Exposed to the elements
There are mysterious energy forces at promontories which produce unusual phenomena and hauntings, writes DR ONG HEAN-TATT
PROMONTORIES are coastal features jutting out into the seas and usually indicate rocky terrain. They are often flanked by ends of hill ridges and are actually the continuation of the hill ridges into the sea, hence the rocky shore. The cape is a large promontory continuing from a large mountain inland. The rocky nature of the seabed off such promontories and capes are dangerous to ships. Being the pointed ends of land masses, they are also more exposed to winds, sea currents and storms, thereby being dangerous spots known throughout the ages.
What is probably not realised is the production of ill-understood energy forces which produce unusual phenomena at such promontories. The previous articles implicate infrasound as causing haunting effects. But, there are other energy forces at work.
The New Zealand aborigines have an interesting concept of how the soul of the dead person journeys to the afterworld. The wairua or soul makes its way to the northernmost tip of the land. At the final promontory it climbs down into the ocean and swims out to the island of Oahu. On the island, it ascends the highest hill for a glimpse of the land it would never see again. Then it makes its way west to the setting sun and the land of its ancestors. There appears to be ill understood forces along the promontory (probably related to fault lines), which account for the primitive legendary association of it with the dead soul or spirit.
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Pulau Tikus Island lies off a promontary in Penang. The sea here has huge rocks and turbulent currents have caused a number of boats to capsize and some people have drowned there. |
Observation: The bay has many large rocks in the sea and at the promontory. They are part of the finest examples of dolerite dyke intrusions in peninsular Malaysia.
Sacred stones of Batang Lupar, Sarawak
In Sarawak, there are a number of megalithic stones believed to be sacred. They are believed to have magical powers. Ceremonial rituals may be performed around them.
One of them is Batu Jelapi, a huge boulder visible at Stirau in the lower Batang Lupar. According to the legend, the daughter of a river chief was sick. The chief sent for Jelapi, a medicine man to cure her. The chief said that is he could cure his daughter he would give away his daughter to be married to the son of Jelapi who was pleased as the chief was a noted warrior. However, when the girl was cured, the chief denied he made any agreement. Jelapi returned home ashamed and furious.
A week later the girl got sick again and eventually died. The chief suspected Jelapi charmed her. He sent two men to meet Jelapi and requested him to treat his daughter again. If the medicine man followed, they were to kill him. If he refused, they were to seize his medicine bag. Jelapi refused. The messenger snatched the medicine bag and fled. Jelapi followed and was killed by the other messenger who was hiding in ambush. Immediately the sky turned dark and the wind blew fiercely. There was a great storm and Jelapi’s body turned into a huge boulder, known today as Batu Jelapi.
The other stone legend is that of Batu Api. Ngadan was searching for a bar of gold which was stolen from his father while the father was fishing at sea. He had searched in Sumatra and was then searching in Batang Lupar and Saribas. He was at the banks of Layar when he sat down to build a fire with his flint stones. One of the stones fell into the river and turned into a huge boulder. This rock is known as Batu Api and is located at Bangai in Layar.
Observation: Hills and huge boulders are rare in the lowlands of Sarawak as the lowlands are mostly peat swamps. Hence, hills and large boulders stand out. These rocks indicate that they are parts of river promontories.
However, note that dead souls were associated with the promontories, just as in the New Zealand legend.
Bewitching hours at a kampung near Kuantan, Pahang
The Beserah road runs north of Kuantan along the coast towards the Kuantan Port area. This stretch is east of the foothills of Bukit Beserah and its forest reserve and is north of Telok Chempedak. It has several sandy beaches and is also a tourist trap with several resort hotels built there.
During the monsoon season in November 1998, a friend left his hotel and was jogging along this road. It was about 6.45pm and he felt tired. This part of the road was narrow and the beach was close by. So he strolled to the beach via a kampung.
The beach and sea looked very beautiful. The water was very clear and inviting. He felt like taking a dip and went into the sea. Currents swept him away from the beach. It was a nightmare as he struggled to stay afloat and the strong waves washed him onto another part of the coast and he found that he was among branches of some plants by the sea. He held on to a branch for a long time. Then he tried to make his way back to the shore. He was so tired that he was practically crawling up to the road. By the time he reached the hotel, it was about 9.30pm.
The friend said it was a stupid thing to swim in the East Coast waters, particularly during the monsoon season. However, he said the scenery was so beautiful that something happened to him and he did not know what he was doing.
Observation: This stretch of the Beserah road was just along the eastern foothills of Bukit Beserah. The narrow road and the beach being close by indicate it was the end of a hill spur.
The way to Mersing, Johor
There are variants of the story about hauntings at a stretch along the road from Kuantan to Mersing. A Malay salesman often travelled around the east coast of Malaysia. Once, he was in Mersing and a friend advised him not to drive back to Kuantan that night. Along the road, there is a stretch of winding road with a cliff facing the sea and the steep slope of a hill on the other side. That stretch of road is accident prone.
The salesman laughed off the warning, but his friend told him: “No matter what happens or what you see on the road, don’t stop. Just drive on.”
Starting his trip at about 11pm, the salesman reached the stretch of winding road and slowed down, just to be careful. As he was about to turn at a bend, a human figure shot out in front of him, ran towards the cliff and jumped off. In a shock, he stopped his car by the roadside and looked around him. There was no one around and no car or house was in sight. Just then, he remembered his friend’s warning and he quickly zoomed off.
The next day, he called his Mersing friend to tell him about the incident. The friend then related this tale: “Many years ago, a married couple stopped their car by the roadside along the winding road. It was there that the husband told his wife that he had been cheating on her. A quarrel ensued and the wife, deeply hurt, ran across the road and threw herself off the cliff. Some weeks later, the husband, full of remorse and guilt, followed suit and jumped off the same spot killing himself. It is said that after this double suicide, motorists who ventured to the edge of the road to look for the first figure that jumped off would get a sudden push from the back and hurtle to a horrible bone-crushing death.”
Not long after, the authorities put up high concrete barriers on the cliff side of the road.
Feng shui mysteries of promontories
The stories narrated here indicate that promontories seem to have ill understood energy vortexes associated with fault lines which produced haunting effects. The ancient feng shui masters knew all these and noted that the promontory is an inauspicious feng shui spot.
Dr Ong Hean-Tatt is a specialist on Chinese culture and Oriental strategic management science. He is a newspaper columnist and has also authored several books on Chinese culture and feng shui. He currently runs the Gui management centre (www.guiculture.com ).
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