If you are a Malaysian, you should have heard of Pontianak, a female vampire in Indonesian and Malay mythology. She is also known as Matianak or Kuntilanak, sometimes simply referred to as Kunti. There is the same legend in Palestine, India and Pakistan, but the local people call it Churel or Churayl.

It is said that Pontianak is the woman who died during pregnancy or when they gave birth. In Malay, Bunting means pregnancy, and Anak means child. Together, these two words become Pontianak. There is also a saying that mentions that the word "Pontianak" comes from the combination of three Malay vocabularies, which are Puan, Mati, and Anak.

Pontianak is usually depicted as a dark-skinned woman with long black hair, red eyes and blood-stained white dresses. However, they are said to be able to present a beautiful human appearance to take advantage of their beautiful appearance to attract men and helpless people. 

According to folklore, Pontianak usually appears at the full moon. If you hear a dog barking at night, it means Pontianak is far away, but if the dog makes lamenting noises, it means Pontianak is nearby. In addition, there will be a foul smell (similar to a rotten smell) when they get close. It is said that Pontianak is related to banana trees because it is where the Pontianak will be during the day. Hence, many people avoid planting banana trees or avoid staring at banana trees to avoid seeing things they don't want to see. To resist Pontianak, you can insert nails into their neck and the Pontianak will turn into a beautiful woman and a good wife. If the nail is taken away, she will become a vampire again.

Pontianak killed the victim by digging up the victim's body with sharp nails and devouring the body's organs. In some cases, Pontianak mainly wanted to take revenge on men. If a person opens his/ her eyes when approaching Pontianak, she will suck the victim's head out. Pontianak locates the prey or the victim by sniffing the clothes hanging outside, so there is a saying that says that the clothes should not be hanging outside overnight.

If you like to watch Malay films, you will find that Malaysia has many movies related to Pontianak. Some are funny and some are very scary. Anyway, I believe that you will know more about the history of Pontianak after watching those movies!