by Lady Z

Created on: February 27, 2008

Exorcism is referred to the act of getting rid of an evil spirit from a place or a body through prayers or spiritual ceremony. The work of evil exists in countless number of ways which can even be beyond the wildest human imagination. Evil spirit exists either in the form of wandering soul or that which is sent through the act of voodoo with the intention to intimidate or destroy a person.

In my place, there are various methods to perform exorcisms and there are beliefs that sometimes the spirits might not go away unless the exorcism is performed the way the spirit was sent. For example, in the case of a voodoo sent by an aborigine, even the mightiest Buddhist, Hindu or Christian priest or an Imam would not be able to exorcise the spirit. It is done through a ceremony conducted by the head of the tribe but even this is not a guarantee. In worst-case scenario, the evil spirit would have to be sent back or destroyed using black magic as well. This belief is especially popular in the rural areas of countries where the religious faith is not that strong. The story I am going to narrate illustrates a method of exorcism which is commonly practiced by the communities in Asia.

There was once when I accompanied my friend to see a Malay medium (referred to as Bomoh in the Malay language) in Malaysia for consultation. It occurred to us that she might be under some kind of a hatred spell sent by a woman who was madly in love with my friend's husband and having the intention to destroy their marriage so that she could be with him. The Bomoh's place was just a small, run-down atap house situated within a big compound with frangipani, rose and lime trees encircling it. A group of Bomohs greeted us as we entered the house. Some of them were busy preparing food as if there was going to be a feast. Others were either busy "smoking" the place with burning incense, or washing limes and flowers before placing them nicely on a plate.

Even though we came first, we had to give way to a couple who came after us as their matter required immediate attention. Before they attended to the couple, the Bomoh chief instructed 2 of the staff to meditate. We later learned that the staff were actually guarding the vicinity of the house and driving all any evil spirits that were lingering out the compound. The Bomohs then assembled and sat in a circle while the couple was instructed to sit in the middle of the circle. The food and the plate containing flowers and lime were offerings and they were

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