May peace be with you. As I have mentioned before, the gentleman known as Panglima Bentara Tujuh is the guardian of the one and only Human-Bunian hybrid. Recently, I have had the chance to communicate with him one-to-one over the internet. In our brief contact, I managed to ask him a few questions about his charge, Puteri Nur (literally "Princess of Light"). It was an enlightening experience.
According to him, Puteri Nur is - on the outside - a seemingly ordinary woman. She lives a normal life with her family and kids. Nonetheless, she is the descendant of the Bunian lord Putera Nara, on her father's side. By human reckoning, Putera Nara would be her ancestor, 5 generations up. However, in Bunian terms, Puteri Nur is his direct descendant. When I asked him (Bentara Tujuh) how this was possible, he explained that the lineage between Putera Nara and Puteri Nur are all humans. The Bunian was about to take Puteri Nur away from her mother's womb when she was about 6 months old. Surprisingly, Puteri Nur's body was surrounded by the Light of the Bunian - a Bunian with a physical body! They decided against taking her with them, but continued to monitor her progress through her birth, childhood and all the way to the present time. Five Muslim Tiger Jinns were assigned to look after her as well. These five guardians were assigned by the Bunian, and not in any way accepted or invited by Puteri Nur. As such, their existence is not against the Muslim faith.
Her birth was an enigma to all, and on all Planes. By the time Puteri Nur was born, Putera Nara had passed, and the duty of looking after the Human-Bunian hybrid fell on the shoulders of Puteri Sari, his sister. The Bunian are gifted with longevity, but in the case of Putera Nara, his life-span was drastically reduced when he married a Human woman. It was from this union that Puteri Nur's line was forged. The Bunian lineage is unlike that of the human one. The Bunian 'trait' may or may not appear with the next in line. More often than not, it skips a few generations - as in the case of Puteri Nur.
What does she do, one may ask? Well, to keep it short, Puteri Nur is a healer. She helps people who have problems that medical science cannot explain. Her patients come from all walks of life. The best thing about her treatment process is that she does not require anything - no incense, lime, needles, keris or anything like that - to treat people. She only uses verses from the Quran and her natural Bunian ability to extract and release the jinn, iblis or disease that is plaguing the patient. Those who are into quantum physics or new age philosophy or fungshui may refer to this as removal of negative elements or negative energy from the body in order to restore its balance.
This is what Puteri Nur does on an almost daily basis. I am intrigued and at the same time in awe of this remarkable woman. Till we meet again, peace!
Thursday 7 February 2013
Friday 1 February 2013
Who are the Bunian?
There are many legends and tales about who the Bunian are. A popular account states that they are a group of humans who lived in the time of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It is said that this group of people were so ashamed about something that they did (some say they served up cat meat to some honourable guests). In an effort at reconciliation, the townspeople approached the Prophet and asked that he prayed to Allah, please make them invisible to the eyes of mortal man. That's one version.
Other versions state that the Bunian are a species of jinn. Some even refer to the Bunian as evil iblis who steal people's babies. These accounts are quite common in the Malay community. I'd say one out of five Malays are familiar with accounts of disappearing babies and of supernatural beings loaning out cutlery to village folk. There are also accounts of people who had been given 'treasures' from the Bunian world. Other accounts state that some people actually married the Bunian and this inter-species union produced offsprings. I will attempt to clarify these tales, based on my personal experience and what I have been able to get from other sources.
First of all, the Bunian are not jinn nor iblis. Jinn are made of smokeless fire, and this is mentioned in the Qur'an, in surah Al-Hijr verse 26. According to Muslim teachings, Allah created three intelligent beings; the Angels, the Jinn and Mankind. Iblis was once a Jinn - as such he was made of fire. He was known as Azazil and was expelled from Heaven when he refused to bow down in respect of Adam, the first human. Before being cast down to Earth, Allah changed his appearance and he became the ugliest of all creations (he was once the most beautiful).
Iblis then asked Allah that he be granted longevity, until the Day of Reckoning, so that he may entice and seduce mankind into blasphemy - just to prove his point that mankind was a big mistake. Allah granted Iblis his wish, but unbeknownst to him, Allah the Wise had prepared an alternative plan. He had the Bunian at His disposal, who had been His Secret and Keepers of Secrets. So when Adam was cast to Earth, the Bunian were tasked with the protection and guidance of Adam and his descendants.
