This document summarizes 8 mythical creatures from Philippine folklore: The Tikbalang is a creature with a horse's head and long human limbs that leads travelers astray. Kapres are tall, dark, hairy giants that live in trees and may grant wishes. Bakunawa is a sea serpent believed to cause lunar eclipses by swallowing the moon. The Manananggal is a vampire that can separate its upper body from its lower half to hunt. Other creatures discussed include Haliya the lunar goddess; Dalikamata the clairvoyant goddess with thousands of eyes; Lakapati the genderless harvest deity; and the Berbalang, a ghoul-like

1. PHILIPPINE
MYTHOLOGICAL
CREATURE

2. The Philippine pantheon of creatures is expansive, consisting of a mix of beautiful and
powerful deities, bloodthirsty creatures, and downright inexplicable oddities. Yet when
most people talk about mythological creatures, it’s not uncommon to hear of Greek gods,
goddesses, centaurs, and cyclops, mystical creatures like unicorns and dragons, or those
from Western horrors like witches, vampires, and zombies.

3. HERE ARE 8 EXAMPLES OF PHILIPPINE
MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE REIMAGINED
Illustration by MARI HOSALLA

4. TIKBALANG
The tikbalang is a being that was said to
have long, stretched human limbs and the
head of a horse. It reportedly lives in the
mountains, where it would lead travelers
astray. It is said that when it rains while
the sun was shining, a tikbalang was
getting married

5. Kapres are known to be tall, dark, and
sometimes hairy beings that are neither
benevolent or malevolent (though some
believe that kapres may act out when
angered). They are tree-dwelling giants, often
believed to be hiding in mango and balete
trees, where they smoke and laze about.
According to some legends, kapres possess
magical items, such as an enchanted belt or a
mysterious stone, that should any person gain
possession of this, the kapre would grant
them a wish.
KAPRE

6. BAKUNAWA
Bakunawa is a sea serpent deity of Bicolano and Visayan origin.
In the Visayan version of the tale of Bakunawa, the beautiful sea
goddess transmogrified into a fearsome sea serpent when she was
spurned by the seven moons, the siblings of Haliya. Bakunawa
would fly into the night sky and swallow the seven moons whole,
save for Bulan, who was rescued by the god Sidapa, Mayari who
had escaped, and Haliya the masked goddess who would remain
to battle with her.
According to folklore, Bakunawa’s devouring of the moon (or
moons) explains the occurrence of a lunar eclipse. When this
would happen, priestesses would perform a ritual to call out to
the monster to release the moon.

7. MANANANGGAL
The manananggal is a vampire-like
creature that supposedly wreaks havoc
among provincial towns. The
manananggal is said to be capable of
severing its upper torso from its lower
torso, after which the upper torso
sprouts leathery wings and flies off into
the night to hunt and eat its prey:
humans. According to legend, one way
to defeat a manananggal is to find its
lower half and rub salt or crushed garlic
on where it has split itself in half,
making union between the two parts
impossible, thus killing it

8. HALIYA
Haliya is a lunar goddess worshipped
mainly by those who lived in pre-
colonial Bicol. Haliya’s arch enemy
was Bakunawa, a giant serpent who,
according to legend, had devoured
her brother Bulan, the embodiment of
the moon, whom she had sworn to
protect. Haliya is said to have forged
a mask of gold to hide her beauty.

9. Dalikamata was a clairvoyant
goddess in the Visayan pantheon.
She is said to have thousands of
eyes all over her body, each one
possessing the ability to see far
and wide and see everything that
was, is, and will be. In some
accounts, Dalikamata is also a
goddess who could heal.
DALIKAMATA

10. LAKAPATI
Lakapati was a harvest deity from the
Tagalog pantheon. Said to be a deity with a
merciful heart, they were also a divine
being who was a symbol of fertility.
Although often depicted as feminine, some
accounts say that they are genderless,
which represents balance of all things in
nature.

11. BERBALANG
The berbalang is a creature from
said to hail from smaller towns in
Mindanao. They are said to be ghoul-
like creatures, who lurk in
graveyards to feast on the blood of
corpses. They are similar in
appearance to humans, although
they have many characteristics
similar to the manananggal, such as
bat-like wings.