TENIENTE GIMO

When the Guest Becomes the Main Course

The Shake, Rattle and Roll film franchise introduced to us a kind of story plot that has become a staple in today’s countless horror flicks; people from the big city being invited by a friend from an isolated barrio, from a far flung province, to celebrate their fiesta. Little does the guest know, they will be feasted upon by the hordes of hungry aswang (or any man eating beast) hiding in the guise of a harmless neighbourhood. These creepy tales might take their inspiration from the classic, yet spine chilling, story of Teniente (Lieutenant) Gimo from Dueñas, Iloilo. By most accounts, Gimo was an individual who had an important position or status in his barrio (Teniente del Barrio or Baranggay Captain), so no one really bothered themselves to doubt the real identity.

It is said that Gimo’s daughter invited her friend into their house for a simple yet sumptuous dinner. Because transportation is quiet hard in their barrio and night was coming fast, the daughter of the teniente invited her friend to stay the night. The two shared a bed in the humble home. Although everything seemed safe and sound, there were things that kept the guest agitated and restless. From her bed, she could hear more guests arriving from the neighbourhood. She peaked out the window and saw a large cauldron in the backyard. Trying to sleep, she couldn’t help but notice that the teniente checked their room thrice during the night. Discomforted and suspicious, she asked the daughter of Gimo to switch places. She would sleep near the window while the daughter would sleep near the door. As it happened on the fourth time the door of the room opened, Teniente Gimo, together with some of their other guests,  grabbed the person nearest the door and put her in a sack. They proceeded to the backyard where the cauldron was already boiling hot. Unlike the film version, the supposed “dinner” of the Aswang managed to escape from their clutches.

Whether due to the film, a specific incident, or just gossip, stories have spread all over the Philippines about the flesh eating Teniente from Dueñas, Iloilo.

MARIA LABO

Urban Legends of a Scar-Faced Woman

There is a gruesome story of a woman, turned vampire, somewhere from Iloilo or Capiz that took rural and urban communities by storm. A caring mother and wife wanted to give her family an affluent life, so she tried her luck inCanada as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW).  It was said that this lady worked for an employer who was suffering from an unknown disease. Later on before his dying breath, the employer passed on his allegedvampiric power to the unknowing caregiver. The lady accepted the said power without knowing the staggering price she would pay. The effect of the curse only took hold as the OFW returned home to the Philippines.  

The hunger for human flesh became so dominating, that she eventually killed and cooked her two sons. She was then emerged as full-fledged Aswang, a Philippine folklore creature akin to the vampires and ghouls of western mythology.  All hell broke loose when her husband arrived home and saw the twisted acts of his wife. The insanity of the affliction and her craving for human flesh made her offer the cooked flesh to her husband. Fierce fury drove the husband to attack his wife with a bolo.  Slashing with a blind fury.

The woman received a serious wound in her face, but managed to escape. Until today she is said to roam all over the Philippines in search of her next meal. In time this lady would be known as “Maria Labo” (labo is an Ilonggoterm which means “to slash” using a bolo knife or itak) due to the large scar that make her a grotesque figure of nightmares.

Nangangatok, Who’s Knocking At Your Door?

Nangangatok, Who’s Knocking At Your Door?

The Nangangatok are usually invisible spirits that are harbingers of terrible things to come. People are advised to peek through the window first when someone knocks before opening their doors or they might let the Nangangatok inside their house.   Unlike the Kumakatok (“door knockers”), a group of three robed figures believed by many in the Philippines to knock on doors in the middle of the night and bring bad omens, you will never see the Nangangatok. The Kumakatok allegedly look like humans but wear hoods that obscure their faces. One resembles a young female, while the other two look like elderly men.

The Nangangatok will knock on the door of a home. If the door is opened by a member of the household, they will not see anyone. A few days later, something terrible happens – like sickness or death. People are advised to peek through a window first when they hear someone knocking at their door. If they don’t see anyone outside, they must not open it.  The Nangangatok will move on to their next victim.

