Running amok

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Running amok, sometimes referred to as simply amok[1] (also spelled amuk, from the Malay meaning "mad with uncontrollable rage") is a term that is used for a sudden outburst, usually aggressive or violent, and is preceded by a dissociative episode of brooding over some perceived wrong towards a person or object.[2] The syndrome of "Amok" is found in the DSM-IV TR.[3] The phrase is often used in a less serious manner when describing something that is wildly out of control or causing a frenzy (e.g., a dog tearing up the living room furniture might be said to be running amok).

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Malaysian origin [edit]

Amok originated from the Malaysian word mengamuk,[4] which roughly defined means “to make a furious and desperate charge”.[5] According to Malay culture, amok was rooted in a deep spiritual belief.[6] They believed that amok was caused by the hantu belian,[7] which was an evil tiger spirit that entered one’s body and caused the heinous act. As a result of the belief, those in Malaysian culture tolerated amok and dealt with the after effects with no ill will towards the assailant.[8]

Although commonly used in a colloquial and less-violent sense, the phrase is particularly associated with a specific sociopathic culture-bound syndrome in Malaysian culture. In a typical case of running amok, a male who has shown no previous sign of anger or any inclination to violence will acquire a weapon, traditionally a sword or dagger, but presently a variety of weapons are used, and in a sudden frenzy, will attempt to kill or seriously injure anyone he encounters. [9] Amok typically takes place in a well populated or crowded area. Amok episodes of this kind normally end with the attacker being killed by bystanders or committing suicide, eliciting theories that amok may be a form of intentional suicide in cultures where suicide is heavily stigmatized.[citation needed] Those who do not commit suicide and are not killed typically lose consciousness, and upon regaining consciousness, claim amnesia.

An early Western description of the practice appears in the journals of Captain James Cook, a British explorer, who encountered amok firsthand in 1770 during a voyage around the world. Cook writes of individuals behaving in a reckless, violent manner, without cause and "indiscriminately killing and maiming villagers and animals in a frenzied attack." [10]

A widely accepted explanation links amok with male honor (amok by women is virtually unknown).[11] Running amok would thus be both a way of escaping the world (since perpetrators were normally killed) and re-establishing one's reputation as a man to be feared and respected. Some observers[who?] have related this explanation to Islam's ban on suicide, which, it is suggested, drove Malay men to create circumstances in which others would kill them.

Contemporary syndrome [edit]

"Running amok" is used to refer to the behavior of someone who, in the grip of strong emotion, obtains a weapon and begins attacking people indiscriminately, often with multiple fatalities.[12] The slang term going postal is similar in scope. Police describe such an event as a killing spree. If the individual is seeking death an alternate method is often suicide by cop.

Amok is often described as a culture-bound (or culture-specific) syndrome,[13][14] which is a psychological condition whose manifestation is strongly shaped by cultural factors. Other reported culture-bound syndromes are latah and koro. Amok is also sometimes considered one of the subcategories of dissociative disorders (cross-cultural variant).

Officially classified as a psychiatric condition [edit]

In 1849, amok was officially classified as a psychiatric condition based on numerous reports and case studies that showed the majority of individuals who committed amok were, in some sense, mentally ill.[8] However, DSM-IV does now break amok down into two official categories; beramok and amok. Beramok is considered to be the more common of the two and is associated with the depression and sadness resulting from a loss and the subsequent brooding process. Loss includes, but is not limited to, the death of a spouse or loved one, divorce, loss of a job, money, power, etc. Beramok is associated with mental issues of severe depression or other mood disorders. Amok, the rarer form, is believed to stem from rage, insult, or a vendetta against a person, society, or object for a wide variety of reasons. Amok has been more closely associated with psychosis, personality disorders, bipolar disorder, and delusions.[8]

Historical and cross-cultural comparanda [edit]

Early travelers in Asia sometimes describe a kind of military amok, in which soldiers facing apparently inevitable defeat suddenly burst into a frenzy of violence which so startled their enemies that it either delivered victory or at least ensured what the soldier in that culture considered an honourable death. This form of amok appears to resemble the berserker of the Norse, the cafard or cathard (Polynesia), mal de pelea (Puerto Rico), and iich'aa (Navaho).[15]

In contemporary Indonesia, the term amok (amuk) generally refers not to individual violence, but to apparently frenzied violence by mobs. Indonesians now commonly use the term 'gelap mata' (literally 'darkened eyes') to refer to individual amok.

