We've got Vampires and Centaurs too...
A rather important part of Philippine mythology are the creatures that inhabit it's mystical plain. Most legends across the world would always have one as a character whether or not he would make a particular influence on the main Character of the legend. In relation to Philippine superstition and mythology it's rather intriguing to note that up to this day, some killings found in rural provinces are still attributed to these creatures. And they aren't just being passed on by some woman in a sowing circle. For some reason they occasionally wind up landing on the news papers...
To this day, sometimes when it would rain during a sunny day, my mother would tell me that a tickbalang couple just got wed. Tikbalangs according to myth are said to be the reasons why Typhoons happen. Because of their playfulness they would often run at incredibly fast speeds that are fast enough to cause heavy winds to tear down houses. They say if you felt a gush of wind come out of nowhere, a Tikbalang just ran by to mess with your head.
According to the article "Legendary Humanoids - Tikbalang, the Demon Horse" Written by Lon Strickler, found on the website www.phantomsandmonsters.com
"Since horses only arrived in the Philippine archipelago during the
Spanish invasion, there is a theory that the image of a half-horse,
half-man creature was propagated by the conquistadors to keep the
natives afraid of the night."
Without a doubt, one of the coolest pics of it I have ever seen
Horses certainly weren't native to the Philippines and it would definitely be questionable when someone were to find out about this. This could be a good explanation as to why they are so similar to the Greek "Centaur" a half human half horse, only this time the lower torso has the Horse features while the upper half has the human features. Further on in the Article it states that the Tikbalang also could have possibly been a half man half bird appearance very much like the Japanese "Tengu"
Among all the creatures in the Lore of Philippine Mythology, none has been more influencial, more frightening and more badly depicted by the media as the "Aswang". I quote from the article "Legendary Humanoids: Aswang, Shapeshifting Vampire" Written by Lon Strickler, found on the website www.Phantomsandmonsters.com
"The creature is described as a combination of vampire and witch and is
almost always female. One key feature of the aswang is its bloodshot
eyes. The aswang is an eater of the dead and a cannibal"
The Aswang is a monster that has the ability to shape shift into different animals and commonly feeds on baby fetuses dead or alive. Like the article states, with the ability to shape shift into many different animals, the taste for human flesh and it's various supernatural powers, one can say that it's definitely very similar to the vampire.
Very much like the Tikbalang, it's highly possible that the aswang was used as a method of crowd control and the belief of the existence of this creature was extremely effective in it. The legend of the werewolf was made so that a scientist could grave rob dead bodies to continue his research in human anatomy, so it could have been a fear factor technique used here as well.
Regardless of the intentions of making these beasts, they definitely had a large effect on the way many people back then and now would think when venturing alone in the provincial forests...
HOLY SH** KILL IT WITH FIRE AND AIDS!!!
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