Haliya Was A Warrior Goddess Who Would Wear A Mask Of Gold To Hide Her Beauty. 

“To Love an Aswang”

The bells were ringing too the day I met her. The first time I met her, it was a cloudy day and I had just come from mass, passing by some carts that sold food outside the old church. She was sitting behind the cart that sold fried potatoes on a skewer, and she eyed each person that passed by with interest, her silky voice calling out, “Ale, ale, bili kayo oh.” I stopped in front of her cart and bought two of the food she was selling. While we waited for the potatoes to fry, I casually made small talk with her.

“Ate, do you always sell here?” I asked.

She smile a tiny smile before answering, “Not always. Every other day and only before the sun goes down. At night, I head home.”

“Do you live near here?”

“Yes, I do.”

Once the potatoes were done, she put them in a brown paper bag and I gave her twenty pesos. Before I went on my way, I ventured on another question, not thinking much of it as I asked it. “Do you do this for a living or is this just a side job?”

She answered, “It’s more of a side job. After all, I have other means of getting my food. This just covers some of my other expenses.”

I gave a non-committal answer and proceeded to walk away when she said it.

“I’m an aswang.”

I didn’t think much of it, and I just thought it was the silly rambling of a creative woman with a quirky sense of humour.

I had started going to church in the mornings before I work at the nearest bank, and just as she said, the woman was there every other day, but never outside the church at night once I began my walk home after a long day at work. Every time I saw her, I bought some of her potatoes and talked with her, slowly beginning an odd friendship.

We chatted about anything and everything, except for each other’s personal lives. I regaled her with tales of my co-workers, occasionally complaining about them on a particularly harrowing day, and I shared with her my musings about life in general. She never asks about church, and I don’t say anything about it either. On the other hand, she tells me of silly adventures she has while selling the potatoes and of customers that particularly caught her eye. She once told me about this pregnant lady who reeked of perfume, that it hurt her nose and probably did the opposite of beckoning others to her. She told the story with a laugh, saying that perfume was meant to enhance and not to soak. We talked about anything and everything, Anna and I.

She said it again one day. “You know, I’m an aswang.”

I laughed at that and said, “Sure. You’re an aswang and you fly around at night looking for babies to devour.” I kept laughing.

She answered quite seriously, “Exactly.”

That was when I felt an odd chill run down my spine. I tried to cover up the following awkward silence with a cough and a shaky question. “If you really are one, why would you tell me?”

She shrugged at that and said, “You deserve to know, You’re not like other humans. Here you go.” She then handed me my usual brown bag of fried potatoes and I hesitantly began my walk to work, all the while turning over in my head what she said.

The next time I saw her, we spent a good deal of time discussing about trivial things, as if the past conversation never happened. It felt normal. Just two friends chatting about anything and everything. But then I worked up the courage to bring it up. “So you really are an aswang?”

I told myself I didn’t believe her, that I was just playing along to hear more of what she has to say. She was eccentric, that’s for sure.

“Mhm,” she chirped, turning over the skewers to let the other side of the potatoes fry. “I do eat babies, but only the unborn ones. I don’t like them outside their mother’s bellies. Too big to eat and less tasty. Not to mention that it makes more of a mess than when they’re inside waiting to be sucked out.”

I shuddered at her nonchalance and the graphic details of her supposed eating habits. “So you’re evil then?”

She gave an irritated click of her tongue at that. “Evil, you say? What exactly is evil? I am an aswang and you are a human. We are different. So I eat unborn babies. Is that evil? You eat unborn duck embryo, is that evil? It simply is the way it is. I may not know much but even I know about the food chain.”

“But you take the babies from their mothers. Who could do such a thing?”

She smiled meanly at that. “Careful, my dear. You’re about to venture into a question I don’t think you’re prepared to hear the answer to.”

I stopped at that, and for a few moments the only sounds were the chattering of other people outside the church and the sizzling of the frying oil. “I guess you’re right,” I said.

“But tell me,” I continued, “do you hate humans?”

