Werebeasts in the Philippines

A young man in Malolos, Bulacan was hanging out with his friends late one night. He grew up in the town outskirts near the wide plains. It was very different then. Electricity was reserved for the wealthy, there were no lamp posts to light the rural roads and when its nighttime, its really dark. Most of the lands were either abound with tall talahib or plots of land for farming so its really scary walking alone when its dark. Only the bravest souls stay outside late after dusk.

These boys were testing their bravery and were on the lookout for something. Weeks ago, an old farmer was heading home late in the evening from tuba with friends. He claims a huge black figure suddenly crossed the road in front of him, and when he tried to run, he said the creature attacked him but he was able to get away. The barrio people had mixed reactions to the old farmer's story but fear is the most prevalent. The boys stayed up late to prove that the old farmer was right and to capture the beast.

An Aswang Encounter

A young woman in her early 20's who grew up in Manila decided to spend summer with her in-laws at a town in the Visayas region. It was her older sister who married and lived with these folks, but her sister passed away recently. The young woman wanted to pay respects to her sister's grave and at the same time get to know her in-laws.

And so she traveled to the barrio and was warmly welcomed. Everyone was really happy to see her especially her sister's daughter who's almost her age too. Being a Manileña, the young woman dressed differently than the people of the barrio who are conservative and plain. Her distinctive jewelries, watch, earrings and necklace definitely made her stood out.

Encountering an Aswang

I don't want to meet an aswang. I bet many don't want to either. Walking alone at night on a dark "eskinita" then suddenly an aswang appears scenario is something that doesn't happen very often especially nowadays in the metropolitan cities. Aside from the fact that we are talking on "mythological" terms here, there's no proof that aswangs exists. So what's the point of this? Its a nice to know. After all, no one said that aswangs don't exist. No one has proof...yet.

So what do you do when you happen to meet an aswang? Read on and find out.

Ghouls - Corpse Eating Aswang

Death is something that we fear. To many, death is a source of pain and loss but there are some who grow more excited as death nears. They aren't the tyrants or the mass murderers of the country. What I'm talking about are the guys who feast when someone dies. Literally feast when someone dies. They feast on the dead. They are known by a lot of names like segben, buso, kagkag, balbal and others, but they are still popularly known as aswangs, only these feeds on corpses.

They are said to look like ordinary men and women when they are not invisible, although their nails are curved and they smell rotten bad. When a person is about to pass away, they are said to be near. These type of aswang senses the sweet smell of ripe langka from the dying. The nearer to death, the stronger the sweeter and stronger the smell.

Aswang - Pinoy Supernatural Creatures

At twilight, as the sun goes down, when the leaves of the makahiya and ipil-ipil starts to fold, the fear of the creatures of the night increases. The first time I heard about aswangs were the ones told by our kasambahay when I was a kid. They would tell of stories that they too heard from the old folks of their rural provinces. For a very long time, these creatures had lived vividly in our imagination and from time to time we hear of people testifying close contact.

With the non-stop life here in the metropolitan cities, belief in the aswang don't seem appropriate. There has been less and less dark places and fewer trees. More and more buildings continue to rise from the ground as living spaces become concentrated. People know each other and if someone goes missing, someone would notice. If something strange happens, news travel really fast. A very different jungle for descriptively primitive and carnal beings. But the question is, are they really primitive?