Indigenous Futurism: Shamanism and the Otherwise in Peninsula Malaysia

In this paper, I draw upon case-studies collected during ethnographic fieldwork in Malaysia from 2006-2019 to examine how Batek shamans reconfigure historical experiences of violence alongside contemporary experiences of ecological destruction and socio-political violence during trance states and mythmaking activities to construe future possibilities. The paper focuses on Batek futurism which alternates between dystopian visions of apocalyptic future catastrophes in the form of a world ending flood, and utopian dreams of political autonomy, economical riches, and environmental protection brought to fruition through establishing partnerships with powerful transnational actors. I argue these futures represent on the one hand, very real fears and anxieties about environmental catastrophe caused by massive environmental degradation, and, on the other hand, a rallying call for the protection of forms of life that have persisted for millennia despite continual violence. Utopian visions should not be simply dismissed as naïve, they must be situated within a chorus of counter-hegemonic global voices which challenge the current global order. The paper draws upon the anthropology of the otherwise, Anthropocene studies and multimodal anthropology to rethink approaches to animism and shamanism and suggests avenues through which anthropologists can instigate collaborative approaches which bring forth new language, modes, and methods aimed towards changing worlds.