The Aswang is one of the more pervasive folkloric concepts in Philippine culture. In terms of popularity, it is the Philippine equivalent of the Western Werewolf/Vampire. It is difficult to encapsulate in one sentence what an aswang is but a lot of people across different ethnicities agree on a lot of things about it : (1) that its diet consists mainly of human liver and blood, (2) that it has an unholy preference for unborn children. (3) that it is also known to prey upon children and sick people. On a broader sense, the term Aswang can be used to denote the entire menagerie of evil beings in Philippine folklore. On a stricter sense however, the Aswang is a human being that can change shape at will without severing any part of its body. Thus, the half-bodied flier called the Manananggal is strictly different from the Aswang. A subspecies perhaps?
Classifications of the Aswang
As a shape shifter it can take any of the following forms:
- Humanoid – Mostly upright but sometimes crawls on all fours. The body can be covered by black, coarse, quill like hair. Skin color can be black to ashen gray. The body can be oily as well due to the application of an unknown kind of grease or coconut oil concoction usually before stalking their prey. In this configuration, they normally crawl on the floor or the immediate space outside or they lay prone on the roofs or gables, looking for a peephole or “lick hole” where they can drop their highly prehensile tongue/proboscis that reportedly has the looks and consistency of vermicelli and the dexterity of a human hand. This tongue can inflict sickness or death on its victims which are usually sick people, children and pregnant women.
- Canine – An aswang can appear as a large, menacing dog with coarse, black hair and flaming red eyes. They normally stalk the roadsides but has been reported to roam the cities on occasion. Its huge size and wild hair reminds one of a jackal out for a kill. Normal house dogs normally hide, howl or flee when they see an aswang in this form. Animal senses are way sharper than ours.
- Porcine – By far the most common aswang configuration in the Philippines (most aswang witnesses reported seeing them in this form), essentially just a scaled up pig with the basic characteristics of the first two forms of aswang. Their arrival is heralded by snorting and gnashing of teeth characteristic of a domestic speed. Only their sheer size gives them away.
- Avian – Sometimes called Tiktik, this is one of the most sinister looking configurations of the Philippine aswang. Outwardly, it will look like a large, man-sized vulture or raven. Apart from its great size, a dead give away would be its unusual ability to fly low and slow, without the wings visibly flapping, even when the wind is still. This was the exact observation of a compadre of mine who saw what he thinks was an aswang flying low over a public schoolhouse in Bulacan several years back. He was with his schoolmate at the time.
- Feline – one of the least common aswang forms. An aswang in cat form can range in size from that of a Siamese Cat to that of a Ocelot or Jaguar. A suspected aswang in this form was reportedly caught many years ago in a town in Antique, according to my father. It was tied up, placed in a sack and beaten up and speared and hauled to the town plaza. When the folk opened the sack to show it to the townspeople, they saw a dead mestiza/creole woman with long flowing brown hair. Apparently a scion of a wealthy family of European extraction from the next town.
Capiz and the aswang
For many years, the province of Capiz, has earned the unflattering reputation of “aswang country.” Much of the reason for this will be the ethnolinguistic spats between inhabitants of Capiz and nearby Iloilo province. For the most part, some Filipinos claim that the “real” hub of aswangs is Duenas town in Iloilo which is a geographical neighbor of Capiz. Duenas is reputed to be the home of one “Tinyente Gimo (Lieutenant Gimo)” whose clan was the oldest and biggest clan of aswang in the province and perhaps, the Philippines. None of these stories have been fully substantiated, however.
Fabrication or not, this story serves to illustrate the enduring belief that being an Aswang runs in the family or bloodline. It is also said that an old Aswang cannot die unless his ability is passed on to the next generation. That’s because the Aswang’s power is a black chick or stone that they puke out just before death. The successor is supposed to swallow this chick/stone to spare his elder from the agony of perpetually hovering between life and death. A successful turn over of the Aswang “amulet” ensures a speedy peaceful death for the older Aswang.
Most academics and westerners believe that the Aswang can be rationally explained in historical and sociological terms. Some say that in the process of conquering these islands 400 years ago, the Spaniards demonized and anathemized those who refused to abandon their old belief systems in favor of Christianity. These pagans who avoided the conquered coastlines and went up the mountains were easily stereotyped and this became the root cause of the Aswang belief. The funny thing is, the same belief systems seem to be endemic in non-Spanish conquered Southeast Asia where the Aswang goes by a plethora of different names with eerily similar descriptions. Can this be a product of colonialism then? I guess that’s what we’re here to find out.
In most parts of the Visayan islands, however, they are treated as one of the realities of living in the countryside. Well into the 21st century, people still keep garlic and sharp bronze implements inside their homes to ward off Aswang attacks. Some sleep with knives under their pillows while some keep a Stingray tail whip handy just in case.
I am hoping to compile more material on this topic as we go along.
Blogger, Researcher, Philomath, Artist
