Elisha P.

Silvio Philippine Folklore November 25, 2017

STEM 178

I. Reaction Photo

After watching the documentary about the Aswang, this photo sums up my reactions
throughout the video. I was able to come up with 3 certain reactions; first, Ive been greatly
shook with the creatures that we have studied. I wasnt aware that Im already missing the
knowledge about the different mythical creatures of my own country. Having said that, knowing
and seeing the different characteristic of those creatures struck a bit of fear in my mind studying
about these things. Second is that this photo also conveys that I was amazed. You see, while
studying the Philippine Lower Mythology, I realized that we have more original mythical
creatures than the ones who were just under the influence of other countries. I was amazed how
it shattered my ideology that most of the creatures that the Filipinos believe was just influenced
by America or any other countries. I thought that most of the creatures we believe was
originated from other countries, and we believe them because theyre a great and famous
country or something like that. The last one was probably me feeling sleepy, considering the fact
that I dont like history that much. Though I observed that some of my classmates were asleep
during that time, its a good thing that I was able to stay awake until the end of the session; and I
believe that it was very helpful and informative for us. Great documentary!
 Aswang is a creature in Filipino folklore. It is believed that Aswang can shapeshift to any
strange animals such as black and oversized pig, while some others could also fly and split their
body in half. Aswang is a mythical creature that eats human flesh and blood, their target most of
the times are the fetus in a womb, babies or kids, and it is considered as one of the most feared
creatures in Philippine folklore. Aswang have the different traits of vampire, ghoul, warlock, and
the list goes on and on. According to the documentary that weve watched about Aswang, the
most common home of the Aswang is the Panay Island, particularly in Capiz. The idea of these
creatures has existed a long time ago and it is still obvious that many people still believe in the
existence of such monsters, and that is why it is important and helpful to study the Philippine
Lower Mythology.

In my own understanding of Aswang, I believe that its not just those monsters that came
naturally through genes or infection from some things. I believe that it comes from a person
being possessed by demons, and its a very serious stuff. Though I respect the beliefs of the older
generations that came up with the idea of Aswang, for me personally, Aswang is a creature or a
person that is being possessed by a demonic spirit. My own belief about the idea of Aswang may
be greatly affected by the factor of my religion, but I also respect others perspective and I know
that we have different views regarding this creatures. In my 16 years of living, Im thankful that I
havent seen nor encountered extraordinary things and creatures such as Aswang. Though Ive
already heard lots of story about my family seeing those creatures which makes me curious
about it, Im just grateful that I havent seen those kind of things. As we study about these
creatures, there were 3 creatures left the most impression on me; namely Amalanhig, Wakwak,
and Tiyanak. Amalanhig is a very amazing creature in terms of its characteristic, yet very
horrifying to encounter. Its characteristic is defined as a combination of zombie and a vampire.
Its powers could also be passed on to an heir through the use of black stone. Next is the Wak-
Wak, a creature that could fly and turn in to either a night bird or a witch. It is believed that the
Wak-Wak also searches for blood and flesh. Lastly, we have the Tiyanak; the infant-like
creatures. Tiyanaks are said to be babies that didnt undergo Christening; that is why the baby
transformed into a tiyanak. But according to my research, it is also believed that tiyanaks are the
fetuses who were aborted by their mother who took revenge by eating them. It could also be
babies who died before receiving baptism; it is very obvious that the views in these creatures
were greatly affected by religions, but there is one practice that many people had a
misconception about it. The phrase Tao po.

According to the documentary, Tao po means to declare that youre not a monster or
Aswang when you knock on someones door. By doing so, it lessens the doubt and fear of the
person thinking that the person whos knocking might be an Aswang or monster. Knowing its real
meaning is very enlightening and helpful, it has changed the most common mindset and view of
the people about that phrase, just like mine and especially the residents in Capiz. It is believed
that Capiz is the place where we can find many Aswang, it is considered as their lair. It is very
strange that there is a higher possibility of Aswang-related events in the Manila, yet Capiz is still
considered as the lair of the Aswang. The first reason can be found a few years ago, Teniente
Gimo pretended to be an Aswang to dissuade the Japanese troops from going to a town in Ilo-ilo,
but there has already been lots of writings about the Aswang phenomena in Capiz before the
tale of Teniente Gimo. Another possible reason is when the female leaders of Visayas were going
against the Spanish few years ago. To defeat the women warriors, the people tagged those
women as Aswang so that people will not believe them and join their alliance to oppose the
Spaniards. Interesting story, but it lacked evidence to prove that it really happened. The most
convincing reason why Capiz is considered the home of the Aswang is because of the X-linked
Dystonia-Parkinsonism (Dystonia), a very extraordinary disease which is very common in Capiz.
According to studies, 93% of those cases are located in Panay Island; and Capiz with a mind-
boggling number of 63% which makes sense why theyre considered as the home of the Aswang.
According to my research, Dystonia is a disorder in the nervous system in which it causes
contractions of the muscles, either repetitively or sustained. Those muscle contractions will
further lead to twisting, repetitive movements, abnormal fixed postures, tongue protruding and
salivating.

In the documentary, I have learned that its very fine for the residents in Capiz to hold
Aswang Festivals there. In fact, they celebrate those regularly especially during the Halloween
where they dress up with some weird costumes and pretend as Aswang and do some dances and
other things to enjoy that festival. But another thing that I found evident in their culture is the
Quack doctors. For me, I already have a background knowledge about quack doctors and what
they do. I find their profession very creepy, because of the fact that some quack doctors
believe that they could call and invite some spirits. But for me personally, I still believe that it is
safer to go to a true doctor rather than quack doctors. I also dont believe them, and I think that
theyre very vulnerable to be possessed and by demonic spirit because of their dangerous
beliefs, which leads me to my last point. Writing articles, blogs, or research paper was one of my
interests, in fact, a part-time job; and as I continue to study about it, I was able to draw a
conclusion that film-makers had a big contribution to the idea of Aswang. The fact that a big
number of people watch movies, you can also say that it influences the minds and beliefs of a
person from time to time. And in the history of the movies in the Philippines, horror is one of the
most famous genre when it comes to movies. We cannot deny the fact that everytime that
theres a film-festival, Indie-horror films will always be one of the genre of one of those films. I
myself is not a fan of Filipino horror movies that much, but theres one horror movie that I know
that every Filipino is familiar with, the Shake, Rattle, and Roll. If Im not mistaken, the movie
already has 13 movie-sequels and it became a big hit in the history of horror films in the
Philippines. I believe that this kind of movies have greatly influenced the mind of its viewers to
believe that theres a big possibility that these creatures really exists. Which is why more people
became more curious about this idea and will further convince them in believing this ideology.

Studying the idea of Aswang and other mythical creatures is very informative, helpful,
and fun. It leaves several impression depending on the person who studies it, some will be
curious or neutral, others would either believe it while some wont; so it all comes down to
respecting and recognizing the beliefs of our own country, ancestors, and fellow Filipinos
whether the old ones or the youth.