Tog Tan

I will run stories on the beliefs and folklores in this thread. They will come mostly from M'sia with many of them from 1st hand perspective. Though much of these things are obscure in the modern times but I was born in a time when these things did happen and is still happening on a lesser note.

Much of our life here is based on the status of our luck. Thus if you have a new plant which is considered to bring luck to its owner, then you have a sure seller. Now what happens if one's luck is down. There are those who can help - the Bomohs.

Story #1
The Bomohs
We believe that people are very susceptible to spiritual disturbances and attacks when their aura of luck is down. In such a situation, that person will experience a domino effect as it will run for a great length of time. The only way is to get to a bomoh (shaman) to break it. These bomohs are termed into 2 groups, the good ones and the dark ones. They still exist today and people pay good money for their works.

Many bomohs seem to know everything about the person seeking their help. This is because of a practice among them - the rearing of infant ghosts as their informants. With its help, they are accurate to the dot on their fortune telling and what not. This is a practice scoffed by many in their practice because of the method of acquisition of the spirit.

The Infant Ghost
There are always people on the look out for any infant who dies. They will exhume the body and remove one of the fingers for the bone of which a whole series of rites will be performed to bring it alive. The owner of this spirit will keep a small altar for it and it is offered a cup of milk every day. Occasionally it is offered candy and biscuits, the food which children likes.

The infant ghost has strong spiritual powers and can be a great help to its owner. In the '50s my uncle went to see a bomoh in the dead of the night and he said he saw the bomoh produced a torch light out of the thin air with the help of an infant ghost.

The power of the bomoh can be disrupted in a session by throwing biscuits or candies under the table without his knowledge. This will cause the infant ghost who is still very much a child to gorge on the treats and forget his function. This has been proven many times to the irate of the bomohs.

The spirit of the infant ghost cannot rest until the finger bone is reunited with the rest of the body.

To be the master of such a spirit, the person must be strong in his aura of luck. If he is down on this, the infant ghost can give him hell and like an unrestrained kid will do all sorts of physical mischief like turning the whole house upside down and cause physical harm to its owner.

This is very much an on going thing at least in modern M'sia. There are people who still seek the possession of such a spirit. However, the ultimate spiritual helper is one called the Toyol.
Want to know? Next episode then!

Btw, please show some kind of response if ya'll want this thread going. Do ask questions as to the status of the beliefs currently and whatever intrigues you.

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

adrift

Interesting.

Do you mean "biscuits" in the American sense or the British sense (what we call cookies in the US)? I forget my function when offered a pile of cookies.

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Tog Tan

It's biscuits in the English sense, the word cookies came in later with the American influence here. We were part of the British colony before we got our independence in 1957. So, now I know what to do if I were to have a business talk with you, cookies to the hilt and get what I need from you.

Btw, during my time we were educated by the British system with the Queen's English. Ahem. Thus, I am more Brit in my Anglish!

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

damaclese

well i like you and as such am willing to over look your short comings Tog LOL

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momoese

What happens to the Infant Ghost if the owner dies? Does it then look for another owner, maybe a family member? Also can they be traded/swapped for other infant ghosts and or other things such as property, food, land, etc.? What if the owner gets old and can't deal with the ghost so the ghost starts being a nuisance, then that person dies. Does the ghost continue being bad or does it reset, or maybe go back to the body without the finger? Sorry for so many questions!

Oh and do families try to hide the graves of their children to prevent people from stealing a finger? I'd be pissed if someone did that to my child!

Tog Tan

Hey Mitchel,
Here are the answers to your questions;

Normally, people who own them are very secretive and they are never passed around to another person or traded away. It seems owners of such spirits always die a bad death and does not pass on easily, always a slow agonizing death.

If the owner, gets old and loses his spiritual strength he will bear the brunt of the wrath of its mischief. In simple language, he will be in living hell. It is also said if he misses the feeding of joss stick and milk, he will be troubled by it. This is the price he has to pay for such a powerful servant. When the owner is dead, it becomes a wandering spirit. It does not grow up and will be a mischievous spirit. It can't find its way back to its family. It will always be a small child not knowing what to do with itself. It is very sad like a lost small child which get hungry and does not die.

In the past (up till the early 60's) burials were simple affairs and it is easy to get the finger off the corpse without the family knowing. It usually happens in the kampongs (villages). These days, things are more complicated and many people opt for cremation so I guess it is very hard to get what they want. Moreover, it is seldom heard of nowadays but I am sure it still goes on in the rural areas. I guess, it will keep going on in this part of the world.

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

Dalmatiansoap

Sad story, have to say.

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Patty in Wisc

Thanks Tog. All very interesting.

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Patty




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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

Chironex

Fascinating %#&&) ! Do keep it coming then. (Apply Brit accent here)

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