demons of filipinos
Renowl
Demons, ghouls, dwarves, ogres, giants, witches, vampires, werewolves...these
are but some of the supernatural creatures that exist in Philippine folklore.
One of the foremost folklorists in the Philippines, Maximo D. Ramos, classified
these creatures in his book Filipino Cultural Patterns and Values and Their
Mythological Dimensions as "creatures of lower mythology."
Ramos defined these creatures of lower mythology as "harmful beings, chiefly
without objective reality...generally maleficent and have become more so owing
to cultural overlays" (Ramos, 1973:1). The following is a summary of his
discussion on demons in this work.
When it comes to demons, the Philippines has an astonishing variety. The
Filipino demons are not like your average, foreign-speaking, head-twisting,
levitating demon such as the slobbering demon in "The Exorcist" or in a similar
western movie. According to Ramos, they can look like the genies in Middle
Eastern folklore. Tall, dark-skinned, large and grotesque, they are said to
live in trees like the "balete." The Visayans believe the demons live in
"bubog" trees, the Tagalogs the "kalumpang" and "duhat" trees, while the
Ilocanos hold that demons reside in the "bangar" and "lumboy" trees. What all
these trees have in common are their large size and mass of rounded leaves.
Because of the belief that demons are living in these trees, some Filipinos are
afraid to cut down certain trees like the "kalumpang," despite the fact that
the tree's flowers have an unpleasant smell.
The Negritos in Zambales call the kalumpang tree "takang demonio" which means
"devil's excrement" (Ramos, 1973: 2). But demons could also live in abandoned
churches and grain storehouses, schools, sugar mills and other places.
Ramos classified the demons as the diverse ethnic groups in the Philippines
know them.
allawig (Iloko)
ani-ani (Sambale)
bangungot (Tagalog)
bantay (Pangasinan)
baras (Pangasinan)
binangunan (Dumagat)
kapre (Bikol, Iloko, Tagalog and others)
lagtaw (Tausog)
lumalabas (Tagalog)
pugot (Iloko, Pangasinan)
sarangay (Ibanag)
sinan baket, sinan lakay, sinan padi---this refers to the demon taking the
likeness of an old woman, a man, or a priest (Iloko)
talahiang (Basilan)
tikbalang (Tagalog)
When the Tagalogs and the Iloko get nightmares, the Tagalogs blame the bangugot
and the Ilokos the batibat. These demons are believed to sit on top of the
sleeping person's chest to the point of suffocation while there are times when
they are thought to be hugging or riding the sleeper.
Some demons are thought to play with "glowing coals or jewels called "mutya"
(jewel or magic stone)" (Ramos, 1973: 3). Other demons have the ability to
produce bluish-green flames from their mouths, while others like the kapre love
to smoke cigars which continually burn although they hate fire. They also
cannot stand objects made of metal, and brass is especially feared. Filipino
demons have the power to change their appearance, transforming themselves to
white chickens, cats, dogs, sometimes pigs, water buffaloes or carabaos without
horns. They can also transform into inanimate objects like bamboo tubes used in
the Filipino handloom, mats, and ropes, and can be
invisible as well as visible if they so desire. When they are in a human shape,
their ears are not pointed like the western demon,nor do they have horns or
sharp teeth. Sometimes, they have no head at all. If one happened to see a
demon and became panicky, it is thought that they will be cursed with insanity
(Ramos, 1973: 3).
How do these beliefs in native demons affect the Filipinos' everyday life?
In addition to describing the number of Philippine demons, Ramos also discussed
the effects of these beliefs on the people’s lives. Many Filipino folk who
live in the provinces have expressed fear of large and tall trees endowed with
oblong or thick leaves---trees such as the "kalumpang," balete," "bangkal,"
duhat," talisay," "lugo," "bittaog," and "pitogo." These trees are known to
flourish all over the Philippines and the fear of them may have influenced the
"Code of Kalantiao," which stipulated that anyone who took down such large
trees where punished by death (see Ramos, Filipino Cultural Patterns and Values
and Their Mythological Dimensions, 1973: 4).
Ramos notes that when the Americans first arrived in late 19th to early
twentieth centuries, they immediately began planting enormous trees like the
"acacia" and the "talisay" in town plazas. But instead of being encouraged to
come together under the broad shades of the trees and fostering a community
spirit, the people shunned the plaza and its trees altogether. They also were
eager to listen to legends about "kapres," which portrayed this demon as
smoking on the tops of the large trees and that other demons like it were also
under and in the big trees. Many of the legends alleged that there were strange
beings who followed passersby as they walked past these large trees such as the
"duhat" and "kalumpang" which were planted in the plazas by the Americans. But
these trees believed to harbor these fearsome demons were later used for
firewood or they were destroyed by Americans as they bulldozed the streets and
plazas during and after World War II. (Ramos 1973: 4).
Because it was commonly believed that demons were afraid of metal things, it
may have influenced what Ramos called "our national predilection for bearing
firearms and bladed weapons" (1973: 4). If Filipinos are enamored of shiny
objects like gold, copper, or brass---those objects which seem to have the
color of fire, it is because they were believed to scare away the demons. The
wearing and use of such objects such as gold watches, gold teeth, gold pens,
and golden eyeglasses may have been influenced by this belief in demons as well
as being effective means to disguise poverty (Ramos 1973: 4).
The folk were also inclined to carry firearms as well as flashlights since it
was thought that the "kapre" and other demons fear fire and light. If the area
was not equipped with electricity, torches made from materials like straw and
wood were used. It was quite common to see people burning their rubbish
underneath big trees and according to Ramos, this custom may be linked to the
frequent habit of early Filipinos in "smoking out tree-dwelling demons. Thus
the demonstrated horticultural benefits from smudging found support from old
Philippine beliefs about demons in trees" (1973: 5).
According to Ramos, the fear of demons and other strange beings has led to the
Filipinos’ fear of the dark. Although ethnic groups such as the Tinguan are
not afraid of walking at night, even they express fear of traveling in the dark
during those times when a person in their community has died.
Orin Oríg
(Pig's Lodge No.1) Usenet
(Pepeton J'Anton) SCF
(Julieta Colledge) ABS-CBN
The Rude Clown,
Orinello
"Renowl" <ren...@aol.com> wrote in message
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Orin Oríg
"Orin Oríg" <lust...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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mvillanu
[snip]
what about the white ladies all over the place?
Renowl
Liberals-HATE.America;
> white ladies are not demons but ghosts.
Translation: "I'm an illiterate, America-hating communist retard and have no
idea how to spell, punctuate or write a proper sentence. But I love making a
total ass out of myself so I'll continue to post here."
--
"Renowl hates America, he hates 'flag-wavers', he hates abortion
opponents, he hates all religions except Islam (post 9/11). Even
terrorists don't hate America like Renowl does."
o agila @yahoo.com Bugok Na Itlog
> The new handle of Pepeton J'Anton is Mangantamu.
>
<snip>
>
appr. 4 yrs ago, from QC?
Orin Oríg
"Bugok Na Itlog" <pipit o agila @yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Oh!