Hantu Raya – roaming spirit or supreme ghost?

The popular Malay horror movie, Jangan Pandang Belakang earned its success from drawing its plot on what is known as the master of all ghosts - the Hantu Raya or the Supreme Ghost.

Jangan Pandang Belakang's story lies in the lead character Darma who investigates the mysterious death of his fiancee, Rose.

Rose was haunted by a spirit which they had unknowingly brought back through a washed up jar found on a beach. Many mysterious and strange occurrences kept taking place until the family learnt that the Hantu Raya needed to be "fed" after its previous owner passed away.

The wandering spirit

Malay folklore believers and academics have different versions of the Hantu Raya.

University Malaya animism expert Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan spoke to Yahoo! Malaysia about the structure of Malay animism and the origins of spirits.

"The highest order of supernaturalism is God, you may call it Tuhan and others have different references. That is the highest supreme being. Then there are demi-gods, which can be the guardians of locations, mountains, hills or the sea.

"Some spirits stay put in these locations, while others are free and wander around. These are called the Hantu Raya. Mediums have the power to call or seru these spirits," the associate professor explained.

These roaming spirits are invisible to the eye, but float around or even sit next to you. Think about it, these spirits may accompany you when you walk through a dark alley or a new space in a building. You could feel their presence when you sense an eerie feeling or feel a sudden change in temperature when you enter a foreign room.

For Alfean Hardy, he did not only "feel" the presence of a wandering spirit. He saw her.

He had once worked in a garment factory in Johor Bahru as a store clerk, tasked to work on inventories of thread, buttons and bundles of cloth in a room which looked like an old library.

"There were rows and rows of shelving arranged in perpendicular to a corridor that led to a locked dumping room. I was stacking stuff in one row, another colleague was two rows away doing the same.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman with long hair, wearing a kebaya and headed towards the dumping room," this writer-editor told Yahoo! Malaysia.

Alfean's colleague also saw the woman and both of them rushed to the dumping room, which only had two exits. One of them was locked and the other was the exit where they walked in from. The girl was not to be found.

Alfean learnt that there was a girl who worked at the factory who had died in a gruesome accident years ago. Her long hair got caught in factory equipment and her head got crushed by the machinery.

It gets eerier. As Alfean was leaving the factory on the last day of his work, he remembers, "I saw the same girl waving goodbye from the second floor of the factory."

Science or fiction?

Despite being a firm believer in scientific explanations for supernatural sightings, paranormal researcher Augustine Towonsing believes that there were evidence of roaming spirits in his investigations. He has done over 200 investigations so far.

"I have conducted paranormal investigation and ghost research mostly at cemeteries, historical sites, school grounds, abandoned houses and some times in the jungle.

"My research discovered that these spirits can present themselves any time and at any moment," he tells Yahoo! Malaysia.

"I felt an extreme temperature drop when I was in a cemetery that had recorded shadowy figures, I have also felt fear and threatened when approaching a particular grave in a cemetery or during an investigation in an abandoned house," he shared.

Roaming spirits can be made to become your servants, Zainal explained. "When you call the spirit to become your guardian, he is no longer free. You can manipulate it to be destructive or to protect you."

A body is known to have three elements — semangat, nyawa and roh — the spirit, life or breath and soul.

Malay animism and folklore believers find that when a person dies, the soul will return to its source or its maker. Your life or breath also can taken away by "angels" when you pass away. But, your spirit or semangat remains in the physical body.

"So when the nyawa and roh are removed from the body and the semangat is not appeased or at ease, the spirit will be restless and roam," Zainal explained.

To help someone who has panicked and turned pale, this mantra is cited, "Kurr, semangat." This chant helps bring "back" the spirit to the body, according to Zainal.

The Great , Supreme, Ghost

Then there are other views. For some, the Hantu Raya was the most dangerous spirit of them all and possesses great strength. This type of spirit could be called to help its master become wealthy or harm others.

Masters of these spirits are known to have formed a pact with a demon or inherited the Hantu Raya from older generations, in the form of Saka or legacy.

The powers come with a condition, the master has to provide the ghost with a new owner before he passes on. Those who fail to fulfil this wish would suffer at their deathbed. This Hantu Raya could also impersonate its owner after the master's death and roam around for a new owner, while haunting others.

How do you appease such a powerful supernatural spirit? With Ancak, a type of offering made out of yellow glutinous rice, eggs, roasted chicken, rice flakes and a doll. Some times these spirits are offered the blood of a slaughtered animal.

Perhaps, if your own semangat or spirit does have the courage to face a Hantu Raya, stay home and avoid dark and eerie places. You can always catch the Hantu Raya on the silver screen.