#malay folklore

[yumie-artsdomain]

Puspa Nirmala and her dragon companion. Malay historical fantasy will always be my favorite.

[arinnaamin]

THE VOYAGER AND THE SHARK ; Uncovering the Mysteries of My Own Family Legend

POST 5/5 - In all honesty, retelling and exploring a story of my own is a new experience, but the discussions I've formulated so far have seriously helped me in attempting to communicate it and get the message across.

Long ago, a traveler set off on a journey at sea to a new island, presumably looking for occupational opportunities. This journey was a long one, affected by all manner of obstacles, like dark clouds and storms.

Eventually, the battering storms and harsh waves left him lost and stranded at sea, in the middle of nowhere. Before he passed out, he firmly believed that the predicament he was in would be the cause of his untimely death.

Some time later, the traveler awoke on a sandy shore, on what is now known today as Pulau Pangkor, the rays of the sun casting bright lights overhead, and he was still alone with only his thoughts and feelings to accompany him. How did he not die? Who saved him? What saved him?

He soon concluded that this must have been the doing of some sort of large sea creature, that must have carried his unconscious form on its back to safety on this lonesome island - and he believed that the sea creature in question was a shark.

He had never been more grateful in his life - to a shark, no less. To convey his appreciation, he proclaimed that for the next seven generations, his descendants who happen to consume or harm sharks in any way, shape or form will have to face the consequences, as he now considered the shark that helped him a friend.

In essence, there is a myriad of things to unpack about this legend. The most logical way to start would be discussing the aforementioned proclamation - which, to my surprise, does possess some degree of truth. According to my mother, those who are part of the seven generations mentioned and who have consumed products utilising the meat of sharks have been known to come across cases of vomiting blood, constipation, etc. soon after. The seven generations are believed to have ended with either my grandparents or my parents. What we know for sure and can infer from this, though, is that the traveler is definitely one of our ancestors, who existed some time ago.

The topic of whether the sea creature that helped the traveler was necessarily a normal shark, too, is also up for discussion - my parents and I believe it to have been a whale shark, since other sharks have more streamlined bodies and are generally faster swimmers, meaning that no normal shark could carry a human on its back, even if it tried. Whale sharks, however, are much, much bigger and swim at much slower speeds, and technically speaking, they are still sharks.

There's also a separate legend abound within my family that's still closely related with this one, due to a small part of my family's lineage originating from Pulau Pangkor. It's said that somewhere in the island lies a hidden, ancient treasure, guarded by a djinn.

This is about all I can infer from my mother's brief accounts of the complete story. It captivated me when I first heard of it, not just because of the fantastical nature of the tale, but also because somehow, it feels so intriguing to know that my family has passed down a tale so rich in mystery and enigma, and the prospect of sharing it with others around me has been something I've set my sights on for a long time now.

[boxbug]

Secret santa gift for a friend, a creature from Malay folklore

[shalomniscient]

guys what if i was your best friend since we were kids, and i grew up with you and learned with you and followed the path of the warrior with you until we were both untouchable in a fight unless by each other. it’s always been just me and you. and then we both end up pledging our weapons to a ruler as his strongest warriors with a few other friends, but it’s still always been just you and me in any way it matters. you’re still the only one who can touch me in a fight. the years pass in our service to the ruler until one day you are unjustly accused and sentenced to death. for the first time it is just me without you. and in my grief i turn my weapon on the one we pledged our loyalty to, vowing to take his life in exchange for yours. and as i get close enough to that moment who else appears but you—alive and well. and i would have fallen to my knees in relief and held you if it wasn’t for the fact that it is your weapon pointed at me this time, and your voice calling me a traitor to our ruler. i question if your loyalty is greater than your love for me; i am answered when you strike me down. you hold me as i die and in the end, it’s still just you and me, before all that’s left is you. what then. this is about hang tuah and hang jebat btw

[adversary-to-inamorato]

"Imagination becomes reality, when you're in the land of Magika"

[dude-iloveu]

OC villain AU

[mecthology]

Pelesit from Malay folklore.

While it is likely that the pelesit is usually invisible, it is associated with grasshoppers with pointed heads. This is because it can take the form of one. However, "pelesit" is also a term for any malevolent animal spirit at times, implying that this creature can take on different shapes.

Belief in the pelesit traces back to Malay animism before the introduction of monotheism. Generally speaking, a pelesit can only be owned by a woman, and were said to have been prevalent in Kedah. The male equivalent is another hereditary spirit, the bajang.

