‘Pisting Yawa’ and Nagmalitong Yawa

Is the Bisayan pejorative ‘pisting yawa’ the result of Spanish missionaries demonizing a female figure from precolonial Ilonggo mythology?

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…

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.

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…

Bungisngis

He has superb hearing. His thighs are extremely long that when he squats his knees are two spans higher than his shoulders. He dwells allegedly in the forests of Meluz, Orion, Bataan and carries a club, which he uses to kill prey.

Amamarang

She blocks paths and attacks anyone who encounters her.
While tackling the unfortunate person, the amamarang’s hair slithers into the victim’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth until the latter faints or suffocates to death.

Ungga-Ungga: The bloodsucking floating head

The ungga-ungga or ongga-ongga from Visayan and Mindanaoan folklore in the Philippines (also known as bog-bog, oka-oka, ug-ug, wowog, wuwug or wugwug, and yog-yog) is an aswang variant and a manananggal relative which appears similar to the penanggal or penanggalan of Malay folklore, the kuyang, balan-balan, leyak and palasik of Indonesian folklore, and the krasue…

Manananggal’s wingless cousin

The anananggal are self-segmenting aswang in the Eastern Visayan folklore of the Philippines. Unlike their cousins, the manananggal of Luzon, anananggal are wingless like the Indonesian penanggal, and can render themselves invisible – an ability which gives them freedom to enter any house unnoticed. Aside from preying on pregnant women and attacking children or those…

The Tiyanak

Described in Tagalog and Bicolano folklore as a small bald-headed “goblin” with small horns, sharp teeth, pointed ears, bloodshot eyes, and disproportionate legs (the left leg is shorter while the right one in unusually longer), the tiyanak disguises itself as a baby abandoned in the forest or in the field. It wails loudly to attract…

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.