The Aswang Complex in Philippine Folklore: With Illustrative Accounts in Vernacular Texts and Translations.This book is a bold attempt to present to the reader and to students of Filipino society and culture one of the dominant Filipino beliefs, the aswang. For some strange reason the belief has never been explored for its usefulness in the field of literature or social studies. Even educators shy away from it, branding the belief as superstitious and therefore hot to be perpetuated. While this view is entertained, however, there is continued use in the schools-including the nursery schools-of Western tales like "Hansel and Gretel," 'Rapunzel," "Snow White," and so forth, dealing with witches, dwarfs, and other people of lower mythology. It is sad to note that while we accept these stories as entertaining to our children, we reject our own folktales about equivalent characters as superstitious and undesirable.It is about time that we changed our perspective, that we accepted our own literary heritage and used it if we are to make education meaningful to our children. Maximo D. Ramos has provided us with one way to achieve this. Of course the present volume is only one of his many works on Philippine folklore.While he presents the materials in this book as folklore, these can also be regarded as ethnographic data in that they deal with one of the dominant aspects of Filipino folk culture. The aswang belief may be viewed as socially functional in many communities. Our own field notes on the subject matter indicate that aswang tales are used by many people as a medium of social control. For example, when a child frets at night or becomes unruly during the day, adult members of the family or sibling caretakers generally use the aswang belief as a means of quieting the child or of disciplining him. When one wishes to protect his fields from unnecessary trespass by others, all he has to do is make it known that an aswang haunts the place and no one will dare enter the premises, especially at night. Deviant behavior is also handled through avoidance, and the aswang label is handy for this purpose. Once the label is set, deviants are either coerced into conformity to what is acceptable behavior or are effectively deprived of their legitimate status in the community.Thus seen, it is understandable that the aswang belief has persisted in our society over such a long period of time.

A collection of 31 Myths, Legends, and Folktales from around the Philippines that showcase the rich and diverse cultural identity throughout the archipelago. The book includes some illustrations, making it a wonderful collection to share with children of Filipino ancestry, or anyone interested in learning about different cultures from around the globe. WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG: How People Were Created Why the Sun Is Brighter than the Moon The Coleto and the Crow The Legend of Mount Kanlaon Why Dogs Bare Their Teeth The Origin of Bananas IN THE PHILIPPINE ELFLAND: The Two Woodcutters and the Elf The Wee Folk The Frog Princess The Bridge of the Angels Two Boys and a Tianak The Elf's Gifts TALES OF LAUGHTER: The Tale of Pakungo-adipen The Man and the Lizard The Man Who Played Dead The Two Foolish Peddlers ANIMALS AND PEOPLE: The Monkeys and the Butterflies Three Friends Seek a Home The Monkey Prince Tale of the Kind-hearted Manobo The Monkey Who Became a Servant ADVENTURE TALES:Death and Datu Omar The Man Who Reached the Sky-World The Buried Treasure The Tale of Magbaloto Tale of the 101 Brothers and Their Sister The Tale of Sog-sogot The Enchanted Snail The Man Who Tried to Cheat Death The Tale of Diwata

Maximo D. Ramos wrote a number of books detailing the history and culture of the Philippines. Boyhood in Monsoon Country is a collection of little essays about village life as a boy. It is not just the content here, which presents a fascinating range of topics from the food to the bird life to even the mythological creatures that kept him and his friends scared of entering into the woods -- what really speaks to the reader is the lyrical and conversational quality of the writing. Ramos's observations are often hilarious, often poignant, and always stream of consciousness, like a warm grandfather relaying his adventures to his grandchildren who gather around him to take it all in. As Ramos explores his own life and times, his invitation is a simple but profound one: now that he has shared his life, he implores the reader to think about and celebrate their own. Reading Boyhood in Monsoon Country feels like an exchange of lives-- a conversation that lets us into Ramos' world, and encourages us to think of the humanity that unites us all. Contents: Early School Days We Had Gizzards of Iron We Had Food Specials, Too Our Peer Group The Games We Played The Birds We Knew Our Homely Names The Harmful Gods of Our Countryside We Had Just About All We Needed A Note to Agents of Change The Magic of Old Place-Names Holiday in Black Sweet Were the Uses of Necromancy Picnic Holy Week in Monsoon Country Glossary of lloko Terms

Many authors, ancient and modern, native and foreign, have been preoccupied with 'primitive' religion, or even better said, the paganism of the Natives of the Philippines; however, their writings about the religion of the natives, non-Christianized or from the mountains, who until now keep their ancient practices, are always reduced to form a chapter indistinct from the other historical or ethnographic notes of their published works. There exists no work, [major] or minor, dedicated specifically and especially to the study of the religion of all the indigenous races of the Philippine Archipelago. The purpose of this dictionary is to put together the religious groups of the Philippines, and removing those of Christian or Mohammedan origins. This work will provide an opportunity to make comparative studies and give an idea of the wealth of names that are in the mythologies of this country.

This book tells about 85 creatures of legend from Philippine Folklore. Many people believe that they exist and are afraid of them. The people of the ancient Philippines believed many things about the unseen creatures of the Philippine storyland. If you have met a good storyteller, he may have told you interesting legends about these creatures. And you may have asked a lot of questions about them which he could not answer. If you want to know more about these beings, turn the pages of this book, look at the pictures, and enjoy what is said about them. We call them creatures of midnight because it is said that they show themselves to people about the middle of the night.