Previously: The Greedy Baron Game.
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In Indonesia, on the island of Java, there’s a song that’s also a sort of ritual. It’s called Lingsir Wengi, and when it’s sung, it’s said that strange things happen. Should one sing it, you see — especially at night — one might summon any number of hantus, as ghosts and spirits are known in Malay culture. More specifically, one might summon a kuntilanak or pontianak — a moniker which has referred to a few different entities over time, but which is most commonly understood these days to be the angry spirit of a woman who died while pregnant. She’s often described as a sort of vampire with a penchant for devouring her victims’ internal organs. Knowing this, it’s not totally clear exactly why one would actually want to summon her — but according to some accounts, those who do so can ask her to do their bidding.
Maybe that helps explain it.
But maybe it doesn’t. Indeed, more often than not, the song is brought up not as something one should sing, but as something one should avoid singing.
As long as you like keeping your innards where they are, at least.
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And now I’m going to break the fourth wall a bit; it’s necessary to do so in order to talk about Lingsir Wengi’s origins. You see, according to some sources, the song only very recently gained a reputation for its supposed spirit-summoning abilities — and that reputation came from a fictional source: The 2006 Indonesian horror film Kuntilanak, also known in English as The Chanting. Prior to its appearance in this film and its subsequent franchise, Lingsir Wengi wasn’t a means of summoning anything supernatural; it was a means of protecting oneself from the supernatural. Believed to have been written by Sunan Kalijaga, one of the nine Wali Sanga (saints, essentially) of Indonesian Islam who lived between 1460 and 1513, Lingsir Wengi was traditionally sung after the evening prayer to repel demons, devils, and other evil-doers.
When Kuntilanak, which was directed by Rizal Mantovani, came along, though, it repurposed Lingsir Wengi in such a way as to totally change its meaning. Following the film’s release in 2006, the song became known for the role it played in the movie: That of a spirit-summoning song, specifically one that summons the kintilanak. Indeed, it’s my understanding that the lyrics were actually straight-up rewritten for the film to make the song sound more menacing.
(Note, by the way, that there’s also a 2018 title called Kuntilanak available to watch on Netflix — but although it, too, was directed by Rizal Mantovani, it’s not the same film as the 2006 one. It does appear to be part of the same franchise, though; it’s described here as a remake, but “reboot” might be more accurate.)
Regardles, it is interesting to me that Lingsir Wengi began as one thing, but is now more widely known for something else. The evolution of folklore will always fascinate me, whether it happens more gradually or as the result of something as overtly fictional as a horror film. The folklore feeds into the film, which then feeds into the folklore, and so on and so forth.
Like Tomino’s Hell, Lingsir Wengi is deceptively simple to play: All you need to do is sing the song. Again, though, I’m not really sure why you’d want to. There’s no guarantee you’d be able to bend the kuntilanak to your will, after all — and the price for failure is steep.
As always, play at your own risk.
Players:
- At least one principal.
Requirements:
- The song “Lingsir Wengi.”
Instructions:
- You may begin at any time, although for best results, it is recommended to wait until nightfall.
- Sing the song, in Javanese if possible. The Javanese lyrics may be found below, followed by one possible English translation.
- Wait.
- She’ll come.
- She might not come immediately.
- But she’ll come.
- Just make sure that when she arrives, you’re prepared to deal with her.
- Otherwise, things might go… badly for you.
Concerning The Song:
In Javanese, the lyrics read as follows:
Lingsir wengi sliramu tumeking sirno
Ojo Tangi nggonmu guling
awas jo ngetoro
aku lagi bang wingo wingo
jin setan kang tak utusi
dadyo sebarang
Wojo lelayu sebet
One possible English translation reads as follows:
As twilight fades
So shall you wither
Dwell within your chamber
Conceal yourself
For my anger is immeasurable
The Djinns and Devils I sent forth
My harbingers of death
Shall reap your soul
The required tune may be heard here.
Additional Notes:
The following lyrics are the original lyrics for Lingsir Wengi. Note that these lyrics are NOT the correct lyrics for this ritual and should not be used for this purpose. They may, however, be used for their original purpose.
Lingsir wenhi
Sepi during biso nendro
Kagodho mring wewayang
Kang ngrindhu ati
Kawitane mung sembrono
Njur kulino ra ngiro yen
Bakal nuwuhke tresno
Nanging duh tibane aku
Dewe kang nemahi
Nandang bronto kadung loro
Sambat-sambat sopo
Rino wengi
Sing tak puji oko lali
Janjine mugu biso tak ugemi
A Variation, And A Warning:
According to some accounts, an antique item of some kind — a mirror, for example — is necessary for the ritual’s success. Once you have acquired this item, you must stand before it while singing the song in order for a successful summoning to occur.
