THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Blind Shamans and ‘Feeding’ Ghosts 25
and spirits using anchak and lanchang was vehemently condemned by
religious teachers who preached that it was against Islamic teachings.
On another day, as I was about to enter my (Malay) school compound,
I happened to see three eggs and other ‘feeding ghosts’ paraphernalia
under a cluster of red hibiscus shrubs in full bloom. Scared out of my
wits, I hurried to leave, but a bully from a higher class forced me to touch
the shrubs.
When I returned home after school, I became feverish. I went into a
delirium and began a strange monologue of fear. A bomoh was called to
my house. The diagnosis: I had angered the spirit ‘residing’ in the
‘feeding’ (hibiscus) area.
The items needed by the bomoh to cure me were the same as those
required by Pak Yit, but this time, my mother had to sacrifice three eggs
instead of one, as this was a more severe case. According to the bomoh,
the father of the bully who had forced me to touch the hibiscus bush had
spirits and ghosts ‘under his care’.
While studying the beeswax formations on the water in the earthen
jar, the bomoh ‘happened to see’ the graceful chempaka (michelia
champaca) tree with sweet-smelling white flowers in front of my house
in the water. I loved this graceful tree, which sent redolent scents into
our home through the many open Malay-style windows.
Apart from physical beauty, the tree was also a source of pocket
money for us brothers. My mother and adopted sister Bakyah often strung
the chempaka flowers into pretty strands which we sold to Chinese ladies
in Matang. All ladies of that time, regardless of race, braided fresh and
fragrant flowers into their hair.
According to the bomoh, the shady chempaka tree was a playground
for pontianak, long-haired female ghosts appearing as beautiful dames
to entice men. If we weren’t careful, this tree could become “their permanent
residence,” he advised. So to our dismay, a death sentence was
imposed on the innocent tree. Before long, we saw the felling of the
much beloved tree.