Exploring the Supernatural: The Legend of the Toyol Undead Infant
- Dess Wong
- Mar 28, 2024
- 4 min read
A toyol or tuyul is an undead infant in South-East Asian folklore. It appears in the mythology of Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. It is invoked as a helper by shamans (dukun or bomoh) using black magic.
This creature can be evoked to work with a human under its own terms. There are different methods to possess a Toyol:
Purchase a Toyol from a Shaman.
Making use of an aborted baby and through special embalmment techniques.
Evoke a Toyol from its dwelling place.
A Toyol is like an animal, so it needs to be treated as such. In order to foster a closer relationship with this creature, the below offerings should be presented:
A cup of milk every morning.
Some toys, clothing, sweets and biscuits.
A black candle and incense accompanied with mantras.
Some will smear a few drops of the owner’s own blood to the Toyol statue.
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 Javanese mythology, the creature is believed to be kept by a person practicing pesugihan toyol black magic . Pesugihan is derived from Javanese word sugih means “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 Javanese myth, 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.
The toyol is traditionally described as looking no different from a near-naked toddler. Modern depictions often give it a goblin-like appearance with green or grey skin, pointed ears, and clouded eyes.
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 not very clear. It could be that 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.
In Thailand, they are known as Koman-tong, for male sprits, and Koman-lay for females. Literally translated as “Golden Child”. They are used for protection, they can whisper in your ear of impending danger. Koman-tongs are usually wandering souls of dead children that the monks would adopt and give them a “replacement body”. The “replacement body” is usually a small statue carved out of tree bark, coral or baby bone. It is then placed in a container, soaked in perfume or chicken blood.
The story of the Golden Child comes supposedly from a 19th-century Thai tale called, “Khun Chang Khun Paen”. In brief, the story goes:
Khun Paen was a soldier, 400 years previous, a time when supernatural forces played an important part of traditional warfare. Khun Paen had wanted a protective spirit to watch over him in battle. To this end he cut the unborn foetus of his son from his dead wife’s womb and took it to a temple to perform an occult rite. He wrapped the child’s torso in sacred cloth and roasted it on a fire whilst chanting ritual mantras and dark incantations to create the supernatural being with whom he could communicate. The more powerful Kuman-tong are made by sorcerers living in the mountains. They would soak the “replacement body” in embalming oil. This ingredient seems to be crucial as it gives the toyol additional powers. Corpse oil is collected by removing the dead corpse’s chin (using a knife to cut through the bones) and cooking on a hot pan until the oil oozes out. These Thai ones are more subdued and even tempered, as the monks would chant to them daily.
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