed to wander or be frightened away from a person.
- Rites at life's thresholds Follow the customs surrounding birth, marriage and death, where family life meets beliefs about spirits.
- Rice and ritual Discover the careful ceremonies addressed to the rice spirit at planting and harvest.
- Magicians and their roles Meet the pawang and bomoh through Skeat's accounts of charms, cures and dealings with spirits.
- Layers of belief See how Skeat describes older traditions alongside Islamic and Hindu ideas in village life.
Who will love it
For readers who love folklore, anthropology, religious history and Southeast Asian studies, and anyone curious about how daily life and belief once joined through spirits, charms and rituals.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A peninsula of layered beliefs
- The soul and the spirits around it
- Birth, marriage and death have their rites
- Work and nature demand ceremony
- The magician, the charm and the cure
- A valuable record read with care
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 27 h 13 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Magia malaya in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Magia malaya
by Walter William Skeat · 1900
Meet the rice spirit, the wandering soul and the magician in a Malay world where daily work and belief are one.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Malay Magic is a large study of the beliefs and customs of the Malay people of the Malay Peninsula. Walter William Skeat, a British colonial civil servant who served in the state of Selangor, wrote it and published it in London in 1900.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A peninsula of layered beliefs
Skeat wrote at a time when European officials in Malaya often studied the people they governed. He was one of the more serious of them. He spent years among Malay villagers and learned their language, and he wrote down what they told him about the unseen world.
He found that Malay belief was not one thing. Under the Islam that most Malays followed lay older ideas of spirits and the powers of nature. Over those older ideas lay traces of Hindu faith, brought by earlier traders and courts. Skeat argued that these layers could still be told apart, and much of the book is an effort to sort them.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Magia malaya
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Malay Magic about?
It is a study of the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula. Skeat covers spirits, the soul, rites of birth, marriage and death, farming rituals, charms and the work of the magician.
When was Malay Magic written and by whom?
Walter William Skeat published it in London in 1900. He was a British colonial official in Selangor who collected the material from villagers, magicians and earlier writers, with a preface by Charles Otto Blagden.
What is semangat in Malay belief?
Semangat is the life spirit thought to live in a person and also in things such as rice. If it leaves or is frightened, illness or weakness follows, so rituals aim to keep it safe.
The author
Walter William Skeat
1835–1912 · British anthropologist
British etymologist and professor.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
