Top Filipino Mythical Creatures

Posted on November 1st, 2009 by marvin19

In line with Halloween, we’ve decided to list the top Filipino Mythical Creatures that we have here in the Philippines. Just a brief background, the Filipino culture is deeply rooted with fascination of the supernatural.

1. Aswang – is a Filipino Mythical Creature term that is a generic term applied to other Mythical Creatures such as Shapeshifters, Monsters, Witches and Creatures of Nature. Whey Aswang is mentioned, the most common picture that will enter your head is that of the manananggal. This is generally an old lady whose body splits into 2 parts at the stroke of midnight. The lower half (waist down) would stay at home and the upper half (waist up) would grow wings, fly and hunt for a victim to eat.

aswang

2. Tikbalang – is another well known Filipino Mythical Creature. The tikbalang is a half horse-half man hybrid which lives in the forest. They would lead weary traveler’s astray by making them go past the same path over and over again. Though the tikbalang is scary in appearance, it does not go attacking people. All you’d need to do when you find yourself travelling the same path over and over in the woods is either to wear your shirt inside out or to ask out loud for permission to pass.

tikbalang

3. White Lady – for me is the most common of the Filipino Mythical Creatures because the white lady, as folklore tells us, can be found even in the cities. A white lady is the ghost of a woman wearing a long white gown (oftenly wedding gowns), has long black hair, has no face and no feet. She appears in certain locations where she is bound to and the reason she appears is not to scare people but to ask for help.

Mangkukulam

4. Kapre – is a Filipino Mythical Creature that is characterized to ba a tree demon. It is said to be a big (7ft to 9ft tall) hairy man, dark skinned, wears a bahag (loincloth) and smokes a big tobacco. Although the Kapre is scary in appearance, all it does is smoke tobacco (without the fear of lung cancer) and try to make friends with humans. It is said that Kapre’s often fall in love with human girls who pass by their tree often. Once a kapre falls in love, he will follow his love interest everywhere, watching over here all the time.

Kapre

5. Mangkukulam – is the equivalent of a witch or voodoo practitioner in the Filipino Mythical Creatures list. A mangkukulam is a human with knowledge to curse, recite spells and create potions to inflict harm on other humans using insects, dolls and unseen forces. One of the ways to stop the spell of a mangkukulam is to find the mangkukulam herself and offer a bribe.