In order to create a pelesit, one must bring a child's corpse to an ant hill on a full moon, then cut out its tongue. Once this is done, the tongue must be buried where three roads meet, and eventually it will become a pelesit.

Pelesit attack their victims by entering the person's mouth tail-first. A person afflicted by the pelesit will insanely rave about cats. By itself, the pelesit does nothing else. However, it is often the pet of another familiar spirit, the polong. If a pelesit enters a person's body and chirps, it is calling for the polong, which can make the victim go insane or unconscious. A shaman (bomoh or dukun) cures the victim by using a specific incantation and then asking them to reveal their "mother", meaning the pelesit's owner. The victim replies in a high-pitched voice, after which the shaman attempts to make the owner recall it.

When the pelesit is not in use, its owner keeps it in a bottle and regularly feeds it either with turmeric rice or blood pricked from the ring finger (known in Malay as the "ghost finger"). If the owner wishes to dispose of the pelesit, the bottle is buried in the same ground the pelesit was created.

Pelesit are often used for monetary gain. The bomoh will send the pelesit to attack a family, who will then call for the bomoh to rid them of the spirit, unaware that they are the source of the pelesit in the first place.

Follow @mecthology for more folklore and weird tales. DM for pic credit or removal. https://www.instagram.com/p/CkJyhQAIjn4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[southeastasianarchaeology]

Sang Nila Utama: Singapore's Royal Connection to Alexander

Singapore's founder Sang Nila Utama is described in the Malay Annals as a descendant of Alexander the Great.

via the Greek Reporter, 04 February 2024: Singapore’s foundation story, as recounted in the Malay Annals, links the Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama as a descendant of Alexander the Great (Iskandar Shah). This is likely a political myth to create an illustrious lineage for the rulers of Melaka. Amongst several generations of descendants of Alexander, King Suran (reign 1014 – 1044) emerged as the…

[wa-royal-tea]

Previous | Beginning | Next

(Transcript under the cut - Click Pics for HQ Version!)

@thebrixtons​​

Author’s Note: The story Alfie is reading to the children is loosely inspired by the Malay Folklore; Legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang

Ginny (on the phone): Can we add fairy lights around the dance platform? Maybe some canopy curtains too?

Catalina: What colour do you want it to be in?

Ginny: Maybe white? Or do you have any other suggestions?

Indirah: I think white is good. Maybe we can hang the fairy lights on the curtains too.

Ginny: Ooh~ Good idea!

Catalina: Alright, do you have any other decorations you want to add?

Ginny: Well, I do have something in mind…

*knock knock*

Rainier (from outside the room): Ginny? Are you in there?

Ginny: Yeah! Don’t come in!

Rainier: Why? What are you doing in there?

Ginny: I’m working on my dress. You can’t see it yet!

Rainier: *chuckles* Okay~ I made strawberry cheesecake for tea time. Come and eat with me when you’re done~

Ginny: Alright. Give me a minute!

Ginny *thinking*: Hmm the wedding dress is almost done. All that is left are the bridesmaid's dresses.

*phone rings*

Alfie: Don’t pick it up.

Catalina: *breathless* It’s Ginny’s ringtone. I think she wants to talk about the wedding preparation.

Alfie: Urgh, cockblocker.

Catalina: *giggles*

Catalina: Hey, Ginny. What’s up?

Catalina: Mhm, I see…

Catalina: Oh, I think I already— *gasps*

Catalina: Wh-what are you doing?

Alfie: Don’t mind me. Continue the call.

Catalina: Alfie— Sorry, Ginny. Can you repeat that?

Catalina: *voice shaking* Y-yeah. I think red is nice.

Catalina: *gasps* I-I’m fine. I…I accidentally dropped something.

Catalina: *breathless* It’s getting late here. C-can we continue the call tomorrow? Yeah, okay bye.

Alfie: *playfully* Done already? I was just getting started.

Catalina: You are in a big trouble, Mr. Frederick.

Alfie: Ooh~ I’m so scared.

Catalina: You’re not sleeping tonight until I’m done with you.

Alfie: Is that a threat, Mrs. Frederick?

Catalina: *scoffs* It’s a promise.

Indirah: Wow, you ordered more than usual. Are you getting the cinnamon roll for Alfie?

Catalina: Huh? This? Nope. They’re mine!

Indirah: Whoa, you must be very hungry. I thought you hate those?

Catalina: I just want to give it a try. They’re not too bad!

