Sorry I missed several of my regular weekly memes (Friday's Feast, Aloha Friday, Saturday Photo Hunt, Monday Madness and Weekend Snapshots). I will make it up next week. Here's my entry for this week's Heads or Tails ...
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Heads or Tails: SPOOKY, SCARY, HALLOWEEN-ish
SCARY PHILIPPINE FOLKLORE - Here are some mythical creatures that scared me as a child. I admit that sometimes stories or movies about them still scare me.
1. Manananggal is said to be a beautiful woman who can severe its upper body, leaving its lower body on the ground, to fly into the deep of the night to prey on humans (often pregnant women). The Mananaggal has large bat-like wings and capable of making its tongue long to suck on blood of unsuspected victims while sleeping. According to Philippine folklore, if you see a mananaggal's lower body, sprinkle salt on it or crushed garlic so that the mananaggal cannot go back to her body. When the sun shines, the manananggal will die.
2. Aswang is another creature in Philippine Folklore. The aswang is often interchanged with manananggal, but they are different in many ways. According to the myth, the aswang likes to eat small children. It is said that an aswang appears like an ordinary person but often shy and does not mingle with other towns people. An aswang is capable of transforming itself into an animal, like a cow, pig or dog.
When I went to the province with my family for a vacation, my late grandmother told me and my cousins to refrain from playing outside after nightfall because there might be an aswang nearby. I guess she told us that to make sure we stay indoors at night. The story worked wonders.
3. Kapre is a "mythical creature that could be characterized as a tree demon, but with more human characteristics. It is described as being a tall (7 to 9 ft), brown, hairy male with a beard. Kapres are normally described as smoking a big tobacco pipe, whose strong smell would attract human attention." source
My uncle once told me when I was a child that he saw a kapre on their mango tree. It was huge and smoking a tobacco. He said that as long as he does bring harm to the tree, nothing bad will happen to him and his family. I've never forgotten this story and even though I'm already an adult, I still choose not to go near that tree whenever we visit his house in the province.
4. Tikbalang is "described as a tall, bony humanoid creature with disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down. It has the head and sometimes feet of an animal, most commonly a horse." source
According to myths, the tikbalang scares travelers by playing tricks on them, causing them to get lost. They said, that when you feel that something out of the ordinary is causing you to lose concentration on your trail, remove your shirt and wear it inside out.
5. Tiyanak is a creature which "imitates the form of a child. It usually takes the form of a newborn baby and cries like one in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by the victim, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim." source
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