Some Asian cultures believe that humanity emerged from a bamboo stem. Malaysian legends have a similar story that describes a man who dreams of a
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Search Results for: mandaya
PANG-O-TÚB: The Traditional Philippine Tattooing You Haven’t Heard About
By now, most of us are familiar with the incredible work of Whang-od, the tattoo artist from Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines. She is often described as the
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The Flood Motif and the Symbolism of Rebirth in Philippine Myths
We discussed in the previous article that the egg motif the world over is generally linked with the symbolism not of birth, but of rebirth,
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The Egg Motif in Philippine Creation Myths
Historians of religions inform us that in many mythologies, the egg is an archetypal symbol of world creation. Classical students are acquainted with the Orphic
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CULTURE & TRADITION: Phalluses and Phallic Symbols of the Philippines
Last week I was researching the early Philippine image of a conjoined male and female. I was exploring symbols that considered how, prior
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Apocalyptic Visions of the End from Philippine Mythology
Mythologies provide people with tales that trace how everything began – from conception down to the materialization of the physical world. Just as interesting as
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Let’s Discuss Transgender People in the Pre-Colonial Philippines
One of the most controversial, interesting, and popular subjects here at The Aswang Project is the discussion on articles about gender – particularly the role of trans
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The Role of Birds and Serpents in Philippine Mythology
Birds and serpents have always been a common motif in mythological tales. Often, they are connected with spirituality as they represent deities and other supernatural
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LAHO, the other moon-eating serpent of Tagalog Mythology
‘Laho’ means eclipse, ‘naglaho’ means to swallow without a trace. It is the Tagalog name for the serpent that swallows the moon, corresponding to other moon-eater
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MINDANAO Origin Myths: The Earth and its Inhabitants
“The interior of Mindanao is occupied by some ten tribes, the most ‘important’ being the Manóbos, Mandayas, Atás, Bagóbos, Biláns, Tirurais, and Subánuns. These tribes are
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