These accounts also state that one may banish the summoned spirit by destroying the antique item used in the summoning.
However, most accounts do NOT specify any kind of banishment method.
As such, you may not want to rely on it working.
It’s better to assume the worst and be prepared for anything than to expect the best and be caught…
…Unawares.
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[Photo via Skitterphoto/Pixabay]
Glad to hear that singing it your head is fairly safe. Although I must admit that I’m still too terrified to read the lyrics, I just skimmed over them xD
I’m a Javanese, and I have a few safety methods if you want to try this game. But please, unless you are truly ready for it, do not attempt to play this, you are never prepared for anything that might come.
1. Bring a sharp object such as knife, blade, or at the very least, scissors. They are afraid of sharp objects and we sometimes hang sharp objects in our room to ward them off.
2. DO NOT attempt to do this game when you are in period, keep an eye for menstrual cycles, they can smell blood like sharks can. Your spiritual energy is at the lowest when this happens.
3. Bring something to purify yourself with, or try to ward the area where you are summoning. Burning sage or creating salt circles are generally a good idea.
4. DO NOT attempt to look at them in the face unless you are both mentally and spiritually prepared for it, doing otherwise might risk your life.
5. DO NOT call them in your own house! Someone I knew called them in his house and he had to leave it before they got close to his life.
That’s all I can give, please be safe.
Thank you so much
Can you sing this in your head without summoning her?
Omg lingsir wengi lol!
It’s just a traditional song warped up the meaning by some horror movie. My sis in law’ family has always been a lover of folk songs. They always sings that and nothing happens.
So I played that song, in no more than 10 seconds (because my friends rushed to stop me) at almost midnight. Nothing happened to us as we leave soon after. But not for my other friend in the same building on the opposite edge of ours, which he can hear our noises but can’t tell exactly (he told me this story few days after). He is there doing some stuffs with his laptop. Shortly an hour passed and he started to feel uneasy (by then there were just 2 people including him, and both were outside the building). Not so long after he looked onto the other person, but that’s a bad idea. Because something so off about the other guy (I couldn’t render exactly what he told me, so you can make a good guess). He looked back into his laptop, trying to get done his work asap. But then with his peripheral eyes, he saw a thing jumps off from a tree (in front of him were two huge old trees, almost two meters in diameter) only to bounce back again. Of course now he is stunned. Doesn’t even dare to move his eyes, or blinking. He need to go, but doesn’t have a courage to do so. suddenly he feels like a strong wind flows on his back neck. It wasn’t windy back then. The air was so still that any air movement would hit his whole body, not just specific part of it. He packed, and ran as hell from there to his dormitory in the next building. Threw himself onto his bed, and cover himself with blanket, trying to sleep and forget everything. But when he opened his eyes, through his blanket’s transparent material, he saw a huge black figure in his room (his room wasn’t in total darkness. It was dim thanks to light source from the outside). He passed out. Shocked for few days before telling me this story. To this day, I have never told him what I’ve just done.
I’m pretty sure it’s safe to read it in your head. It’s like a cake recipe. The cake won’t bake just because you read the instructions, so unless you actually sing it, you’re probably safe.
Thanks for posting this game that came from my country, lingsir wengi is a game to summon kuntilanak, the ghost don’t always come immediately, but if you sing lingsir wengi, kuntilanak WILL come, but i know few things to increase the chance for immediate summoning :
– Sing the song with the tone of javanese traditional singer after sunset, the best time is midnight
– Wash your body with water mixed plumeria flower before singing
– Don’t carry any protective object
– Sing the song alone at places believed to be haunted
According to indonesian legend, kuntilanak can be fended. A nail should be plunged into apex of her head. This is said to make her turn into a beautiful woman and a good wife until the nail is removed.
I read this in my head? Will that affect me?
Can you sing inside of your head without the risk of summoning her?
Same as tomino’s hell, you will only summon her if you read or sing it out loud. So reading it inside your head is safe
I wouldn’t recommend that. Someone tried that, and the very next day they perished.
Yes. I assume that if it tells you to sing the song, you actually have to use your voice in real life. It’s just my idea though.
I’m sure its safe. I sung it many times in my head and nothing happened.
Reading it in my head won’t summon her, will it?
Nah, I dont think so 😂😂
Me as an indonesian. I sang together with my friends in Javanese version to summon her, but it didn’t appear. We just felt uneasy all night long. Maybe, just because of the situation where we played it in dark quite place far from my town.
I think it won’t. You are supposed to sing it, so reading it shouldn’t trigger anything.