Tikbalang, kapre, "white lady", tiyanak, aswang, manananggal, nunu sa punso, dwende, enkanto, mambabarang , kumakatok, amalahig, amomongo, anggitay, bal-bal, batibat, berbalang, berberoka, bungisngis, mangkukulam, pugot, tiktik, sentimento, sirena, siyokoy, wakwak, and many other creatures are the ones who are said to be living in the provinces of the Philippines.
Tikbalang, kapre, "white lady", tiyanak, aswang, manananggal, nunu sa punso, dwende, enkanto, mambabarang , kumakatok, amalahig, amomongo, anggitay, bal-bal, batibat, berbalang, berberoka, bungisngis, mangkukulam, pugot, tiktik, sentimento, sirena, siyokoy, wakwak, and many other creatures are the ones who are said to be living in the provinces of the Philippines.
During the time where Spaniards colonized the Philippines, they introduced their beliefs, religion, and culture to the Filipinos. The Spaniards greatly influenced the people living in Visayas. After several years, the newly introduced culture spread trough out the other parts of the Philippines. One of the things that the Spaniards spread were the stories about mythical creatures.
According to one of my teacher when I was in highschool, the Spaniards used this stories to scare the people. They wanted to keep the Filipinos from wandering during the night so that is why they spread these stories about terrifying creatures that lurks in the shadows of the forest during the night.
While I was doing my research, I've decided to discuss about a creature that is very well known in the Philippines and that is the Demon Horse.The Demon Horse or also known as the Tikbalang, also known as the horse-headed giant and demon horse, is a creature that has features similar to a horse. According to an article that I've read entitled "Under the Catholic Veil: Filipino Monster Myths and the Filipino's Collective Unconscious" written by Cecilia Beltran on a site called ezinearticles.com, the tikbalangs rape mortal women in order to reproduce. One of the most interesting characteristic of these creatures is that they love to toy with people wandering their territory. They have the power of illusions. Related stories said that they toy with people, specifically those who are camping or hiking, by trapping them in a circular path. For example you are traveling alone in the forest and happened to pass by an old looking tree. After sometime, you pass by that same tree so you thought you took a wrong turn and decided to walk straight instead. Again, you saw that same tree over and over until you got tired of walking.
The sighting of such creatures set a symbolic significance to the Filipinos. For the Filipinos back then, tikbalang is a representation of a Spaniard. Tall and hairy is the most similar features of a tikbalang to that of a Spanish man. Well as for me, the Spaniards really do have a lot of hair in their body and compared to us Filipinos, they are far too taller.
Tikbalangs are very tall. Some folks say that tikbalangs usually reside on the entrances of the forest or mountains. A very short article written by Micha F. Lendemans entitled "Tikbalang" from www.pantheon.org said that whenever it rains even though it is very sunny, somewhere there are two tikbalangs that are being wed. Even to this day people seem to believe in that belief. You will hear people saying, whenever it starts pouring while the sun is not covered by any dark clouds in the sky, "There must be a tikbalang wedding somewhere".
If you are thinking that the tikblang is feared because you think they are capable of killing their victims, then you are wrong. According to an article by PC Biadora, entitled "Tikbalang?", the tikbalangs doesn't actually kill their victims, instead they only pull mischievous tricks for their entertainment.
I remembered about asking my aunts and uncles about the Tikbalang and they told me about how to prevent the tikbalang to play its tricks on you. They told me that, first, you have to obtain atleast three golden hair from the tikbalang. By doing so, they will be under your control as long as the strands of golden hair are with you. Second, when you noticed that it is playing tricks on you by using its power of illusions, wear your shirt inside out to disable the spell.
The article entitled "Tikbalang Stories and Modernity" written by Rex Raymond Torrecampo in Lifesomundane. Included a story about a woman who was walking in the woods alone to collect some firewood. She was
going around the woods in circles for so long that the sun was about to
set. We all know what the woods would look like during the night right?
Fortunately, she stumbled across a stone that made her cried out the
word "Susmaryosep!" which instantly broke the spell of the tikbalang and
the poor woman finally found her way back to her house. The word
susmaryosep means Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fused together which
apparently is being used as an expression by most Filipinos. I don't
know how or why these words broke the spell but a few people said that
the tikbalangs hated hearing those words.The tikblangs existence is really interesting right? This should not stop you from exproloring around the beautiful forest of the Philippines because now you know how to ward them off.
I therefore conclude that with this kind of story, my fear against these creatures are lessen because I now know how to fight back or prevent them from interacting with me. Even from the articles that I've read and shared I know that now we can be safe whenever we wander the forest.
Now that you know that there is a creature that lives within the forest and jungles of the Philippines, would you still be brave enough to come and visit this wonderful country? I know that you are eager to know if they really do exist or not but, you will have to wait for the answer to that question. Be prepared for my next blog about another terrifying creature that is said to be living here in the Philippines.
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento