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This fan-fiction article, Toyol, was written by Passitivitea. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
A toyol or tuyul is an undead infant, the spirit of a stillborn child that appears as a naked baby or toddler in Far East folklore. In that respect, it is similar to lubberkins found in the North. That is where the similarities end however. It appears in the mythology of Sunda, Sundaland and Sabana. It is invoked as a helper by shamans known as dukun or bomoh using black magic. A person who owns a toyol uses it mainly to steal things from other people, or to do mischief. According to a well-known superstition, if money or jewelry keeps disappearing mysteriously from your house, a toyol might be responsible. One way to ward off a toyol is to place some needles under your money, for toyols are afraid of being hurt by needles.
According to Sunda mythology, the creature is believed to be kept by a person practicing pesugihan toyol black magic. Pesugihan is derived from word sugih meaning "rich". It is a kind of magic to help people to become rich instantly, but in exchange he or she must perform some rituals or offering tumbal (sacrifice something) to keep the toyol happy. According to myths, toyol can be kept for financial gain, but in exchange a female member of the family must allow it to breastfeed from her, sucking blood instead of milk. This is just a myth however, as toyol prefer to suck blood from the toes, with no preference for gender.
In old village tales, people keep toyol for theft, sabotage and other minor crimes. With special rituals the toyol can be made powerful and commit murder. A person who suddenly becomes wealthy without explanation might be suspected of keeping a toyol. The toyol is kept in a jar or an urn, and hidden away in a dark place until needed. What happens at the end of the contract is quite clear. The tablet, along with the urn, is buried in a graveyard (with the relevant rituals), and the spirit is then laid to rest. An alternative method is to dispose of them in the sea. If not properly disposed of, a toyol gets passed down in a family through the generations.
However, it can still get released by either the owner or shaman (bomoh) to roam free. Without a master, it would stray into the jungle or visit homes as an observer without disturbing residents. Based on an anecdote, a toyol confessed that it likes to peek into people's lives apart from the occasional distraction of playing with any toys found within houses. Simply put, toyol is quite harmless without a master, but it can turn to crime or mischief under the command of an unscrupulous individual.
After stealing, the only traces of its presence are its childlike footprints and fingerprints found at the crime scene if it happens to have dust on its hands and feet. Otherwise, people would not suspect that a toyol had raided their premises.
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