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The Tagalog for ‘folktale’ is kuwentong-bayan.
kaalamang-bayan
folklore
If our children are growing up totally unfamiliar with Philippine folk literature, it is not because our people lack a rich oral tradition to draw from. Rather, it is because these collections of tales have largely been available only to Filipiniana scholars in archives. Only a precious few of these fascinating stories have appeared in less formidable editions that children can go to bed with and read over and over.
The tragic love story of Daragang Magayon, considered the most beautiful damsel of her time in the Bicol region
Ano ang pirotso?
Halimaw na may dalang kaldero.
Monster that carries a pot.
Spelling variations: asuáng, asuwáng
Aswang is a native Tagalog word for a mythological creature. It’s been noted though that it’s likely derived from the Sanskrit word asura which means ‘demon.’
An aswang is scarier than the Spanish-derived word multo, which sort of calls to mind harmless ghosts like Caspar.
In other parts of the the Philippines, an aswang is called tik-tik or wak-wak. Continue reading “ASWANG”
Ang bal-bal ay isang halimaw na nagnanakaw at kumakain ng mga bangkay mula sa libingan.
A monster that steals and eats corpses from cemeteries.
May matalas itong pang-amoy para sa mga patay na katawan.
It has a sharp sense of smell for dead bodies.
Sa oras na makain nito ang bangkay, pinapalitan nito ng puno ng saging ang katawan na nasa kabaong.
When it eats a corpse, it replaces the body inside the coffin with a banana trunk.
This is not a standard Tagalog word but it refers to a werebeast (like the werewolf or lycanthrope of the West) in the Visayan province of Aklan.
Instead of turning into a wolf, a kiwig changes into a black dog or a wild boar at midnight.
A tikbalang is a creature with the head of a horse and the body of a man. (To compare, the Western centaur has the legs of a horse and the upper body of a man.) It is usually black and tall with long hair.
tik·bá·lang
the Filipino centaur
The tambaloslós is known as the “Philippine Laughing Prankster.”
This word is from the Spanish cafre (meaning: brute)
Kapre is a large Filipino monster that lives up the balete tree.
The kapre monster enjoys sitting in his balete tree, puffing on a big cigar. He is said to resemble a dark-skinned giant with matted hair. He can transform himself into various shapes and sizes.
It’s like the Bigfoot of the Philippines.
