Is the Bisayan pejorative ‘pisting yawa’ the result of Spanish missionaries demonizing a female figure from precolonial Ilonggo mythology?
Fun facts about Bulan, Libulan, Sidapa, Haliya & Mayari from Filipino myths
The love story of Sidapa and Bulan/Libulan being proliferated online is modern fan fiction.
Monsters & other supernatural beings from Filipino folklore & myths
This list aims to reintroduce Philippine folklore and mythology’s myriad creatures and other beings that were obscured by centuries of colonialism and modernity.
Precolonial Philippines wasn’t progressive
Contrary to what some would have us believe, pre-colonial Philippines wasn’t progressive.
A Bad News
She was alarmed by her ogima servant’s news. Haguesina adventurers have ventured near the edge of her domain, threatening the peace and tranquility she and her subjects have enjoyed for centuries. Who knows what inconvenience these humans from the coast bring. She could turn the trespassers into pigs, she mulled.
Library Spooks
She saw them lurking among the shelves – the campus library’s resident ghosts. Their unavoidable presence for people like her was starting to piss her off. She tried to help them before but this bunch made no sense. All they do is murmur, whisper, sob and wail – a far cry from the red lady…
Aswang with hair to die for
…when her victim is near her, she forcibly inserts her long hair into the nostrils and mouth of the victim…
The Lost Explorer
The Aragonese explorer slowly approached the house in the middle of the field, wondering. It is the only stone dwelling he has seen on the island; very different from the bamboo and straw houses of the natives. What if it belongs to a bruxa? He thought.
Giant Remains
Upon emerging from the thick woods, onto the edge of a ravine the young warrior gazed upon the gigantic form that slumped stone-cold beside a towering mountain. It was shrouded by trees and other manner of plants and vegetation while a steady waterfall gushed forth from a fissure in its chest. While the young warrior…
Manananggal
One of the most popular monsters in Philippine folklore and a staple of Pinoy horror movies is the manananggal. Almost every Filipino knows what a manananggal is but to those who don’t, well, a manananggal is a variant of the aswang. By day, is just a normal person, usually a woman, but come sundown she…
Art & Fiction + Philippine Folklore & Mythology 