ASWANG
Have u heard about ASWANG? In the Philippines, the story about aswang has circulated for centuries. This Filipino folklore is associated with Panay Island in particular. Aswang is known as ghoul in the west. It is a human being that can transform into a pig, sigben (a very big black dog) especially on a full moon. Its other names are tik-tik and wak-wak. They eat the heart and liver and suck the blood. They have a long slimy tongue and reddish eyes. Ready to attack an unwilling victim.
I've never seen a real aswang, nor would I dream of seeing one. I was growing up hearing a lot of stories about these aswangs. How they would smell from a distance if there's a pregnant living in a certain house or if there's a new born baby in a certain barrio. There are also tales how a child would die of drowning in a river or some unexplained accident and would replace the dead body for a banana trunk. In our hometown, some acquaintance of ours would relay a story over and over again. According to them, About an hour after a drinking spree and just letting the time passed, one of them took a glance at the window. He thought he was just hallucinating so, he asked the others to take a look and couldn't believed what they saw. It was a pig with a bandana and wearing a bakya ( native sandals) walking side by side with a duck in eyeglasses. We wouldn't buy their but a classmate of ours who witnessed that incident swear to us that indeed it was really true.
Tinyente Gimo story of Duenas is the most famous of them all. He rules the barrio, all of them related to one another. He sends his daughter to the city to study and every fiesta, the daughter invites a classmate or a friend and bring her home. That friend becomes the sacrificial offering. Tinyente Gimo's counterpart is Vlad lll Dracula of Transylvania.
The stories of aswangs are countless. Who knows if they truly exists or not. But one thing I know, it gives Panay Island a mysterious appeal to outsiders. Old and young pays attention when the topic about aswang is brought up. Sometimes, it becomes the ice breaker to newly acquainted persons. I should know, I am a Capiznon. And proud to be one.
I've never seen a real aswang, nor would I dream of seeing one. I was growing up hearing a lot of stories about these aswangs. How they would smell from a distance if there's a pregnant living in a certain house or if there's a new born baby in a certain barrio. There are also tales how a child would die of drowning in a river or some unexplained accident and would replace the dead body for a banana trunk. In our hometown, some acquaintance of ours would relay a story over and over again. According to them, About an hour after a drinking spree and just letting the time passed, one of them took a glance at the window. He thought he was just hallucinating so, he asked the others to take a look and couldn't believed what they saw. It was a pig with a bandana and wearing a bakya ( native sandals) walking side by side with a duck in eyeglasses. We wouldn't buy their but a classmate of ours who witnessed that incident swear to us that indeed it was really true.
Tinyente Gimo story of Duenas is the most famous of them all. He rules the barrio, all of them related to one another. He sends his daughter to the city to study and every fiesta, the daughter invites a classmate or a friend and bring her home. That friend becomes the sacrificial offering. Tinyente Gimo's counterpart is Vlad lll Dracula of Transylvania.
The stories of aswangs are countless. Who knows if they truly exists or not. But one thing I know, it gives Panay Island a mysterious appeal to outsiders. Old and young pays attention when the topic about aswang is brought up. Sometimes, it becomes the ice breaker to newly acquainted persons. I should know, I am a Capiznon. And proud to be one.
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