According to the Malaysian Constitution, to be a Malay you must be Muslim; and according to tradition, to be a true Malaysian Muslim you must not believe in superstition (tahyul). In practice, though, the folk legends of Malaysia are still very popular; and in spite of the rigid disapproval of the local moral authorities, people still speak in whispers of the traditional ghosts and monsters like the pontianak (a woman who has died in childbirth and returned as a vampire) or the pocong (a spirit that doesn't realize it's dead, and wanders the earth wrapped in its burial shroud).
In 2006, a Malay fisherman found something in his net that scared him out of his wits. It was a glass jar, the sort that might once have contained instant coffee. Inside the jar was a small black figure — a doll perhaps; it was shaped like a baby and had red eyes. Also inside the jar were some bits of onion, some sand, and a yellow thread. This would probably be disturbing enough if there hadn't been any local stories attached to such a thing. But in fact, this piece of flotsam strongly resembled a supernatural creature from Malay folklore. The fisherman, much to his horror, was convinced he had stumbled upon a toyol.
A toyol is a dead fetus or stillbirth that's been re-animated by black magic. It's usually kept in a jar, or a box, and given offerings of food — often a few drops of blood from the creature's summoner. In return for the food and protection, thetoyol will lurk around the village at night, running errands for its master... errands the summoner would rather not be seen doing himself. Typical "errands" would include petty thefts or vandalism, which the toyol could get away with because of its tiny size.
Since the toyol is really only a child, it would rarely be used for more serious mischief. Still, possessing a toyol is considered very dark magic indeed. Furthermore, though there are many legends about the ways to obtain a toyol, there are none about getting rid of one. So you can understand why the fisherman was upset by what he'd found.
The fisherman gave the bottle to his local bomoh, or shaman (although the existence of such mystics is also officially disapproved of); and the bomoh turned it over to a museum. The museum theorized it was some sort of fetish figure that had been used in a healing ritual, and had been cast into the water as part of that ritual. Not knowing what else to do with it, they put it on display for a while — and drew record crowds from visitors anxious for a glimpse of the Real Supernatural. Eventually, the thing in the jar was returned to the sea... but not before hundreds of people had come to see it.
more about em' -- (in malay) http://syukran.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/perjanjian-toyol/
No comments:
Post a Comment