balian

noun

ba·​li·​an

ˈbälēən

plural balian or balians

: a Malaysian medium who employs trances in practicing the art of a medicine man

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Malay belian "medium, shaman"

Note: From Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian *balian, with reflexes in many languages of the region. See the entry in Robert Blust, Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (on the Internet).

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