That old black magic could hurt you

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): Does it only happen in the movies, especially local low-budget flicks dealing with the supernatural?

For instance, an egg flies through the air, entering a house and exploding like a bomb, killing everybody around. Or a person languishes on a bed, a bunch of needles or creepy-crawlies bursting out from various orifices.

Yet many swear that black magic does exist and is a powerful force to be reckoned with. People sometimes behave in hysterical, irrational ways against alleged practitioners. Paranormals were killed by mobs in Ciamis, West Java, in recent months for allegedly practicing black magic.

One young man, "Kiki", told of the black magic experience of his family. His father, a top executive at a state-owned company, began to fall ill with mysterious ailments. Conventional and traditional medicine were of no help, and eventually the family sought help from a shaman.

"He told us a hex had been put on my father. He touched my father's throat, and pulled out a sea urchin, then another. There were steel nails, pieces of glass. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself."

The shaman said the hex was put on the man by a colleague who wanted his position. Kiki's father could not be helped and died a few weeks later.

Psychic Ki Singalodra said black magic consisted of three major applications -- pulung or jadi-jadian; teluh; and kiriman.

People who practice pulung or jadi-jadian usually can change their appearance into an animal, or have an animal pet with supernatural powers which is visible only to them. Teluh is the most common witchcraft which is used to hurt another. Kiriman (which literally means "send" in Indonesian) is evil power conveyed to hurt someone else.

When teluh or kiriman, known as voodoo in some other countries, is used, the victim, like Kiki's father, will suffer a terrible malady.

"There's no particular disease from the medical point of view, but the sufferer feels so sick," Singalodra said.

A similar experience happened to "Rudy".

The 30-year old executive said that two months ago he suffered fitful sleep during the night.

"I could only fall sleep at dawn. I also suffered from night sweats. Sometimes I had nightmares and woke up, then I could not sleep anymore."

A friend told him one day that he saw something strange in his eyes and urged him to see a psychic. At first, he was reluctant, but he later followed the advice and went to see a paranormal.

On the first visit, he gave Rudy a glass of water and asked him to bathe with the water mixed with some spices. The paranormal also gave him a kind of necklace to wear.

On the second visit, Rudy vomited dark blood. On the third and final visit, the paranormal told him that somebody used black magic to make him ill.

"It was a person whose love I rejected," Rudy said.

He said the paranormal asked if he wanted to "return" the black magic to the sender, but Rudy said no.

Singalodra said people usually resort to black magic through vengeance and a need for reprisal.

"In this world, so many people get hurt because of power, love or others' careers or disappointments. It's about envy and revenge."

Another paranormal, Syahbudin, said that when black magicians cast flawed spells, medical examinations would detect something wrong. For example, an X-ray could show a needle in the victim's body.

He said some symptoms of hexes included prolonged insomnia, frequent nightmares and suddenly waking up, anxiety, sweating during the day and night, and frightening hallucinations.

Syahbudin said that he received an average of 10 patients daily, mostly asks for spiritual consultation. So far, he has dealt with only one patient who fell victim to black magic.

He said that people who practiced black magic used hypnotic, telepathic and telekinetic powers to send frequencies and energy to put someone in danger. In many cases, those people would be stirred to do something dangerous.

"It is possible by sending energy and frequencies to make the targeted people do something beyond their (usual) behavior," he said.

"For instance, someone fond of drinking coffee will be made to drink too much coffee, therefore he or she will get sick and die because of the effects of taking too much coffee. Or, someone who likes driving will be in an accident where they die."

Those who are very busy and emotionally stressed are easy targets of black magic, he said.

Not everyone, however, can be attacked.

Since the ritual or scheme uses energy and frequencies, people can also protect themselves from black magic, Syahbudin added.

Psychic Sukma Dipura agreed that there were those immune to that old black magic.

"Everyone has an aura and energy. When the aura is good and strong, it will be a kind of shield and any bad energy will bounce off it."

He said that was why some people believed in the power of precious stones and other objects.

"The materials are filled with energy to neutralize their surroundings."