Krasue
Encyclopedia
The krasue is a certain female spirit of Southeast Asia
n mythology.
This ghost has been the subject of a number of movies in the region, including Konm Eak Madia Arb
(or Krasue Mom), a Cambodian horror movie which has the distinction of being the first movie made in the People's Republic of Kampuchea
after the absence of locally-made movies and the repression of local folklore
in Cambodia
during the Khmer Rouge
era.
under the name Krasue, in Cambodia
as Ap (អាប) and in Laos
, as Phi-Kasu or Kasu.
A similar spirit is also found in the traditions of the Malaysia and Indonesia
, where it is called Penanggalan or Hantu Penanggal, as well as the Philippines
, where it is identified with the local spirit Manananggal
. The folklore also entered Vietnamese culture, as ma lai, via tribal societies of Vietnam's Western Higlands
.
Since it has no lower body this spirit hovers in the air above the ground. The organs below the head include a length of intestine and are usually represented freshly daubed with blood. Her teeth often include pointed fangs in vampire
-fashion.
This hungry ghost is always active in the night when it goes out hunting, seeking blood to drink or raw flesh to devour.
This ghost can prey on pregnant women in their homes just before or after the childbirth. It uses an elongated proboscis-like tongue to catch the fetus or its placenta
within the womb and its sharp teeth to devour it. This habit, among other unmentionable things that this spirit does, is believed to be the cause of many diseases affecting mainly women during their pregnancy. Attacking pregnant women is a feature Krasue or Ap shares with the Filipina ghost Manananggal.
In order to protect the pregnant women from becoming victims before birth, their relatives place thorny branches around the house. This improvised thorny fence discourages the Krasue coming to suck the blood and causing other sufferings to the pregnant lady within the house.
After the birth, the woman's relatives must take the cut placenta far away for burial to hide it from the Krasue. There is the belief that if the placenta is buried deep enough the spirit can't find it. To crush the still body which can be left sleeping or sitting is fatal to the spirit. The flying head will return after hunting but rejoin with the wrong body which will lead to suffer pain until death.
The creature will die if the intestines get cut off or if its body disappears or gets hidden by someone. If the top part of the body fails to find the lower half before daybreak it will die if it does not rejoin the other half when sunlight comes. Some traditions believe that the creature can be destroyed by burning them alive.
Someone trying to learn the black arts in Hindu culture makes a mistake or studies the wrong magic. It appeared to them to separate their head and body. Past sins are also related to Krasue Heredity; women who aborted or killed someone in a previous life will become a Krasue as punishment. Another story refers to a person who later become the Krasue, by contaminating their food and drinks with an old krasue's sailver or flesh. Transformations into a Krasue mostly happens to the relatives of witches, especially their daughters or granddaughters.
from India
which later spread to Cambodia
, which first lead the birth of Krasue Spirit by its dark art and witch cursed. It was part of the local religions for a long time until the war, when refugees took a place in another country. In Thailand, there is a story of a Khmer princess becoming the krasue in the mid-18th century during the dark age of Cambodia; the losing of war with many country had told as the first Thai Krasue. The legend was again used in the Thai horror film Demonic Beauty
.
depict the krasue, including Krasue (Demonic Beauty) in 2002, 2006's Krasue Valentine
by Yuthlert Sippapak
, the Cambodian film
, 2004 horror film Nieng Arp
(Lady Vampire) or Burn the witch
, Hong Kong
's Witch with the Flying Head (1977) and Indonesia
's Mystics in Bali
(1981). In the Vietnam war-era drama Freedom Deal https://www.facebook.com/FREEDOMDEAL by Camerado
, President Nixon orders the 1970 military incursion into Cambodia, unwittingly unleashing a legion of Cambodian Arbs, similar to the Krasue. A Krasue was also comically featured in a Sylvania
light bulb commercial for Thai audiences.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n mythology.
This ghost has been the subject of a number of movies in the region, including Konm Eak Madia Arb
My Mother is Arb
My Mother is Arb is a Cambodian horror film.-Background:This Khmer folklore-based movie was produced shortly after the fall of Pol Pot's destructive Democratic Kampuchea regime, during the painful rebuilding of Cambodian cultural life in the pro-Soviet People's Republic of Kampuchea...
