Variations: Hantu Bulan (Malay), Moon Spirit
Bès Bulan, the Moon Spirit, lives with the moon; during the fruit season, it also lives on top of a small hill. When it calls – oi… oi… – it is trying to get people to eat, and anyone who hears it should avoid going deep into the jungle lest they be killed and devoured.
At night the moon spirit descends to where the moonlight falls. If a sleeping child awakes and sees the moon shining through the roof, the spirit will cause the child to cry non-stop.
References
Werner, R. (1975) Jah-hět of Malaysia, Art and Culture. Penerbit Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
A Book of Creatures 
How many of these bès things are there?
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There is no end to them
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If I can sum up Malaysian mythology… I’d say it’s a jungle with literally everything trying to kill you.
The termite spirit’s an exception, though.
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These are just the psychic fauna of the country. All lands have them. There are also Gods with Their own various adventures and dramas just like everywhere else in the world
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Heh, yeah. Then again Malaysia is the native habitat of one of the creepiest bloodsuckers out there.
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No end to them, you say? What about plant and rock spirits?
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There’s something for every conceivable affliction. In fact, I could quit ABC and dedicate myself to an illustrated version of Werner’s book, and it would still be a mammoth undertaking.
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It’s horrifying.
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The old McDonalds “Mac Tonite” mascot has fallen on hard times.
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Really? How many pages are dedicated to the Bes?
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Unknown as of yet
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How big is the book?
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Which one?
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The bes book
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Werner’s book is 626 pages, but that includes other studies on Jah Hut society. The Bès are seemingly most of it though.
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Are there multiple bes on a single page?
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Yup
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Jeez. I can see what you mean in how big it is.
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Going “oi” at night, probably just a british dude chillin round the village
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I love When you post these Bès spirits, I study indonesian, and learning Malay and some Bahasa of the Orang Asli is quite helpful. Ma kasih sekali!
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In doing research for ABC I’ve learned enough fragments of languages as to be completely useless in any situation. “Bulan” is “moon” in Malay, while “Shash” is “Bear” in Navajo, and “A” is “Water” in Nahuatl…
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I just ran what you said through Translate… thank you so much! ☺️
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I sure love it when the moon hangs out with the moon
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Yo dawg I heard you like moons…
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I always knew there was something off about the moon…
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It’s shifty as hell
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Its the fucking moon!?Oh no,flackback of Majoras Mask
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Yo that’s just Lunatone from Pokemon
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Eeeevil Lunatone
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All this bes things sound like a joke
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…Sooo, is it made of rock?
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