She gave another annoyed grunt, rolling her eyes at the same time. “Hating humans would imply I have any sort of feeling toward them. Humans to me are nothing but a source of my food and my income.” She nodded toward a couple who stopped by in front of the cart next to me to buy Anna’s goods. They left, and Anna continued, “It’s like if I asked you, do you hate ducks because you eat balut? I have a certain apathy toward humanity, if that’s what you mean.”

Her answers were as eccentric as she was; as absurd as the notion that she was an aswang as she said. Still, I let the concept settle into my mind, no matter how uneasy it made me. “Well, what about me?”

“What about you?” she asked.

I didn’t know what came over me, but as I looked into Anna’s eyes, I felt a sort of calm and peace, even though she kept claiming she was this dangerous powerful creature that I didn’t believe in. I asked her quietly, “Do you feel nothing toward me?”

That’s when she stopped turning over the potato skewers to really look at me. Her eyes shone under the shade of the umbrella on her cart, and her shoulders sagged in a strange resignation before answering, “I guess not. You are my friend, after all.”

Friend. Her answer surprised me very much. Did this woman, who claimed she was an aswang, really consider me as a friend? A human and an aswang as friends was almost as laughable as me believing in the idea itself. But still, something in me was touched. If this beautiful woman was really an aswang, a more powerful creature than me, her choosing to befriend me was a feat in itself that touched me in no other way that my normal friendships did. I remembered all the conversations we’ve ever had here, about anything and everything, about life and its adventures… She made me rethink everything I knew before. Before I met her.

“You still don’t believe me, do you?” she asked once again.

I gave a shuddering breath, placing a hand on her cart to steady myself. “If I do believe you, that creatures like aswang exist and you are one of them, how can we be friends, Anna?”

“Is being an aswang really that bad?” Anna answered quietly. She resumed cooking her potatoes and serving one or two customers that stopped by.

“I am terrified, Anna. Frankly, I am. You eat unborn babies. You are a creature of the night.”

She did not like what I said. She stood up abruptly, her arms falling to her sides in annoyance. “This again? You have nothing to fear from me! Humanity is a much more terrifying evil than I can ever be! I’m still me, dear. Why would being an aswang change that?”

We didn’t say anything for a while. She scared me that day. I looked at the old looming church while feeling her glare. Her glare held no malice, only annoyance and a flash of pain. Still, she scared me.

“What if I had a baby and you ate it before it even got to live outside the womb? What then, Anna? I don’t think I’d ever be able to bear that. If you were really an aswang, why would you befriend me? Why?”

She sat back down, her beautiful face scrunched up in…pain? She wiped her tears, and she said quietly, “Do you really think I would do that to you? To you? You are different from all other humans. You are different from me, and yet…I have grown to love you despite our short time. I have grown to love you. Tell me, am I really as terrible as you think I am? Am I evil for being different than you?”

“Anna,” I said. “How can you love me? How can I love you?”

She didn’t answer. She never did. I left to go to work, and when I was on my way home that day with the moon already peeking out in the sky, she was gone. She never appeared again. Some days, when I pass by where her cart used to be and hear the ringing of the bells, I remember her silky voice and all the stories we used to tell each other. I would think of our last conversation and ask myself, “What is love? And what is evil?”

I still don’t have an answer.

KDJ and YJH, a summary.

Reblog if you call the wind by whistling.

I had the habit of whistling the call of birds when the wind is saturated. It’s not like I believe in it, but oftentimes, I suddenly feel the wind coming after one set of call. I learned it from the elders, and I’m still seeing some youth do it.

One time, I was with a non-local friend (he’s Filipino, just very westernized) and we were walking under the harsh sun with no wind. I whistled, and a gush of wind came. He asked why did I do that, to which I answered while the wind brushed my hair, “I’m calling the wind.” with such a serious voice I might be a diety. Later on I realized he doesn’t know about our force of habit, and since I didn’t want to be seen as crazy, I said, “FORGET ABOUT THAT! IT WAS A FORCE OF HABIT AROUND HERE.”

So yeah, we whistle for the wind. The only being in the universe you can whistle for.

The meaning behind famous Filipino Surnames

You guys know Filipinos have hispanic surnames, but not all. While most surnames meant places, beautiful adjectives, and son-of-Christ, Filipino surnames are whack.

Dimaano - Cannot be whatever. Can be interpreted as immovable and invinsible.