(or Krasue Mom), a Cambodian horror movie which has the distinction of being the first movie made in the People's Republic of Kampuchea
People's Republic of Kampuchea
The People's Republic of Kampuchea , , was founded in Cambodia by the Salvation Front, a group of Cambodian leftists dissatisfied with the Khmer Rouge, after the overthrow of Democratic Kampuchea, Pol Pot's government...
after the absence of locally-made movies and the repression of local folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
during the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
era.
Geographic distribution
The same spirit is part of the popular folklore in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
under the name Krasue, in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
as Ap (អាប) and in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, as Phi-Kasu or Kasu.
A similar spirit is also found in the traditions of the Malaysia and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, where it is called Penanggalan or Hantu Penanggal, as well as the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, where it is identified with the local spirit Manananggal
Manananggal
The manananggal is a mythical creature of the Philippines. It resembles a Western vampire, in being an evil, man-eating monster or witch. The myth of the manananggal is popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines, especially in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, and Antique...
. The folklore also entered Vietnamese culture, as ma lai, via tribal societies of Vietnam's Western Higlands
Tây Nguyên
Tây Nguyên, translated as Western Highlands and sometimes also called Central Highlands, is one of the regions of Vietnam. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lâm Đồng....
.
Description
A Krasue or Ap is a malevolent spirit appearing during the night. It manifests itself as a woman, usually young and beautiful, with her internal organs hanging down from the neck, trailing below the head.Since it has no lower body this spirit hovers in the air above the ground. The organs below the head include a length of intestine and are usually represented freshly daubed with blood. Her teeth often include pointed fangs in vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
-fashion.
Origin
It is believed that this spirit was formerly a rich person with a length of black gauze or ribbon tied around the head and neck as protection from the sunshine. The ghost originated with the possession of this woman by an evil spirit which turned her into a head suspended in the air with some internal organs hanging from the neck after the separation of the head from the body.This hungry ghost is always active in the night when it goes out hunting, seeking blood to drink or raw flesh to devour.
This ghost can prey on pregnant women in their homes just before or after the childbirth. It uses an elongated proboscis-like tongue to catch the fetus or its placenta
Placenta
The placenta is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply. "True" placentas are a defining characteristic of eutherian or "placental" mammals, but are also found in some snakes and...
within the womb and its sharp teeth to devour it. This habit, among other unmentionable things that this spirit does, is believed to be the cause of many diseases affecting mainly women during their pregnancy. Attacking pregnant women is a feature Krasue or Ap shares with the Filipina ghost Manananggal.
In order to protect the pregnant women from becoming victims before birth, their relatives place thorny branches around the house. This improvised thorny fence discourages the Krasue coming to suck the blood and causing other sufferings to the pregnant lady within the house.
After the birth, the woman's relatives must take the cut placenta far away for burial to hide it from the Krasue. There is the belief that if the placenta is buried deep enough the spirit can't find it. To crush the still body which can be left sleeping or sitting is fatal to the spirit. The flying head will return after hunting but rejoin with the wrong body which will lead to suffer pain until death.
The creature will die if the intestines get cut off or if its body disappears or gets hidden by someone. If the top part of the body fails to find the lower half before daybreak it will die if it does not rejoin the other half when sunlight comes. Some traditions believe that the creature can be destroyed by burning them alive.
Heredity
Many religions believe that heredity to becoming the spirit originally came from The Physical or Supernatural.Someone trying to learn the black arts in Hindu culture makes a mistake or studies the wrong magic. It appeared to them to separate their head and body. Past sins are also related to Krasue Heredity; women who aborted or killed someone in a previous life will become a Krasue as punishment. Another story refers to a person who later become the Krasue, by contaminating their food and drinks with an old krasue's sailver or flesh. Transformations into a Krasue mostly happens to the relatives of witches, especially their daughters or granddaughters.
