Philippine Tales (Anthology of Philippine Mythology and Folklore)

Creatures of Philippine Folklore

People have always been curious about the unknown. The Filipinos of ancient times, just like many races around the globe, nurture a strong belief in the supernatural. In fact, it is one of the main factors that govern their everyday lives from past to present.

Due to the diversity of ethnic groups, the Philippines is enriched with different versions of stories involving mythical gods and beings of other worlds. Oftentimes, they are depicted as the evil beings in horrific tales told to children to scare them and prevent them from wandering off at night.

The belief in these beings is further fortified in some Filipinos because of actual accounts of encounters (believed as true) by their lolo or lola (great grand parents).

After the introduction of Catholicism in the 1500's along with other religions such as Islam, the Filipinos started believing in one God and centered their lives on faith and religion.

Nevertheless, many of them still believed in the presence of supernatural occurrences and existence from the myths of long ago like the aswang, kapre, manananggal, and other mythological creatures.

Filipinos also treasure their belief in the afterlife, something our ancestors are already aware of. It is not impossible for people to believe in spirits or ghosts both of people and of nature. In fact, the Filipinos have a large number of superstitious beliefs on spirits, the afterlife, and other worlds.

Although the Filipino culture has quite changed, these primeval beliefs and values are acknowledged as a form of appreciation of where their lineage began.

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