Pinagkaisahan - Mobbed

Tatlongsuso - Three boobs

Bagonggahasa - Newly sharpened

Katindig - The One I'm standing up with

Banaohan - Someone who has been hit with a coconut

Aglipay - To play with some kind of seeds

Mabini - Suave, likable, smooth af ((Insert Apolinario Mabini winking at you))

Gen - The most superficial man is dead

There, there, easy. I don’t mean literally. What I mean is that Gen’s superficial side is officially dead. We all cry about Gen’s petrification crack. Really me too but on second thought I think Inagaki and Boichi are also sending here really beautiful message.

We all remember Gen’s introduction. He seemed shady since very beggining and his petrification crack which looks like creepy smile with sharp teeth was like cheery on top screaming ,,Yeah, he is evil”. Manga readers, anime watchers don’t even lie that you knew he is a good boy after introduction. Or first thought was at least ,,villain or antagonist” not ,,new buddy”. Petrification crack really tried to highlight Gen being sketchy character.

Gen even introduced himself as ,,The most superficial man on Earth” which points at him being selfish person which will trample others to chase after benefit and be the last one standing. He even talked about shallow things like chilling all days with bunch of girls.

Interesting fact: After choosing Senku’s side Gen never brought back idea of getting harem and he don’t even flirt with girls.

Like really all Gen do since then is hang around Senku as close as he can if he doesn’t have job to do in different place. When Gen is in ,,chilling out mode” which he talked about doing with girls he is doing with Senku.

Let me bring up technique Gen is using to manipulate people. It says about being next to person you want to win over but Gen explain it more as moment of negotiation which is one time situation if you want something from other person.

Going back to Gen’s ,,special behavior” towards Senku. Gen is using same technique but this time for winning person over for personal reasons. Gen choose person he really wants to gain trust from on longer terms and not in one time negotiation. Gen isn’t stalking Senku or anything like that but omg Gen wants to share personal space with Senku in all parts of daily routine: 

1. Eat next to Senku

2. Stand next to Senku

3. Walk next to Senku

4. Work next to Senku

5. Sit/rest next to Senku

6. Sleep next to Senku

That’s everyday parts of human life and Gen is doing everything to do those things with Senku around. That’s almost like living together. Gen at this point seek for every occasion to approach Senku. Let me show you how he is doing this:

Let’s take cotton candy moment as an example. Gen is standing few feet away from Senku. He just spotted him standing alone and free after giving cotton candy to everyone and what Gen is doing next?

Few seconds later Gen is already at Senku’s side chilling with cotton candy. They are pretty much touching with elbows. That’s start of entering personal space and it looks like Senku doesn’t mind that at all. Gen is usually approching Senku THAT close when he is alone and not in big group. Gen then just waits for Senku to be in more open area again.

Maybe Gen really was superficial man in the past but Senku really picked his interest. Maybe whole harem talk was a lie since beggining or Gen warned Senku that was his already exerienced past to perform magic shows, write books, chill and hang out with girls so he wanted to check if Senku is worth of changing his old ways. In the end Gen pretty much confessed to Senku that he liked him longer than he thought.

Gen even said being around Senku makes him feel safe. That could be another reason why he stand next to Senku almost all the time because he feels comfortable and not only for times when his Science is needed. Senku in terms of body is the weakest person around so saying his side is the safest place sound weird. That just shows that Senku also keeps Gen’s sanity in good mood and Gen believes Senku has solution for every situation.

Kohaku are you secret Sengen shipper? She always saw through Gen’s lies. She pretty much called out Gen wanting to stay with Senku for personal reasons and not for strategic reasons. Senku is also in the corner smirking probably being flattered by Gen being soft towards him and only act tough.

