TOYOL ( ASSIGNMENT 2 )

TOYOL

WHAT IS A TOYOL?

A Toyol or Tuyul is a mythical spirit in the Malay mythology of South-East Asia notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. It is the spirit of a small child summoned by a dukun (Indonesian shaman) or a bomoh (Malay witch doctor) from a dead human foetus using black magic.

People normally relate the appearance of a toyol with that of a small baby, frequently that of a new born baby walking naked with a big head, small hands, clouded eyes and usually greyed skin. More accurately, it resembles a goblin. It can be seen without the use of magic, meaning with naked eyes, though they are unlikely to be spotted casually as they are said to be the sneakiest creature ever existed.

WHAT ARE TOYOL USED FOR?

A toyol is usually bought by the person wishing to own it, from such a bomoh. A toyol is used mainly to steal things from other people, or to do mischief. According to a well-known superstition, if money or jewellery keeps disappearing mysteriously from your house, a toyol might be responsible. Possessing a toyol is considered very dark magic nevertheless.

In old village tales, people keep toyols for selfish but petty gains. They use such spirits for theft, sabotage and other minor crimes. Serious crimes, like murder, are usually beyond the ability of these toyols. A person who suddenly becomes wealthy without explanation might be suspected of keeping a toyol. The toyol is kept in a jar or a vessel, and is kept hidden away in a dark place until required. It is given offerings of food, often a few drops of blood from the creature's owner.

According to Javanese mythology, the creature is believed to be kept by a person that practises a kind of black magic called ‘pesugihan tuyul’. ‘Pesugihan’ is originated from the Javanese word sugih which means "rich". It is a kind of magic to help people to become rich instantly, but in exchange he or she must perform some rituals or offering a ‘tumbal’ or a proses of sacrificing something, to keep the tuyul happy. According to the Javanese myth, a tuyul can be kept for financial gain, but in exchange a female member of the family must allow it to breastfeed from her, sucking blood instead of milk.

What happens at the end of the "contract" is not very clear. It could be that the creature, along with the vessel, is buried in a graveyard, with the relevant rituals and the spirit is then laid to rest. An alternative method is to dispose them in the sea. Or else, a toyol gets passed down in a family through the generations. This seems to suggest that once you obtain a toyol, not only are you stuck with it for the rest of your life, but all your descendants will also be condemned to own it.

WEAKNESSES

One way to ward off a toyol is to place some needles under your money, for toyols are afraid of being hurt by needles. Although seemingly cunning, toyols are apparently not very intelligent. It is said that they are easily deceived by marbles, beans, sand and strands of garlic hanging on the door post or placed on certain parts of the house. The toyol will start playing with these items until it forgets its task at the intended victim's house. Money placed under mirrors has the potency to ward off toyols as it is said that they have a phobia of their own reflections.

CONTROVERSY

According to the Malaysian Constitution, to be Malay you must be Muslim; and according to tradition, to be a true Malaysian Muslim you must not believe in superstitions. In practice, though, the folk legends of Malaysia are still very popular; and in spite of the firm disapproval of the local moral authorities, people still speak in whispers of the traditional ghosts and monsters like the pontianak (a woman who has died in childbirth and returned as a vampire) or the pocong (a spirit that doesn't realise it's dead, and wanders the earth wrapped in its burial shroud).

REAL ENCOUNTERS

In 2006, a Malay fisherman found something in his net that scared him out of his wits. It was a glass jar, the sort that might once have contained instant coffee. Inside the jar was a small black figure — a doll perhaps; it was shaped like a baby and had red eyes. Also inside the jar were some bits of onion, some sand, and a yellow thread. This would probably be disturbing enough if there hadn't been any local stories attached to such a thing. But in fact, this piece of flotsam strongly resembled a supernatural creature from Malay folklore. The fisherman, much to his horror, was convinced he had stumbled upon a toyol.

 Furthermore, though there are many legends about the ways to obtain a toyol, there are none about getting rid of one. So you can understand why the fisherman was upset by what he'd found. In a nutshell, a toyol can be obtained by either buying from a bomoh, passing down through generations or unfortunately stumbling upon it, like the fisherman did.

The fisherman gave the bottle to his local bomoh, or shaman (although the existence of such mystics is also officially disapproved of); and the bomoh turned it over to a museum. The museum theorized it was some sort of fetish figure that had been used in a healing ritual, and had been cast into the water as part of that ritual. Not knowing what else to do with it, they put it on display for some time and attracted record crowds from visitors anxious for a glimpse of the Real Supernatural. Eventually, the thing in the jar was returned to the sea, but not before hundreds of people had come to see it. And it's probably even less surprising that one of these classic movies, a film that still has a little power to disturb its viewers today, is 1981's Toyol.