VALENCIA — In the interest of rational discussion, I feel compelled to write an article on the topic of aswangs because I cannot resist the temptation to write about a topic so rich in comedy. I don’t want to mock this kind of belief, but I can’t help it.
For the uninitiated, let me inform you that aswangs (or asuwangs) are mythical creatures in Filipino folklore.
The aswang is an inherently evil vampire-like creature, and is the subject of a wide variety of myths and stories. Spanish colonists noted that the aswang was the most-feared among the mythical creatures of the Philippines, even in the 16th century.
In some provinces in the Philippines, they believe that aswangs can not only fly looking for prey (only the top half of them flies — they leave the lower halves of their bodies on the ground), but can also cast spells on anyone they dislike. That is some power, indeed!
Recently, I heard stories about a particular woman who was accused of being an aswang by her neighbors in one of the coastal towns here in Negros Oriental. I was told that this particular woman used to live along with her husband in another town, but were forced to leave the place due to the same accusation by the people in that town as well. So, after living in this new place for some time now, the people in this coastal community decided to accuse this particular woman of being an aswang by apparently putting spells on people from whom she had tried and failed to “borrow” money.
According to one of the members of the community, a friend of hers claimed that this aswang woman came to borrow money from her but was denied. The alleged aswang was upset and uttered some threatening words. Unfortunately, the next day, the woman who denied her the money became ill. So word spread in the community about the incident, and some people claimed that this particular incident was not an isolated one, and that they also knew of other people who claimed to have gotten sick when they refused any request from this aswang.
For the people in this community, the ultimate proof that this woman is really an aswang is because her husband brags about it when he gets drunk by saying that his wife has some powers and potions for casting spells.
And so the woman was forced again to relocate somewhere, in fear that she and her husband would be in danger from the rest of the community.
How is it that people in this day and age can actually believe in such phenomena, and not just for fun or for scary stories, but actually to the point of persecuting a neighbor as they did in the Salem witch trials?
It indicates to me that civilization hasn’t come a long way in this part of the world.
But putting all that aside, certain logical inconsistencies come to mind. If aswangs have powers beyond any normal human beings, wouldn’t they always have comfortable lives, since they can just put spells on others to further their financial interests? Why is this powerful woman borrowing money from her neighbors who probably don’t have enough to lend in the first place? If aswangs can fly, wouldn’t it be rational to think that they can actually use that flying capability to improve their lifestyle?
I’m very sure that anyone of us who has the ability to fly will not be living in poverty. Take Count Dracula: he lives like a prince in Transylvania, and when he moved to London, he always maintained a classy lifestyle. So why wouldn’t these aswangs do the same?
Furthermore, why is it always a woman who inspires such fear, and who is being blamed for everything that doesn’t work out in the community?
Why can’t they blame the husband who apparently gets drunk all the time (wasting good money) and sounds like a very unsupportive partner?
No offense to people who believe in mysticism, but when it goes beyond campfire and bedtime stories, to make sense of our fear that we cannot otherwise explain, I guess I have a problem with it.
These great stories are fun, but they’re not real. In the real world, real lives are at stake. It’s not funny or entertaining when peoples’ lives are threatened by others in their communities based only on “hearsay”, conjecture, and irrational belief.
Let’s just hope this particular “aswang” has finally found a community in which she can live peacefully.
And by the way, let’s just hope she’s not really an aswang. Wouldn’t it be ironic if she upgraded her lifestyle, living in an exclusive subdivision here in Dumaguete? That would be the ultimate joke of all….
