BELIEVING IN SUPERNATURAL BEINGS
Most early Filipinos believed in worshiping different gods, creatures, and spirits.They appease them through various practices, sacrifices, and rituals.Beliefs in supernatural beings are widespread in the Philippines. Specifically, namaligno is a Filipino belief that a disease is caused by an intervention of a supernatural or a mystical being (Abad 2013). A genetic condition which has been associated with having a mystical etiology is Marfan syndrome.
Do you know these creatures?
These are;
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ASWANG- Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and werebeasts. The Aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, stories, arts, and films, as it is well known throughout the Philippines.
•TIKBALANG- The Tikbalang is a creature of Philippine folklore said to lurk in the mountains and rainforests of the Philippines. It is a tall, bony humanoid creature with the head and hooves of a horse and disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down.
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KAPRE- In Philippine folklore, the kapre is a creature that may be described as
a tree giant, being a tall (7 to 9 ft), dark-coloured, hairy, and muscular creature. Kapres are also said to have a very strong body odour and to sit in tree branches to smoke.
•TIYANAK- The Tiyanak is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby. Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to attract unwary travelers
•MANANGGAL-The manananggal is an old mythical creature in the Philippines that separates from their lower part of body and their fangs and wings give it a vampire-like appearance.
•DUWENDE-A duende is a humanoid figure of folklore, with variations from Iberian, Ibero American, and Filipino cultures, comparable to dwarves, gnomes, or leprechauns.
•DIWATA-Diwata means goddess or deity in Filipino mythology, and diwata figures in tales are valued supernatural beings because they are guardians of nature.
The Filipinos share various beliefs in the supernatural. Even in such modern times, many still believe that mythical creatures live among us. This may be attributed to the old folktales they were told in their childhood or to the creative minds and storytelling abilities of Filipinos.
Some creatures are thought to be like gods and goddesses, acting as divine providers and guardians to the townspeople. On the other hand, some viewed as villainous, causing misfortune and troubles. Get to know some of them as we list down some of the well known Filipino mythical creatures.
In spite of the changes born of reappropriation and demystification, reappropriation and demystification, the characters of the narratives of the supernatural have nevertheless retained their raison d’être – social control. It remains that people should respect these spirits and should not trespass upon their territory. Or when such spirits want to communicate with the physical realm, the living person should make time to help or they might keep on making their presence felt and even harm members of the community. This is the aspect of the narrative of the supernatural that has remained even though the medium is now print or cyberspace; and in spite of the fact that the supernatural beings may have undergone transformations vis-a-vis the urbanisation of their localty.
REFERENCES
Alcina, F. 1668. The Munoz text of
Alcina’s History of the Bisayan Islands.
Translation by Paul Leitz, Loyola
University. Philippine Studies Program,
Department of Anthropology,
University of Chicago.
Blog by:Frances Leanne Honoridez BIT-IDT 1-C
