The Legendary Tengu

Japanese legends describe a creature, in most cases, a class of supernatural creatures, called the tengu, a bird with four limbs in addition to wings that lives in the mountains and forests of Japan. It often looks somewhat humanoid generally being depicted in Japanese folklore as anthropomorphic birds of prey - typically crows. In fact, this creature is thought to be a shapeshifter, a creature able to assume human form whenever it wants. Different tengu resemble various types of bird, including crows, ravens and eagles. The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is widely considered the tengu’s defining characteristic in the popular imagination.

The legendary Tengu were often seen as avian-man mountain gods, but there are many traditions for what they are. They are variously described as being cursed humans, demigods, demons, spirits, or a separate race of living beings. Tengu is one of the most famous and ubiquitous creatures in Japanese folklore and originally Buddhism long held that the tengu were disruptive demons and harbingers of war, however, their image gradually softened into one of protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests.

Tengu are born from giant eggs and stories abound of travelers coming across Tengu nests filled with their giant eggs high in the remote mountains. One egg was said to be enough to feed an entire family, but few would dare to disturb them for fear of the Tengu’s wrath. Tengu have been known to possess a wide array of supernatural powers, including teleportation, telepathy, premonition, thought projection (they were thought to be able to invade a person’s mind and drive them insane).


Drawing of a Tengu

In their last incarnation as humans, tengu were arrogant samurai or priests-that is why they have beaks or long noses. The expression tengu ni naru is thus an admonition to avoid being arrogant. If they do good deeds, however, tengu can be reborn as humans.

Tengu, unlike obake (ghosts), are always shown with feet. Yamabushi tengu usually have extremely wrinkled feet to show their old age. The wings of bird tengu are usually shown with ordinary feathers. However, some authorities describe the wings as shimmering, like those of a hummingbird. This would be in keeping with their heavenly origin.

The original incarnation of the Tengu was animalistic, more avian than human, and was typically portrayed as looking variously like anything from simply a giant bird of prey, to a vaguely humanoid form covered in feathers, with wings, piercing eyes, a compact head with a prominently beaked face, and heavy, vicious looking talons. They are depicted both with clothing and without. These animal-like beings were known as the “Karasu Tengu,” or literally “Crow Tengu,” although they could just as often look like eagles or other birds. The Karasu Tengu were known as evil creatures, prone to abducting children, starting fires, and savagely killing anyone foolish enough to do damage to their forest lair. These were violent creatures, said to enjoy ripping travelers limb from limb, and they were thought to be heralds of disaster, war, and doom wherever they went.

Relics relating to Tengu can be found in temples around Japan. For instance, the Hachinohe Museum in Aomori prefecture houses the alleged mummified remains of a Tengu. The skull of these remains is humanoid, while the body is covered with feathers and the feet are like that of a bird. Another temple in Saitama prefecture keeps what is said to be the talon of a Tengu, while still another supposedly has the beaked skull of one.

Could any real animal be behind these legends? If we go the other route and look at the humanoid characteristics that are sometimes present, we run into the realm of winged men.

Japanese Mythology Meets Modern Sightings

There was a story about an incident in 1952, U.S. Pvt. Sinclair Taylor had the experience while on guard duty. This took place at Camp Okubo in Kyoto Japan. The Pvt. heard a loud flapping sound and scanning the sky found what first appeared to be a large bird in the moonlight. It came closer and he put a round in his rifle.

The thing in the air watched the Pvt. for a few moments, not coming closer then continued its descent. He could see a man like body, one 7 ft tall or more . It’s wingspan from his position seemed very near the height. As it made contact with the ground he emptied his rifle. When he checked to see the condition of his target, if he’d struck it, it was gone.

The Sargent of the Guard investigating the gun fire told him he believed his story and that a year earlier another guard had seen the same thing. In a singular case it would have less impact and believability. There is also the point that military personnel, like Police officers, are not likely to discharge their weapons in a haphazard way. There is a stringent set protocol for their use, and the bearer of the weapon is responsible for each round fired.

There is also the fact that in Asia, these winged figures are more common than you’d think. Ufologist Don Worley also related a tale from Earl Morrison, who was among the First Marine Division in Vietnam. His story is of the same eerie sort, a winged object that once closer, could be identified as a humanoid figure. In this case the soldier claimed it was woman, a naked woman, completely black, hair, skin, wings all the same, yet there was the added feature of a greenish glow about her. It illuminated her in the night.

