Variations: Hantu Kotak (Malay), Pa’, Spirit Pa’
Bès Pa’, the Spirit Pa’, is a river jellyfish spirit that can expand to any size it wishes. It is usually found living in deep mud. Anyone who steps on a buried pa’ will fall into the mud along with the spirit. To prevent this, one must take a finely crushed mixture of iron rust and broken glass and sprinkle it over the offending muddy area.
References
Werner, R. (1975) Jah-hět of Malaysia, Art and Culture. Penerbit Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
A Book of Creatures 
It’s a shame that more research isn’t being done on the Bès with the same intensity as the Faeries or Yokai. There are so many questions left to answer about this spirit for instance. What are their ties to river jellyfish? Are these what become of particularly ancient jellyfish? Do they herd or protect jellyfish? What purpose does their ability to change size serve? Why does it try to get people to fall in the mud? For food? For amusement? Yet again the answers are probably as ephemeral as the Bès themselves
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Intriguing indeed.
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How do you identify the area before stepping in it?
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Experience probably
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How do you identify the area? By watching the other guy fall in first
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That’s what I needed today, LOL. If this is a community, I’m already loving it here. Humor and obscure monsters, it’s a dream come true for me.
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As far as I can tell we’re mostly just people who read this blog and some people regularly comment here. I usually comment on here to add my own insights which may or may not contain a component of jocularity depending on the topic at hand. Everyone else however in my experience is casual in their dealings of humorous remarks. So I’d say you’ll probably enjoy the content and the virtual company of the other readers
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Woah- I better watch out for this odd little guinea pig.
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“Inflate himself,just like a balloon!” DK Rap
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…How is this a jellyfish?
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Who knows, I don’t come up with their appearance ^^;
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Now I kinda see it. It’s kinda disklike in appearance, and the little spike-whatevers on its back (and possibly the legs) are the tentacles!
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