Common Mythical Creatures and Monsters in the Philippines

This article will list down the common mythical creatures and monsters in the Philippines. These creatures create fears to Filipinos both young and old. 

You will also read here how we Filipinos describe them, and how they instill fear to us.
 
Next week is All Saints Day, and it has been a tradition of most Filipinos to visit cemeteries and pay respect to their dead relatives. 

This tradition has been observe for hundreds of years, and it has been the trademark of of our Filipino culture. 

However, some Filipinos will observe it in a different way. In most urban areas, many will do it by having parties in scary costumes. 

In some provinces, it is observe by going house to house serenading and asking for alms. It is called ‘nangangaluwa’. It is also the time for others to perform rituals, because they believed that the spirits of dead persons are active on that day.

The first day of November is always associated of scary creatures. Still, many Filipinos believed that there are unexplained creatures from the spirit and undead world that are existing today. 

This belief has been handed to us by our ancestors, and it greatly affects our way of living. 

So what are these common mythical creatures and monsters in our country? Let me list it down.

1.   Engkantos or Diwatas – They are fairies and nymphs who live in big and large trees like balete trees. They can can curse or bless any persons who do bad or good to the environment. In our province, people always tell that engkantos can be seen in rivers when the moon is light. You are also cautioned not to received any gifts from them, because will get sick and die.
2. Aswang – This is a human that transform into a big pig or dog at night. The aswang harass and eat human, especially pregnant woman. According to some people, aswang likes the smell of a pregnant woman and a sick person. The weapon against this monster is the tail of stingray. Aswang is famous in Visayas especially in Capiz.

3. Kapre – This is a filthy giant monster who sits or hide within a large tree. He likes to smoke cigarette and scare people.
4. Manananggal – This is a woman than can fly at night. It separates itself from the lower half of its body, while the upper part flies away looking for a victim. It also eats unborn babies like aswang, but she uses her tongue to suck blood of the fetus.The best way to kill manananggal is to find the lower body and put slat, ash, or raw rice. It prevents her to combine her body leaving it vulnerable to sunlight.

5. Tikbalang – This is half-horse and half-human. It is harmless to human but he likes to scare people. It is said that tikbalangs are playing or getting married when there is rain during sunny day. They also cause people lose their way while travelling.

6. Nuno sa punso – These are goblins who live in a mound of termites or ants. Some Filipinos believe that if you step on his house, you will get sick or something bad will happen in your body. Superstitious people always advise kids to say this phrase if they will pass on his house, “tabi-tabi po nuno”.

7. Sirena – This is a sea creature with a human half body and a fish tail. It attracts fisherman or gentleman by singing a beautiful.

8. Duwende – According to Filipino myth, there are two kinds of duwende: the white one and the black one. The white one brings luck, and the the black one brings bad luck. They stay under the trees and houses. Some Filipinos still leave food on the floor, so that the duwende guarding the house will not be angry. They also like to make fun of people by taking things from your house.

9. Multo – A ghost is spirit of dead person returning from dead. Many Filipinos claim that they have seen, felt, touch, or speak to a ghost. There are different stories about multo. You can see them in dark places like abandoned buildings. They always make noise like crying, shouting, pulling big chains on the floor that scares people. Persons who believed in multo consults a medium or spiritista to communicate with them. Multos can be harmful to humans, but sometimes they help other people too.

10. Tiyanak – These are dead babies which comes back to take revenge. Catholic people believed that they died before receiving baptism in the church. Some people also believed that tiyanak is also an offspring of a demon and a woman.