pontianak
See also: Pontianak
English
Noun
pontianak (countable and uncountable, plural pontianaks)
- (countable) A female vampiric ghost in Malaysian and Indonesian mythology, said to be the spirit of a woman who died while pregnant.
- 2009, Andrew Hock-Soon Ng, “"Death and the Maide": The Pontianak as Excess in Malay Popular Culture”, in John Edgar Browning, Caroline Joan Picart, editors, Draculas, Vampires, and Other Undead Forms: Essays on Gender, Race and Culture:
- One of the most fearsome creatures of Malay folklore is the pontianak.
- Alternative form of pontianac (“fossil resin”)
Related terms
Kristang
Malay
Etymology
From portmanteau in Sanggau pontianak, ponti (“carry”) + anak (“child”).
Related terms
- kuntilanak
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