Editing Amok syndrome (section)

== Malay word ==
The term ''amok'' originated from the [[Malay language|Malay word]] ''meng-âmuk'', which when roughly defined means "to make a furious and desperate charge".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hempel |first1=A.A. |last2=Levine |first2=R.D. |last3=Meloy |first3=J.D. |last4=Westermeyer |first4=J.D. |title=Cross-cultural review of sudden mass assault by a single individual in the oriental and occidental cultures |journal=Journal of Forensic Sciences |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=582–588 |year=2000 |doi=10.1520/JFS14732J |pmid=10855962}}</ref> In turn, the word was derived from [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language|Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]] word ''hamuk'', "attack".<ref name="ACD2">{{cite web |last1=Blust |first1=Robert |author-link1=Robert Blust |last2=Trussel |first2=Stephen |date=2010 |title=*''hamuk'': attack, run amuck |url=https://acd.clld.org/cognatesets/26285#4/2.79/113.93 |access-date=17 November 2022 |website=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |archive-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116174122/https://acd.clld.org/cognatesets/26285#4/2.79/113.93 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Malaysian and Indonesian cultures, amok is rooted in a deep spiritual belief.<ref>Van Loon, F.H.G. (1927). "Amok and Latah". Retrieved March 30, 2013, from PsycINFO. [http://huie.hsu.edu:2308/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=a71ca420-96ff-40e4-be67-3ac88801c158%40sessionmgr12&hid=3&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh&AN=2006-01643-010]{{dead link|date=August 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Malaysians traditionally believe that amok is caused by the ''[[hantu belian]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu: hantu belian |url=http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Search.aspx?k=hantu+belian |quote=hantu belian |publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka |location=Malaysia |access-date=6 November 2011 |language=ms, en |archive-date=7 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407124710/http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Search.aspx?k=hantu+belian |url-status=live }}</ref> which is an evil [[tiger]] spirit that enters one's body and causes the heinous act. As a result of the belief, those in Malay culture tolerate amok and deal with the after-effects with no ill will towards the assailant.<ref name="ncbi">{{cite journal |last=Saint Martin |first=Michael |title=Running Amok: A Modern Perspective on a Culture-Bound Syndrome |journal=Journal of Clinical Psychiatry |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=66–70 |year=1999 |issn=0160-6689 |pmc=181064 |pmid=15014687 |doi=10.4088/pcc.v01n0302}}</ref>

Although commonly used in a colloquial and less violent sense, the phrase is particularly associated with a specific sociopathic [[culture-bound syndrome]] in the cultures of [[Culture of Malaysia|Malaysia]], [[Culture of Indonesia|Indonesia]] and [[Culture of Brunei|Brunei]]. In a typical case of ''running amok'', an individual, almost always male, having shown no previous sign of anger or any inclination to violence, will acquire a weapon, traditionally a sword or dagger, but possibly any of a variety of weapons, and in a sudden frenzy, will attempt to kill or seriously injure anyone he encounters and himself.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |last=Saint Martin |first=M.L. |title=Running Amok: A Modern Perspective on a Culture-Bound Syndrome |journal=Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=66–70 |year=1999 |pmc=181064 |pmid=15014687 |doi=10.4088/pcc.v01n0302}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Amok |url=http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23464 |publisher=Medterms.com |access-date=17 September 2018 |archive-date=21 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321221006/http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23464 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Those who do not commit suicide and are not killed typically lose consciousness, and upon regaining consciousness, claim amnesia.

An early Western account of the practice appears in the journals of British explorer Captain [[James Cook]], who purportedly encountered amok firsthand in 1770 during a voyage around the world. Cook writes of individuals behaving in a reckless, violent manner, without apparent cause and "indiscriminately killing and maiming villagers and animals in a frenzied attack."<ref>Jackson, Y. (ed.). (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology''. University of Kansas: Sage Publications</ref>

A widely accepted explanation links amok with male [[honour]]. Amok by women and children is virtually unknown.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McLaren |first1=Carrie |last2=Ringe |first2=Alexanra |title=Curious Mental Illnesses Around the World |url=http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/21/mental_illness.html |url-status=dead |publisher=stayfreemagazone.org |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218053501/http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/21/mental_illness.html |archive-date=18 December 2012}}</ref>
Running amok would thus be both a way of escaping the world, since perpetrators were normally killed or committed suicide, and re-establishing one's reputation as a man to be feared and respected.