So, if the Bunian are not Jinn nor iblis, and most certainly not human, who are they? The Quran states that Allah created 3 types of intelligent beings: Man, Jinn (including the iblis) and Angels. This leads us to only one option: Angels. The Bunian are created from light, like the Angels. The main difference being that the Bunian were created in the image of Man, and they have gender, unlike the genderless Angels. Verse 19 of surah Al-Zukhruf bears witness to the genderless-ness of Angels. While Western culture often depicts Angels as being females, and the Bible speaks of male Angels (Gabriel, Michael, etc), Islam does not. In Islam, the Angels are genderless beings who serve Allah the Almighty.
Which brings us back to the Bunian. These beings were created from Light, and some of them (the Royalty) have wings. They eat, drink and sleep (unlike Angels). They also have gender, but are not gender-biased. In order for them to be in the proximity of humans, they were created in the form of humans, to make it easier for humans to relate to them. Unlike Angels, Bunian cannot shape-shift. A reliable source also informs me that the Bunian do not consume meat - they consider it as a murderous act. The Bunian are strict vegetarians. The image below was taken (with permission) from the Nukilan Bentara Tujuh blog, depicting a Bunian prince. I will elaborate further on the Bunian and the tales surrounding them in my next post.
Other versions state that the Bunian are a species of jinn. Some even refer to the Bunian as evil iblis who steal people's babies. These accounts are quite common in the Malay community. I'd say one out of five Malays are familiar with accounts of disappearing babies and of supernatural beings loaning out cutlery to village folk. There are also accounts of people who had been given 'treasures' from the Bunian world. Other accounts state that some people actually married the Bunian and this inter-species union produced offsprings. I will attempt to clarify these tales, based on my personal experience and what I have been able to get from other sources.
First of all, the Bunian are not jinn nor iblis. Jinn are made of smokeless fire, and this is mentioned in the Qur'an, in surah Al-Hijr verse 26. According to Muslim teachings, Allah created three intelligent beings; the Angels, the Jinn and Mankind. Iblis was once a Jinn - as such he was made of fire. He was known as Azazil and was expelled from Heaven when he refused to bow down in respect of Adam, the first human. Before being cast down to Earth, Allah changed his appearance and he became the ugliest of all creations (he was once the most beautiful).
Iblis then asked Allah that he be granted longevity, until the Day of Reckoning, so that he may entice and seduce mankind into blasphemy - just to prove his point that mankind was a big mistake. Allah granted Iblis his wish, but unbeknownst to him, Allah the Wise had prepared an alternative plan. He had the Bunian at His disposal, who had been His Secret and Keepers of Secrets. So when Adam was cast to Earth, the Bunian were tasked with the protection and guidance of Adam and his descendants.
So, if the Bunian are not Jinn nor iblis, and most certainly not human, who are they? The Quran states that Allah created 3 types of intelligent beings: Man, Jinn (including the iblis) and Angels. This leads us to only one option: Angels. The Bunian are created from light, like the Angels. The main difference being that the Bunian were created in the image of Man, and they have gender, unlike the genderless Angels. Verse 19 of surah Al-Zukhruf bears witness to the genderless-ness of Angels. While Western culture often depicts Angels as being females, and the Bible speaks of male Angels (Gabriel, Michael, etc), Islam does not. In Islam, the Angels are genderless beings who serve Allah the Almighty.
Which brings us back to the Bunian. These beings were created from Light, and some of them (the Royalty) have wings. They eat, drink and sleep (unlike Angels). They also have gender, but are not gender-biased. In order for them to be in the proximity of humans, they were created in the form of humans, to make it easier for humans to relate to them. Unlike Angels, Bunian cannot shape-shift. A reliable source also informs me that the Bunian do not consume meat - they consider it as a murderous act. The Bunian are strict vegetarians. The image below was taken (with permission) from the Nukilan Bentara Tujuh blog, depicting a Bunian prince. I will elaborate further on the Bunian and the tales surrounding them in my next post.
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