She flew directly over them, blotting out the moon for a moment, and then surprisingly, once 10ft away they could hear the flapping of her wings, something they had not heard before. She was watched as she flew away towards their encampment. Among the details of this story is the fact that she was completely silent when approaching and over them, and then heard leaving. This seems to point towards an effect she may have used on them. It could also be their shock, initially blocking the recognition of such sound out.

There is also a similarity to the large owls mentioned in abduction literature. The Tengu were seen at times as large birds and owls. They were like the Mothman harbingers of doom.

There is, among the Japanese, as much a familiarity with the tengu as the western world has with Angels.

The world over the frightening stories of winged figures seen by old and young, and the modern accounts from Air-force bases of all places, should grab our attention. What were the soldiers mentioned earlier in these Asian countries dealing with?

In Tengu Territory

Could any real animal be behind the Tengu legends? In the world of Japanese monsters, it does not seem likely that it represents a new species. Yet considering how prevalent they are in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature and even appearing in earliest representations of tengu appear in Japanese picture scrolls, such as the Tenguzōshi Emaki (天狗草子絵巻?), painted ca. 1296, there must be something to its origins.

One notorious tengu from the 12th century was said to be the ghost of an emperor. The Hōgen Monogatari tells the story of Emperor Sutoku, who was forced by his father to abandon the throne. When he later raised the Hōgen Rebellion to take back the country from Emperor Go-Shirakawa, he was defeated and exiled to Sanuki Province on Shikoku. According to legend he died in torment, having sworn to haunt the nation of Japan as a great demon, and thus became a fearsome tengu with long nails and eyes like a kite’s.

In stories from the 13th century, tengu began to abduct young boys as well as the priests they had always targeted. The boys were often returned, while the priests would be found tied to the tops of trees or other high places. All of the tengu’s victims, however, would come back in a state of near death or madness.

Could this be indicative of some parallels between the story of the Tengu and that of another well known phenomenon, the Mothman? When trying to find answers, there seem to be some similarities worth exploring.  Not only do the Mothman and Tengu resemble each other in physical appearance, but there are also similarities between the transformation both creatures underwent from earlier to later versions. In the case of the Mothman, there were the original eyewitness reports of a bird-like creature that later became the more humanoid, supernatural creature popularized by Keel. This later transformation into the more humanoid, paranormal, and generally more outlandish Mothman championed by Keel conflicted with the first eyewitness reports of winged creatures that could have been more grounded in cryptozoology. With Mothman, It is possible that what started out as sightings of a possibly real animal became something more with Keel’s involvement and perhaps further embellishment by later eyewitnesses.

Both Mothman and Tengu started out as winged mystery creatures that were more bird-like in their beginnings, and both share the current popular image as flying, winged distinctly humanoid beings. As fantastic as these current versions may seem, could there have been a real animal at the core of the origins of both of these creatures, indeed perhaps even behind many of the other winged humanoids reported around the world? If the story of Mothman could possibly have had its beginnings in sightings of a real animal, could the same not be true of Tengu? These similarities between the transformation of Mothman from winged cryptid to paranormal winged humanoid, and that of Tengu from animalistic versions to more humanized versions, both possessing increasingly vast supernatural powers, are worthy of consideration.

Even if the culprit was merely a large owl, as is often argued in the case of Mothman, there could be a similar influence on the early versions of Tengu as well. Japan is home to one of the largest species of owl, the Blakiston’s fish owl, which has a wing span of up to 180 cm (6 feet).


A Blakiston’s fish owl

Under the right circumstances, an owl this large seems like it certainly has the potential to give rise to sightings that, in conjunction with Buddhist folklore and mythology brought over from China, could fuel stories of something like the Tengu. Although the Blackiston’s fish owl is found only in Hokkaido today, perhaps it once enjoyed a larger range in Japan that we are not aware of. There are also other species of owl in Japan, such as the long eared owl, and an exceptionally large specimen could possibly have had something to do with the early accounts of Tengu as well. It seems worth considering that there could have even been some currently unknown species of large bird at work.

It also seems at least worth considering the cryptozoological possibilities behind this creature’s origins.