And this is just prove of Gen really feeling safe only around Senku. Gen wasn’t that scared since being around Tsukasa and Hyoga. Just let Gen be around Senku because separation gives him almost heart attack XD

Now let’s go back to Gen’s petrification crack and hidden beautiful message from Inagaki and Boichi about Gen. Just look at him here while being all soft around Senku and now look at his petrification crack. Now let’s be honest. Does it still suits him alfter all Gen went through? Shady mark on face of someone who is opening up to people and only mess with them with no bad intentions. Yeah this petrification crack looks cool but doesn’t it also show broken and bad version of Gen? And this is where all this character development went:

Gen let himself turn into stone FOR Senku. That was the most selfless act he ever did. This pretty much threw out the window all his ,,superficial man” trash. Superficial man would take a run for it, join Mozu or Ibara or something like that. Gen choosed to sacrifice himself to protect Senku. To protect not himself but another person not knowing if he will ever get out of stone again. He took that with smile on his face with full trust in Senku. Boichi even focused on Gen’s cheek in stone form now without petrification crack.

Gen by loosing his petrification crack is saying farewell to his superficial side. He is fully team player and doesn’t want to be last man standing anymore if he knows someone like Senku could do bigger things to benefit not him but many more people and is more worth saving. Gen turned from superficial man to selfless man and now scar won’t be reminding him every morning how badly he treated people in the past. Gen will get back his pretty face and losing scar might lift some burden from his shoulders or he will make fun of it and start doing make up looking like his petrification crack to remind himself how much he changed.

diyan masalanta, tagalog deity

diyan masalanta is the tagalog goddess of love, conception, and childbirth, and the protector of lovers. 

Trese, as a story that features various mythological creatures from the Philippines, may give the impression that all these beings belong to only one group. That's not how it is. For one, Ibu and Talagbusao are not from the same pantheon.

This book (PDF) is an introduction to Philippine folk spirituality and religion.

Here's an excerpt relevant to the series.

[Edit 6/14/2021] Just checked. Yep, this is definitely one of Budjette Tan's references. From the Trese: Mass Murders (Visprint ed) afterword:

While doing research for Trese's next villain, I read about the Talagbusao, the god of war, in "The Soul Book" and he sounded like a formidable foe. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me that the Kambal needed to be more powerful than any aswang or enkanto.

Transcription:

Assistant Deities and Powers

Below the Lord of the Upper Sky is a host of anitos or diwatas, many of whom can do as they please the more distant they are from him. According to Barton, who studied the Ifugao spirit world (1946), these spirits are believed to be immortal, to change form at will, to become invisible, and to transport themselves quickly through space. There are other attributes associated with these powerful spirits. While they can diagnose and cure illness, they can afflict men with misfortune, ill-luck, disease. They can recover a soul if it has been carried off, but they can also coax away a person's soul. Though they prevent the dead from molesting the living, they too cause death. Indeed they can devour parts of the living human body. Men's minds they influence to suggest courses of conduct, such as payment of debt without losing face; passions they dampen so that men will not fight during a celebration; and stomachs they tie to dull the appetite for food and drink. Those who propitiate them know that these invisible presences can increase rice even after it has been stored in the granary, ward off trespassers, make the hunt safe, and bring victory in battle.

Powerful spirits roughly divide into three categories: ancestor spirits, nature spirits, guardian spirits.

Spirits of Ancestral Heroes

Some ancestors, particularly those who were outstanding in farming, hunting, warfare and the arts, acquired more and more powers in the memory of their descendants as time went on. They became fabulous beings. The more illustrious hero-spirits arc remembered in the great epics. Others arc remembered as culture heroes who taught their people new skills.

Some ancestral heroes (Cole 1916; de los Reyes 1909):

Lumabat - first Bagobo mortal to attain the Skyworld (Cole 1916).

Handiong - the hero of the Bikol epic who freed the land from the ravages of wild animals, brought Bikolanos rice, and planted the fruits.

Lumawig - taught the Bontok headhunting, agriculture, the art of building council houses and men's dwellings, and a code of ethics.

Bantugan - the charming, indestructible, much-wedded hero who could repulse any invasion. His cult probably began when the Maranaws were still animist.

Nature Spirits

Not all ancestral spirits become deified. Many remain nameless spirits residing in dark majestic trees and in the deep woods.

