Polong : The Miniature Spirit

Polong

Introduction

The Polong is a Malaysian spirit creature that’s been preserved by a human, for the purpose of killing an enemy. According to Malay beliefs, the ghost produces its pods by pouring the blood of the dead person into a long bottle. The bottle will then be adored and a specific spell will be read to it in certain periods of time. After seven days to two weeks the polong will sound a scream from inside the bottle indicating that it is alive.

The devotee then cuts a finger and places it into the bottle to nourish the Polong. Once the creature has been fed, it will follow its master’s orders and kill its enemies. The pods are usually kept in the bottle and will only be removed once the creature has destroyed its enemy. The Polong is more of a homunculus in Malaysian folklore, rather than a vampire.

Physical Traits

The polong is often described as being a female with the general physical characteristics of a woman and is known to be about an inch tall.

Family

The owner or the person who creates the polong is considered to be its parent and the polong obeys their every command like a child would.

Powers and Abilities

Polongs can attack humans by possessing their bodies which will remain delirious until they are exorcised. A person who gets sick after being attacked by a Polong will often have unexplained bruises on his body.

The polong is usually sent to attack a person who has an ill-will against the owner or the owner’s client. Usually, it follows its pet or plaything, which is a small grasshopper-like creature known as a pelesit. The pelesit will enter the human through it’s mouth and start chirping giving the signal to the polong to enter.

If the creature is overwhelmed by the power of other people, it can be captured and forced to reveal its witch’s identity. Charms can also be made to neutralize and destroy a captured polong.

Modern Day Influence

Polong’s are gaining in popularity in modern pop culture with the latest being an appearance in Marvel’s Blade comic series where it appears as a blood sucking vampire.

In parts of rural Malaysia, shamans and witches still claim to have control of or be in possession of polongs for various activities and cultural practices that is centred around black magic and the dark arts.