Weekly Features

Weekly Shaman

On the old Celtic  calendar August 1st was the festival of Lughnasa  or more commonly known as Lammas (loaf mass).  It was a day  set aside to honor the Celtic sun god known as Lugh, It was also a time when the fairies would bless the grain and help the harvest to ripen. Anyone caught being too lazy to assist in the harvest might get a kick in the rear from the angry fairy folks. On this night a great procession of fairies could be seen wandering over the land,  Lughnasa was a time when great harvest festivals were held to celebrate the all important harvest.It was believed that this was the day when the Lugh the shining one) would battle Balor the lord of darkness. Lughnasa was adopted by the Anglican church and made into Lammas. At this time the harvest was brought into the church to be blessed and was a kind fo THanksgiving  was held.  Lanasa was another name for August as well.

   And as a follow up to my article on vampires of Malaysia there are also  many tales of the Bajang. a scary vampire said to haunt the region. It was said that it was an evil spirit that preys on children.This spirit was thought that to be able to be enslaved  and turned into a kind of familiar.  Certain talismans were believed to ward off the devilish beast.  If  captured it cab be pacified with milk and eggs,If captured by an evil doer the Bajandg can be sent out to h\attack the enemies of it’s owner. The most popular of the charms are a bamboo vessel stuffed with certain leaves and protected with charms. The Bajang is claimed to be the angry ghost of ayoung stillnorn child who wrecks revenge on those surviving it.-Another example of the vampire being an angry ghost who wrecks revenge on the living. I plan tp do more on the lesser known vampires  of Asian.