Witawit - The TRUTH

On the August 11 episode of KMJS, one of the featured topics was the 'Witawit' which, according to the people of Iloilo was their version of 'Kamatayan' or Grim Reaper. This topic was brought to light by a viral photo on social media that purportedly shows the Witawit as a disembodied head floating in the air above one of the three boats that would later capsize in a squall off Guimaras island that killed 30+ people.

Before that episode was aired, I received an SMS message from KMJS asking my take on the said viral picture in relation to Pinoy folklore and a few days later, the crew was interviewing me in my living room for their Witawit segment.

During the interview, I provided a detailed description of the concept as well as the Medieval origin of the Grim Reaper,' or 'Sundo, along with other possible parallels of the Witawit in Filipino and Malay folklore but my take on the subject was whittled down from an hour to a few insignificant seconds of airtime that did not even scratch the surface of the REAL topic. That's half expected though. It's the editor's call anyway, but I digress.

To be honest, I think the floating 'head' was nothing more than dirt or lens artifact. I wasn't interviewed for my opinion on the picture though (although I was a graphic artist for 4 years). KMJS wanted my take on the mythical/folkloric aspect of the 'Witawit' so that chunk of the interview and many more interesting bits were left out.

Below is the full segment regarding this alleged being:

See, I would like to set the record straight. Word of warning though. The truth (as always) is way more stranger -- or boring -- than fiction

You see people, there is NO Witawit. It exists only in the realm of entertainment, particularly Shake, Rattle and Roll 4 the movie. In one of their interviews with PEP, Shake directors Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes admitted that the 'Witawit' is an entirely made up creature, in much the same vein as the more famous Undin. Check the link below:

Witawit and Undin

In other words, the Witawit is a 90's fabrication with no real roots in Philippine folklore unlike the Aswang or Tikbalang. As for why the Witawit is famous in Iloilo -- well, Direk Peque is Ilonggo so go figure. This is not to take away anything from the genuine entertainment value of the famous horror series I grew up watching though. What I'm saying is that this clearly a case of real life imitating fiction, albeit tangentially.

You see, Shake Rattle and Roll 4 painted the Witawit as a nature spirit or elemental that has a thing for kids and trees. Not a grim reaper type of creature that dwells in or above the seas. When it comes to 'floating heads,' the Tausugs and Malays have more colorful critters in their folklore like the Berbalang and the Penanggalan which I would discuss in detail on my next post.

Still, I can't help but marvel though when the supposed 'psychic' described the Witawit as a worm-like creature as big as a jeepney that uses its horns to 'swim.' I think this is truly pushing the bounds of credulity.

We have WAY more interesting creatures in our rich folklore and mythic menagerie. We don't need a Tremor-type monster wannabe that moonlights as the Grim Reaper. Oh c'mon.

And lest we forget, the Guimaras tragedy is an accident that can happen to anyone anywhere. Squalls can develop and dissipate without warning, even in enclosed bodies of water like Taal Lake. This is something I experienced firsthand while sailing towards Volcano island in 2014. One moment it was all warm and sunny but in a span of a few seconds, the skies got dark, the wind howled and rain started pelting our boat like crazy. Good thing the wind and waves weren't as strong but in an open body of water, squalls are stronger many times over and can wreak serious damage.

Plausibility scale for Witawit: 0/10

Where is all the EVIDENCE?

It took me several years just to write this post. Between then and now, several intriguing stories came and went. Some were genuinely creepy, others were downright laughable but they all beg the question: is there a truth to all of this?

In our day and age, smartphones are everywhere and even people in far flung rural areas have them. You'd think it would be a lot easier to obtain irrefutable proof of the existence of Kapres, Aswangs or the like. In fact, the opposite is true. Yes, the web is swimming in a sea of strange, 'unexplained'  videos (that weird part of Youtube) but if you remove the chaff of Adobe edited vids, blurry resolution, Pareidolia and misrepresented, out of context vids  from the grain, you'll end up with precious few material that will stand to informed scrutiny.

People like magician James Randi have made it their life's work to research, debunk and expose charlatans, frauds and illusionists who make a living making people believe they have paranormal capabilities. He has even put up a 1 million dollar prize from 1964 to 2015 for anyone who can prove to him that paranormal phenomenon can happen under strict test conditions that all parties agreed upon. No one came close to claiming that prize.

How about those who claim to have a personal experience with the 'unknown' or with 'paranormal entities'? Are they all frauds? Of course not. Their truth is based on their own 'empirical' evidence that cannot be re-created in a lab setting but can be scrutinized only on a limited but informed basis through research.

Unlike magicians and charlatans or self proclaimed psychics,  witnmost paranormale witnesses of aswang, ghost or even demon encounters would rather stay quiet than be subjected to scrutiny and eventual ridicule.

What's more, if I put myself in the shoes of a paranormal being like say, an Aswang, wouldn't it be better if everyone believes I do NOT exist? What good would it do me to convince anyone of my existence? Of course I'd rather stay in the shadows than be caught in the glare of the ubiquitous phone cameras and cctvs out there. The greatest favor I can get from anyone is their complete disbelief in my existence. Pretty much the devil's argument for its own non-existence.

