What is a Phi Lang Kluang?

Background

It is said that Phi Lang Kluang has a very large wound on his back. Inside the hollow back there are intestines full of worms.

According to legends, Phi Lang Kluang enjoys harmless jokes and pranks. For example, they ask someone to scratch their back. When someone does this, the Phi Lang Kluang turns out to be such a creature with a hollow back and full of creeping centipedes.

Phi Lang Kluang are said to live in forest communities. This and the appearance in a Chinese text (Shan Hai Ching) about native forest dwellers with funnel breasts suggest that the story is more of a denigration of minorities at its core.