A Toyol or Tuyul is a mythical spirit in the Malay mythology of
South-East Asia (notably Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and
Singapore). It is a small child spirit invoked by a bomoh (Malay
witch doctor) from a dead human foetus using black magic. It is
possible to buy a toyol from such a bomoh.
Some say that toyol has its origins from Mecca near the Kaaba (the
belief refers to the Pre-Islamic Era where the Arabs used to killed
their children and buried them all around Mecca. Others claimed
that there is a place in the Masjid Al-Haram where Djinns (genies)
reside and toyol is the baby genie. The Chinese name for the toyol
is guǐ zai (literally "ghost child"). The corresponding term in the
Hokkien dialect is kwee kia.
A person who owns a toyol uses it mainly to steal things from other
people, or to do mischief. According to a well-known superstition,
if money or jewellery keeps disappearing mysteriously from your
house, a toyol might be responsible. One way to ward off a toyol is
to place some needles under your money, for toyols are afraid of
being hurt by needles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyol
