Manananggal
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A manananggal in Filipino folklore or penanggalan in Malay folklore is a mythical creature . It resembles a Western vampire in being an evil, human-devouring monster or witch. The myth of the Manananggal is popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines, especially in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Antique. There are varying accounts of the features of a manananggal. Like vampires, Visayan folklore creatures, and aswangs, manananggals are also said to abhor garlic. Folklore of similar creatures can be found in the neighbouring nations of Indonesia and Malaysia.
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[edit] Features
A manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman (as opposed to an aswang), capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the night with huge bat-like wings to prey on unsuspecting pregnant women in their homes; using an elongated proboscis-like tongue, it sucks the hearts of fetuses or blood of an unsuspecting, sleeping victim. The severed lower torso is left standing and it is said that the manananggal is in its most vulnerable state. Sprinkling salt, smearing crushed garlic or ash on top of the standing torso is fatal. The upper torso then would not be able to rejoin and will die at daybreak. The name of the creature originates from an expression used for a severed torso: Manananggal comes from the Tagalog, tanggal (cognate of Malay and Indonesian tanggal) which means to remove. Manananggal then means the one who removes.
[edit] Proliferation
A manananggal is also said to create other manananggals by tricking ordinary persons to drink the manananggal's saliva or blood, similar to the vampires' making an ordinary person to drink vampire blood.
[edit] Capiz
The province of Capiz is the subject or focus of many manananggal stories, similarly with the stories of other types of mythical creatures, such as ghosts, goblins, ghouls and aswangs. Among the indigenous people, Capiz has a reputation of having many of these creatures.
[edit] Tabloids and Malaysia
Superstitious folk in the Vizayan provinces still hang cloves of garlic or onion around windows, doors, etc. with the purpose of repelling this creature as well as the aswang. They are a favorite theme for sensationalist tabloids. They may be a product of mass hysteria or intentionally propagated to keep children off the street, home at night and wary or careful of strangers, or simply to entertain them. Similar folklore can be found in the neighbouring Malaysia although with notable differences noted below.
In Malaysian folklore, Manananggal is referred to as Penanggal or Penanggalan which literally means "detach", "to detach", "remove" or "to remove". Both terms - Manananggal and Penanggal - may carry the same meaning due to both languages being grouped or having a common root under the Austronesian language family. In Malaysian folklore, a Penanggal may either be a beautiful old or young woman who obtained her beauty through the active use of black magic, supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means which is most commonly described in local folklores to be dark or demonic in nature. Another cause where one becomes a Penanggal in Malaysian folklore is due the result of a powerful curse or the actions of a demonic force although this method is less common than the active use of black magic abovementioned. All Penanggal are females and there is no variation in Malaysian folklore to suggest a Penanggal to be male.
A notable difference between a Penanggal and Manananggal is that a Penanggal detaches only her head with her lungs, stomach and intestines attached to it while leaving the body in a pre-prepared container filled with vinegar to preserve the body against rapid decomposition. Additionally, unlike the Manananggal which uses a proboscis-like tongue, a Penanggal is also commonly depicted as having fangs. The number of fangs varies from one variation of the folklore to another ranging from two which is common to vampirekind in folklore to a mouthful of fangs. A Penanggal is said to feed on human blood or human flesh although local folklore (including its variations) commonly agree that a Penanggal prefers the blood of a newborn infant or the blood of woman who recently gave birth or the placenta (which is devoured by the Penanggal after it is buried). All folklores also agree that a Penanggal flies as it searches or lands to feed. One variation of the folklore however claims that a Penanggal is able to phase or pass through walls.
The most common remedy prescribed in Malaysian folklore to protect against a Penanggal attack is to scatter the thorny leaves of a local plant known as Mengkuang which would either trap or injure the exposed lungs, stomach or intestines of the Penanggal as it flies in search of its prey. A prescribed method of permanently killing a Penanggal requires for it to be carefully followed and tracked back to its lair (which is always well hidden), the person or creature to be positively identified and the act of destroying it is carried out the next time the Penanggal detaches itself from its body. Once the Penanggal leaves its body and is safely away, it may be permanently destroyed by either pouring pieces of broken glass into the empty neck cavity which will sever the internal organs of the Penanggal when it reattaches to the body or by sanctifying the body and then destroying the body by cremating it or by denying the Penanggal from reattaching to its body upon sunrise.
Due to the common theme of Penanggal being the result of active use of black magic or supernatural means, a Penanggal cannot be readily classified as a classical undead being or a vampire as per Western folklore or literature since the creature is, for all intent and purposes, a living human being during daytime or at any time when it does not detach itself from its body.
[edit] Other terms and versions
Aswang- Manananggals are popularly referred to as Aswangs. But this is because the term Aswang is also generic and can refer to all types of ghouls, mananangals, witches(Mangkukulam), etc.
Tik-tik - Aside from aswang, manananggals are sometimes referred to as tik-tik. The sound it is supposed to be making while flying. The fainter the sound the nearer it is. This is to confuse the victim. The Tik-tik eats a child in the mothers womb causing the body or face of the child to be disformed. Its apparitions are black cats and crows.
[edit] Other Filipino mythological creatures
- Multo, a ghost
- Kapre, a giant
- Tikbalang, half horse, half man.
- Aswang, a ghoul
- Santelmo,a spirit in the form of a fireball
[edit] See also
- Philippine mythology
- Pontianak – Blood sucking creature in a form of a baby that turns into what is known to be the child of the devil.
- Krasue – Floating vampiric female head and entrails that is similar to manananggal.
