Bataks
Bataks
(Bah-TUCKS)
Variations: Battas
On the island nation of Sumatra there is a type of witch doctor known as a bataks who specializes in fighting the type of vampire called a NAGASJATINGARON that drains the soul from its human victims. The bataks works to reclaim the tendi, the soul, of the person who has fallen under vampiric attack. Using an herbal rub containing GARLIC, a culturally well-known, soul-compelling plant, he performs a magical ceremony that returns the soul to its rightful owner.
Sources:
- Dana, American Cyclopaedia, 379;
- Ripley, New American Cyclopædia, 723;
- Santiago, Solidaridad, 1 61;
- Summers, Vampire: His Kith and Kin, 187, 209, 250
Taken from the Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology Written by :Theresa Bane ©2010 Theresa Bane. All rights reserved