Indirah: *chuckles* I’m glad you’re enjoying them then.

[Scene transitions to Lina and Alfie going on an engagement, maybe cutting ribbons for the opening of the children’s library? Alfie reads a book for the children.]

Alfie:…the King fell in love with the Princess after seeing her beauty and asks for her hand in marriage. But the Princess has set several conditions for him before she can agree to his proposal.

Ali: What are the conditions?

Hanna: Yeah! Tell us, Mr. Prince!

Alfie: The Princess’ conditions are; the King must build a golden palace for her to live in and a golden bridge all the way from Mount Belcoast to Mount Silvie for her to walk to and from. She then would also want seven barrels of tears from a young maiden for her to bathe in. And a bowl of the blood of the King’s young heir.

Hope: Whoa! That sounds crazy impossible!

Ali: Right? Why would she give him all that conditions?

Catalina: Well, that’s actually her way of subtly telling him that she doesn’t want to marry him.

Alfie: Exactly. And in the end, the King got the hint and returned to his Kingdom. He’d rather not sacrifice his child just to marry someone.

Hanna: Wah~ The King is a good dad! Just like my appa!

Hope: Tell us more stories, please!

Catalina: You’re going to be a great dad one day, Alfie.

Alfie: Why’d you say that?

Catalina: You’re good with kids. And I know you’re going to be great to our kids.

Catalina: It’s just like a dream I had. You and the children, asleep on the bed after you read them bedtime stories.

Catalina: Just remembering that dream again makes me so happy.

Ginny: *content sigh* This feels like a dream. Everything feels so perfect.

Rainier: Well, if it is. I don’t want to wake up.

Ginny: I can’t wait for our wedding. It’s going to be perfect.

Rainier: I know. I can’t wait too. We’ve waited so long for this.

Ginny: You make me so happy. I don’t deserve you.

Rainier: You do. You deserve everything good in this world.

Rainier: And I’ll continue to make you happy. Until we’re old and grey.

[southeastasianists]

Quite possibly, one of the most charming—yet frustrating—aspects of history is its unsolved mysteries. The same can be said of linguistics, and only occasionally do they cross over to solve a problem, as in the case of the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian hieroglyphics. Enter the curious so-called Singapore Stone.

Believed to date back to the 13th century or as early as the 10th, the stone was once part of a large slab of inscribed sandstone standing at the mouth of the Singapore River. Then, in 1843, the British blew it up to widen a passageway and build military quarters.

Lieutenant-Colonel James Low, who had previously objected to the explosion, salvaged three fragments of the boulder and sent them to Kolkata for analysis. In 1918, one of the fragments was returned to the Raffles Museum, now known as the National Museum of Singapore. The status of the other two is uncertain, whether lost or still in India.

The stone's inscription has yet to be deciphered. Over the years it has been speculated to be Hindu, Tamil, and Pali, while more recent theories suggest that it is written in Kawi script and contains some Sanskrit words, hinting at the island's past as part of the Majapahit Empire.

Today, the Singapore Stone is designated as one of the eleven national treasures of Singapore. Folklore often associates it with Badang, the legendary Malay strongman whose incredible feats include hurling a massive stone from the nearby Fort Canning to the mouth of the Singapore River.

[arinnaamin]

HANG TUAH VERSUS HANG JEBAT ; The Blurred Lines between Loyalty and Betrayal

POST 3/5 - A classic tale of a tragic falling-out between two friends, but the complexity of its conclusion far outshines the story in its entirety, for most people.

Hang Tuah, commonly known for his many ambitious endeavors with his four friends; Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu, was a prominent Laksamana (admiral) and warrior who served Sultan Mahmud Syah in Malacca in the 15th century. He has played many supporting roles in other Malay folk tales that remain well-known to this day, like the story of the Taming Sari keris and his involvement in seeking Puteri Gunung Ledang's hand in marriage on the Sultan's behalf, but by far, his most famous tale is that of his conflict with Hang Jebat.

Some time after he began to serve Sultan Mahmud Syah, Hang Tuah was faced with slander that charged him of involvement in adultery alongside one of the Sultan's court ladies, the reason for such allegations being that he was, in a sense, the Sultan's favourite, making other commanders jealous of him.

Sultan Mahmud Syah soon discovered these allegations, but never actually investigated them with a fair trial, and so, he sought out the Bendahara (Prime Minister/treasurer) to execute Hang Tuah. Despite this, the Bendahara decided to take Hang Tuah into hiding in a remote location.

