Toyol

There is a distinct lack of research, information, and academic sources that trace the history of the toyol. Yet, according to some blogs, the late academic Mohd Taib Osman suggested that the origins of owning a toyol dates as far back as pre-Islamic Arab society. Some have linked this to the prevalence of infanticide that took place during that time.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

The toyol is known by different names across Southeast Asia. The Malay word toyol is {{lang|id|tuyul}} in Indonesian,{{cite book |last1=Khairunnisa |first1=Aulia |last2=Wardhaningsih |first2=Mira |title=A Book of Indonesian Ghosts |publisher=StoryTale Studios |isbn=6239476730 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7df9DwAAQBAJ&dq=tuyul&pg=PA6 |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=indonesianghosts}} {{lang|jv|thuyul}} in Javanese, and {{lang|su|kecit}} in Sundanese.{{cite web|language=su|url=https://galura.pikiran-rakyat.com/ngadu-bako/pr-2966275513/carita-jurig-dina-sastra-sunda-ditaratas-ku-moh-ambri-sastrawan-sunda-klasik?page=all|title=Carita Jurig dina Sastra Sunda, Ditaratas ku Moh Ambri, Sastrawan Sunda Klasik|first=Nanang|last=Supriatna|access-date=2024-02-04|date=2023-02-16|publisher=Pikiran Rakyat}} It is also known as cohen kroh{{cite book |last1=Day |first1=David |title=A Dictionary of Sources of Tolkien |date=17 Oct 2019 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=978-0753734063 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmCyDwAAQBAJ&dq=cohen+kroh&pg=PT128 |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=tolkien}} in Khmer, and kwee kia{{cite book |title=Singapore Literature in English: An Annotated Bibliography |date=2008 |publisher=National Library Board Singapore and Centre for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University |isbn=978-9810700607 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MfLfAAAAMAAJ&q=kwee+kia |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=singaporeliterature}} in Hokkien. In Thai, the male is called kuman-thong while the female is named kuman-lay.{{cite book |last1=McDaniel |first1=Justin Thomas |title=The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand |date=1 Dec 2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0231153775 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMWrAgAAQBAJ&dq=kumarn-thong&pg=PA172 |ref=lovelornghost}}{{cite book |last1=Sikora |first1=Jack |last2=Westin |first2=Larry |title=Batcats: The United States Air Force 553rd Reconnaissance Wing in Southeast Asia |date=2003 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=0595300812 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xwodzk-9EOgC&dq=kumarn-thong&pg=PA85 |ref=batcats}} A similar creature exists in Philippine mythology which is known as tiyanak.

The toyol is traditionally and commonly described as looking no different from a near-naked toddler.{{cite book |last=Chua |first=Liana |year=2012 |title=Southeast Asian Perspectives on Power |publisher=Routledge |page=59 |isbn=9780415683456}} However, regional differences can account for variation in appearance and characteristics; the toyol is claimed to look like a normal child with the exception of sharp teeth and red eyes, but the Indonesian tuyul has the addition of green skin and pointed ears. The tuyul has the ability to scale walls and climb roofs. Modern depictions often give the toyol a goblin-like appearance with green or grey skin, pointed ears, and clouded eyes.{{cite book |last1=Estep |first1=Richard |title=The World's Most Haunted Hospitals |date=25 Jan 2016 |publisher=Red Wheel/Weiser |isbn=978-1632659729 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m99EDwAAQBAJ&dq=Toyol&pg=PT213 |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=hauntedhospitals}}

The toyol's behaviour and personality is typically said to be similar to that of a playful child, where it enjoys sweets, toys, and clothes. Its small size and childish tendencies are said to render it harmless.{{Sfn|Nicholas|Ganapathy|p=173}} Although, behavioural characteristics can also differ according to region. For instance, the kuman-thong and kuman-lay are said to be more benevolent, and unlike the toyol whose owner has to tame, these Thai spirits do not need sacrifices nor rituals to be done in order to invoke their services. The toyol is also said to only steal half of a person's valuable belongings.{{Sfn|Nicholas|Ganapathy|p=173}} While widely known to help its guardian pilfer, the toyol carries out other mischievous acts when commanded.Fairuz and Ng, “A Malaysian Folklore Game Design,” 198.

The belief in the toyol - and by extension, child supernatural creatures - has links to the common Asiatic belief that every being consists of a soul, including that of babies. The many similarities between Southeast Asian countries have also been remarked to be a sign of the nations' close cultural ties.

Aside from the belief in the supernatural, the toyol serves a range of social functions, including acting as a disciplinary tool, to assist in maintaining social hierarchy, and to ward off perceived outsiders away from the community.