One hypothesis that has been suggested is that stories of the Tengu could have perhaps been influenced by birds that had demonstrated some sort of physical abnormality. For instance, there are quite a few documented cases of four legged chickens.

This sort of defect could maybe give the bird the appearance of having arms as well as legs. Perhaps this sort of abnormality could even have been seen in other birds such as crows as well, which would certainly give new importance to the term “Karasu Tengu.” Four legged chickens bear little resemblance to even the most avian looking Tengu, but perhaps deformities such as this had something to do with early stories of bird-like Tengu, which then became imbued with more folkloric elements and human characteristics over time and subsequent generations. Mutations that do this could occur in different species, leading to the variety shown in the legends. Mutations that produce four legs are actually quite well-known in chickens.

In the end, we are left with a perplexing question. Is the Tengu simply pure fabrication, myth, and fantasy, or is there perhaps something more to it? Whether Tengu is a class of supernatural creatures, an giant owl species or mutant bird, there is still widespread belief all over the world in the existence of fabulous birds that include sinister, aggressive, birdlike creatures, so could the Tengu be known to other cultures but as a different myth or cryptid?


Tengu from 1776 bestiary, depicted as a goblin-kite.

The Tengu has such a prominent place in folklore and traditions in Japan, and is so steeped in supernatural imagery, that it is hard to say where the truth ends and the myth begins, as with all lore. However, considering the possible cryptozoological origins in the case of Mothman, as well as known animals of Japan such as the badger, fox, and raccoon dog, that over time were given a similarly mythical status and fantastical abilities, it certainly is interesting to speculate about.

Sources: newanimal.org/tengu.htm, themidnightobserver.wordpress.com/tag/loren-coleman/, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu, cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/tengu

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The Aswang Vampire Demon from the Phillipines (Philippine Ghoul)

The myth of the Aswang is well known throughout the Philippines, except in the Ilocos region, which is the only region that does not have an equivalent myth. It is especially popular in the Western Visayan regions such as Capiz, Iloilo and Antique. Other regional names for the Aswang include “tik-tik” and “wak-wak.” It’s interesting to note, however, that the tik-tik and wak-wak might be entirely separate entities, and not necessarily aswangs. The aswang is probably the Philippines’ most pervasive supernatural creature. In terms of popularity, it is the Philippine equivalent of the Western Werewolf/Vampire.

Spanish colonizers noted that the Aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures of the Philippines, even in the 16th century.

The modern Philippines is a country composed of numerous peoples whose belief systems survive, some in a rather secularized form, in spite of several centuries of Islamic and Christian missions and the development of a host of modern indigenous religions. The tribes of the Philippine Islands had an elaborate mythology, which included demonic beings, dragons, were-animals, giants, ghouls, and vampires. The Capiz section of the island of Panay was especially associated with the vampire, where many were believed to reside.

But unlike the vampire that rises from the grave at night to drink the blood of the living, the Aswang in popular folklore is also a flesh eater of both the living and the dead.


Land of the Aswang

 It is difficult to encapsulate in one sentence what an aswang is but a lot of people across different ethnicities agree on a lot of things about it : (1) that its diet consists mainly of human liver and blood, (2) that it has an unholy preference for unborn children. (3) that it is also known to prey upon children and sick people.

Over the years, the term ‘aswang’ has been used as a catch-all category applied to just about any supernatural creature in Philippine folklore, including witches, lycanthropes and other beastly things. So, on a broader sense, the term Aswang can be used to denote the entire menagerie of evil beings in Philippine folklore. On a stricter sense however, the Aswang (or Asuwang) is said to be an inherently evil vampire-like creature that can take the shape of a human being and can change shape at will without severing any part of its body. Thus, the half-bodied flier called the Manananggal is strictly different from the Aswang. A subspecies perhaps?

The aswang can probably be best described as a flesh-eating ghoul. The original definition is an eater of the dead, also called the bal-bal (maninilong in Catanauan, Quezon). The trademark or major feature of Aswangs which distinguish them from other Filipino mythological creatures is their propensity to replace stolen cadavers with the trunk of a banana tree carved in the cadaver’s likeness.

Aswang stories and definitions vary greatly from region to region and person to person, and no particular set of characteristics can be ascribed to the term. However, the term is mostly used interchangeably with manananggal and are said to be female in gender.



