The Adoption of New-age Spiritualism in Traditional Esotericism in Indonesia
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Shamanistic figures play pivotal roles in cultures across the globe as spiritual healers, divinators, or fortune tellers. In Indonesia, shamanistic figures are represented by dukuns who are understood as shamans who possess supernatural abilities to heal or help with other problems. However, new-age spiritualism and its practices such as tarot reading and meditation have affected how traditional esoteric practitioners in Indonesia present their services and personas to the general public. This qualitative study analyzes how new-age perspectives have affected traditional esotericism in Indonesia not just in terms of stigma toward esoteric practitioners and dukuns but also how rituals are conducted. This study used in-depth interviews with five esoteric practitioner informants to conclude the state of esotericism in modern urban Indonesia. The results show that esoteric practitioners have now understood the use of stigma management in personas and rituals based on their understanding of clients’ psychology. This new paradigm has also changed the nature of esoteric rituals from purely liminal to liminoid according to the intentions of practitioners and clients.
Authors: ANDAMAR PRADIPTA, ALEXANDER STARK
Institution: Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408043359