It is not an uncommon occurrence for people to associate those with wealth and success to having used a toyol, and this negative association is extended to even government officials.{{Sfn|Nicholas|Ganapathy|p=174}} These stories of corruption and amorality have been theorised to be a method of negating dissonance, where through associating social status with the supernatural, it allows for the people to believe and accept that the matter is beyond their control.{{Sfn|Nicholas|Ganapathy|p=174}} On the other hand, such accusations can simply be a way of expressing one's resentment.{{Cite journal |last=Ong |first=Aihwa |date=1988 |title=The Production of Possession: Spirits and the Multinational Corporation in Malaysia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/645484 |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=28–42 |doi=10.1525/ae.1988.15.1.02a00030 |jstor=645484 |s2cid=30121345 |issn=0094-0496}}

The toyol remains widely used in a variety of ways and through various mediums, including via games, literature, and television. These point to a society and community that continues to hold sustained belief in the existence of toyols and other supernatural entities,Dahlan Bin Abdul Ghani, “Upin & Ipin: Promoting malaysian culture values through animation,” Historia y Comunicación Social 20, no. 1 (2015): 253. where to them, such folklore contributes a part of their lived reality.

In 2006, a fisherman from Kuala Pahang, Malaysia reported finding a toyol that had been enclosed in a bottle on coastal shores. The toyol was handed over to the local state museum where the director noted its red eyes and black clothing.Mohd Fairuz bin Ali and Ng Perng Jeu, “A Malaysian Folklore Game Design As A Tool Of Culture Preservation and Entertainment: Toyol,” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research 207 (2018): 198.

The toyol has also been used in theft crimes - though not in the supernatural sense - through the exploitation of people's belief in the creature. In 2009, a 77-year-old woman living in Bukit Bandaraya, Malaysia was tricked into believing that her valuables were being targeted by a toyol through an anonymous phone call. She was advised to hide them following specific instructions but soon found them to be stolen. Her resulting loss amounted to RM700,000.{{Cite web |last=KUMAR |first=M. |title='Toyol' scam leaves elderly woman RM700,000 poorer |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2009/12/22/toyol-scam-leaves-elderly-woman-rm700000-poorer |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=The Star |language=en}}

In 2016, a Malaysian local online newspaper reported a villager having physically encountered a green-skinned toyol after assuming his and other residents' missing money had been the work of a thief.Fairuz and Ng, “A Malaysian Folklore Game Design,” 199.

As recently as 2019, it was reported that residents living in the Mengwi subdistrict of Badung Regency in Bali, Indonesia believed that a tuyul was the reason for why one resident had mysteriously lost IDR1.4 million. This was attributed to the discovery of seemingly child-like footprints found on the victim's car. In response to the incident, local police cautioned that the culprit was likely to be intentionally attempting to mislead them.{{Cite web |title='Tuyul' footprints found at scene of alleged theft, police say thief might be human after all {{!}} Coconuts |date=15 December 2019 |url=https://coconuts.co/bali/news/tuyul-footprints-found-at-scene-of-alleged-theft-police-say-thief-might-be-human-after-all/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |language=en-US}}

Spirits of children are not limited to Southeast Asia. In Japanese folklore, the zashiki-warashi shares some similarity to the toyol where they are believed to bring good fortune to their owners. The zashiki-warashi are also mischievous in nature and enjoy sweets and toys, but they differ from the toyol in numerous ways. Rather than appearing as an infant, the zashiki-warashi are said to look like a young child or adolescent.Irene H. Lin, “Child Guardian Spirits (Gohō Dōji) in the Medieval Japanese Imaginaire,” Pacific World Journal Third Series, no. 6 (2004): 168-70.

• Malik Selamat directed a 1980 Malay horror film {{Interlanguage link|Toyol (film)|lt=Toyol|ms|Toyol_(filem)}}, starring Sidek Hussain and Mahmud June.
• In Billy Chan's 1987 Hong Kong film Yang Gui Zi (roughly translated as "feeding a child spirit", also known by its English title Crazy Spirit), a jewelry store owner, wishing to have an heir, travels from Hong Kong to Thailand to obtain a spirit baby from a Taoist master, who seals it in an amulet. The amulet, on its way to Hong Kong, gets lost in transit and is found by a woman trying to conceive a child. She accidentally cuts her finger, causing her blood to drip on the amulet and releasing the child spirit.{{cite web |title=Yang gui zi |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094346/ |website=IMDB |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=yangguizi}}{{cite web |title=Crazy Spirit Reviews |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/crazy-spirit/review/2030159654/ |website=TV Guide |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=tvguide}}
• The 2011 Malaysian comedy film Alamak... Toyol! features a toyol as its plot device.{{cite web |title=Alamak... Toyol! |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2127253/ |website=IMDB |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=imdb1}}
• In the 2013 Singapore horror film Ghost Child, a family is troubled by a tuyul which arrives from Indonesia in an urn.
• In the 2016 Indonesian horror film Tuyul: Part 1, a new family moves into an old house of the wife's mother after she died. The husband finds a bottle hidden mysteriously underneath the broken wooden floor, which is home to a creature that could endanger them.{{cite web|url=https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesian-horror-movie-tuyul-returns-cinemas-weekend|title=Indonesian Horror Movie 'Tuyul' Returns to Cinemas This Weekend|first=Lisa|last=Siregar|date=2016-03-04|access-date=2021-12-27|work=Jakarta Globe}}{{cite web|url=https://winterfilmawards.com/film/wfa16-tuyul-part-1/|title=Winter Film Awards 2016 Winner - Best Horror Feature Film|year=2016|access-date=2021-12-27|publisher=Winter Film Awards}}

