In continuation to the sort of series I had started yesterday, (Found here: Dark creature of the Philippines) These are more creatures that I'll be sharing with you guys
Multo / mumu
As amusing as the other name is, this is the filipino version of ghosts and spirits. The term multo was originally derived from the spanish word "muerto" which means dead. Among the most popular kind of ghosts here is called the white lady, which is often a lady in a white dress, long hair and a bloody face or bloody eyes. Most of the time, these kinds of ghosts are accompanied with vengeful stories and curses. Even in the city, they're pretty popular creatures because ghost stories are told more often than the stories of the creatures I've talked of before.
I'm not sure about any kinds of diets these creatures have. I don't think they even need to consume anything because they're not living creatures after all. And as for origins, it seems like ghost stories have been in use for a really long time
Tikbalang
Tikbalang, tigbalang, tigbalan, tikbalan, or demon horse is a strange creature that has the face and feet of a horse then the body of a man. They're often said to be found in forests and are described as playful creatures. Their diets are often said to be just plants and grass around the area but they still target humans, mostly young females which they rape th to bear their children (I have no idea if this is real, I've never heard of a case) Often, they're said to be friendly to children too.
I have no Idea of the origins of this creatures, nor can I find anything that doesn't lead me to centaur as a search result. But one funny thing about this creature is that in Philippine folklore, when it's sunny yet it rains, it's said that these tikbalangs celebrate a wedding of their kind
Kapre
Among all the creatures in Philippine folklore, the kapre is probably one of the friendliest creatures on the list since they don't harm humans. The most they do is play tricks on humans. They're often described as large, hairy men that always smoke large cigars or tabacco although some texts say that this may be the Philippine version of big foot made popular in western culture but the differences prove otherwise
These kapres are often found atop huge old trees and only come down when they intend to be friendly with humans. They kind of act as a protector too in some cases but often they're told as tricksters that make you lost in the forest. they cast spells that make someone get lost in the forest and one way to break this spell is to wear your shirt inside out, where the seam lines are outside. This is where the filipino belief of wearing your shirt inside out will prevent you from getting lost ( XD it's an amusing belief, i know, but sometimes it works sometimes).
As for its origins, I've read that the word kapre was originally derived from the arab word Kaffir which meant non-believers. What I'm curious about is if the original kapres were nothing but large humans who were banished by the Islamic religion for being heretics. I'm still trying to look for supporting texts about that
There's still a few more popular creatures to go ;;-;; it's taking so long because I like finding out their origins or a bit of history about them since they're interesting creatures. And if they ever coincide with other country's folklore
Multo is just like Samara from horor movie Rings. I like her, she is scary 😁 Kapre seems fun, the tricks he performs on people must be interesting. It is probably played with the consciousness and mind of man.