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Bakunawa, Minokawa, and other creatures in Philippine folklore you probably don’t know

Philippine mythology isn’t just aswangs and manananggals. Here are other creatures that deserve the spotlight—even in the dark

By: Andrei Yuvallos - @inquirerdotnet

Inquirer Manila / 08:50 PM October 26, 2023

Bakunawa, Minokawa, and other creatures in Philippine folklore you probably don’t know

Philippine mythology isn’t just aswangs and manananggals | Illustration by JP Pining and Lara Intong for Nolisoli.ph

Philippine mythology is an area of study that deserves more attention than it’s currently getting. Shows and movies like the “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” series of our childhoods and more recently, “Trese,” have done a good job of introducing us to creatures like aswangs, kapres, and manananggals, but those beings are only the tip of the mythological iceberg.

Philippine Spirits is a collective that researches and illustrates the figures from Philippine mythology. They dig deep into the legends and lore scattered across the thousands of islands and create short stories in hopes of shining the spotlight on creatures that live in the dark.

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Karl Jean Gaverza, the author and researcher behind Philippine Spirits, has gone all over the country to conduct interviews and collect stories about the lesser-known creatures of Philippine mythology.

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Philippine Spirits serves as a compendium for these creatures and the specific Philippine cultures they come from. It’s also an avenue for artists to explore their creativity and use the myths as a basis for their own work in the form of art or storytelling.

With a degree in linguistics, Gaverza has also collaborated with volunteers to translate the short stories and creature descriptions to different Philippine languages. For people who prefer personal copies of the illustrations and the stories, Philippine Spirits also has a digital collection of zines available online.

In celebration of spooky season, here are a few of the lesser known creatures of Philippine mythology.