Hantu is the
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
and
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
word for spirit or ghost, sometimes it is also the Tagalog word for 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 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 Austronesi ...
''*qanitu'' and
Proto-Austronesian ''*qaNiCu''.
Cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
s in other
Austronesian languages include the
Micronesian ''aniti'',
Lio language
Lio (also 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 Southeast As ...
''nitu'',
Yami ''anito'',
Taivoan ''alid'',
Seediq and
Atayal Atayal may refer to:
* Atayal people
* Atayal language
The Atayal language is spoken by the Atayal people of Taiwan. Squliq and C’uli’ (Ts’ole’) are two major dialects. Mayrinax and Pa’kuali’, two subdialects of C’uli’, are uniqu ...
''utux'',
Bunun ''
hanitu Hanitu or qanitu is the Bunun of Taiwan's term for spirit, but it does not exactly equate with terms from other cultures, and is one of three domains of Bunun spiritual thought, another being ''isang'', which equates more to the soul, breath, and h ...
'' or ''hanidu'',
Polynesian ''
aitu
In Polynesian languages the word ''aitu'' refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ''aitu'' or ''eitu'' are lesser gods, many being ...
'' or ''
atua'', and
Tsou ''hicu'' among the
Formosan languages.
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 associati ...
.
Types
Aside from generic spirits of the dead, there exist various forms of Hantu including both the benign and malevolent.
*
Hantu Air
Hantu Air, Puaka Air or Mambang Air is the Malay translation for ''Spirit of the Water'' or ''Water Ghost'', which according to animist traditions in Maritime Southeast Asia, is the unseen inhabitant of watery places such as rivers, lakes, seas, ...
: 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
Possession may refer to:
Law
* Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance
* Drug possession, a crime
* Ownership
* ...
* Hantu Pusaka: grave demon
*
Hantu Raya The Hantu Raya is a type of familiar spirit in Malay folklore that acts as a double for black magic practitioners. Roughly meaning "great ghost", it is supposed to bestow great power onto its master. Its true form according to folktale is humanoid f ...
: 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
Hantu Tinggi (Tall Ghost) is a being similar to 'Hantu Raya' or ' genderuwo' but so tall its body from the waist up is hidden by clouds. It only exists in the Western and Eastern regions of Malaysia. In Thailand, Hantu Tinggi likely resembles a clo ...
: tall hantu that is associated with trees
See also
*
Ghosts in Malay culture
*
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 associati ...
References
Demons
Malay ghost myth
Ghosts
Malaysian mythology
Indonesian legendary creatures
Jinn
Austronesian spirituality
Nature spirits
{{Asia-myth-stub