Nangangatok

A Nangangatok Tale

 A lot of people don’t have the best impression of backpacking, but there are a lot of things worth seeing. Once you get off the regular roads, away from all the tourists and really settle down in the rhythm of the local life you’ll discover just how much it has to offer.

I went to a small town not far from Manila to start my journey in the Philippines. After a few misadventures with some buses and some jeepneys, I stopped by this tiny community on the edge of a mountainside called Sta. Montinola. I was hungry so the moment I saw a Bulalo shop, I dropped my bags and did my best to interact with the locals.

 They were very kind people, they told me all about the places I should visit around their town. The hot spring, the mountainside, and the beautiful river were all wonderful surprises. This is why I enjoy backpacking. You get to see sights that aren’t on any tour map or travel blog. You get to see the beauty of the area on your own.The town itself had very interesting architecture. I was about to knock on a door when a local grabbed my hand and stopped me. He explained that the door was covered in bubog (broken glass) and that I should use the doorbell instead. I asked why they would put something so dangerous on a door and if it causes accidents but the local just said that that’s the way they do things in this town, it helps people live longer.(http://www.aswangproject.com/nangangatok-door-knocking-spirits/)

LEGEND OF ANGGITAY

LEGEND OF ANGGITAY

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl, a descendant of a datu who was punished by Lubay Lubyok ni Mahuyokhuyokan and turned into the first "taiho" or the Philippine Centaur, her name was Angga (means " love" in visayan) Angga was beautiful but very vain and selfish, the god Barangaw fancies her and wherever she goes a rainbow appears. She also had a penchant for shiny things and loved jewels very much, that she isn't above stealing the jewels and precious things of others to adorn her milky white body. One day, she happened to pass by a sacred grove of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan and saw her servants, dwarves carrying gold on sacks, and followed them, she asked them to whom this bulawan belongs, they answered "only to the fairest among the earth's children, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan". Angga got jealous and arrogant, and proclaimed herself being the fairest of earth's children, she then rushed home and told the villagers to build her a throne encrusted with jewels and gold and carry her back to the shrine of BPSB. Her arrogance and fury boiled over and shouted, "Nothing and no one is more fairer than me, only I deserve those earthly treasures!"  

In a flash of golden light, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, appeared before the girl. The townspeople fled but they were all turned into yellow field mice in a flash, BPSB then stepped hard on the girls toes, and they turned into golden hooves, she then conked the girl in the forehead with her golden slipper and a big ivory horn grew, she then cursed the girl for her folly of declaring higher than any deity and made her the image of her ancestor, the lusty datu, into a half-woman, half horse and everyone would flee from her hideousness. Barangaw however felt pity on the girl and blessed her with her good looks back, even though she still has a horn and is half horse, and gave her the power to ride the rainbow, and take shelter at the end of the rainbow. Up to this day, natives believe, when you see a rainbow, make sure of it, an Anggitay is at large at the end of it, still looking for Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan's coffer of gold!  

The curse of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan turned the girl into the first anggitay, promising she would be reverted to normal if she is able to collect 7 sacks of gold. Barangaw promised to continue helping the girl, and they would hunt for it after the rain (BPSB does not like getting wet), however BPSB also blew some gold dust in her eyes, which makes her see mirages of golden forms from a distant, that way she is eternally bound to her monster form for she cannot finish her task!