Back in the vicinity of Malacca, everyone wholeheartedly believed that Hang Tuah had since been killed - and his best friend, Hang Jebat, even more so. Having been heavily affected by the injustice of his friend's 'untimely fate,' he was sent into a rage, rebelling against the Sultan by seizing the palace, killing many of the Sultan's men, declaring his own rule, and overall challenging the Sultan's authority.

The Sultan lamented the loss of Hang Tuah when faced with the havoc being wreaked across the palace by Hang Jebat, as Hang Tuah stood as the only warrior capable of stopping him due to being aware of his capabilities. Luckily, the Bendahara stepped in just in time to salvage things, revealing that Hang Tuah was still alive. Hang Tuah was presented with a royal pardon from the Sultan, and was soon ordered to kill Hang Jebat for the chaos he'd caused thus far.

While initially overjoyed to see Hang Tuah alive and well, Hang Jebat was met with surprise when he saw his friend brandishing his keris, preparing for battle. Their long-lasting friendship was quickly overshadowed by the unending loyalty Hang Tuah possessed for the Sultan, and after seven long days, Hang Jebat was finally defeated and killed by the former. While both denounced this act of betrayal to their friendship, the two friends shared a mutual understanding that to Hang Tuah, loyalty to the Sultan comes before anything.

As previously mentioned, the ending of this story brings with it a plentiful discussion - one of who really was the hero, and of who really was in the wrong. Some suggest that it was Hang Tuah for his unwavering obedience in the face of authority, while others express that it was Hang Jebat for his loyalty to his comrade.

While the two both regretted the strain in their friendship, some sources suggest that Hang Jebat reacted a lot more strongly to this, possibly feeling a far more immense betrayal (for example, "I was so angry about your execution that I tore down this whole place to avenge your death, and now that I found out you're alive, you want to kill me just because the Sultan told you to!?").

On a serious note, though, if you were to ask me for my opinion on who really saved the show, I'd say it's both of them - both Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat are driven by their own sense of honor; Tuah by his loyalty to the Sultan and Jebat by his quest for justice.

In layman's terms, this story is one of duality and contradiction. In some versions, Hang Tuah is portrayed with more moral ambiguity, raising questions about blind loyalty, which shifts the central theme slightly from one of the glorification of loyalty to a higher power to a more nuanced discussion. Similarly, other versions might depict Hang Jebat's rebellion in a more heroic light, emphasizing his fight against tyranny and injustice and suggesting that standing against unjust authority is honorable, even if it leads to personal ruin.

Even with all of the discrepancies abound when approaching the tale of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat, the question of who the hero really is is left to the Malay population to work out. The lines between right and wrong are rather subjective for most of us to understand, not only in the context of this story, but in many aspects of real life, too.

The narrative embodies the tension between loyalty to authority and personal moral convictions, mirroring the complexities of Malaysian society, which values both traditional hierarchies and individual integrity. It's often hard for us to decide whether loyalty or obedience is more important, especially in situations that require us to consider our own moral judgments about the figures we hold in reverence.

The discussion this time around has been rather open-ended as opposed to the previous folk tales I've explored, but although I don't necessarily like having a clear-cut summary to all of this, it does make for a nice change of pace - in fact, in a sense, it can be used as a call to action to encourage audiences to consider the contrast between our two protagonists, guiding the collective ethos of Malaysian society.

Works Cited

MT Webmaster. “So, Was Jebat or Tuah the Hero?” Malaysia Today, July 2015, www.malaysia-today.net/2015/07/01/so-was-jebat-or-tuah-the-hero/. Accessed 30 May 2024.

‌Zain, Sabri. “The Tuah Legend.” Sabrizain.org, 2024, www.sabrizain.org/malaya/melaka2.htm. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Noor, Sabrina. “Originally Seen as a Traitor, Hang Jebat May Be the Story’s Real Hero 500 Years Later.” CILISOS - Current Issues Tambah Pedas!, 22 Aug. 2022, cilisos.my/plot-twist-in-the-story-of-hang-tuah-the-real-hero-might-actually-be-hang-jebat/. Accessed 30 May 2024.

‌

[leng-m]

This is a research study on the prevalence of folk beliefs (superstitions) and filial piety in the literature from the Philippine pre-colonial period. It would seem that nothing is truly original. In tracing the first human populations to the last migrations, trade, and conquests, the research shows that, at the onset, there was no culture present in the group of islands later known as the Philippines. Everything seems to have been imported, first by the Negritos some 57,000 yeas ago and by Austronesians some 44,000 years ago during the prehistoric eras; then by traders from various outposts of a series of Hindu empires, China, Japan, and Arabia, Portugal, and Borneo during the precolonial eras.

