Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Raksari (罗刹女)

I believe that the Malaysian langsuir somehow refers to the 'raksari' or female demon in Hindu mythology. The langsuir is sometimes described as owl-like or bird-like figure, while raksari is believed to be of bird-like nature in its original form.

However, both langsuir and raksari can transform themselves into extremely pretty ladies.It is said that no man can resist their beauty and not fallen pray to them.

Langsuir is sometimes confused as a 'pontianak' among the Malaysian. Personally, I think langsuir and raksari are not of human nature while the 'pontianak' is actually the vengeful spirit of a pregnant mother.

There are many stories about raksari that I heard and perhaps seen in the wilderness:

I have many times walked in the wilderness at night or dusk and saw some very big 'bird' flew over my head accompanied by heart rending shrieking laughter. Of course those might just be big birds for heaven's sake, but those night birds were just too weird to be ignored.

Once I hiked up the Bukit Jambul Hill near dusk and as I approached a booth built for the convenience of those hill hikers at hill top, I thought I saw a very pretty lady in green in the booth.

But as I approached the booth,the lady suddenly flew out of the booth into the evening sky.

I turned my head and asked my friends but they just said that I was seeing things due to stress.

My grandma told me a story that happened in Guangxi, China that she heard many years ago:
A young man living in the same village of grandma like to drink and womanize.

One night after he had a cup too much, he staggered alone to him house. In the middle of his returning journey, this man met a very pretty lady in green.

This young man started to molest the lady and asking her to sleep with him.

At first the lady ignored the young man but after his persistent engagement, she agreed.

So the couple returned to the house and spent a night.

One day past, the young man's parents felt strange as they had not seen their son. The father then peeped through the door seam and to his horror, he saw only the severed head of his son in the bed.
Frantically, the father summoned a few villagers to force open the bedroom door...

As soon as the door is opened, a giant green bird flew out from the door and disappeared.

Similar story about langsuir in Karak Highway:

A couple was travelling along Karak Highway just past midnight during a foggy night.

The car suddenly broken down on the roadside.

The husband decided to seek for help while the wife sat in the car waiting.

After a long wait, the husband has not returned...

Then a police petrol car came by and it stopped at a distance from the out-of-order car...

Out came a policeman swiftly and gently approach the wife and then quickly pulled the lady out from the car while saying: "Quick! Follow me!"

Though the wife felt strange, she complied.

As she came out of the car and walked towards the police car, she turned her head and saw the severed head of her husband with an owl-like creature eating what was left of her husband...

Hence I think langsuir and raksari is the same creature. Unfortunately, I cannot catch one of each to compare!

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