The Legend Of Hantu Langsuir

In Malaysia, a langsuir is believed to be extremely fierce and dangerous and she will kill her victim. People believe that if anyone sleeps on a tree branch, then he or she will be eaten by langsuir. A close cousin of langsuir is the pontianak.

A langsuir is said to cackle and produce horrible sounds. She likes to clap her hands while resting on a tree branch. Some people believe that a langsuir is said to resemble a very ugly woman with fangs and long finger nails. She has very long black hair down to the ankles wearing a long grey or green robe with her breasts on her back.

When a langsuir is flying, she will produce a whistling sound similar to “siuh, siuh”. It is said that this is caused by the rubbing of her hair with a hole in her nape. If the moonlight is bright, then one can see her internal organs in yellow color. When observed at a far, a flying langsuir resembles a flaming rope; her head will chaotically searching for her victim, while her hands pointing forward while swings at flight.

There are other versions of langsuir picturing langsuir to take the form of very pretty woman with the fragrance of cempaka or kenaga flower; and she will seduce the unwary men to a quite place before the langsuir shows her true color.

Once upon a time, the owl was believed to be the emanation of langsuir. Some locals also believe that a langsuir also attracted to childbirth blood and some myths described that a langsuir sometimes transform into a midwife so that she can get near the laboring mother. While other people believe that a langsuir may also steal fishes from a fisherman.

A langsuir is said to disturb only the men and it is afraid of women with bare breasts because a langsuir has only a flat chest. Legend has it that if a man strikes a nail with a pile of hair into the hole in the nape of a langsuir, she will transform into a pretty woman and she will be a very good wife.

There are a few believes as to the origin of langsuir ghost:

1.      A Chinese woman dies in giving birth.

2.      A Malay woman dies during period of abstinence after giving birth.

3.      A woman practitioner of black magic.

I will leave it to the expert to do further researchJ.