Who Inherits the Knowledge? Family Relationships, Trust, andSuccession in Sangkal Putung Healing among the Malay-JavaneseCommunity in Johor, Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68050/JAMS.2026.36Keywords:
Keywords: family relationships; intergenerational transmission; kinship; Sangkal Putung; successionAbstract
Traditional healing knowledge is sustained not only through the preservation of therapeutic techniques but also through social relationships that determine who is permitted to learn, practice, and eventually inherit such knowledge. This study examines the role of family relationships, kinship, trust, and succession in the intergenerational transmission of “Sangkal Putung”, a traditional bone-healing practice maintained within Malay-Javanese communities in Johor, Malaysia. Adopting a qualitative ethnographic approach, data are derived from semi-structured interviews, field observation, field notes, and relevant documentary materials involving traditional practitioners, family members, former patients, and local community members. The data are analyses thematically to identify relational patterns surrounding the acquisition, restriction, transmission, and continuation of healing knowledge. The analysis is organized around four interconnected dimensions: healing knowledge as family heritage, trust as a condition of knowledge transmission, experiential learning through relational proximity, and the negotiation of future successors. The study argues that succession in traditional healing should not be understood as an automatic biological transfer from one generation to another. Rather, inheritance is a relational process in which kinship, personal character, commitment, practical participation, and recognition by senior knowledge holders collectively shape the legitimacy of a successor. The study contributes to family sociology, kinship studies, traditional knowledge research, and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.
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