Appearance and characteristics

Supposedly, an aswang can look like ordinary human being, often appearing as a beautiful woman or an old man. As previously mentioned, the Aswang is linked to shapeshifting so it may also transform into an “ugly” beast, taking the form of animals like pigs, dogs, or other monsters like the sigbin or balbal. Hunting its prey, it will disguise itself as an animal until it finds an opportunity to attack and kill its victim.

The lore suggests that an aswang lives as an ordinary person by day and prefers to take occupations related to meat, such as butchery. They live in secluded areas of barrios far from the townsfolk, usually isolating themselves from the public, appearing to be quiet and shy. An aswang can be distinguished from a human by its bloodshot eyes. Elderly rural folks say that in order to detect an aswang one must look at it from an inverted position.

It is believed that when an Aswang approaches or is within the vicinity of your home, the oil boils and continue to froth with bubbles until the Aswang departs.

Aswang in Philippine folklore is the most feared creature

The people in Capiz lace their homes with garlic bulbs, holy water, and many other objects to repel the Mananggal creature. Pregnancy brings a feeling of dread for the people of Capiz since the long-tongued Aswang feeds on the unborn infant. Some say that Pregnant women grow their hair long to fool the creature into believing that the pregnant woman is the Blessed Mother of Jesus and that they have to wear red as to remain undetected. There are many other myths surrounding the Aswang such as they are believed to be virgins, so when a woman acts a little eccentric, they may be an aswang. It was also told that if your reflection on a person’s eyes is the slightest bit crooked, this person may dabble in the black arts.
 
Some stories about the aswang describe winged monster-witches perched on top of a roof under which a woman with child may reside. When it chances upon its mark, it will extend an uncommonly long proboscis into the female’s belly and suck the unborn baby from the mother’s womb.

Types of Aswangs

There are different types of “Aswangs” and most of them are said to frequent the areas of Capiz, Iloilo and Antique, even the Palawan Islands.  

Mostly, the Aswang is considered a horrific creature resembling a haglike woman with talon-like fingernails and a long, threadlike tongue that lolls from its mouth.

This type of aswang feeds on the blood of the living or from fresh corpses. She has the ability to smell death within a mile. An aswang feeds by extending her long, sharp tongue, piercing the jugular vein of a dead or sleeping victim. Once she has gorged herself, her swollen body appears as if she were late in a pregnancy.

Since Aswang is a generic term it is usually interchanged with other monsters or ghouls such as the following:

The main “Aswang” sometimes known as a Mansusopsop -  is a ghoul that preys on pregnant women. Like the tik-tik, it hovers over the rooftop and seek any opening for its long, thread-like tongue to pass through until it reaches the stomach of its victim. It then sucks out all the blood, including the fetus, until the victim is lifeless.

Wak-wak – a bird-like creature that comes out at night looking for its victim. The sound of a wak-wak is usually associated with the presence of an Unglu (vampire). The term wak-wak or wuk-wuk is frequently used for the same creature in the Cebu region. The legends of the wak-wak and kikik are much the same, but the wak-wak is specifically supposed to change into its birdlike form by leaving behind its lower body, much like the Manananggal. The cry of a night bird which makes a “wuk-wuk-wuk” sound is believed to be the call of this monster and is feared by superstitious villagers. As with the call of the kikik, the wak-wak is believed able to make its cry sound distant when the creature is near.

Balbal – or “Bal-Bal”is a kind of witch that preys on pregnant women. When the balbal is hungry, its eyes turn reddish, become sharp, penetrating the woman’s womb. The Bal-Bal is believed to be a creature that consumes the dead and then leaves behind banana trunks in the grave for the exchange

Kubot - a bat-like creature that resembles an umbrella with its huge, wide wings. It catches its victim by its claws and takes it home to be butchered.

Tik-tik – a huge bird that flies at night. The tik-tik looks for a sleeping person. When it finds one, it extend its very long proboscis into the unsuspecting victim and proceeds to suck the blood. Additionally, the Kikik/Tik-Tik makes a ‘kik-kik-kik’ sound. Other stories relate the kikik as an Aswang’s familiar, its sound masking the Aswang’s proximity from would-be victims.

