If you are
staying outside of Malaysia and Singapore, then you may not hear of the local
taboos after dark. There are many sources from where this belief stems from. Mr.
Ong has shared some of his ideas and I have added some that I have heard from
the elders:
·
Mr.
Lau was once the chairman of Gong Tau Association in Malaysia. He advised us
not to “dry” white or black clothes outdoor at night, as they absorb “Ying”
energies. Also, avoidance of flying “Kong Tau” (Thai black magic) at night.
·
In
East Coast of Malaysia, especially in Terengganu state. As a kid, I was told
that few Malay women in our area worked as “bidan” (midwife) to serve women who
are delivering infants. They carried scissors, cotton etc in their baskets. We
were asked to retrieve all our hanging clothes in the evening, during the
“returning moments” of her unseen spiritual helpers to her house. I believe
that the ‘spiritual helpers’ here referred to ‘Hantu Penangalan’, flying head
ghost, Malai Ngai or Phi Phop and the like. It is believed that the ‘juice’
dripping from the internal organs of this creature will cause bad luck and skin
diseases.
·
When
it is dark, one should walk in the middle of the path so far as possible and
that he/she should avoid walking along walls or leaning against the wall. It is
common belief that the ‘flying needles’ would travel along the walls and
whoever are in bad luck shall be hit by these flying needles and fall sick or
even died.
·
One
should not whistle after dark as the high pitched whistle noise will attract
spirits such as a Pontianak. This is especially true if it is a rainy Friday
night. I had a friend when I was still small in Kuala Kangsar who liked to
whistle at night. Once I found him absent from school for a few days and I
decided to pay him a visit. To my surprised, I found his mouth slanted one side
with a swollen face. So, I asked him of what had happened and he told me that
he was slapped by a lady in white while he whistled during a thunderstorm
night. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew right at his face and he seemingly saw a
female figure that gave him a slap on his face. My guess was that his whistle has
attracted a Pontianak but when the Pontianak came, it thought it was the call
of its own kind; but found a playful boy instead. Hence the slap was a warning
sign.
·
Many
gamblers like to employ ‘tangki’ (medium) to ask for lucky numbers at night in
the wilderness, especially near an anthill. Especially that one should not
offer raw meat or blood as this would attract a tiger spirit and the tiger
spirit will not retreat without a taste of human blood. When I was staying in
Padang Rengas, a neighbor went into a jungle nearby with a medium. After some
conjuration, a tiger spirit by the name ‘Dato Hitam’ (Black Grandpa) possessed
the medium. The Dato Hitam started to consume the food offerings until all of
the food stuffs we eaten and the spirit wasn’t satisfied; it wanted more and
this tiger spirit then asked for human flesh and blood. But the neighbor refused
the request and the tiger spirit was agitated. It then started to eat the
medium’s right palm bite by bite! Hence, this is a warning to all gamblers out
there to think twice before wanting to perform any similar rituals.
That’s what
Mr. Ong and I can provide for now… If you have any more similar believes; then
let me know so that we can preserve these old grandpa stories of yesteryears
for our next generations to come.
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