Imagine that you are inside a school building
late at night. All the lights are dim and the surroundings’ very quiet. The
wind blows really hard that it gives you the chills. You kept on walking down
the long dark hallway. You observe that the rooms on the side are very dark and
eerie. As you walk down near the third room, you suddenly heard a baby cry.
If I was in
that situation, I would definitely run and find some persons that maybe still
in the school. I would immediately find a companion since I’m really a
scaredy-cat. Also, my imagination would take over and I would probably think of
some hideous creatures. In that situation, there is a great possibility that it
might be the horror story of old people about babies. It might actually be the Tiyanak
The Tiyanak,
is vampiric creature in the Philippine Mythology that imitates the form of a
child. It takes the form of a new born baby. To actually get its prey, it would
mimic the cry of the baby as if asking for help. If that unlucky person would
pick up the baby and fall into its trap, then it would immediately revert to
its true form and attack the victim.
What countermeasures must be done to avoid their attack?
According to
local beliefs, countermeasures are actually possible against the tiyanak. Loud
noises such as a New Year’s celebration could drive the tiyanak away from the
vicinity. Objects believed to repel Aswang, like garlic and rosary, are also
believed to be effective against the tiyanak.
Also, the tiyanaks
are believed to be in provinces and would enchant wandering travellers by its
cries. In order to break its spell, the
turning of clothes inside out is said to be effective. The tiyanak finds this
method funny enough to let go of the travellers and would go back to the
jungles.
Where do they come from?
The tiyanak is
actually believed to be a real baby before. It becomes a tiyanak when the baby
it was once before is aborted. The baby would probably become a tiyanak if the
aborted child or the dead child will not be properly buried by the mother and a
prayer will not be offered as a form of justice or respect. This is according
to the old people’s belief. But I think that it would be proper to actually
offer a prayer for an unborn child not because they would probably become
tiyanaks but because they need and deserve it.
Just like other
mythical creatures, the tiyanak has also been a subject of many Philippine movies.
v
Tiyank (1953)
v
Tiyanak (1988)
v
Juan Tanga, super naman, at ang kambal na
tiyanak (1990)
v
Impakto (1996)
v
Tiyanaks (2007)
Tiyanaks also appeared in week- 32 2013 episodes of Juan
dela Cruz (T.V series)
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