Wang Dahai was a Chinese scholar from Fujian who lived in Java for several years in the 1780s and, after his return to China, published his observations as the Haidao yizhi. The text was later translated into English by the Christian missionary Walter Medhurst and published in Shanghai in 1849 as The Chinaman Abroad, or A Desultory Account of the Malayan Archipelago, Particularly of Java. Medhurst, who had spent time in Malaya and Batavia (Jakarta) in the 1810s and 1820s, identified the “Flying Heads” described by Wang as the Pontianak of Malay folklore, and explained in a footnote: “This elf is much believed in by the Malays, and is called Pontianak. They think that it consists of a human head, with dishevelled hair and flowing entrails, which flies about at night, and does much mischief. In describing this, and other matters, the author has allowed himself to be misled by superstition” (The Chinaman Abroad, p. 52). However, Medhurst seems to have confused the Pontianak with the Penanggalan. When translating this entry, he also misread Annan 安南 as “Amboyna” (Ambon Island). The translation below is mine.

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The Flying Heads

These are called Siluo Man 絲羅蠻. They are most numerous in Annan (Đại Việt), but there are extremely few in the land of Batavia (Baguo 吧國). I have heard of them by name, but have never heard of any cases of them causing harm. They are women from another tribe of the native barbarians (tufan 土番) that lives deep in the mountains. Their eyes have no pupils, and they can see in the dark at night. In the night, their heads fly into people’s houses and eat their bowels. They dislike sour things and dare not open their eyes when coming into contact with these. The method for protecting oneself from them is thus to sprinkle sour [lime] juice at them, upon which they will not dare to come closer.