The polong is a type of

familiar spirit In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to ...

Malay folklore Malay folklore refers to a series of knowledge, traditions and taboos that have been passed down through many generations in oral, written and symbolic forms among the indigenous populations of Maritime Southeast Asia (Nusantara). They include am ...

. It has the appearance of a miniature woman, the size of the first joint of the finger. The polong is one of the ghosts mentioned in ''Hikayat Abdullah'', written by

Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) ( ar, عبد الله بن عبد القادر ') also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer of mixed ancestry. He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, a part of t ...

, much to the amusement of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, his employer.

Creation

A polong is created from the blood of a murdered man kept in a type of spherical bottle with a narrow neck. Over a period of one to two weeks, incantations are said over the bottle. When the period is over, the blood becomes a polong. It refers to its owner as its mother or father. The polong is hidden outside the owner's house when not in use.

Task

The polong is sent to attack a victim against whom either the owner themselves or someone who paid the owner bears ill-will against. The polong is always preceded by its pet or plaything, the grasshopper-like

pelesit Pelesit () is a type of familiar spirit in Malay folklore. It is generally a cricket, or occasionally a grasshopper. The term literally means "buzzer" from the root word ''lesit'' meaning to buzz or whizz, as an insect does. They are also called ...

. The pelesit enters the victim's mouth and begins to chirp. The polong follows and possesses the victim, causing them to go insane until exorcised. A polong victim froths at the mouth, tears at their own clothes, and attacks anyone nearby. As per some sources, people who have been attacked by polong are left with bruises, a few markings and almost always have blood coming out of their mouths.GOOD AND EVIL SPIRITS OF DEAD MORTALS
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Weaknesses

Unless called off by its owner, a polong victim can only be cured through exorcism by a shaman (

dukun A dukun is an Indonesian term for shaman. Their societal role is that of a traditional healer, spirit medium, custom and tradition experts and on occasion sorcerers and masters of black magic. In common usage the dukun is often confused wit ...

bomoh A ''bomoh'' ( sou, โต๊ะบอมอ; ) is a Malay shaman and traditional medicine practitioner. The term is used mainly in Malaysia and parts of Sumatra, whereas most Indonesians use the word '' dukun''. It is often mistranslated into En ...

). The method of exorcism is to ask the polong who is its parent (meaning its owner). The polong replies through the possessed person in a falsetto voice, revealing the name and village of its owner. The polong will often resist, either by making the afflicted victim attack the shaman, or by falsely accusing someone else.

In popular culture

* In '' Marvel Anime: Blade'', a Polong appears in episode 7. It is depicted as a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

creature that obeys whoever gives it their blood.

References

Vampires: A Field Guide to the Creatures That Stalk the Night
By Bob Curran, Published by Career Press, 2005, , 222 pages - Google books.

External links