So if you have any weird paranormal story to tell, send them over to me. We'll investigate and rate its plausibility on a scale of 1-10. 10 being perfect, irrefutable proof of a thing's existence. Just like in the case of the Giant Squid or the Okapi.

1 of course is plausibility in the level of Pikachu or Barney. Personally, I'd prefer a pink, boring cephalopod over a creepy purple dinosaur that likes to be around kids anytime.

If we arrive at a viable conclusion, we've done humanity a favor. If not, at least we've added to our compendium of fascinating folktales and campfire stories our children's children will enjoy for generations to come. Truth be damned.

The Aswang Phenomenon - A documentary

In my opinion, this is by far the most incisive and cerebral approach to the question of the Aswang's origin. Unlike other Aswang documentaries or movies before that propagate the myth by obscuring it, this feature offers a 21st century view that represents the most rational approach sans judgements and bias characteristic of some filmmakers nowadays. Far from coming up with an anthology of spook tales, Film Maker Jordan Clark placed the concept of the aswang inside a multi-faceted prism to be viewed from all possible angles - from the downright ridiculous to the utterly scientific. I'm glad to have contributed a small part in the making of this one-of-a-kind film.

So where do I stand in all these? In the middle of course :)

Tikbalang?

One of the most popular and enduring mythical creatures in Filipino lore. The tikbalang is said to be a half human, half horse creature in the mold of the Greek Pan, that is, having an upper body of a human and lower limbs of a horse (check out my original drawing above ^). There are two known versions of the creature's appearance: the more popular and oft portrayed version has the tikbalang with the head of a horse while the lesser known version has it sporting a human visage. Both versions however agree that the tikbalang has unusually long, powerful legs that resemble the rear quarter of a horse, hooves and all.

Legend has it that whoever can ride the tikbalang and pluck the golden hair from its nape can tame the beast and make it a willing slave. In its element however, the tikbalang, powerful as it is ,does not hurt or kill people. At worst, it leads people astray and plays mischievous tricks on their senses.

As far as I know, the word tikbalang is universally understood throughout the Philippines although there might be other regional variations of its name that I don't know of. As for the etymology of the word, I'm not that sure, really. In tagalog, a balang is a locust. Of course, we all know that locusts have relatively long hind legs so I'm wondering if this has got something to do with the portrayal of the tikbalang as hunched over with legs folded, knees taller than its shoulders. It would sure look like an oversized locust somehow.

I know a couple of people who had tikbalang stories. One of them is my father. When he was a teener living in Antique he mentioned one particular night when two of his brothers were quarreling and socking each other outside their hut after a late evening drizzle. You can hear shouts and a dull thud here and there. After sometime, their mother broke up the fight and asked them to sleep away their tempers and change their clothes for the night. The two grudgingly obliged. A few hours later, there were dull thuds all over again, this time however, the sound shifted from one side of the house to the other. Father said the last time he checked, both his elder brothers were fast asleep, tired from their fisticuffs earlier. Who or what could be making the sound outside? He tried to sneak out of the back door to check but his mother, who was still awake and sitting near the window, stopped him and told him nonchalantly that he should stay inside as "there's a tikbalang outside". He obeyed and made sure that everyone was inside at the time. My father was the 7th of nine siblings by the way, and everyone except for himself and my grandma was fast asleep already.

Still the dull thud-thud-thud continued, one at a time on each side of the house. He describe the sound as akin to the sound of the heavy pestle used for separating the rice chaff from the grain. He was forbidden even to sneak a peak at the window so he can only imagine what it looked like. Apart from the dull thuds, there was no other sound to hear except the stridulation of crickets and cicadas. He fell asleep to the sound of the "tikbalang" jumping like crazy outside.

The next morning he woke up to find that their neighbors and relatives were all milling around a strange sight: huge hoof impressions, each the size of ripe coconut littered each side of the house. the impressions came in pairs and overlapped each other. Each mark was several inches deep and filled with rainwater from last night's drizzle. No one owned a horse in the barrio and not even a thoroughbred bronco can make impressions that big. It's clearly not a buffalo's since the hoof is not cloven in the middle. Whatever made those impressions would be immensely bigger and heftier than a carabao or a horse judging from the depth and size of the impressions. The fact that the impressions came in pairs suggest a bipedal creature left those marks. Granting that this thing had legs proportionate to a horse and the torso of a human relative to its legs, it could've easily scraped the ceiling at around 10-15 feet tall.

Unfortunately, no one had a camera at the time. Which was understandable considering that the area was so poor at the time some students had to walk unshod to and from school just to make their precious "bakya" last longer. Umbrellas were expensive and were almost unknown so if it rained, people used banana leaves instead. The blessings of Tesla's electricity still hasn't reached those parts yet (this was in the early 60's).

What was the tikbalang's business jumping over the roof at those late hours? What it did was similar to the Filipino chidren's game called "Luksong Tinik" lit. "Jumping Thorns" but its motives were never known. Tikbalangs have been known to be playful and mischievous so it's anybody's guess.