Nature Spirits reside in the natural environment, such as trees, rocks, crags, rivers and volcanoes. Humanlike, but much more powerful, these unseen beings are credited with feelings and sensibilities. Accordingly they may be offended and thus cause harm, or they may be propitiated and their friendship gained. Some spirits are represented as being sensitive to a fault as many Filipinos are when confronted with an unfamiliar or unpleasant situation. People do create spirits according to their likeness. On the other hand Frank Lynch, the anthropologist, says that the Filipino's care in handling interpersonal relations may in fact be the result rather than the cause of this belief in an environment filled with sensitive spirits (1970). In moving about, he takes care not to displease the many invisibles who could punish him.

Nature spirits can be either malevolent or beneficent. As in Philippine society as a whole, it all depends on how you deal with them. If you ignore them and hurt their dignity, they can make you sick; however, if you acknowledge them and ask permission to pass by and give them offerings on occasion, then they will reward you.

Some nature spirits:

The Lord of the Mound - spirit of an old man who lives in a termite mound. Throughout prehistoric Southeast Asia, the earth mound was a locus of power probably because of its phallic shape. "Tabi, tabi po baka kayo mabunggo" (Excuse me, please, lest I bump you) is the polite way to pass one of these inhabited hills. Though invisible, the nuno can be grazed and thus retaliate with a fever or skin rashes.

The Tree Dwellers - Spirits reportedly resided in trees. Thus the Mandayas, who are the largest ethnic group in southwestern Mindanao, believe that tagbanuwa and tagamaling are spirits who dwell in caves and balete trees. The belief persists to this day even among Christian Filipinos. The Ilokano pugot and the Tagalog kapre are gigantic, cigar-smoking black spirits who sit in deserted houses and up a balete or banyan tree with feet dangling to the ground. They can, however, assume any size they want including that of an infant. Engkantos also dwell in trees. But the term itself and the description of them as tall, fair-skinned and light-haired beings with high-bridged noses is post-hispanic. Engkantos, male or female, sometimes fall in love with mortals and lavish gifts on them (Ramos 1971).

The Babes in the Woods- probably the souls of foetuses or dead children. They arc called by the Ilokanos kibaan. The creature is a foot high, dwells in the fields, can be scalded with boiling water, and even die. The kibaan gift friends with gold, a cloak that confers invisibility and a large cup of coconut which is inexhaustible. To those who throw hot water at them, the kibaan scatter powder which produces a disagreeable affliction (de los Reyes 1909). Closely related is the Tagalog patianak which wails in the forest, like a baby, but inflicts harm. Common in pre-Christian times was the practice of exposing infirm deformed babies in the fields and forests (Alcina 1960). Their heart-wrenching wailing must have given rise to these beliefs.

The Bloodthirsty and Implacable

Among traditional Filipinos, the embodiment of evil is a being that is neither fully human nor fully animal. It stands upright like human beings and has a face; but it preys on human flesh and makes the living sick so that when they die there is carrion for food. Unlike the devil of the Judaeo-Christian-Moslem tradition, this being does not harm the soul by tempting it to sin. The death it causes is physical rather than spiritual. Other spirits can be negotiated with: offerings and kind words win their toleration if not help. It is not possible to do so with these implacable beings. Thus people fear them the most.

The busaw feared by the Bagobos of Davao, people the air, the mountains and the forest. They are limitless in number. Most malignant is the busaw called tigbanua. One eye gapes in the middle of the forehead; a hooked chin two spans long upturns to catch the drops of blood that drip from the mouth; and coarse black hair bristles on the body (Benedict 1916). It frequents graves, empty houses and solitary mountain trails. Indeed it may make an appearance at any place outside the safety of one's home.

Guardian Spirits

They are believed to preside over specific human activities such as birth, marriage, and death; over hunting, fishing, farming and fighting. Beneficent and powerful, guardian spirits generally rule from the sky; some, however, stay in their areas of responsibility on earth or in the underworld.

SOME GUARDIAN GODS

ON THE FARM

lkapati- Tagalog goddess of fertility. guardian anito of agriculture

Magbangal - Bukidnon planter god who became the constellation that appears to signal the start of the planting season

Damolag - an anito of the early Zambals who protects the fruiting rice from winds and typhoons

Lakan-bakod - Tagalog guardian god of the fruits of the earth who dwells m certam kinds of plants used as fences. Some anitos carry the title "Lakan" or Prince They could have been deified kinglets

Pamahandi - protector of carabaos and horses of the Bukidnon.