LEGEND OF GABI PLANT

Legend of Gabi Plant

One children’s folktale about the legend of the Gabi Plant (taro plant) states that once upon a time there was a girl named Matahumon Gab-i (Beautiful Night) whose beauty was the talk of the town. However this girl had a really ugly attitude, stubborn, vain and disrespectful of people, and as much as the people adored her beauty, they stay away from her or her house near the river because she was known to have an ill-temper and would throw stoned and mud at anyone who dares come near her property. One morning though, Matahumon Gab-I was bathing on the river when the river god passed by, he saw her beauty and was quite smitten by the maidens beauty at first sight. The river god wanted to marry her at once, and so he disguised himself first as a handsome youth. He approached the girl but she rebuffed him saying that she only wants mature gentlemen who has money and fame, and she returned to her house without even looking at him twice. The next day, the river god took on the form of a wealthy, older gentleman and knocked on the girl’s door. The girl opened the door but was unimpressed by the man in front of her and she shouted at him to go away. The river god pleaded for her kindness, and asked if he could at least let him in and give him a bowl of water to drink. Matahumon Gab-i was furious, so instead she gave the man a bowl of muddy water and threw it onto his face, and proceeded to threaten the river god with stones if he doesn’t leave her house. This time, it was the god’s turn to be angry and he revealed his true form to the lady, cursing her and telling her she does not deserve a beautiful name as Matahumon, she should have been named only Gab-I instead because her heart was as black as night. The girl realized the folly of her actions and knelt down, to beg for forgiveness, but as she opened her mouth, a sudden flash flood of muddy water from the river entered her house, drowning the woman and destroyed her entire house. The next day, everyone saw that Matahumon Gab-I’s house was nowhere to be found, even her body cannot be seen no matter how much they dig the muddy spot where her house once stood. And even if she had been so cruel and ill-tempered to all of them, they still felt sorry for her and began to weep for her till night time. And just as they were about to return to their homes that night, a plant suddenly grew in front of them. They studied the plant and they noticed that it’s leaves were waxy and rough like the girl’s heart, one of them chewed on a leaf and found it to be stinging and inedible, stating that it was just as bad as Matahumon’s attitude. One woman however decided to take the plant home and took care of it until it multiplied in her backyard near the river, she even named it after the girl and called it Gabi since it sprouted during the night time while they were mourning for her. One day, the woman had nothing left to cook in the house, and her entire family was starving. The desperate woman heard a woman’s voice that sounded like Matahumon from outside and so she followed it and it led her to the gabi patch. The voice then told her to uproot the plant and taught her how to prepare the root and the leaves, and in no time, she was able to feed her family. The woman thanked Matahumon in her prayers and she proceeded to tell the neighbors that Matahumon has repented for her ill-behavior and has brought them the wonderful Gabi plant as her repentance.

TINAGONG DAGAT

Did you heard about Tinagong dagat?

 In my place, I’ve heard a lot of stories about tinagong dagat.

Some says it exist near the peak of Mt. Madjaas, where unseen and fancy creatures live, but according to my research Tinagong dagat truly exist but not in Mt. Madjaas, but  in Lambunao, Ilo-Ilo. I have here a story about tinagong dagat

In the town of Lambunao, there loved a young man named Nagong who is mighty, strong, hardworking and kindhearted. Nagong is the pillar of his old parents.

One day, when the young man is going home from a whole day of work when he meets a lady who seems like a goddess in with her beauty. This lady was Agat.

The two creatures seems like they are having an illusion in their first encounter. In that instance, love springs up in their hearts but due to being conservative Agat immediately look down humbly.

The two who harbor pure affection for each other seems being brought closer by heaven. Soon, their hearts became one. The next few days witness of endless joy only to be cut short. One afternoon their sweet conversation was disturbed by violence of Agat's father. The father slapped his daughter and humiliated Nagong. Agat was imprisoned in their own home. Thus is the suffering felt by the lovers.

Until such Nagong thought of passing by the area just to have a glimpse of Agat. In the darkness of the night he was met by the mother of Agat who looks like in distress. She is looking for her daughter who disappeared. Nagong anxiously entered the forest to look for Agat. In the shores of the river of their rendezvous the lovers meet. They were so grateful to God after they meet.

Nagong and Agat decided to leave away from their families. The difficulties of life was bared by the two in the wilderness

However their blissful life together is just short-lived. Agat suffered a serious illness. It seems like the world has stopped for Nagong with the death of Agat. He watched the tomb of his love at all times. Day and night the young man weeps due to overwhelming grief. He was caught by sickness and death. The tears that springs from his eyes miraculously became a river which was the origin of TINAGONG DAGAT which was the burial site of Nagong and Agat. Indeed a great love cannot be faded with time, it will leave an imprint that will remain forever.