To most folks Malaysia is know for it’s beautiful beaches and it’s delicious food, but here on Vampires.com it is known for its unique and twisted vampire myths and legends.
Bajang
This is a male demon vampire that appears in the form of a pole cat and enjoys threatening children. The bajang can be enslaved and turned into a kind of familiar, or demonic servant, which is often handed down from one generation to the next like a family heirloom. While imprisoned, the bajang is fed milk and eggs and will turn on its master if it’s not provided with enough food. The owner of the bajang can send it to inflict harm on its enemies, the victims soon suffering from a mysterious and fatal illness. According to tradition, a bajang came from the body of a stillborn child, compelled out of the corpse in which it was residing with spells. More on the bajang HERE.
Langsuir
The langsuir is a flying vampire, said always to be an incredibly gorgeous woman. A woman is turned into a langsuir when she dies in childbirth or when she hears that her child has been stillborn. Forty days after her death she is turned into a vampire that can be identified by her super long nails, green robes and long black hair which hangs down to her ankles. Her hair is that long in order to cover up the hole in the back of their neck, through which she drinks the blood of children. To prevent a woman from turning into a langsuir one needs to place glass beads in the corpse’s mouth or they must put chicken eggs under each armpit and needles in the palms of each hand. But if these things aren’t done and a woman is turned into a langsuir you can get rid of her by capturing her, cutting her nails, and stuffing her hair into the hole on her neck. Once this is done she is tamed and can live a normal life – that is, unless she parties, any merrymaking and dancing will revert her back into her evil form. More on the langsuir HERE.
Polong and Pelesit
The polong is a vampiric bottle imp that is created by placing the blood of a murdered man into a bottle, saying prayers over it and reciting some arcane enchantment. Seven days to two weeks later the sound of chirping birds can be heard from the bottle. After that, the creator cuts his finger and sticks it inside the bottle for the newly born polong to drink from. When matured, the polong will attack on command and do whatever the creator bids it. The polong also has a kind of pet or plaything called the pelesit, a spirit that enters a victim’s body to clear the way. Their victims quickly go insane, ripping off clothing, attacking and biting friends. To rid yourself of a polong and pelesit charms are needed. More on the polong HERE and the pelesit HERE.
Penanggalan
This is one of the most unique vampire species because it is nothing more than a flying head with intestines dangling below it. This vamp is always female and enjoys drinking the blood of children and women in labor, although men aren’t safe from them either. A penanggalan is created when a woman dies in childbirth or when a man surprises a woman while she is performing religious penance. It is said that any blood or water that drips off of her intestines will cause terrible sores. Luckily they’re easy to spot, since the organs glow in the dark. Out of fear of this vampire, women in childbirth are enclosed in homes decorated with the thorns of the jeruju. These thorns will ensnare the penanggalan’s intestines and keep her trapped. More on the penanggalan HERE.
Maneden
This is a tiny vampiric creature that hides among the pandanus plants in Malaysia. It sits quietly in the plant, waits until someone walk by and then it attacks. If a man passes by, the maneden will latch on to his elbow and start sucking his blood. If a woman passes by, it will latch onto her nipple and drink blood from there. Luckily, this little vamp is rather easy to get rid of. All someone had to do was find something that the maneden could suck on instead. This substitute didn’t have to contain blood, but it did have to have an oily texture to it. Which is why nuts were often used to trick the creature into attaching itself to something else. More on the maneden HERE.
– Moonlight
2 comments