A slightly humorous look at Malay fairy beliefs c/o a popular YouTube channel registered in Singapore.
The fairies are known as Orang Bunian. The lore has interesting parallels with "our" fairy beliefs. The Orang Bunian abduct humans, want to marry them to beget hybrid children, and cause time distortions. They are clearly humanoid in appearence and live in the deep forests in a mysterious settlement known as Alamzara. More surprising is the claim that the Bunian are Muslims and spend most of their time reciting the Quran!
The video looks at two high profile cases from Malaysia. One is the disappearence and alleged abduction of a young hiker. Weirdly, he seems to have gotten lost at a popular tourist destination! The Singaporean content-creator (Sneaky Sushii) thinks the story is cringe and is fairly (pun intended) skeptical towards it.
The other story is about a very real disappareance of a Malaysian athlete in the jungle during a competition. His friends and family believed the poor man was abducted by fairies and even tried to convince the Bunian to return him safely during a search expedition. The whole thing is more tragic than comic.
Apparently, these ancient Malay beliefs have been overlaid in the Internet age with a modern Western fantasy aesthetic perhaps derived from Peter Jackson´s LOTR films. Indeed, this video is in itself an example of this Tolkien-ization of the Orang Bunian. Which is fascinating in itself! But the most intriguing question remains: why are there fairy beliefs...you know...everywhere?
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