Filipino Folklore : The aswang

 

Aswangs, similar to werewolves and witches, are spirits who can shape shift to animals, feed on humans, and also can cast curses to unsuspecting victims.

These aswangs are strongly believed in the philippines by the locals, to spot an aswang at daytime, look them in their eyes. the person in front of you is an aswang if your reflection is upside-down.

Unlike similar creatures like the vampire, they are not harmed or burned by sunlight, they also can transform at will unlike the werewolves. Due to social media and popular movies about aswangs in the philippines, folk lore and movies were mixed and made it hard to truly know what aswangs are like, also, the language barrier is making it more harder to research about this mythical creature.

 Their ability to transform

Aswangs usually transform into dogs and pigs. Animals which are big or has black fur or skin is believed to be aswangs in disguise, animals who also have no tail (which is supposed to have tails) are also believed to be aswangs.

 Weaknesses

Just like the vampire, aswangs can be warded of by garlic, salt and the crucifix. It can also be killed by decapitation and a whip made entirely from a stingray's tail. they also cannot step into holy grounds and tries to avoid blessings from the priest.

Legend of the aswang

it all goes back to the battle of heaven, lucifer rebelled against God, the demons lost and they went to hell. But there was this other people who didn't side with lucifer and also with God, and God banished them to earth and they became the aswangs.  

How to become an aswang

Their are many ways to become an aswang, you either need to get a natural aswang's saliva into your ears or get bit by a natural aswang to become an infected one. But the most popular way is that an aswang must transfer the black chicks inside their mouth to another human, doing this will make the human become an aswang and the original aswang will die 

Video about the aswang

This video is not mine and did not make any of it at all, this belongs to the rightful owner " the aswang project ".

 



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese Folklore : The Yuki-onna

Image
the yuki-onna or snow woman is a yokai  (spirit) which is a popular figure in the literature of japan. It is depict as a beautiful and pale woman wearing white dresses, or a old lady in white . Because of the many stories about this yokai, it became widely known and spread across japan.  Legends about the yuki-onna Tales about this yokai is mostly stories of sorrow, it is said that this stories were made when people in japan had gloomy and hopeless lives. stories about the yuki-onna will always end in a tragedy, in most cases the yokai melts or the victims gets turned into ice, which ever comes first, there was this story where an owner of a hot spring was visited by a pale old woman, the owner suddenly helped her and carried her inside, her skin was cold as ice , the man carried her all the way to the hot spring and threw her in to the hot water gently. The old woman suddenly evaporated as she entered the hot water. Pictures of the yuki-onna
Read more

Filipino Folklore : The Kapre

Image
the kapre is a philippine mythical creature that is described as a tall, dark, muscular creature that smokes cigars and lives on top of of a tree. Filipinos describe them as watchers or spectators that don't really affect a human's life in any way. The word " kapre " came from the south african term " kaffir " which is an insulting term for black Africans. Legends about the kapre the kapre is believed to either be a demon or a spirit, they love to scare of humans and are also said to be pranksters. The kapre also likes to indulge in human vices like smoking, gambling, and drinking. some say that if you see smoked cigars or bottles of beer at the bottom of a tree, that tree is the home of a kapre. they really are friendly creatures but if threatened, they will attack you. If you manage to befriend a kapre, you will be able to see them and if you sit on them, others can see the kapre too.   If a kapre is interested in a woman, they follow her until
Read more