Every ethnic group in the Philippines has its own unique mythical creatures. In this post, I will show you some of the creatures that Filipinos, or most of the Fili[pinos, believe in.
Aswang
Aswang are shapeshifters, sometimes they turn into a cat or dog and is believed to eat humans especially pregnant women, babies and children. Aswang has various forms and terms. They are also called tiktik which has very long tongue and half bodied monsters or what Filipinos call Mananangal. Tiktik has a human-bird form and seeks for victim at night, especially pregnant women.
Tiktik is known to eat the fetus with its very long tongue that it can make into yarnlike so it can suck in the womb of pregnant women. Or they can also eat it brutally without using their tongue. Some pregnant women in the Philippines are very careful especially at night because of this. Tiktik makes a sound, it sounds 'tiktiktiktiktik' (maybe that's why it's called tiktik-kidding aside) and it is believed that when the sound seems far the tiktik is near and when the sound looks like its coming near you, the tiktik is far from you. Its form is similar to harpies in Greek mythology.
Manananggal is described to be a scary, ghastly creature. It is usually a female and upper body removes into their lower part of the body and their wings will come out. When they turn into Mananangal form, they look like a batlike human in half and a vampire combined. They suck human blood. They are also some times called a witch because from a beautiful lady they become to a blood sucking, body separates in two, batlike human. They also like sucking the fetus like tiktik does and the heart of sleeping human beings. The lower part of the mananangal's body is left standing from where the body got separated in tw
Aswangs are known to have a strange desire for fetus and pregnant women because they smell like jackfruit as for the Aswangs.
DIWATA/ ENKANTADA/ ENGKANTO
Diwata or enkantada/enganto are creatures that believed to protect or take care of nature like forests, seas, and mountains. They are similar to fairies, and enchantress. They are believed to be very beautiful and has very fair skin and sometimes blond-haired. They are believed to have like a God/Goddess like beauty. They are known to be good and helpful to people that value nature and it's possession but also curse and bring misfortunes to people who harm the forest, sea or mountains that they protect. Engkanto on the other hand is known o be to be wicked but still very attractive. It is believed that people near the sea will offer an Engkanto meat to show appreciation for him protecting the sea. It is believed that there are Diwatas/Engkantada/Engkanto in every forest, mountain, and/or sea. A famous Diwata is Maria Makiling who is guarding Mount Makiling. Engkantada (female) and Engkanto (male) reside in forest and seas while Diwata guards mountains. It is also believed that sometimes they start wanting or being interested to one human and want to take that human to their 'kingdom' to live together forever.
Kapre
Kapre is a nasty giant who likes to smoke a large cigarettes and hide behind of on top of big trees. He scares away children who plays at at night. It begins when the sun has already set. If a human goes around in circles after passing a very large tree, and can't find the way home, it is said that the Kapre was played around by a Kapre. To be able to escape, the human must remove his shirt and wear it upside down.
Mangkukulam
Mangkukulam or also called as Bruha are witches, sorcerers and others similar to this kind. They use dark magic to harm their victims. They sometimes use dolls. Another kind of a mangkukulam is called Mambabarang. Mambabarang uses insects and puts a magical spell in it and release it to go to the victim and impregnate her which later let's tiktik eat the baby in the womb. Some mangkukulam uses dark magic to get what they want or get revenge.
There are more Filipino Mythical Creatures. I will be posting a part 2 of this article. If you like it, let me know at the comments section down below. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for liking part one of your mythical creature story.