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.