Basic Understanding of the Aswang

Every Filipino child knows the Aswang. Ask anyone who has lived in the Philippines and they'll tell you they know of at least one person who knows someone who has had close encounters with this creature.

The aswang has crossed over from myth to urban legend to an icon of pop culture. So what is an aswang exactly and what makes this creature of the night (and sometimes, day) so remarkable and dangerous? Here are things I have researched about and things I know:

The Aswang
There have been many variations of the aswang that has appeared over the years, effectively diluting the original concept of this creature. In its purest form, the aswang is a ghoul, a flesh eater, a vampire, a shapeshifter and a witch all rolled into one.

A ghoul – because it's supposed to steal the organs of the unembalmed dead to eat them.

A flesh eater – because the aswang attacks live human prey, disemboweling them and stealing the organs. Its favorite is the liver, which is supposed to give it extra strength and a longer life. The liver is also supposedly the tastiest.

The aswang also prefers to attack pregnant women to steal and eat their unborn babies. To an aswang, nothing else smells as sweet and as good as a woman with child.

A vampire – because it sucks blood from live human and animal prey.

A shapeshifter – the aswang can turn into an animal (sometimes considered its familiar) such as a dog, a pig, a cat, a bat, a snake or a carabao. In the case of the manananggal, it can also cut itself in half at will, separating its upper torso from the rest of its body, sprout big, black, bat-like wings and fly into the air.

The aswang can also grow fangs or sharp teeth and long, claw-like fingernails. If it's a beautiful creature by day, it can turn into a horrifying being by night.

The aswang's tongue can also grow long, often becoming thread-like in its form and size. The proboscis is designed to slip between cracks in the roof, window or walls, target a sleeping pregnant woman, bore a hole in her belly and suck out her fetus.

In some stories, the aswang, particularly if it's a woman, has very long hair. In her aswang mode, the woman's hair can grow even longer, become very slippery like long, thin eels, making it difficult for the average human to hold on to her or fight her off.

Geographic location
Although the aswang is a known entity in most areas in the Philippines, it is most popular in the western part of the Visayas, a region on the Philippine map that is found between Luzon and Mindanao. People from areas such as Antique, Capiz and Iloilo have numerous stories to tell about this creature. There is even a celebrated annual fiesta dedicated to the aswang in Capiz, when people dress up in scary costumes and parade in the streets.