Origins
The Nature of the Krasue Spirit is localed in HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
which later spread to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, which first lead the birth of Krasue Spirit by its dark art and witch cursed. It was part of the local religions for a long time until the war, when refugees took a place in another country. In Thailand, there is a story of a Khmer princess becoming the krasue in the mid-18th century during the dark age of Cambodia; the losing of war with many country had told as the first Thai Krasue. The legend was again used in the Thai horror film Demonic Beauty
Demonic Beauty
Demonic Beauty is a 2002 Thai romance-horror film written and directed by Bin Banluerit. The film concerns the krasue ghost legend that is common in Southeast Asian countries.-Plot:...
.
Adaptations
A lot of countries of believing the Krasue tale had adapted it into the Screen. Several Thai filmsCinema of Thailand
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...
depict the krasue, including Krasue (Demonic Beauty) in 2002, 2006's Krasue Valentine
Krasue Valentine
Krasue Valentine is a 2006 Thai romance-horror film written and directed by Yuthlert Sippapak. The film concerns the krasue ghost legend that is common in Southeast Asian countries.-Plot:...
by Yuthlert Sippapak
Yuthlert Sippapak
Yuthlert Sippapak is a Thai film director, screenwriter and producer. He's best known for his genre-blending films Killer Tattoo and Buppah Rahtree .-Biography:...
, the Cambodian film
Cinema of Cambodia
Cinema in Cambodia began in the 1950s, and many films were being screened in theaters throughout the country by the 1960s, which are regarded as the "golden age"...
, 2004 horror film Nieng Arp
Nieng Arp
Nieng Arp with international title as Lady Vampire also known as Vampire and Bodyless is a 2004 Cambodian horror film. The film features upon the religion and belief of domestic folklore about Krasue which present in common around Southeast Asia.Directed by a khmer-born director who took some...
(Lady Vampire) or Burn the witch
Burn the Witch
"Burn the Witch" is the third single released from Queens of the Stone Age's fourth album, Lullabies to Paralyze. Many of its lyrics run parallel with the dark, folkloristic theme for this album...
, Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
's Witch with the Flying Head (1977) and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
's Mystics in Bali
Mystics in Bali
Mystics in Bali is a 1981 Indonesian horror film directed by H. Tjut Djalil and based on the novel "Leák Ngakak" by Putra Mada. The original Indonesian title is "Mystik" or "Leyak", but the film is also known as "Leák" in some territories and "Balinese Mystic" in Australia.The film revolves around...
(1981). In the Vietnam war-era drama Freedom Deal https://www.facebook.com/FREEDOMDEAL by Camerado
Camerado
Camerado is a commercial film, video and multimedia production group that produces independent, multicultural-themed films, videos, and media events with a prosocial agenda....
, President Nixon orders the 1970 military incursion into Cambodia, unwittingly unleashing a legion of Cambodian Arbs, similar to the Krasue. A Krasue was also comically featured in a Sylvania
Osram Sylvania
Osram Sylvania Inc. is the North American operation of lighting manufacturer Osram GmbH, which is owned by Siemens AG. It was established in January 1993, with the acquisition of GTE’s Sylvania lighting division by Osram GmbH....
light bulb commercial for Thai audiences.
See also
- Demonic Beauty film)Demonic BeautyDemonic Beauty is a 2002 Thai romance-horror film written and directed by Bin Banluerit. The film concerns the krasue ghost legend that is common in Southeast Asian countries.-Plot:...
- LeyakLeyakIn the folklore of Bali, the Leyak is a mythological figure in the form of flying head with entrails still attached. Leyak is said to fly trying to find a pregnant woman in order to suck her baby's blood or a newborn child...
- ManananggalManananggalThe manananggal is a mythical creature of the Philippines. It resembles a Western vampire, in being an evil, man-eating monster or witch. The myth of the manananggal is popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines, especially in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, and Antique...
(Philippine mythology)- Penanggalan (Malay culture)
- My Mother is Arb (film)My Mother is ArbMy Mother is Arb is a Cambodian horror film.-Background:This Khmer folklore-based movie was produced shortly after the fall of Pol Pot's destructive Democratic Kampuchea regime, during the painful rebuilding of Cambodian cultural life in the pro-Soviet People's Republic of Kampuchea...