Know your Asian Ghosties: Hantu Tengelong (Part 3 of 3)

Why the belief in her is dying out – Raz’ theory

Modernisation doesn’t just ravish nature, it also ravishes culture. As you can see, the Hantu Penanggalan folklore requires the following to exist:

• women and their insatiable lust for beauty – this one still exists, but instead of black magic where they need to do not so pleasant things like become this creature, modernisation gives them the easier route of opting for plastic surgery.
• Mengkuang leaves and pineapple plants – yes we can still find these but how many still do home birth when there’s hospitals?
• Traditional Malay houses- These were made of wood, so we gather that the hantu can pass through planks, but does she also do concrete?
• Parangs – Oh these certainly do still exist but people have come a long way from being a scared lot with big knives…these days we’re professionals at war so we’ve got big fire power and the nerves of steal!
• Pregnant women – well getting lesser really as more and more women decide they want to be apart of the ‘DINK’s* society, which means no food for the hantu.

*DINK = Double Income No Kids