Sunday, April 30, 2006

Ghost, Hantus and Ralph


The “Hantu” (Ghost/Spirit) is back. A move of house sometime back seemed to have confused things for awhile as it must take some time for Ghosts to pack for a move as he went missing for awhile. Fortunately things are back to normal and Ralph is back in residence. I would have prefered the ghost pictured but deep down I was missing ole Ralph.

Bizarrely enough, it really seems to be the same Hantu. Previously I had always thought ghosts were like region/house/forest specific. Our household Hantu, as you can see we call him Ralph, is relatively harmless (Which reminds me of a joke..What do you call a dog with no legs?...Nothing…He can’t come to you anyway). However, Ralph is a somewhat neurotic ghost with compulsive washing seeming to be the order of the day.

As with our previous abode, showers and taps in various parts of the house seem to come on at odd times of the day and night with no (?) human assistance. Additionally, for some reason Ralph gets some perverse pleasure unhooking the generator (of course, maybe he is just trying to encourage that most useless of organisations the PLN to actually to provide some basic infrastructure to rural areas.

I admit, I have yet to see him. However, the lady that helps out around the house swears she has seen him. Interestingly, she says he is wearing an old type of traditional dress she does not recognise.

Despite the advent of Islam and Christianity, Spirits, Ghosts and Black (White ?)Magic is not far below the surface of most Indonesians and they may be right. My own mother could not be shaken from the Guardian Angel theory till the day she died and who am I to say different. I personally have had drivers who refuse to travel through certain areas at certain times, not to mention getting a special cleansing for a vehicle that was involved in an accident. Sometimes it’s better to bow to things you don’t really understand rather that take the high ground.

So with that said, I guess I have a new boarder and I had better get used to it …and the higher water bills.

On a slightly more serious although still humorous (albeit in a scary way, two of the people over at Indonesia-anonymus had an interesting encounter the other day. Well worth a read.

Oh and my question for the weekend…. Why does Iran (and for that matter Indonesia) need Nuclear Power with all its inherent risks when they are sitting on the worlds biggest oil drum??

2 comments:

Unknown said...

isn't it the Green that advocate for alternative energy?

and oh, straight question, do you really believe in those hantu stuff??

oigal said...

mmm.. Unfortunately, in my opinion the Greens in Australia are less than a reliable alternative government view. They more concerned with media snapshots than real change.. (too many lentils perhaps) Greens Minister Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle always "gob" off without a thought of the consequences..have a look at their recent utterances re: the Papua situation. Not many in OZ take them serious about as relevant as Hanson was. They attract the loons but thats about all.

As for Hantu's ..me.. not for a minute do I think it real..but then I also think general GOD concept is the imaginary friend for grown-ups. However that does not mean those beliefs are not important to others so I have no right to scoff..besides I might be wrong and need someone to put in a good word.