Pontianak · The City Named After a Ghost

The city of Pontianak takes its name from the ghost of the local tradition — a woman who died in childbirth. She appears at night, and it is said you hear an infant crying first, then smell flowers, and only then does she arrive.

It is said the first person to settle here was driven back by her voice, and the river mouth kept her name from then on.

Local practice is specific: on a night road, cut your nails short and carry a pair of scissors. The scissors are for her, not for you.

Folklore / Pontianak · Indonesia / Time immemorial