File:Document stub.png | This article is a stub. It may be incomplete, unfinished, or have missing parts/sections. If the article can be expanded, please do so! There may be suggestions on its talk page. (Date?) |
A manananggal in Filipino folklore or penanggalan in Malay folklore is a mythical creature . It resembles a Western vampire in being an evil, human devouring monster or witch. The myth of the Manananggal is popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines, especially in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Antique. There are varying accounts of the features of a manananngal. Like vampires, Visayan folklore creatures, and aswangs, manananggals are also said to abhor garlic. Folklore of similar creatures can be found in the neighbouring nations of Indonesia and Malaysia and the folklore may have originated from there.
Features
A manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman (as opposed to an aswang), capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the night with huge bat wings to prey on unsuspecting pregnant women in their homes; using an elongated proboscis-like tongue, it sucks the hearts of fetuses or blood of an unsuspecting, sleeping victim. The severed lower torso is left standing. At this point, it is said to be vulnerable. Sprinkling salt, smearing crushed garlic or ash on top of the standing torso is fatal. The upper torso then would not be able to rejoin and will die at daybreak. The name of the creature originates from an expression used for a severed torso: Manananggal comes from the Tagalog, tanggal which means to remove. Manananggal then means the one who removes.
Proliferation
A manananggal is also said to create other manananggals by tricking ordinary persons to drink the manananggal blood, similar to the vampires' making an ordinary person to drink vampire blood.
Capiz
The province of Capiz is the subject or focus of many manananggal stories, similarly with the stories of other types of mythical creatures, such as ghosts, goblins, ghouls and aswangs. Among the indigenous people, Capiz has a reputation of having many of these creatures.
Tabloids and Malaysia
Superstitious folk in the Vizayan provinces still hang cloves of garlic or onion around windows, doors, etc. with the purpose of repelling this creature as well as the aswang. They are a favorite theme for sensationalist tabloids. They may be a product of mass hysteria or intentionally propagated to keep children off the street, home at night and wary or careful of strangers, or simply to entertain them. Similar folklore can be found in the neighbouring Malaysia.
Other terms and versions
Aswang- Manananggals are popularly referred to as Aswangs. But this is because the term Aswang is also generic and can refer to all types of ghouls, mananangals, witiches(Mangkukulam), etc.
Tik-tik-Aside from aswang, manananggals are sometimes referred to as tik-tik. The sound it is supposed to be making while flying. The fainter the sound the nearer it is. This is to confuse the victim. The Tik-tik eats a child in the mothers womb causing the body or face of the child to be disformed. Its apparitions are black cats and crows.
Other Filipino Mythological Creatures
- Multo, a ghost
- Kapre, a giant
- Tikbalang, half horse, half man.
- Aswang, a ghoul
- Santelmo,a face of the devil in a fireball
See also
- Philippine mythology
- Pontianak Blood sucking creature in a form of a baby that turns into what is known to be the child of the devil.
External reference