WHEN FISHING

Amansinaya - anito of fishermen of the ancient Tagalogs to whom they offer their first catch. Hence the term pa-sinaya ("for Sinaya") still used today. Following the theory of god-making, Amansinaya could be the soul of a maiden who was drowned and became an anito of the water.

Libtakan- god of sunrise. sunset and good weather of the Manobo.

Makabosog - a merciful diwata of the Bisayans who provides food for the hungry. (He was once a chief in the Araut River on the coast of Panay)

IN THE FORESTS

Amani kable - ancient Tagalog anito of hunters.

Makaboteng - Tinggian spirit guardian of deer and wild hogs.

WHEN REARING A FAMILY

Mingan - goddess of the early Pampangos mate of the god Suku (Consorts of the gods fall under the " guardian" category)

Katambay - guardian anito for individuals, a kind of inborn guardian angel of the Bicols.

Malimbung - a kind of Aphrodite of the Bagobos This goddess made man crave for sexual satisfaction

Tagbibi- diwata protector of children of the mountain tribes of Mindanao

WHILE AT WAR

Mandarangan and Darago - Bagobo god and goddess of war Mandarangan is believed to reside in the crater of Apo Volcano on a throne of fire and blood

Talagbusao - the uncontrollable Bukidnon god of war who takes the form of a warrior with big red eyes wearing a red garment. This deity can enter a mortal warnor's body and make him fight fiercely to avenge a wrong. But Talagbusao can also drive him to insanity by incessant demand for the blood of pigs, fowls and humans.

AT DEATH

Masiken - guardian of the underworld of the lgorots, whose followers have tails

lbu - queen of the Manobo underworld whose abode is down below at the pillars of the world.

This information came from the following sources: Jocano 1969; de los Reyes 1909; Garvan 1931; Garvan 1941; Cole 1922; Benedict 1916; Dadole 1989; Mallari-Wilson 1968

--

Demetrio, F. R., Cordero-Fernando, G. and Zialcita, F. N. (1991). The soul book. GCF Books.

I think I cracked the ancient Tagalog naming code

Just think of two random syllables then put -naya in the end.

Boom! You have an ancient girl's name.

Think of two random syllables then put -yog in the end.

Boom! You have ancient boy's name.

Gender neutral? Usually ends with -it, -ki, -ti, or -ag

You can also use syllables enclosed in consonants like Lan-, Gan-, Hik-, Sin-, Nag-,

Examples:

Girls: Halanaya, Gidanaya, Amanaya, Kalanaya

Boys: Halayog, Gidayog, Amayog, Kalayog

Gender Neutral: Sarit, Dalit, Araki, Saraki, Halati, Lanit, Ganyaki, Sinag

Source? Malay ko. Panaginip siguro. I just think they're neat.

Hope this isnt too heavy to type about but where do you get online sources of precolonial filipino stuff? I've been wanting to learn about those too since I only have info on during the colonialism.

I'm so sorry I hadn't been checking my blog for a long time :(

Mostly, my sources were books in DLSU library, and I didn't remember the sources because I'm that stupid. Lol.

About the online sources... Well... I went to Wikipedia. As long as I see Damiana Eugenio and some credible historians in the references, it's okay.

Aswang project... I remember citing them once or twice. Still, remember to look at the references. If the article writer cross-checked at least 3 sources, that's okay.

Google Schoolar and university databases are also the pool of credible research papers about the topic. Unfortunately, they're usually aggregate Phil History books, and they only have 1 chapter for precolonial. I don't usually trust history books that only have a brief info about the precolonial.

AND LASTLY, Tumblr. Many Filipino Tumblr users have sources on the precolonial. Just search tags and you will probably see many. We're mostly mythology crazy, tho. (I will tag them when I gather them all)

Recently, I discovered this website where you can take online sources dedicated to Filipino Culture and learning. It's called Suyomano.

Still navigating this site, and woop, it's not free. There are lessons about filipino sophisticated arts and traditions here, it's just sad that only a handful can have access.

When I get my hands on them, I'll share them to you, lol. Who cares if that's illegal.

I hope these helped.

gen loves… [x]