• The 2010 story Toyol by Nicole Lee is a narrative written from the perspective of a female toyol named Meera who is an originally deceased child that has been brought back to life.{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Nicole |date=2010 |title=Toyol |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/431/article/834990 |journal=World Literature Today |volume=84 |issue=5 |pages=34–36 |doi=10.1353/wlt.2010.0127 |s2cid=245665024 |issn=1945-8134|url-access=subscription }}
• The 2012 book Malay Sketches by Singaporean writer Alfian Sa'at has a segment titled "A Toyol Story" that focusses on a father-son pair.{{Cite book |last=Alfian Sa'at |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/780426637 |title=Malay sketches |date=2012 |others=Shahril Nizam |isbn=978-981-07-1801-5 |location=Singapore |oclc=780426637}} The toyol here is used more as a literary device.

• "Toyol" is a song by late Malaysian singer-songwriter Sudirman in his album Perasaan (1979). The lyrics include describing the physical attributes of a toyol.

• In season 1 of the HBO Asia Original horror anthology series Folklore, episode 5 is titled "Toyol (Malaysia)" and features a toyol.{{cite web |title=Toyol (Malaysia) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9399300/ |website=IMDB |access-date=25 December 2021 |ref=hbo}}
• The Malaysian animated television series Upin & Ipin features a toyol in the episode "Kisah 2 Malam."

• Baby Tuyul (2015) and Greedy Toyol (2017) are mobile games that use the apk file format. Both games involve collecting coins amidst various obstacles.
• The indie game Pamali: Indonesian Folklore Horror (2018) offers a purchasable downloadable content (DLC) called The Little Devil that centres around a tuyul.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-27 |title=How Pamali: Indonesian Folklore Horror Upends the Conventions of Horror Game Design |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/pamali-indonesian-folklore-horror/pamali-indonesian-folklore-the-little-devil/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en}}
• Nightmare (INCUBO) (2019) is an indie game that features a tuyul.“Nightmare (INCUBO),” Indie Games, Steam, accessed February 24, 2023, https://store.steampowered.com/app/992330/Nightmare_Incubo/ .
• Tuyul Gundul (2019) is a mobile game where the player takes on the role of a toyol, stealing money from villagers whose houses have been booby-trapped.“Tuyul Gundul,” Google Play, accessed February 24, 2023, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pologames16.tuyul&hl=en_SG&gl=US .
• Toyol Attack! is an upcoming mobile game that, as of 2020, is being developed by members of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. The game is intended to promote Malaysian heritage and folklore to the younger generation.M. F. Bin Ali, N. Perng Jeu and C. H. Teeng, "Enriching Malaysian Cultural and Folklore through Mobile Game Learning Development: Wau & Toyol," 2020 IEEE Graphics and Multimedia (GAME), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 2020, pp. 1-6, {{doi|10.1109/GAME50158.2020.9315081}}

• Drivers for gig economy services in Southeast Asia, such as Grab and Gojek, use third-party grey market apps called "tuyul" to optimize their work experience.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/delivery-drivers-are-using-grey-market-apps-to-make-their-jobs-suck-less/|title=Delivery Drivers Are Using Grey Market Apps to Make Their Jobs Suck Less|website=Vice.com|date=27 April 2021 }} The apps are so named because like the tuyul in folklore, they help earn money through potentially illegal means.
• Toyol was the name of a Malay humour magazine that ceased publication in 1987.John A. Lent, “Of “Kampung Boy,” “Tok Guru” and Other Zany Characters: Cartooning in Malaysia,” Jurnal Komunikasi 10 (1994): 55.

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Babi ngepet
• Familiar spirit
• Goblin
• Hantu Raya
• Imp
• Kuman thong
• Jenglot
• Pelesit
• Polong
• The Bottle Imp

{{Div col end}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite journal |last1=Nicholas |first1=Cheryl L. |last2=Ganapathy |first2=Radhica |last3=Mau |first3=Heidi |date=2013-08-01 |title=Malaysian Cerita Hantu: Intersections of Race, Religiosity, Class, Gender, and Sexuality |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2012.712710 |journal=Journal of International and Intercultural Communication |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=163–182 |doi=10.1080/17513057.2012.712710 |s2cid=144107753 |issn=1751-3057 |ref={{harvid|Nicholas|Ganapathy}}|url-access=subscription }}

{{Mythology of Indonesia}}

{{Mythology of Malaysia}}

Category:Indonesian legendary creatures

Category:Malaysian ghosts

Category:Ghosts

Category:Malaysian mythology