In the Philippines, amok also means unreasoning murderous rage by an individual. In 1876, the Spanish governor-general of the Philippines José Malcampo coined the term juramentado for the behavior (from juramentar - "to take an oath"), surviving into modern Filipino languages as huramentado.[16] It has historically been linked with the Muslim Moro people of Mindanao, particularly in the island of Jolo.[17]

Norse berserkers and the Zulu battle trance are two other examples of the tendency of certain groups to work themselves up into a killing frenzy. The 1911 Webster Encyclopedia comments:

In 1634, the eldest son of the raja of Jodhpur ran amok at the court of Shah Jahan, failing in his attack on the emperor, but killing five of his officials. During the 18th century, again, at Hyderabad (Sind), two envoys, sent by the Jodhpur chief in regard to a quarrel between the two states, stabbed the prince and twenty-six of his suite before they themselves fell.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Amuck, Running". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

  1. ^ Carr JE, Tan EK (November 1976). "In search of the true amok: amok as viewed with the Malay culture". Am J Psychiatry 133 (11): 1295–9. PMID 984220. 
  2. ^ "Definition". Merriam-Webster Definition. Retrieved March 6, 2013. 
  3. ^ "Appendix I: Outline for Cultural Formulation and Glossary of Culture-Bound Syndromes". Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) 1. 2000. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349.7060. ISBN 0-89042-334-2. 
  4. ^ "Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu: mengamuk" (in Malay and English). Malaysia: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Retrieved 6 November 2011. "mengamuk" 
  5. ^ Hempel, A. A., Levine, R. D., Meloy, J. D., & Westermeyer, J. D. (2000). Cross-cultural review of sudden mass assault by a single individual in the oriental and occidental cultures. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 45(3), 582–588.
  6. ^ Van Loon, F. H. G. (1927). "Amok and Latah". Retrieved March 30, 2013 from PsychINFO. [1]
  7. ^ "Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu: hantu belian" (in Malay and English). Malaysia: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Retrieved 6 November 2011. "hantu belian" 
  8. ^ a b c Saint Martin, Michael (1999). "Running Amok: A Modern Perspective on a Culture-Bound Syndrome". Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 1 (3): 66–70. ISSN 0160-6689. PMC 181064. PMID 15014687. 
  9. ^ Saint Martin, M. (1999, June 1). Running Amok. Retrieved 1 April 2013 from PMC.[2]
  10. ^ (Jackson, Y. (Ed.).(2006). Encyclopedia of multicultural psychology. University of Kansas: Sage Publications)
  11. ^ Alexanra Ringe, Carrie McLaren. "Curious Mental Illnesses Around the World". stayfreemagazone.org. Retrieved march 25,2013. 
  12. ^ Martin, Manuel L. Saint. "Running Amok: A Modern Perspective on a Culture-Bound Syndrome". NCBI. Retrieved March 25, 2013. 
  13. ^ Saint Martin ML (June 1999). "Running Amok: A Modern Perspective on a Culture-Bound Syndrome". Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry 1 (3): 66–70. PMC 181064. PMID 15014687. 
  14. ^ Gaw AC, Bernstein RL (August 1992). "Classification of amok in DSM-IV". Hosp Community Psychiatry 43 (8): 789–93. PMID 1427677. 
  15. ^ "Medical Antropology: Culture-bound syndromes". Retrieved 2009-04-29. [dead link]
  16. ^ Hurley, Vic (1936). "Chapter 14: Juramentados and Amuks". Swish of the Kris; The Story of the Moros. E.P. Hutton. Archived from the original on February 15, 2005. Retrieved April 17, 2011. 
  17. ^ Tarling, Nicholas (1992). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia: The Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. Cambridge University Press. p. 231. ISBN 0-521-35506-0. Retrieved May 25, 2009. 

External links [edit]

Look up amok in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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