I'm browsing through this research paper on ancient literary traditions of the Philippines, and I'm a bit bemused that this was the writer's conclusion? "Nothing is truly original" appearing in the same paragraph that says the first inhabitants came 57,000 years ago. asdl;fja;lsdfjk your ancestors could literally have inhabited a place and cultivated their own culture for 57,000 years and people still really be out here saying you got NOTHING ORIGINAL.

Ironically, this paper references Jocano's Filipino Prehistory, which actually questions the migration theory. Here are some insightful excerpts from this book. (Granted it was published in 1998 and more evidence could have come out since then.)

In Many history textbooks, statements like "The first people in the Philippines were the Negritos"... Archaeologically, we do not have any data whatsoever to demonstrate that the Negritos came ahead of all other ethnic groups now living in the archipelago... Unless proven, the Negritos have just as much claim to contemporaneity in the archipelago as all other groups. Another historical view that needs to be carefully reexamined is the ethnic classification of Filipinos as Malays and/or of Filipino culture as Malayan in origin.... [T]hat the region of Southeast Asia was a clean slate until peopled by the Malay immigrants is popular but too simplistic in the face of fossil evidence encountered in the area... The fact that there are fossil human finds of early people prior to [the 40,000 to 21,000 BC] threshold in human evolution in the region still needs empirical explanation. Fossil evidence suggests that the peoples in the region -- Indonesians, Malays, Filipinos -- are the results of both the long process of evolution and the later demographic events. They stand coequal as ethnic groups, without anyone being the dominant group, racially or culturally.

And finally, in the wise words of Thara Celehar, Witness for the Dead, it is "impossible to prove a negative." It's impossible to say nothing is original, because you would have to inspect everything and determine that not a single one is original. But nobody has access to everything. Nobody knows every single folklore and literature that has ever existed in the thousands of years of habitation in the Philippine islands, and can prove that every single one of them in fact came from somewhere else.

[legend-collection]

Wewe Gombel is a female supernatural being or vengeful ghost in Javanese mythology. It is said that she kidnaps children.

This myth is taught to encourage children to be cautious and to stay at home at night. Traditionally, the Wewe Gombel is represented as a woman with long, hanging breasts. Modern representations include vampire-like fangs. This is a popular spirit that also appears in comics.

The ghost was named Wewe Gombel because it is related to an event that, according to ancient folklore, happened in Bukit Gombel, Semarang, where long ago a married couple lived. They had been married for years, but as time went by the husband realized that his wife was barren and stopped loving her. The husband became wayward, neglecting his wife and leaving her alone for long periods so she lived in sorrow. One day, she followed him and caught him in a sexual relationship with another woman. Hurt by her husband's betrayal she became furious and killed him. Faced with the crime, angry neighbors gathered in a mob and chased her from the village. Despairing at the ostracization and continual harassment, she committed suicide.

After death, her vengeful spirit became Wewe Gombel. Sundanese folklore says that she dwells in the crown of the Arenga pinnata palm, where she has her nest and keeps the children she catches. She does not harm them and once they are under her clutches they are not afraid of her.

Local traditions say that the children she abducts have been mistreated or neglected by their parents. She treats the children lovingly as a grandmother would, taking care of them and protecting them until their parents repent, at which point she returns them.

Wewe Gombel has affinities with the ghost known as Hantu Kopek in Malay folklore.

[cjcroen1393]

Part 2 of the monster school concept I uploaded pictures of yesterday.

Here, we see the obligatory mean girl posse, the big man on campus and the nerd.

Lyra Melody: Lyra here is our Regina George or Heather Chandler figure, the quintessential "alpha bitch" type. She's a siren, which I thought would be a very fitting position for a popular mean girl character. Her parents are famous singers in both the monster and human worlds (they have human disguises) so she's filthy rich. I've lately been fond of sirens who blend the old-school "bird" aesthetic and the more recent "mermaid" aesthetic.

Raya: A penanggalan and Lyra's second-in-command. The penanggalan, for those who don't know, is a monster from Malay folklore, kind of similar to the manananggal, but instead of just splitting off her torso, she splits off her entire body except her head and her internal organs. The penanggalan is also more like a witch than a vampire, taking on these forms through the use of dark magic (though she still feeds on viscera). Not entirely satisfied with her name tbh.