Sigbin- a kangaroo-like creature which has a wide mouth with large fangs. Some say that this is another form of the aswang, while there are other claims which identify it as the companion of the tik-tik. It kills people with its deadly sneeze.

Manananggal - is a female creature that can split its body in half; the upper part can sprout bat-like wings (resembles a banshee) while leaving the bottom torso hidden from sight. The Manananggal is believed to be vulnerable to sunlight, but there are different tales that say that the tongue-lashing kind isn’t. 

The aswang is also believed to have a familiar; a deceased aswang who shape-shifts into a bird most of the time but is able to become a dog, a cat, or any animal that go by with little notice. This familiar may also be called a “tiktik” and is another type of aswang that helps the “aswang” along in finding its prey. The sigbin is yet another type of creature that resembles the furry look of the chupacabra. They both can serve as the aswang’s familiar.
 

The “Aswangs” are said to be ‘cursed’ creatures and carries on the curse of Lilith. Some say their condition is a sickness and is a mutation of dystonia parkinsonism. There are characteristics that make this condition very similar to the signs of an “aswang”. These days, the people of Capiz try to make fun of their town; to try and attract tourists made a festival called “Aswang Festival” that debuted in October 2004; as a sort of a “halloween-like” celebration. This festival has gotten mixed reactions from people in the region, most notably the arch-diocese, as it seems to be a celebration of evil. 


How to deal with Aswangs?

Buntot-pagi (Stingray’s Tail) is considered an effective repellant, and some families keep them on-hand to fight Aswangs. It is use like a whip and lashes on Aswangs doing more hurtful damage to them.

Bawang (Garlic) – wearing garlic around your neck would protect you from being attacked because Aswang doesn’t like the smell of garlic. By hanging a whole chain of garlic at the doors and windows it would prevent the Aswang from coming closer.

Asin (Salt) – The purifying powers attributed to salt crystals is said to cause the skin of an Aswang to burn. By spraying salt to his body it acts like an acid on the skin of the creature. In the case of the manananggal where half of its body is left in a remote part of the forrest, it is said that if you found the half of it’s lower body you need to spray salt to it so that the upper half cannot merge with its body.

Araw (Sun) – just like other demonic creature it is said that if the Aswang is caught by a ray of sunlight on beast form it would burn

Did the lore start from an actual creature?

Most academics and westerners believe that the Aswang can be rationally explained in historical and sociological terms. Some say that in the process of conquering these islands 400 years ago, the Spaniards demonized and anathemized those who refused to abandon their old belief systems in favor of Christianity. These pagans who avoided the conquered coastlines and went up the mountains were easily stereotyped and this became the root cause of the Aswang belief. The funny thing is, the same belief systems seem to be endemic in non-Spanish conquered Southeast Asia where the Aswang goes by a plethora of different names with eerily similar descriptions. Can this be a product of colonialism then?

In most parts of the Visayan islands, however, they are treated as one of the realities of living in the countryside. Well into the 21st century, people still keep garlic and sharp bronze implements inside their homes to ward off Aswang attacks. Some sleep with knives under their pillows while some keep a Stingray tail whip handy just in case.

But, any myth is based on truth, and the tales of the Aswang vary from region to region. Grave robberies, missing corpses, disappearing children, feed the tales that channel the belief in the Aswang.

Just like in other parts of Asia, the Philippines could possibly have unknown giant bats living amongst its human population or deep within the jungles of the Philippines.

There is a KNOWN species called the giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, which is a rare megabat and one of the largest bats in the world. The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction because of poaching and forest destruction. It is endemic to forests in the Philippines.

The giant golden-crowned flying fox gets its species name from the golden fur around the head, in sharp contrast to the black body. Like all other fruit bats, they have no tail. They are among the largest bats, with a wingspan of 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in) and weighing 0.7–1.2 kg (1.5–2.6 lb). The only other bats with comparable measurements are a few species of Pteropus.

The giant golden-crowned flying fox, however does not suck on humans or even attack them. The only vampire bats live in South America and they are tiny and timid. Still, there could be bats in this region which are not recognised by mainstream science that perhaps be the stuff of nightmares.

Sources: themoonlitwindow.blogspot.com/2008/07/aswang-primer.html, manananggals.com/aswang.htm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_golden-crowned_flying_fox

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