Ikan Puyu - The Mystical Fish

I was browsing Yahoo Answers and I noticed a rather unusual question. Im posting the entire question and answer verbatim here:

"Why almost every race in Malaysia believed that ikan puyu has a mystical power? and that fish are capable of fighting black magic from entering the owner house"

And the answer given was:

In mystical arts, the climbing perch (puyu) is seen as a fish that dwells in two realms (which makes it unique) and it has the ability to live without water for days (if in a proper environment) which is quite symbolic for certain qualities which humans don't have (as fishes are supposed to be dependent on water, humans are dependent on air, but in the case of this fish, it is able to dwell in both realms). These abilities are seen as special and unusual, which is another feature that makes this fish 'special'.

It is said that here are two kinds of uses for these fishes.

(1) It can be used to repel 'pest-like' spirits, those of the 'weaker' kinds. Spirits that can be mischievious such as toyols and certain dwarf-like beings (kerdil). Some versions of this explains that these beings are actually not afraid of the puyu at all, but uses them as 'toys' to play with.

(2) It can also be used to repel demonic spirits, those with grosser bodies (in the case of Djinns) as these beings are said to dislike its sharp bodies.

There's also a third use of these fishes. It can be used as a sacrifice for removal of cursed objects (santau) by transferring those objects into the body of those fishes (though it is not commonly practiced). Some uses the puyu as a medium to send cursed objects instead.

I guess all races 'accept' these fishes for their uniqueness and attracted to the stories of old rather than having any understanding whatsoever about these fishes. As a matter of fact, not many 'modern' Malaysians know the uses of these fish anymore unless they are being brought up with proper guidance in the old ways. It is more like an adaptation as the climbing perch is a native only to Southeast Asian countries and can also be found throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, parts of Indonesia and Borneo...

These fishes have NO 'mystical' powers of its own without any 'divine' assistance and usually it has to be done with proper conjurations and spells. Black magic is a term referred to certain practices which involves darker intentions of one's practice. In reality, there is no such thing as 'black' or 'white' magic. The intention of one's heart determines the cause and effect of its spells. Through the powers of these spells, certain beings are being used to 'work' for a particular person (eg. witchdoctors/bomoh), and thus the climbing perch is used for the purposes as mentioned earlier above.

Hope this helps...

I do not wish to make this too lengthy, but basically mention the 'idea' about keeping these fishes for the purpose of 'preventing' black magic.

By TheBear V2.0 (Happy Bearian)

Yahoo Answers

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The ikan Puyu is also called ikan Betuk in malay. And in English, it is called the Climbing Perch (Anabas Testudineus). The ikan Puyu is a common fresh water fish in Asia. It is a very hardy and unusual fish. During the drought, it has the ability to aestivate (hibernate) in the mud and emerge during a more favourable period.

Whilst I do not know about its mystical powers, what I do know is that the ikan Puyu is an important source of protein amongst the villages. The ikan Puyu are also kept as pets and help keep the mosquito population in check.

Give me some feedback guys, what do you know about the Puyu fish ?