Veronica Bloodworth: The third and nicest member of Lyra's girl posse, Veronica, as her name implies, is a vampire (specifically of the Romanian "strigoi" variety, basically your classic, Dracula-esque vampire). Fun fact: Veronica was actually going to be the vampire of the main group, but then I decided I wanted the vampire rep among the protagonists to be a manananggal, so I changed things. I still liked Veronica's design, though, so I put her in the mean girl posse instead. She's not that mean, though. She's just following the wrong crowd.

Drake Rider: The obligatory "Big Man on Campus" type, Drake is the popular jock who can be kind of full of himself sometimes. He was originally going to be a dragon named "Drake St. George", but then I decided that I like dragons better as more animal-like monsters, so I made him a centaur instead. Figured centaurs made for good "jock" type monsters, since they're frequently depicted as tough but arrogant and chauvinistic.

Gala: A nerdy Zeta Reticulan ("grey alien"), I like to think of Gala here as a parody of the "foreign exchange student" character -- in the monster school, "foreign" can mean "from another planet"! (I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to do that, but still) She's probably my favorite design atm; I'm especially fond of her big, sparkly eyes! I like to think she has a crush on Drake and there'd be a whole plot about our heroes and even Lyra trying to help her woo him.

I have more concepts for this in the works, I'll hopefully upload those eventually. Characters belong to me.

[mecthology]

Langsuyar from Malay folklore.

Langsuyars are different from the pontianak, which is the ghost of the child who has died at or before birth. They take the form of a beautiful woman, with long black hair that reaches her ankles, although they may also take the form of a floating woman's head, from which entrails and a spinal column hang -- thus, similar in appearance to the penanggalan, although different in nature. Langsuyars have also been described as having incredibly long nails, hands extending down to her feet, and wearing robes. They prey on humans, preferring the blood of newborn male children, but also consuming newborn female children.

The langsuyar is associated with certain trees and the parasitic fern "sakat," which grows in dark green clusters and is said to be a common resting place. Woodcutters that harvest wood from the poisonous Rengas trees in Malaysia must undertake elaborate exorcisms to counteract being haunted by langsuyars and other spirits. Langsuyars are also associated with a nighthawk or owl, which is said to perch on the roof of the house while a pregnant mother or infant are being attacked by the vampire. In some traditions, langsuyars take the form of a night bird, and it is believed that the hoot of an owl is the cry of a woman seeking her lost child.

The rest of the tribe can prevent a deceased woman from returning as a langsuyar by putting glass beads in the mouth of the corpse, a hen's egg under the armpits, and needles in the palms of the hands. It is believed that if this is done, the deceased woman cannot become a langsuyar since she cannot open her mouth to shriek or wave her arms and open and close her hands while flying.

In the folklore of the Sakai, an indigenous people in the northern Malay Peninsula, a langsuyar can be repelled by using charms or chants against the demon. The leaves of the gandasuli are also considered to be a powerful charm against langsuyars.

Follow @mecthology for more myths and lore. DM for pic credit or removal. https://www.instagram.com/p/CkwEPWMIlHl/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ohdivine-jcink]

I am so excited to see more about this before it opens in July! What kind of supernatural creatures are going to be available?

hi! we're actually opening in mid july but we decided to push our buzz and opening to the end of july (or early august?) the reason why we decided to push our dates back and have been letting this ask sit for so long in our inbox is because we have been thinking and want to tread very carefully so as not to misappropriate asian culture (despite one of the admins being chinese southeast asian herself!). we realized that in the middle of research, many of the supernatural creatures that we plan to make canon come from closed culture/religion/indegeneous practices, or that there's simply not much information about them on the internet that may prove to be useful for our members that would allow them to portray them in a way that is respectful of the source material. but one thing for sure is that being said, deities from closed religions/practices or any major religions are absolutely off the limits. moving on, some canon supernatural creatures that we have fully fleshed out are:

gwishin (ghost)

dokkaebi (grim reaper)

bunian (malay folklore beings, similar to european elves)

baku (japanese mythical creature with the ability to devour nightmares)

qilin (a benevolent chinese chimerical creature)

meanwhile, some creatures that we are still researching that may not make it to the final canon creatures are:

kappa

kinnara/kinnari

cenderawasih

garuda

gumiho/kitsune/huli jing

yeongno

that being said, we take suggestions and critiques with open arms! if there's any asian supernatural creatures that you would like to see (or not see), send your suggestions over to our inbox <3