Amok (amok-maker) is a term or concept described in Jongejan’s Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu in relation to Aceh. A psychosis occurring in the Indian Archipelago, Malakka, British India, Burma, Africa.
Description
A psychosis occurring in the Indian Archipelago, Malakka, British India, Burma, Africa. The perpetrator suddenly, outside himself, with drawn weapon, races through the busiest streets, also entering houses, stabbing all in his way. Makes no distinction among victims. Caused by intense emotions (marital infidelity, grief, sense of injustice, gambling losses, life-weariness, shame, feverish states). The amok-maker is insane, has lost all self-control. ~25% of the listed atjeh-moord statistics are actually amok cases.
Significance
The term Amok (amok-maker) is recorded by Jongejan as part of the cultural, administrative, or institutional vocabulary of Aceh.
See Also
Source
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 380, 381.