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Krasue
A 2012 illustration of a krasue
Grouping
Legendary creature
Sub grouping
Nocturnal, undead, luminescent
Other name(s)
กระสือ, អាបAhp, Penanggal, Kuyang, Palasik
Country
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, India
Region
Southeast Asia (except East Timor)
The Krasue (Thai: กระสือ, pronounced[krā.sɯ̌ː]) is a nocturnal female spirit of Southeast Asian folklore. It manifests as the floating, disembodied head of a woman, usually young and beautiful, with her internal organs still attached and trailing down from the neck.[1]
The Krasue belongs to a constellation of similar mythological entities across different regions of Southeast Asia; these regional variations all share in common that they are characterized by a disembodied woman's head with organs and entrails hanging from its neck. Along with the Krasue, there is the Ahp (Khmer: អាប) in Cambodia; the Kasu (Lao: ກະສື, pronounced[ka.sɯ̌ː]) in Laos; the Kuyang (Indonesian: Kui'yang) or Leyak (Indonesian: lei'yak) in Indonesia; the Ma lai (Vietnamese: ma lai) in Vietnam; manananggal (Tagalog: mana'nang'gal) in the Philippines; Pelasik, Pelesit, penanggalan or penanggal (Malay: Pe'nang'gal) in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. Japanese folklore also has yokai creatures called nukekubi and rokurokubi that are quite similar to their Southeast Asian counterparts.
According to Thai ethnographer Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, the Krasue is accompanied by a will-o'-the-wisp-like luminescent glow.[2] The explanations attempted about the origin of the glow include the presence of methane in marshy areas.[3] The Krasue is often said to live in the same areas as Krahang, a male spirit of the Thai folklore.
This spirit moves about by hovering in the air above the ground, for it has no lower body. The throat may be represented in different ways, either as only the trachea or with the whole neck.[4] The organs below the head usually include the heart and the stomach with a length of intestine,[5] the intestinal tract emphasizing the ghost's voracious nature. In the Thai film Krasue Valentine, this ghost is represented with more internal organs, such as lungs and liver, but much reduced in size and anatomically out of proportion with the head.[6] The viscera are sometimes represented freshly daubed with blood,[7] as well as glowing.[8] In contemporary representations her teeth often include pointed fangs in yakkha (Thai: ยักษ์) or vampire fashion.[9] In the movie Ghosts of Guts Eater she has a halo around her head.[10]
The Krasue has been the subject of a number of films in the region, including My Mother Is Arb (Khmer: កូនអើយ ម្តាយអាប). Also known as Krasue Mom, this Cambodian horror film has the distinction of being the first film made in the People's Republic of Kampuchea after the absence of locally-made films and the repression of local folklore in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge era.[11]
In the Philippines there is a similar ghost, manananggal, a local spirit that haunts pregnant women.[12][13][14]
^Spirits. Thailand: Thaiworldview. 2008.
^Essays on Thai Folklore, Editions Duang Kamol, ISBN 974-210-345-3
^"Mthai News Reporter". Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
^Krasue film posters
^"Movie poster". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
^Krasue representation
^Krasue Sao book cover
^"Glowing Krasue". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
^"Krasue Sawath ("กระสือสวาท"), Thai dubbed version of Hong Kong movie "Witch with the Flying Head" film poster". Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^Ghosts of Guts Eater scene
^Konm Eak Madia Arb film poster
^Alip, Eufronio Melo (1950). Political and Cultural History of the Philippines. Philippines: Alip & Brion Publications.
^Ramos, Maximo D. (1971). Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Philippines: Phoenix Publishing. ISBN 978-971-06-0691-7.
^Bane, Theresa (2010). Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. USA: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4452-6.
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