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The penanggalan or penanggal is a nocturnal vampiric entity from Malay ghost myths. It takes the form of a floating disembodied woman's head, with its organs and entrails trailing from its neck. From afar, the penanggalan is said to twinkle like a ball of flame, similar to the will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon.
The penanggalan belongs to a constellation of similar mythological entities that can be found under different names across different regions of Southeast Asia; these regional variations all share in common that they are characterized by a disembodied head of a woman, with organs and innards hanging from its neck. Alongside the penanggalan, there is the Ahp (Khmer: អាប) in Cambodia; the Kasu (Lao: ກະສື, pronounced [ka.sɯ̌ː]) in Laos; the Krasue (Thai: กระสือ, pronounced [krā.sɯ̌ː]) in Thailand and much of Southeast Asia; the Kuyang (pronounced [ku.jaŋ]), Leyak (Indonesian pronunciation: [le.ak]); the hantu polong of the Temuan; the Ma lai (Vietnamese: ma lai) in Vietnam; and the Manananggal in the Philippines.
The name penanggalan derives from the word tanggal, meaning "to remove or take off", because its form is that of a floating disembodied woman's head, with its organs and entrails trailing from its neck.
Though commonly referred to in its native languages as a ghost, the penanggalan cannot be readily classified as a classical undead being. Rather, it is a witch that developed the ability to take such a form through meditation in a vat of vinegar. The creature is, for all intents and purposes, a living human being during daytime or at any time when it does not detach itself from its body. The penanggalan often hunts at night for menstruation/blood from birth. It also hunts for pregnant women and young children.