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Mythology & folklore

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Tikbalang?

One of the most popular and enduring mythical creatures in Filipino lore. The tikbalang is said to be a half human, half horse creature in the mold of the Greek Pan, that is, having an upper body of a human and lower limbs of a horse. There are two known versions of the creature’s appearance: the more popular and oft portrayed version has the tikbalang with the head of a horse while the lesser known version has it sporting a human visage.

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Published at 2018-01-28 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Mythology, Tikbalang, legends

Danag: the Birth of Vampirism in the Philippines

You may have heard the tales of Lilith, known in vampire lore as the first vampire, the first succubus, the first temptress – the birth of vampirism. “In the Book of Lillith (one of the apocryphal books of the Bible) she was Adam’s first wife but refused God’s word of male dominance and proved it by being on “top” during intercourse. She was banished from the Garden of Eden and was taken in by Satan-el to be one of his many wives.”

Continue reading (500 words, 3 pictures)

Published at 2018-01-27 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Isneg, Vampirism

The Manananggal and Wakwak

The subject of countless movies here in the Philippines, the Manananggal and Wakwak are other types of evil creatures in the same league as the Aswang. Legend says the Manananggal is a pretty woman by day that transforms into a vicious, half bodied, viscera-eating monster by nightfall. It is said that the Manananggal will sneak out of her house near midnight to hide in the bushes, or maybe a grove of banana trees.

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Published at 2018-01-26 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Manananggal, legends

Philippines: the Monster Islands

The golden era of the 80’s was always remembered with the coming of the age of monsters. Thanks to the keen and creative thinkers from Japan,out of this world colossal creatures known as Kaiju that spread awe and terror in TV screen gain a huge following ( nearly a cult like following) and become a growing part of pop culture. Notable of this are all seen in Sentai series like Ultraman, Kamen Rider and Chodenshi Bioman while others like the notoriously famous Godzilla made it’s way into...

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Published at 2018-01-26 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: creatures, tales

Philippine Sprites, Flying Cannibals, and Vengeful Souls

The nervous Filipinos of long ago believed that many conditions that plagued them were caused by invisible sprites, flying cannibals, or a bitter vengeful soul.

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Published at 2018-01-25 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore

A Glossary of Mythical Philippine Creatures & Beings

The Philippine Isles has always possessed a thriving and serious respect for the supernatural. The tracks of an idly fleeing wild boar or the sound of flapping wings are transformed into chilling tales of the unexplained. Every barrio and province have their favorite (or dreaded) spirit. The place where a person succumbed to sickness or the house of which someone died was soon caught in a gathering mist of suspicious rumors.

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Published at 2018-01-23 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Documentary, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Agta

Batibat / Bangungot – Frightened to Death by Nightmares

The Batibat or Bangungot is a vengeful spirit found in Ilocano folklore. These spirits are blamed as the cause of the fatal nocturnal disease called bangungot or *SUNDS (sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome). A Batibat takes the form of a huge, old, fat woman that resides in trees. When these trees are cut down to make posts for a house, the home owner may find that they have inherited an unwanted guest.

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Published at 2018-01-25 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Spirits

The Diwata of Philippine Mythology / Forest Spirits & Goddesses

Deva is the Hindu term for deity; devatas (Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay and Indonesian: dewata; Philippine languages: diwata), are a kind of smaller more focused devas. The term “devata” also means devas (deva in plural form or the gods). There are many kinds of devatas: vanadevatas (forest spirits, perhaps descendants of early nature-spirit cults), gramadevata (village gods), devata of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on.

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Published at 2018-01-24 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Diwata, Gods, Spirits, forest

Tambanokano: the Giant Crab

The belief in giant monsters swallowing the moon, and the wild efforts to frighten them away, are very widespread. It is found throughout the Philippines, as well as parts of Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia, China, and Thailand. These Asian stories were spread through trade with the expansion of the Indianized Kingdoms. In Vedic Mythology , Rahu is a Hindu demi-God who attempted to become immortal by swallowing a divine nectar.

Continue reading (694 words, 2 pictures)

Published at 2018-01-27 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Crab, Mandaya

Ancient Cultural Weaponry: Finding the Visayan Bakunawa Kampilan

Among Filipino swords, the most distinguishing characteristic of the Kampilan is its huge size. At about 36 to 40 inches (90 to 100 cm) long, it is much larger than other Filipino swords , and is thought to be the longest, although smaller versions (sometimes referred to as Kampilan bolos) may have also been common. It is believed that the longer kampilan was wielded only by the most skilled warriors or those with higher status.

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Published at 2018-01-26 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Bakunawa

Alan, the Deformed Humanoid

When it comes to the Creatures of Philippine Mythology, there is no shortage of bizarre and grotesque beings. The Alan is one of these – a mysterious race of small, deformed half-human, half-avian creatures. Their elongated fingers and feet are said to point backwards, which they use to hang upside down from trees with. As horrific as this may sound, they are relatively harmless. They are even rumoured to adopt children who have been lost in the jungle.

Continue reading (1,663 words, 4 pictures)

Published at 2018-01-23 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Mythology, creatures

Nangangatok, Who's Knocking at Your Door?

The Nangangatok are usually invisible spirits that are harbingers of terrible things to come. People are advised to peek through the window first when someone knocks before opening their doors or they might let the Nangangatok inside their house. Unlike the Kumakatok (“door knockers”), a group of three robed figures believed by many in the Philippines to knock on doors in the middle of the night and bring bad omens, you will never see the Nangangatok.

Continue reading (666 words, one picture)

Published at 2018-01-26 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Spirits

Pugot Mamu: the Other Philippine Boogeyman Share Your Love of Philippine Myth

Next to the aswang, the Pugot Mamu may be the most well-known Philippine boogeyman from the Pampanga region. It is a headless being, like the more famous Pugot, with a few major differences. The Pugot is said to be the spirit of a beheaded priest and really only scares people, while the Pugot Mamu is flesh and bone, with an insatiable appetite for children.

Continue reading (262 words, one picture)

Published at 2018-01-26 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Pugot

Laho, Serpent of the Blood Moon

‘Laho’ means eclipse, ‘naglaho’ means to swallow without a trace. It is the Tagalog name for the serpent that swallows the moon, corresponding to other moon-eater myths such as the Bakunawa, Minokawa, Tambanakaua, Arimoangaand Bawa found throughout the Philippines.

Continue reading (430 words, one picture)

Published at 2018-01-25 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Bakunawa, Serpent

Ikugan: Tales of Tailed Men in the Philippines

The fateful meeting of “civilized” and primitive factions in the world during the Age of Discovery forced an escalation of the Western ideals of progression. Among the lands that were “discovered” during this grand period was the Philippines. Of course, history tells us that conquistadors embarked on their journey to the east for spices and to spread the word of God – while also trying to gain more riches, power, land and colonies.

Continue reading (1,741 words, 6 pictures)

Published at 2018-01-22 by Puerto Parrot
Categories: Culture, Mythology & folklore
Tags: Engkanto, missionary