June 19, 2007
Malaysians upset by healer's nude dance rite
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian traditional folk healer who dances in the nude while treating her patients has upset some people in the conservative, mainly Muslim country, a newspaper said on Tuesday.
Mokhtar Mohamad Noor, 53, a teacher who wanted his sick wife to be cured, said the healer gave his wife a drink and spoke an incantation before she and some male followers in their 20s and 30s started dancing in the nude, the Star newspaper reported.
"She kept muttering unintelligible incantations which sounded like the singing of Koranic verses," Mokhtar said, adding that the woman sat under a yellow umbrella and the dance continued before he left with his wife, tired of the group's antics.
The bomoh, or shaman, whom some superstitious Malaysians believe can call on spirits to assist in curative rituals, is based in the city of Kota Baru, Kelantan state.
"I want the state religious affairs department to take stern action against the bomoh whose healing practice is against Islamic teachings," the Star quoted a neighbour, Fuzi Nor, as saying.
Malaysia is a relatively modern and relaxed Muslim country where about 40 percent of the population is non-Muslim, but authorities in Kelantan, which is ruled by an opposition Islamist party, frown on departures from Koranic injunctions.
Posted by ronnie at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2006
Thai royal shock sparks sexy dancing ban
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand banned people younger than 20 from performing sexy dances in public places, after the nation's queen expressed shock at an erotic performance held at a Buddhist temple.
"As they are under the age of consent, they cannot conduct such performances," the head of the government's Cultural Surveillance Center, Ladda Thangsuppachai told AFP.
"They could be easily lured into the sex trade," she warned.
The announcement came after Queen Sirikit on Monday voiced her concern to the Culture Ministry about young girls in skimpy clothes who she saw dancing on television at a festival at a Buddhist temple in the northeastern province of Nongkhai.
So-called "coyote dancers" who dress in sexy outfits and perform provocative routines are often hired for public events or to promote products for companies.
Posted by ronnie at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)