Pontianak - a Type of Vampire in Malay and Indonesian Folklore

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Just a vampiric ghost in Malay and Indonesian is the pontianak ( dutch-Indonesian spelling: boentianak ) mythology. It can also be known as a matianak or kuntilanak, sometimes shortened to kunti. The pontianak are considered the spirits of woman who died while pregnant. The word pontianak is reportedly a Malay the problem perempuan mati beranak, or "woman who died in childbirth". Another theory is that the term is just a mixture of puan ( woman ) + mati ( die ) + anak ( child ). "Death of a young child" is meant by the term matianak. The city of Pontianak in Indonesia is known as after this creature, which was stated to possess haunted the very first sultan who once settled there.

Pontianak are often depicted as pale-skinned women with long hair and dressed up in white, however they are considered in a position to undertake a beautiful appearance given that they prey on men.
In his one thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven short story collection the Consul's File Paul Theroux posits that the phantom is definitely an invention of Malay wives who desired to discourage their husbands from random sexual encounters with women that they met on the highway during the night.

In folklore, its presence usually is announced by a pontianak through baby cries. If the cry is soft, it implies that the pontianak is close, and when it is loud, then it must certainly be far. If you hear a dog howling some genuinely believe that, that implies that the pontianak is a long way away. But if your dog is whining, that means the pontianak is nearby. Its presence can often be discovered with a nice floral fragrance identifiable as that of the plumeria, followed closely by an awful stench afterwards.

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A pontianak kills its victims by digging into their stomachs using its sharp fingernails and devouring their organs. In some cases where revenge against a man individual is desired by the pontianak, use organs is ripped out by it. It is stated that when you yourself have your eyes open when a pontianak is near, it will suck them out of one's mind. Pontianak locate prey by sniffing out clothes left outside to dry. For this reason, any article of clothing outside of their residences isn't kept by some Malays overnight.

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The pontianak is related to banana trees ( pokok pisang ), and its spirit is believed to live in them throughout the day. To fight off a pontianak, a claw must certainly be stepped in to the hole on the nape of her throat. This is believed to make her an attractive girl and a great wife before nail is removed. In the kuntilanak case, the nail is stepped in to the apex of her mind. The chicken shape is comparable to the pontianak, but additionally is taken by by the Indonesian kuntilanak and is sucked by by the Indonesian kuntilanak.

The bird, which makes a "ke-ke-ke" sound, might be delivered through black magic to create a woman sick, the characteristic symptom being vaginal bleeding because it flies. In the feminine type, when a guy approaches her she suddenly turns and reveals that her back is hollow, but this apparition is more specifically known as sundel bolong.