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Do love potions really exist?

by Kartz Pala

So you are experiencing a love failure or just simply angry with your lover, probably this is what brought you here. Never the less what you read here is definitely intriguing and probably harmful..

In the Malay archipelago in South East Asia, (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei) spells can be seeked for most aspects of daily life. The extend of their usage is not common among the public, but stories about the usage do get highlighted into the papers once in a while.

Minyak guna-guna' or Ubat pengasih' which directly translates to love medicine have been used as love spells by those who submit themselves to the underground work of devils and spirits.

There are many ways to prepare the spell (minyak guna-guna), amongst them is to use the Corpse Oil'/'Dead man chin's oil' (Minyak dagu) from a murdered victim's corpse or the corpse from a first-time mother who died during delivery.

The oil from the dead body is taken on the same night the body is buried. Normally, this grave ritual is done after midnight by removing the body from the grave and parching the chin, cheeks and elbows of the corpse with candle to obtain some body-oil'.

The spell makers are usually naked and on a trance when preparing the source for the spell so as to ensure they obey orders set. They chant incantations of Koranic verses non-stop and throw rice grains stained with tumeric + sand taken from three different beaches around the ritual area.

The collected oil is placed in a bottle, heated and chanted. The potential of the spell is stronger if the source is from a dead mother, whose child also died during the delivery. The spell is also stronger and user-specific when added with body-parts (nail, hair, etc.) of the love victim. The chanting is done by the group leader, normally a witchdoctor or Bomoh'. The bottle is then closed with a glass cap and is ready for sale.

The buyer or the User of the potion uses it on his victim (i.e. his lover' in this sense) by (1) touching the victim with this oil dabbed on a cotton swab, or (2) mixing a few drops of the oil onto the victim's food/drink, or even by (3) planting the dab onto the victims personal belongings (handbag, pocket, etc.).

A spirit friend is often used by the Bomoh to ensure the love victim eventually falls into trap set for her, i.e. by having the victim frequently dream of the User or imagining glimpses of the User. The love victim who gets caught in this spell will have difficulty sleeping at night and during the day will usually look tired and worried. Often time, the victim will have a strong desire to meet the User.

It should be noted that the spell does not actually makes the love victim fall in love with the User, instead the victim is influenced by an external source and the feeling will die-off when the source diminishes. In fact when this happens, the victim would be not be able to comprehend what happened during the period (like a zombie).

The spell is known to be used onto women who are considered difficult' by men who are looking for sex, to have an affair with a married lady or to get even with women who are not in terms with them.

These spells are not easily found on the streets, a user who is unfamiliar would need referrals to get to know a local bomoh' who would investigate the user before offering assistance. The cheapest of these spell were known to be priced around RM100-200.

In after-effect there are counter-spells that can be used by women to protect from the mischief of guna-guna'.

The usage of spells are strongly condemned by the Muslim community as it involves syirik', an act of recognizing another power besides God which is against Islam. It is also considered Morally and Ethically wrong. Its low usage still thrives in the cult world for those who seek it.

References:
1) Excerpts from an interview with Dr. Amran Kasimin, a researcher in Islamic cultural practices based in Malaysia.

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