A toyol or tuyul is an undead infant in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It appears in the mythology of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

and is invoked as a helper by shamans (

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 wi ...

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 Eng ...

) by the means of black magic. The creature is used to rob people of their riches, which is similar in nature to Babi ngepet.

Names

The toyol is known by different names across Southeast Asia. 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 ...

word toyol is in

, in Javanese, and in

Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...

. It is known as ''cohen kroh'' in Khmer, and ''kwee kia'' in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

. In Thai, the male is called '' kumarn-thong''. A similar creature exists in

Philippine mythology Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one another. Philippine mythology is incorporated from various ...

known as ''

tiyanak The Tiyanak (also Tianak or Tianac) is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby. Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to attract unw ...

''.

Appearance

The toyol is traditionally described as looking no different from a near-naked toddler. Modern depictions often give it a goblin-like appearance with green or grey skin, pointed ears, and clouded eyes.

In popular culture

Film

* Malik Selamat directed a 1980 Malay horror film ''

Toyol A toyol or tuyul is an undead infant in Indonesian and Malay folklore. It appears in the mythology of Southeast Asia and is invoked as a helper by shamans ( dukun or bomoh) by the means of black magic. The creature is used to rob people of their r ...

'', starring Sidek Hussain and Mahmud June. * In Billy Chan's 1987 Hong Kong film ''Yang Gui Zi'' (roughly translated as "feeding a child spirit", also known by its English title ''Crazy Spirit''), a jewelry store owner, wishing to have an heir, travels from Hong Kong to Thailand to obtain a spirit baby from a Taoist master, who seals it in an amulet. The amulet, on its way to Hong Hong, gets lost in transit and is found by a woman trying to conceive a child. She accidentally cuts her finger, causing her blood to drip on the amulet and releasing the child spirit. * The 2011 Malaysian comedy film '' Alamak... Toyol!'' features a toyol as its plot device. * In the 2013 Singapore horror film ''

Ghost Child ''Ghost Child'' (; formerly called ''Inside the Urn'') is a 2013 Singaporean horror film directed by Gilbert Chan starring Chen Hanwei, Jayley Woo and Carmen Soo. The film revolves around a family fighting against the titular "Ghost Child" (a toy ...

'', a family is troubled by a toyol which arrives from Indonesia in an urn. * In the 2016 Indonesian horror film '' Tuyul: Part 1'', a new family moves into an old house of the wife's mother after she died. The husband finds a bottle hidden mysteriously underneath the broken wooden floor, which is home to a creature that could endanger them.

Television

* In season 1 of the HBO Asia Original horror anthology series ''Folklore'', episode 5 is titled "Toyol (Malaysia)" and features a toyol.

Other

* Drivers for gig economy services in Southeast Asia, such as Grab and

Gojek PT Gojek Indonesia (stylized in all lower case and stylized ''j'' as goȷek, formerly styled as GO-JEK) is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. Gojek was first established in Ind ...

, use third-party grey market apps called "tuyul" to optimize their work experience.https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kvpng/delivery-drivers-are-using-grey-market-apps-to-make-their-jobs-suck-less The apps are so named because like the tuyul in folklore, they help earn money through potentially illegal means.

References

{{Mythology of Malaysia Indonesian legendary creatures Malay ghost myth Ghosts Malaysian mythology Jinn