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 Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

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 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 3 ...

''*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 Yamuna is a sacred river in Hinduism and the main tributary of the Ganges River. The river is also worshipped as a Hindu goddess called Yamuna. Yamuna is known as Yami in early texts, while in later literature, she is called Kalindi. In Hindu scr ...

''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 bein ...

'' or ''

atua Atua are the gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori mythology, Māori or the Hawaiian religion, Hawaiians (see also ); the Polynesian languages, Polynesian word literally means "power" or "strength" and so the concept is s ...

'', 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 nine separate subfamilies. The Taiwa ...

. 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 ...

: 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 cl ...

: tall hantu that is associated with trees

References

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

Types

See also

References