Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Indonesian people are familiar with Indonesian ghost stories, such as pocong, kuntilanak, tuyul, and so on. However, what happens if white people are met by these ghosts?
One of those who experienced this was a Dutch woman named Augusta de Wit. He admitted that he met kuntilanak in person when he visited Java in 1894 and described his experience in his book Java, Facts and Fancies. Apart from the truth of the story, one thing that is certain from de Wit's testimony is the matter of how Europeans met the ghosts of the archipelago and recorded their existence.
What's the story?
At first, he admitted that he first saw the figure of a kuntilanak sitting on a tree branch while laughing loudly. The loud voice, de Wit said, really broke the silence. And when he saw his face, de Wit testified that the kuntilanak was very beautiful.
“Her face was more beautiful than the bride of the goddess of love,” wrote de Wit.
However, the kuntilanak not only sits around laughing, but also preys on men. He did this as a way to feel the love that had been hidden for so long. Because, said de Wit, the existence of the kuntilanak comes from the soul of a virgin who has never been kissed by her lover.
“And he can't rest because he has never known love. And he will win it even though now not in kindness, but in deadly malice,” said the Dutch woman.
According to him, the way kuntilanaks prey on men is through singing. On tree branches, kuntilanaks often sing softly while combing their long hair.
Usually, this activity aims to attract a young man so that he dares to hug him. And when the kuntilanak carried out its action, the young man who saw it was immediately blinded and dared to hug it.
“But, when he (the young man) hugged her, he felt a gaping wound on his back which turned out to be hidden behind his long hair,” said de Wit.
When that happened, the young man's history was over. De Wit said that the young man could not escape from the kuntilanak's embrace. In the midst of fear, Kuntilanak cursed the man to die.
So, before nightfall, the young man died. However, de Wit also revealed a way to survive the kuntilanak's death embrace. In fact, thanks to that courage, there was a young man who would later become the husband of the king's daughter and the father of the princes.
“If he is clever and brave, he will pull out a strand of the kuntilanak's hair. If he succeeds, he will not die, but will live to an old age, rich, honorable and happy,” he said.
The story of the kuntilanak told by Augusta de Wit looks like stories from a horror film. If you are among those who do not believe in the existence of kuntilanak, you may be interested in exploring the origins of the myth of this female ghost, as did German researchers. More details are in the link below.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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(mfa/mfa)