Hantu is the Malay and Indonesian word for spirit or ghost. In modern usage it generally means spirits of the dead but has also come to refer to any legendary invisible being, such as demons. In its traditional context the term also referred to animistic

nature spirits Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

or ancestral souls. The word is derived from

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesia ...

''*qanitu'' and

Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify in ...

''*qaNiCu''.

Cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

s in other

Austronesian languages The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken ...

include the Micronesian ''aniti'',

Lio language Lio (also erroneously spelled ''Li'o'') is an Austronesian language spoken in the central part of Flores, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands in the eastern half of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in So ...

''nitu'', Yami ''anito'', Taivoan ''alid'', Seediq and Atayal ''utux'', Bunun '' hanitu'' or ''hanidu'', Polynesian '' aitu'' or ''

atua Atua are the gods and spirits of the Polynesian people such as the Māori or the Hawaiians (see also ). The literal meaning of the Polynesian word is "power" or "strength" and so the concept is similar to that of '' mana''. Many of the atua ...

'', and Tsou ''hicu'' among the

Formosan languages The Formosan languages are a geographic grouping comprising the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, all of which are Austronesian. They do not form a single subfamily of Austronesian but rather up to nine separate primary subfamili ...

. In terms of concept and place in traditional folklore, it is most similar to the Filipino

anito ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the Indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associ ...

Types

Aside from generic spirits of the dead, there exist various forms of Hantu including both the benign and malevolent. * Hantu Air: spirit inhabiting the water * Hantu Beruk: ape demon * Hantu Belian: tiger spirit * Hantu Musang: a civet cat spirit that is invoked in a game of possession * Hantu Pusaka: grave demon * Hantu Raya: great demon. This hantu is considered the strongest among evil spirits of the jungles of Malaysia, and takes the appearance of its owner. * Hantu Rimba: deep-forest demon * Hantu Tinggi: tall hantu that is associated with trees *

Pontianak Pontianak, also known as Khuntien in Teochew and Hakka, is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.21 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas R ...

: a woman who died in childbirth and kills woman and children, often regarded as one of the most feared and malevolent hantu.

References

Demons Malaysian ghosts Ghosts Malaysian mythology Indonesian legendary creatures Jinn Austronesian spirituality Nature spirits {{Asia-myth-stub

Types

See also

References