I only wish I was there. I could've punched a small hole on the wall and taken a peek, but after a night of rains (cloudy sky, no moon, no electricity) I don't think I can make out much, if anything at all.

Philippines - A Cryptid Farm

The Philippines has a colorful menagerie of cryptids that have endured over the ages. From orb-like beings to humanoid creatures, name it, we have it. Here's a partial list of some of the cryptids and mythological beings that I can recall from the top of my mind:

• Aswang
• Mananggal/Wakwak
• Tikbalang
• Kapre
• Tiktik
• Mandurugo
  
• Maranhig
• Batibat
• Angab
• Tiyanak
• Kugtong
• Tika
• Nuno sa Punso
• Engkanto
• Laman Lupa
• Duwende
• Ekek
• Pasatsat
• Santelmo
• Aghoy
  
• Sirena
  
• Siyokoy
• Manaul
• Sigbin
• Amomongo
• Alan
  

It is worthy to note that to some extent, some of these cryptids seem to share a common linguistic, if not cultural origin with those of our Southeast Asian neighbors. Although the meaning might be different, there are some near-cognates among the many words used for some of the famous cryptids we have here and elsewhere in Southeast asia. Our very own manananggal has a counterpart called Penanggal or Penanggalan in Malaysia. The root word of both words would be the Filipino "Tanggal" and Malaysian "Tanggal" which means "to detach." Other phonetic parallels would be the Philippine "Tianak/Tiyanak" and the Malay "Pontianak."

Aswang - a primer

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 ethnicites 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?

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 looke 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 wth long flowing brown hair. Apparently a scion of a wealthy family of European extraction from the next town.

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 perpetualy 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 complie more material on this topic as we go along.

Sorry if I don't have drawings, much less pictures to accompany this article, I'll make some drawings as one as soon as I get hold of a good graphic tablet. If you guys have any additional information or Aswang pictures feel free to email me @ magnusatthva@gmail.com or post your thoughts below:)

Growing up in the shadows

Although I was born and raised in Manila, I grew up hearing a lot of creepy stories from people around me, mostly my parents and neighbors who immigrated from the provinces. Superstition was as much a part of Philippine culture as the ubiquitous jeepney and I've had my fair share of superstitious beliefs I acquired during those times. Belief in the supernatural runs in our family just like most other people I know yet I never spoke about it outside the house. Back in those days when the slumping Philippine economy meant 12 hour blackouts were the norm, listening to creepy stories by candle light was one of my more engaging past times, well that is, after the brownouts made a fishkill out of my humble, oxygen deprived aquarium fishes.

It wasn't all new age for me though. I also grew up reading science books and watching David Attenborough's  Life on Earth series since I was 4 or 5 I think. For some weird reason, I did not believe this conflicted with our belief that we had little friends inside the house. Crazy as it sounds, my parents, with the suggestion of a medium-friend named Rose, told us that we have 2 little white dwarves living with us. A boy and a girl. Me and my siblings were told that we should invite those two little people whenever we're eating, and that having them on our side would bring us good luck. Sometimes, we were encouraged to actually leave food on strategic places inside the house to appease the dwarves when someone gets sick. If the dwarves accepted the offer, you'd know it because the food will be gone when you come back to check it. One time though, my mom caught Rose eating the food offerings. That was the last time I saw her.

That was also the last time I whispered an invite to our "dwarves."

In retrospect, the whole affair was a sham but getting to know Rose and other faith healers/medium introduced me to the world of the supernatural -- and Fake Healers. This was the first time I heard about the "Third Eye," the "Laman Lupa(s)" (nature elementals), "Duwende(s)"(dwarves), "Aswang(s) ( Vampires / ghouls / shapeshifters ) and "Kulam" (witchcraft). All throughout the whole experience, I was going to a Catholic School and we went to church every Sunday just like every good Catholic. There never was a conflict between our chosen faith and the strange things we believe in. As for me, I believed some of the stories but I questioned most of them, especially those dwarves because I never saw them or felt their presence unlike what the people around me claim. Sure, I have poor eyesight but that shouldn't stop me from experiencing them if they really exist, thinking in retrospect.

As for the other stories, some of them are first hand accounts from my parents, which I always questioned from a rational perspective. even though all through the years, their stories never changed in the slightest. Most of these stories would range from encounters with strange cryptids like "Kapre"(ogre), "Manananggal" (half-bodied viscera sucker) to strange phenomena like the "Santelmo" (Saint Elmo's Fire), demonic apparitions and spirits and ghosts. Their stories were mostly mentioned in passing but some were only revealed after intense cajoling from me and my two elder sisters. I would never be in a position to judge whether what they experienced was true or not but some of their stories would send a chill up my spine even now that I'm older and a lot more skeptical. If only for purposes of entertainment and cultural insight, I'd preserve these myths and stories in this blog.

And did my parents believe what they saw? They say they did, but they told us to be more afraid of people with guns because they're infinitely a lot more dangerous.

Makes practical sense.