Lang Suir
The lang suir is a female revenant in Malay and Indonesian mythology. The term is traditionally spelled as two words, but is now more often rendered langsuir or langsuyar, derived from the Malay word for eagle (helang). In popular usage, the lang suir is often confused with the pontianak, but they are in fact very different. While the pontianak is the ghost of a woman who died while pregnant, lang suir are the spirits of women who suffered from laboring sickness (meroyan) which resulted in the death of both mother and baby during childbirth. Such a woman would turn in to a lang suir 40 days after her death. To prevent this from happening, glass beads are placed in the corpses' mouths.
Unlike the pontianak which appears beautiful and preys on men, the lang suir is hideous with red eyes and long sharp nails. Their victims are pregnant women, whom they either kill or cause to have miscarriages. Lang suir suck the blood of their victims through a hole behind its neck. If one puts the lang suir's hair in this hole or cuts their claws, it will become human again. While the pontianak is associated with banana trees, lang suir are said to be encountered near the shore of a river or sea. This way, if a human victim isn't available, they might prey on fish.
Lang suir are often depicted as being dressed in white or green. Like the kuntilanak, the lang suir is able to fly, including in the form of an owl. The Malay word for owl is "burung hantu" which means "ghost bird" when translated word by word.
See also
- Malay folklore
- Sundel Bolong
- Pontianak
- White Lady (ghost)
- Tai Thong Klom
- Keres (Κῆρες), spirits of violent or cruel death in Greek mythology
- Hun and po
- Banshee
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