Malaysian supernatural stuff

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There are a great many things that can be classified as supernatural. Being Malaysians, we have a whole host of ‘unexplained’ weird and wonderful stuff.

Amongst the many intriguing topics I share an interest with thousands of other Malaysian is our fascination for ghosts and black magic or ‘ilmu hitam’ or ‘sihir’. I am not an expert on the topic (I have done some very simple research on the web), but would certainly welcome any comments on the topic I shall expound below.

I never was a ‘kampung’ boy and as such had missed out a lot on matters concerning Malay (Malaysian) superstitions and folklore. I did, however, have the pleasure of hearing a multitude of stories from my late grandmother (amongst them being that my family comes from a long line of ‘harimau jadian’s.) as well as having read a fair number of Tamar Jalis’ and Tok Awang Ngah’s books. Though, I am beginning to think the part about my family being ‘harimau jadian’s is just a load of bollocks.

Anyway, to start off, I cannot even begin to cover the so many kinds of ghosts and spirits there have their tales told to the many generations of Malaysians, though I will highlight those than comes to mind.

Amongst the more notable ones that have been covered over and over again by various Malaysian bloggers are listed in the ensuing paragraphs. For your information, I have incorporated many of their comments in my simple elaboration below:-

Pontianak – undeniably the most famous of ghosts/spirits that roam in not only in Malaysia, but also in the neighbouring region. In general, Pontianaks are another form of vampires, usually a woman who had died during childbirth and becomes undead (for some reasons I have yet to find out why), seeking revenge and terrorising villages. She often appears as a beautiful woman and there will be a strong scent of ‘bunga kemboja’ (frangipani). Men who are not wary will be killed and feasted upon when she morphs into an ugly vampire, but some say she also has a taste for babies and pregnant women. People believe that carrying a sharp object like a nail could help them fend off potential attacks by the pontianak, the nail being used to plug a hole in the back of the pontianak’s neck. It is believed that when a nail is plunged there, she would revert to her beautiful self, until the nail is pulled out again.

It is further rumoured that a Pontianak is able to fly around by only the head, neck and the entrails dangling to the ground when wanting to feed. (although I maybe mistaken with some other form of spirit. See Penanggalan).

Langsuir – another form of the very popular Pontianak. Different from the Pontianak who always appears as a beautiful woman to dupe and devour her victim, the Langsuir possesses her victim and sucks blood from inside, slowly killing him. I have no idea how she does that. Anyway, it is believed a Langsuir starts off as a woman who has ‘meroyan’ (post-natal depression) as a result of suffering from the death of her child and dies afterwards.

Penanggalan – loosely translated as ‘one who is detachable’. A hideous vampire sort of creature. The Penanggalan hunts in the form of a floating head with bloated entrails trailing underneath (also see Pontianak). Usually a woman who practises black magic, she prefers to suck blood from women giving birth. Experts say she must soak her digestive tract in vinegar each morning to shrink her entrails and be able to ‘re-attach’ to her body to resume her appearance as a normal person. In the old days, when ever there was a birth in the ‘kampungs’, the men were encouraged to put nails, thorns and other sharp objects along their fences and all around their houses to discourage the ‘penanggalan’ from entering their compounds and going under their stilted houses to feed through the cracks between the wood panels of the floor.

Hantu Raya – the shape-shifter spirit. Normally has a human master (owner). Its primary purpose is to help or assist the master in various forms of deception to gain wealth. It is another form of cheap labour so-to-speak. The master is responsible for the creature until his or her death. It must be noted that like any other ghosts/spirits with a master (owner), the master (owner) must find someone to take over the responsibility of taking care of the said ghost/spirit before passing away because if not, it will then possess its master’s dead body and return home to live as its master in his house. This would continue even after the body rots away. In fact, some even say that the master’s shall find it difficult to pass on and shall linger in a state of near death until a replacement is found.

Toyol - a well-known creature in Malaysia, believed to be a dead baby that has been revived through some demonic ritual. However, there are some inconsistencies in the origins of this creature. Some say they can be purchased only from the holy land in Mekah (Mecca). Guys please correct me if I am mistaken here. Anyway, similar to the hantu raya, it serves the person who has revived it, is said to be green (or in some cases black) in colour with red eyes and feeds on small amounts of blood. The Toyol is also believed to be somewhat mischievous and will suck on the big toes of his sleeping victims. When commanded, it would break into the victim’s house, but for some strange reason, will only take half of the loot.

Hantu Pochong or Pochong– this is a Malay ghost, which is commonly seen wrapped up in its ‘kain kapan’ or white burial cloth. When a Malay dies he or she is wrapped up in three layers of white sheet, the end being tied in a knot. It is usually reported in villages wandering and hopping around as though in search of something (but no one has really be able to tell me what is it that this Hantu is actually in search of). Its body is completely wrapped by the kain kapan and its face cannot be seen. The Pochong usually doesn’t bother anyone; so if you ever stumble across one, don’t give it reason to do otherwise. One would be advised not to disturb it or try to block its path.

Hantu Galah – an extremely tall ghost/spirit. The name ‘galah’ is from the Malay word for the long pole used to pick fruits off tall trees. I have no idea whether it just wonders around or whether it actually goes out of its way to harm people.

For of those of you who wouldn’t mind doing some searching on the internet, see whether you can find something on ‘ilmu hitam’, ‘bomoh’s, ‘busung’, ‘Santau’ (refer to http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santau ), ‘Minyak Dagu’ etc.