#philippines
philippine myth creatures gothic
- they talk of creatures lurking in the night, always reminding you of their ways whenever you do something bad. using your fear as a way for you to obey them.
- they talk of the tiyanak, and how they attract travelers by imitating a baby cry and then attack the victim. you walk home late one night from school, you hear the baby crying, not so distant. you stop for a second, the hairs on your arms rising, a shiver running down your spine. you resume walking. you don’t turn back.
- you remember the tikbalang one time you got lost with your friends. you drive and drive but you keep returning to that tree with the branches that look like arms and it feels eerie. you had your stereo on full volume and you turn it down. you tell your friends to keep quiet and to turn their shirts inside out. you keep driving and this time you get out. but it’s been five hours when it felt like five minutes.
- you think of the manananggal when your mom gets pregnant. you think of it flying to your house and using its long proboscis-like tongue to suck out the heart and blood of your would-be sibling. you think of its severed torso, the upper doing the job while the lower just stands there. you sit up every night waiting for it. you don’t get much sleep, too scared to sleep in case it comes.
- you wait for your friend one time. you hear, ek ek ek. it seemed very far so you don’t pay much attention to it. you tell your friend this and they say it was probably an ekek, similar to the manananggal. your friend also says that they fool people into thinking they were far when they were actually very close.
- your mom tells you that your maid’s mother is an aswang, a vampire-like witch ghoul. your maid is probably one too. you remember what happened to your neighbor, how he didn’t seem like himself and then he became sick and died. you hear people saying it was your maid and that it was the way of the aswangs to replace their victims with doppelgangers only to become sick and die. you’ve been very nice to you maid ever since. you don’t know who’s real, you don’t know who’s a doppelganger.
- these are some of the creatures you’ve been afraid of your whole life. they tell you to let go of it. they tell you it’s not real. but you can’t, you can’t, you can’t.
when angry death dad doesn’t want you to go to the concert but soft moon dad thinks you’re old enough to go out on your own as long as you’re back by 9pm sharp
A handful of sky deities from Philippine Mythology.
Mayari, the one-eyed moon goddess of war and beauty, Tala and Hanan, the morning and the evening stars, the protectors of the moon, and Libulan, a lunar deity, and his husband, Sidapa, slayer of Bakunawa the moon-eater.
Spanish colonialization has erased many of the Philippines’ lore and folktales. Out of the hundreds of poems and epics written, only two remain. The rest are lost to the flames of Spanish priests. (Yet we treasure what we have.)
The Philippines was the first country in Asia to have ever rebelled against European colonizers.
today is the last day of buwan ng wika, or the month where Filipinos celebrate our heritage. Maligayang Buwan ng Wika!!
In ancient Philippine mythology, Mayari is the one-eyed moon-goddess of war, revolution, beauty and strength- daughter of the chieftain of the gods, Bathala, and a mortal woman, Mayari battled with her brother Apolaki, over who would rule the earth.
She graces the night sky with her light, and she is said to be the loveliest out of all the gods.
Philippine rice gods were often male. Their chief deity, Lakapati, however, chose to identify as genderless. Patron of farmers and farm animals, Protector of fishermen, They were said to be the kindest and merciful out of all the gods.
Sidapa, Ancient Philippine God of death, Slayer of the Moon-Eating Serpent, Bakunawa, with his cosmic husband, lunar deity, Libulan.
In Philippine Mythology, earthly gods were in love with the seven moons. Sidapa, a god of death, was in love with Libulan, a moon deity. Sidapa asked mermaids and birds to sing sweetly, the flowers to bloom, and the fireflies to guide Libulan to him.
in Philippine folklore, Urduja was a warrior princess, who lead an army of men and women. The captain of her own fleet, She was said to be unrivaled in strength and beauty.
Arnisadores
Illustration for Esquire’s article about Arnis, the ancient Filipino martial art of cane combat.
Alexandra Trese and her twin bodyguards, the Kambal. Trese is a detective who deals with supernatural crimes in the city of Manila.
from a Philippine local graphic novel “Trese” (by Budjette Tan and artist Kajo Baldisimo)
This “Philippine folklore meets modern age” comic is definitely worth checking out! available locally in bookstores (philippines) + on Kindle.
Pag-uwi
Hagdan-Hagdang Palayan ng Maligcong (Maligcong Rice Terraces)
Bontoc, Mountain Province
July 2015
Mt. Daraitan
Sierra Madre Mountain Range
Tanay, Rizal and General Nakar, Quezon
June 2015