An Aswang (or Asuwang) is a
mythical creature in Filipino folklore. The
Aswang is an inherently evil vampire-like
creature and is the subject of a wide
variety of myths and stories, the details of
which often vary greatly. Spanish colonizers
noted that the Aswang was the most feared
among the mythical creatures of the
Philippines, even in the 16th century.
The myth of the Aswang is well known
throughout the Philippines, except in the
Ilocos region, which is the only region that
does not have an equivalent myth. It is
especially popular in the Western Visayan
regions such as Capiz, Iloilo and Antique.
Other regional names for the Aswang include
"tik-tik" and "wak-wak."
"Aswangs" are
often descrbed as a combination of vampire
and witch almost always female. They are
sometimes used as a generic term applied to
all types of witches,
Manananggals,
shapeshifters, lycanthropes, and monsters.
Aswang stories and definitions vary greatly
from region to region and person to person,
so no one particular set of characteristics
are ascribed to the term. However, the term
is often used interchangeably with
Manananggal,
which is a particular creature with a
specific set of features. The most popular
original definition however, is that it is a
ghoul, an eater of the dead. After
consumption, the ghoul replaces the cadaver
with banana trunks.
Before modern
medicine and science, Aswangs served to
explain miscarriages and other maladies.
Today, aside from entertainment value,
Filipino mothers often tell their children
Aswang stories to keep them off the streets
and keep them home at night.
Like UFO stories, Aswang stories are one of
the favorites of sensationalist tabloids,
especially when there are grave robberies,
child kidnappings, strange noises, people
with eccentric or peculiar habits, and other
incidents that can somehow be attributed to
them.
Stories of the Aswang are
popular in the Visayan region of the
Philippines, especially in the western
provinces of Capiz (a province on Panay
island), Iloilo and Antique. Capiz, in
particular, is singled out by tabloids as an
area of high supernatural activity: a home
to Aswangs,
Manananggals, giant half-horse men (tikbalang) and other mythological creatures. Many
of those who live in Capiz are
superstitious, and adorn their homes with
garlic bulbs, holy water and other objects
believed to repel Aswang. Since the stories
recount Aswang eating unborn children,
pregnancy is a time of great fear for
superstitious Filipinos.
The wide
variety of descriptions in the Aswang
stories make it difficult to settle upon a
fixed definition of Aswang appearances or
activities. However, several common themes
that differentiate Aswangs from other
mythological creatures do emerge: Aswangs
are shape shifters. Stories recount Aswangs
living as regular townspeople in meat
processing professions by day. As regular
townspeople, they are quiet, shy and
elusive. At night, they transform into
creatures that enjoy eating unborn fetuses
and small children, favoring livers and
hearts. Some have long proboscises, which
they use to suck the children out of their
mothers' wombs or their homes. Some also
make noises, which are louder the further
away the Aswang is, done to confuse its
potential victim. They may also replace
their live victims or stolen cadavers with
facsimiles made from tree trunks or other
plant materials. This facsimile will return
to the victim's home, only to become sick
and die. An Aswang will also have bloodshot
eyes, the result of staying up all night
searching for houses where wakes are held to
steal the bodies.
Land Of The
Aswang
A type of
Aswang, the Kikik/Tik-Tik, turns into a
enormous, prowling bat or bird at night,
looking for pregnant women. As it sucks the
blood from the fetus with its long
proboscis, it makes a 'kik-kik-kik' sound.
Other stories relate the kikik as an
Aswang's familiar, its sound masking the
Aswang's proximity from would-be victims.
The term wak-wak or wuk-wuk is frequently
used for the same creature in the Cebu
region. The legends of the wak-wak and kikik
are much the same, but the wak-wak is
specifically supposed to change into its
birdlike form by leaving behind its lower
body, much like the Manananggal. The cry of
a night bird which makes a "wuk-wuk-wuk"
sound is believed to be the call of this
monster and is feared by superstitious
villagers. As with the call of the kikik,
the wak-wak is believed able to make its cry
sound distant when the creature is near.
The sigbin or zegben has been known as
another type of Aswang, and alternately, as
the kikik's familiar. Its appearance is said
to be similar to the chupacabra and the
Tasmanian devil, although with spotty fur,
wide mouth with large fangs.
One of the most popular legends in
the Visayas region is the infamous Aswang
Tiniente Gimo or Lieutenant Gimo from Dueñas,
Iloilo. In addition, The most commonly known
in terms is something called Tyanak/ Tianak
happens to be as the unborn baby's due
abortion.
Typically, an
Aswang is revealed by using a bottle of a
special oil extracted from boiled and
decanted coconut meat and mixed with certain
plant stems upon which special prayers being
said. When an Aswang comes near or roams
around the house at night, the oil is said
to boil (or froth into bubbles) and continue
boiling until the Aswang departs.
Buntot pagi or stingray's tails, shiny,
sterling silver swords, and images of old
crones or grandmothers have been said to
dispel their presence. The myth of silver
weapons warding off evil creatures is
probably taken from western mythology.
Throwing salt at Aswangs is also said to
cause their skin to burn. This belief may
stem from the purifying powers attributed to
salt crystals by various traditions of
witchcraft.
