Grouping | Legendary creature |
---|---|
Sub grouping | Nocturnal, undead |
Similar entities | Rangda |
Folklore | Indonesian folk mythology |
Country | Indonesia |
Region | Southeast Asia |
Habitat | Arenga pinnata palm |
Wewe Gombel is a female supernatural being or vengeful ghost in Javanese mythology. It is said that she kidnaps children. [1]
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. [2] Modern representations include vampire-like fangs. [3] This is a popular spirit that also appears in comics. [4]
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. [5]
Wewe Gombel has affinities with the ghost known as Hantu Kopek in Malay folklore. [6]
Wewe Gombel has been featured in Indonesian movies, such as the 1988 film Wewe Gombel [7] and the 2012 film Legenda Wewe Gombel (The Legend of Wewe Gombel). [8]
The HBO Asia anthology series Folklore features an adaptation of Wewe Gombel in the episode "A Mothers Love". [9]
Representations of Wewe Gombel are sometimes part of popular local festivals. [10]
La Llorona is a vengeful ghost in Mexican folklore who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned in a jealous rage after discovering her husband was unfaithful to her. Whoever hears her crying either suffers misfortune or death and their life becomes unsuccessful in every field.
The bogeyman is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearances, and conceptions vary drastically by household and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as masculine or androgynous monsters that punish children for misbehavior. The bogeyman, and conceptually similar monsters can be found in many cultures around the world. Bogeymen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on the purpose of invoking the figure, often on the basis of a warning from an authority figure to a child. The term is sometimes used as a non-specific personification of, or metonym for, terror – and sometimes the Devil.
The Kuntilanak, also called Pontianak, or Yakshi is a mythological creature in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is similar to Langsuir in other Southeast Asia regions. The Kuntilanak usually takes the form of a pregnant woman who died during childbirth. Alternatively, it is often described as a vengeful female spirit. Another form of the Kuntilanak refers to the ghost or white lady of Southeast Asian folklore.
Rangda is the demon queen of the Leyaks in Bali, according to traditional Balinese mythology. Terrifying to behold, the child-eating Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of good — Barong. The battle between Barong and Rangda is featured in a Barong dance which represents the eternal battle between good and evil.
Kuchisake-onna is a malevolent figure in Japanese urban legends and folklore. Described as the malicious spirit, or onryō, of a woman, she partially covers her face with a mask or other item and carries a pair of scissors, a knife, or some other sharp object. She is most often described as a tall woman of about 175-180cm, however, some people believe she is up to 8 feet tall, having long, straight black hair, white hands, pale skin, and otherwise being considered beautiful . She has been described as a contemporary yōkai.
La Sayona is a legend from Venezuela, represented by the vengeful spirit of a woman that shows up only to men that have love affairs out of their marriages. The name "Sayona" refers to the cloth the ghost wears which is a long white dress similar to a medieval undergarment.
There are many Malay ghost myths, remnants of old animist beliefs that have been shaped by Hindu-Buddhist cosmology and later Muslim influences, in the modern states of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore and among the Malay diaspora in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries. The general word for ghost is hantu, of which there exist a wide variety. Some ghost concepts such as the female vampires pontianak and penanggal are shared throughout the region. While traditional belief does not consider all ghosts as necessarily evil, Malaysian popular culture tends to categorise them all as types of evil djinn.
The Krasue is a nocturnal female spirit of Southeast Asian folklore. It manifests as the floating, disembodied head of a woman, usually young and beautiful, with her internal organs still attached and trailing down from the neck.
Pocong is a ghost that looks like a person wrapped in a funeral cloth. In Islamic funeral, a shroud called a "kain kafan" is used to wrap the body of the dead person. The dead body is covered in white fabric tied over the head, under the feet, and on the neck, and the shroud is firmly tied at multiple junctures to maintain its position during the journey to the grave site. Upon placement into the grave, it is believed that the knots must be undone or the corpse will animate and be known as a Pocong. Pocong is also known in Malaysia as Hantu Bungkus.
Hantu Jeruk Purut is a 2006 Indonesian horror film directed by Koya Pagayo and starring Angie Virgin, Sheila Marcia Joseph, and Samuel Z Heckenbucker. It tells the story of an aspiring writer who is haunted by the ghost she is investigating.
In Indonesian mythology, a sundel bolong, is a mythical ghost from the archipelago which is a woman with beautiful long black hair and a long white dress. The myth is closely linked to prostitutes, meaning a "prostitute with a hole in her", in reference to the large hole which is said to appear in her back.
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 among others, themes and subject matter related to the indigenous knowledge of the ethnic Malays and related ethnic groups within the region.
Teke Teke (テケテケ), also spelled Teke-Teke, Teketeke, or Teke teke, is a Japanese urban legend about the ghost of a schoolgirl, where her body was split in half by a train after she had gotten stuck. She is an onryō, or a vengeful spirit, who lurks in urban areas and roams train stations at night. Since she no longer has a lower body, she travels on her hands, dragging her upper torso and making a scratching or "teke teke"-like sound, produced either by her elbows or the end of her bisected body scraping the ground. If she encounters an individual, she will chase them and slice them in half at the waist, killing them in such a way that mimics her own disfigurement.
The mythology of Indonesia is very diverse, the Indonesian people consisting of hundreds of ethnic groups, each with their own myths and legends that explain the origin of their people, the tales of their ancestors and the demons or deities in their belief systems. The tendency to syncretize by overlying older traditions with newer foreign ideas has occurred. For example, the older ancestral mythology might be merged with foreign mythology, such as Hindu, Islam, or Christian biblical mythology.
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or cremation ceremonies are important, such vengeful spirits may also be considered as unhappy ghosts of individuals who have not been given a proper funeral.
Suanggi or Suangi is a malevolent spirit in the folklore of many regions in Eastern Indonesia.
The langsuyar, also lang suir or langsuir, is a female revenant in Malay and other mythologies in the Malay Archipelago. The word is derived from the Malay word for eagle.
Danur 2: Maddah is a 2018 Indonesian supernatural horror film directed by Awi Suryadi and written by Lele Laila. The film stars Prilly Latuconsina, Sandrinna Michelle and Shawri Adrian Khulafa in leading roles with Sophia Latjuba, Bucek Depp, and Gama Haritz in supporting roles. The film is the sequel to the 2017 film Danur: I Can See Ghosts, and is followed by Danur 3: Sunyaruri in 2019.
Kereta Hantu Manggarai (The Ghost Train of Manggarai) is a 2008 Indonesian horror film directed by Nayato Fio Nuala. The film, starring Sheila Marcia and Melvin Giovanie, tells the story about a group of teenagers who performs a ritual to "summon" and board a train that is said to be a ghost train, in order to find their member’s missing sister. The film was released on April 30, 2008.