PELESIT

Pelesit is an evil spirit that usually carried off in the body of a grass hopper like insect since it has the ability to turn itself into one. Some say it is the green sharp pointed-head grasshopper. The master keeps his pelesit in a small bottle and offers it his own blood every full moon. It should always be taken care of and fed constantly because if not, the demon will soon create havoc among the local inhabitants of its master's village, especially after the master's death.

This spirit is usually sent off to another person as an evil mean as to possesed the victim. One of the usual counter measures used to deal with it is to catch the ‘pelesit’ and separate its head from its body. Usually, after the head and body is separated, there is a strand of hair attach to head that usually belong to the sender of the spirit.

Another method to counter the pelesit attack after the spirit has taken over the victim is to use pepper seeds and pressed it on the victim’s big toe. Also, this method can also be used to determined whether someone is being possesed or not. If he/she is being possesed, the pressing of the pepper seed will surely make them in pain.

The Pelesit is reared as a shield for protection, guidance, and most probably as a weapon to harm other people. It is the female version of Hantu Raya which confers great power on the owner. According to Saka, pelesit must always have a continuous master and therefore must be pass down from one generation to the next.

Typically the owner, the Bomoh (shaman), uses the spirit in an exploitative way for monetary gain. The pelesit is first used to attack someone randomly, then the same Bomoh will be called to exorcise the so-called demon inside the victim (while the spectators have no idea that the bomoh is playing tricks on them). Later, a certain amount of money is given to the bomoh as a token of appreciation.