Be they strong Muslims, Christians or Buddhists, many Javanese would continue to seek consultations from paranormals - ‘magic doctors’ or ‘spiritual experts’ - on matters relating to the spiritual world. It is believed that paranormals have the ability to assess the supernatural realms and could hence act as the mediators between the human and supra-human realms.

A Javanese would turn to the paranormal for a great variety of reasons. For instance, if he or she wants to:
1.    know where to dig a new well - as the paranormal could use his powers to feel where the water source is richest
2.    seek job positions in the governmental offices as well as private sectors - for the paranormal might use his powers to influence the interviewer
3.    find out what message a deceased relative who visits him or her in the dreams is sending - since the paranormal could communicate with the soul of the relative and enquire
4.    get rid of any spiritual being, like the genderuwu and tektekan, which is living on his or her property, or find out if a tuyul has been stealing money from him or her.

People who do not recover fully from injuries of traffic accidents would consult the paranormal if they have ‘disturbed’ any spirit (which has hence caused the accident) and if so, how they could appease the spirit in question.

In fact, almost all businesses have one or more paranormals to back them up. A diligent warung-seller would daily go to his paranormal and ask how many kilograms of meat to cook on that particular day to ensure that his business would be lancar (smooth). Some paranormals might also attach a mantra (spell) on a leaf and direct their client to place it in a particular direction in his warung.

Many Javanese would avow that the police managed to track down the bombers of the 12 October 2002 bomb incident in Bali with the assistance of these spiritually-powerful persons.

There are a number of ways in which paranormals could acquire and enhance their powers to assess the other worlds. They could perform fasting and meditation. Some paranormals could also have inherited the powers from their ancestors who had such spiritual powers.

They could use this power for good or bad. Ill-intentioned paranormals might use the earth from graves or haunted places to cover the profits of someone else’s businesses.

It is believed that, if paranormal practice black magic with their powers, they would be punished by Gusti (God). In their present life, they would be prone to illness and disease and also tend to be down on luck. After they die, they would be condemned to the realm of halus or astra, where they not only had to suffer a harsh environment, constant hunger and thirst, but they could also not go to heaven, until, perhaps, the end of time.

If this topic on paranormal interests you, keep a lookout for our next issue, which will be an interview with Mas Hanung, a paranormal living in Jogjakarta.

Some glossarial notes:
1.     Besides the term ‘paranormal’, these magic doctors are also commonly addressed as wong pinter (literally ‘clever person’), wong gede (literally ‘great person’), dukun (magic doctors) and kiai (respectful title for a person who has great knowledge). The term ‘paranormal’ became a more popular way to address the Javanese spiritual experts only after the 1997 and 1998 riots. During the furores, there were also outbreaks of violence against magic doctors, then commonly called ‘dukuns’, in the eastern Java. As a result, the term ‘dukun’ came to acquire a negative connotation.
2.     As explained in “Travellers’ Digest 6”,
genderuwo - a big giant which has special fondness for human woman
tuyul - a small being bearing the looks of 8-10 years old human boys
tektekan - a skeleton-like figure which tend to steal and has the power to control human beings.

(source: Mas Hanung, author: Simbahasing)