PONTIANAK
The Pontianak were said to be spirits of a still born child, women who died while giving birth, or women who were killed by the pontianak.
The phrase "Pontianak" was believed from the acronym of "Perempuan Mati Beranak"(meaning the woman death by childbirth) in the Malay tongue. After such death, precautions are taken to prevent them from rising like:
- Putting glass beads in the corpses mouth so that they can't shriek
- Placing eggs under the corpses armpits or putting needles in their palms so that they can't fly
The Pontianak usually announces its presence through baby cries or turns itself into a lovely lady and frightens or kills the unlucky that enter or pass through their territory. It usually disguises itself as a beautiful young lady to attract its victims (usually males). Its presence sometimes can be detected by a nice floral fragrance of the 'Kemboja' (a type of flower) followed by an awful stench afterwards. The distance of a pontianaks cries are very tricky. The Malays believe that if the cry is soft means that the pontianak is near and if it is loud then it must be far.
Reply
