12 hours ago
4
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Take a look at these lesser-known creatures, feared and revered, all born from the same soil that remembers our roots as Filipinos
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is home not only to thousands of islands, but also to the many mythological creatures believed to inhabit them.
While many Filipinos are familiar with the tree-dwelling kapre, the mischievous duwende, and especially the bloodthirsty aswang, there are also quite a few lesser-known ones — creatures both feared and revered, all born from the same soil that remembers our roots as Filipinos.
Anggitay
If you think that only the Greeks have centaurs, then you haven’t heard of this mythological creature from Batangas. The anggitay is an ethereal amalgam of a woman’s face and upper body, a mare’s lower body, and a unicorn-like horn on its forehead.
This is not to be mistaken for a tikbalang, which possesses a horse’s head and hooves and is commonly known to be a mischievous trickster who likes to mislead travelers and play tricks on human senses. Other depictions of the tikbalang paint it as a creature that abducts and mistreats children and women.
The anggitay is believed to be the opposite, and supposedly helps guide lost travelers back to the right path. It is most associated with collecting precious jewels and gemstones, mirroring their intrinsic connection with the land.
However, it is known to be elusive to humans, and is said to often only appear on a bright yet rainy day.
Karkarison
If you hear a faint squeaking sound on the street after a midnight shower, it means a karkarison is in the vicinity — and someone in that street is said to fall ill and die the next day.
The karkarison is a small cart pulled by a headless bull and ridden by three or four headless, woman-like figures. During epidemics, it roams through villages spreading disease. Otherwise, it only makes rare appearances, and is said to travel from one haunted tree to another before vanishing.
Haunted trees are believed to be the resting places of the karkarison and other spirits. Villagers often light fires nearby and throw bones into the flames to keep these creatures away.
Other preventive measures include placing rice-chaff smudges by house gates and under staircases, and drawing white crosses with lime on doors and posts.
Pasatsat
The pasatsat’s story was born out of the trauma suffered by Filipinos during the Japanese occupation. As Filipinos then could barely keep up with the cost of living, they didn’t have the means to honor the dead properly, either. Some families wrapped their deceased loved ones’ bodies in a banig (mat) instead of giving them a proper burial.
The pasatsat, said to have originated in Pangasinan, often reveals itself to passersby on deserted paths as a corpse in a rolled up banig. It’s believed to be the spirit of a person who died or was killed during World War II.
The word comes from the Pangasinense word “satsat,” which means “punit” (rip) — alluding to the idea of needing to stab the banig for it to disappear. As the body never shows itself, one of the only indicators of its lingering presence is the smell of decay.
Lampong
While many Filipino mythical beings are depicted as violent or malevolent, the lampong is deemed less hostile, and perhaps even friendly, due to its duty to protect and preserve.
Among the Ilongot of Northeast Luzon, the lampong’s purpose is to defend wild animals. It’s often known to take the form of one among its flock or metamorphose into a white one-eyed deer, watching over them and even distracting or diverting preying hunters.
A hunter’s first five shots are said to always miss the lampong. But when it finally pierces through, the hunter’s strength will begin to fade day by day until he dies at last.
Sangkabagi
Could anything be more bone-chilling than a manananggal flapping its wings across the night sky? Turns out, there is. The sangkabagi resembles a grim reaper on a flying boat, in search of souls to carry and transport to the realm of the dead.
Legends say the sangkabagi snatched people as they slept and fed on livers to fill the wounds with herbs. They allegedly command termites or weevils to destroy the clothes, rice, corn, and seeds of anyone who has wronged them.
However, some accounts noted that the sangkabagi were antagonized by Spanish colonizers and were originally known to be helpful — guiding the dead to the afterlife, healing the sick, and even gifting their dearest friends a magical book that allows them to travel anywhere in an instant.
These are only some of the many Filipino folklore creatures that may have been forgotten, but continue to exist in our memories and in the stories that we tell.
While we often find it easier to learn about the mythologies of other countries, whose tales are more accessible and preserved than ours, it’s never too late to be a part of a growing generation that fights to remember. – Jaella Magno/Rappler.com
Jaella Magno is a Rappler intern studying AB Literature major in Creative Writing at De La Salle University.
