Religion:Tikbalang

Short description: Philippine mythical creature

Tikbalang

Grouping	Legendary creature
Sub grouping	Hybrid beast
Folklore	Philippine folklore
Country	Philippines

The Tikbalang (/ˈtikbaˌlaŋ/) (also Tigbalang, Tigbalan, Tikbalan, Tigbolan, or Werehorse) is a creature of Philippine folklore said to lurk in the mountains and rainforests of the Philippines . It is a tall, bony humanoid (half human half horse) creature with the head and hooves of a horse and disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down. In some versions, it is a transformation of an aborted fetus sent to earth from limbo.

Origins

There were also ghosts, which they called vibit; and phantoms, which they called Tigbalaang.

As horses are not native to the Philippines and were only introduced to the archipelago upon the arrival of the Spanish, it is believed that while the tikbalang myth may have already existed during the pre-colonial period, its horse-like appearance only developed much later on during the colonial era, when horses became more widespread in the country.

450. They greatly fear and reverence the tigbàlang or bibit. This is a ghost, goblin, or devil; and as it knows the cowardice of these Indians, it has been wont to appear to them in the mountains—now in the guise of an old man, telling them that he is their nono; now as a horse; and now as a monster. Consequently, the Indians in their terror make various pacts with it, and trade their rosaries for various articles of superstitious value, such as hairs, grass, stones, and other things, in order to obtain all their intents and free themselves from all the dangers. Thus do they live in delusion until God wills that the evangelical ministers undeceive them, which costs no little [effort], because of the very great fear with which they are filled.

—Cronicas (1738–44), Juan Francisco de San Antonio

The tigbalang is another object of which they stand in great awe. It is described as a phantom, which assumes a variety of uncouth and monstrous shapes, and interposes its authority, to prevent their performing the duties, prescribed by our religion

—Estadismo (1803), Martinez de Zuniga

The earliest written accounts mentioning the tikbalang did not specify horse or animal morphology. Among those written accounts are Spanish friar Juan de Plasencia's Customs of the Tagalogs (1589), wherein the tikbalang was described as ghosts and spirits of the forests, associated with the terms 'multo' and 'bibit' (some entries described them in early Spanish dictionaries as 'fantasma de montes' i.e. 'phantoms of the mountains/wilds', linking them strongly as nature spirits).

In historical dictionaries (San Buenaventura's 1613 Vocabulario spelled as "tigbalang"), they were likened to the tiyanac, while in some entries they were given the definition as "satyrs" (satiro), "gnomes" (duendes) or "goblins" (trasgo). Individual tikbalangs, even today among superstitious Filipinos, are thought to inhabit trees as guardians (sometimes depicted as if the very soul of these trees). Specific trees (and nature in general) in pre-colonial Philippines were considered sacred (often used as shrines), esp. the large ficus trees (known locally as balete, ). An offensive expression "Tigbalang ca mandin!" "You are a wild beast!" was used by early Tagalogs to signify one as uncouth and uncivilized. Later on, as horses were brought from China and Japan through the Spanish colonial government, accounts of them appearing horse-like slowly became the norm (i.e. de San Antonio's 18th c. account).

The image of Hayagriva, is a horse-headed avatar of the Lord Vishnu in Hinduism.

Another proposed albeit less popular theory is that the horse-like appearance of the Tikbalang may have been influenced by images of the Hindu deity Hayagriva, as Hinduism was one of the religions practiced in the Philippine pre-colonial era.

Superstitions

Tikbalangs or Tigbolan scare travelers, lead them astray and play tricks on them such as making them return to an arbitrary path no matter how far they go or turn. This is counteracted by wearing one's shirt inside out. Another countermeasure is to ask permission out loud to pass by or, not to produce too much noise while in the woods in order not to offend or disturb the tikbalang. The "tigbolan" is a ghost which assumes a variety of forms, and sometimes confers a similar gift upon a certain favored individual. A superstition popular with the Tagalogs of Rizal Province is that Tikbalangs are benevolent guardians of elemental kingdoms. They are usually found standing at the foot of large trees looking around for anyone who dares to bestow malignancy on their kingdom's territory.

A common saying has it that rain from a clear sky means "may kinakasal na tikbalang."(Filipino, "a tikbalang is getting married".) This was potentially connected with a similar Spanish proverb that claimed a witch was getting married when there was rain on a sunny day, although many cultures have such sayings in which a trickster figure gets married (cp. fox's wedding, bear's wedding, monkey's birthday/wedding).

In some versions, the tikbalang can also transform itself into human form or turn invisible to humans. They like to lead travelers astray.

Tikbalang is generally associated with dark, sparsely populated, foliage-overgrown areas, with legends variously identifying their abode as being beneath bridges, in bamboo clumps or banana groves, and atop Kalumpang (Sterculia foetida) or Balite (Ficus indica) trees.

Account of Iluminado Cataytay (1959) from Barangay Sumilang, Quezon province, Philippines provides accurate information, as he witnessed from age of 4 up to his death in 1969.

Taming a tikbalang

By one account a tikbalang has a mane of sharp spines, with the three thickest of these being of particular importance. A person who obtains one of these spines can use them as an anting-anting (talisman) to keep the tikbalang as his servant. The tikbalang must first be subdued, however, by leaping onto it and tying it with a specially-prepared cord. The would-be-tamer must then hang on while the creature flies through the air, fighting madly to dislodge its unwelcome rider until it is exhausted and acknowledges its defeat. Or you can look on his mane and you will see 3 golden hairs and if you pluck 3 of them before he/she eats you, they will serve you until you die.

In popular culture

• Tikbalang: The Horse Demon was the first episode of the 2015 Creatures Of Philippine Mythology documentary web series produced by The Aswang Project and High Banks Entertainment Ltd. It traces back the origin of the Tikbalang's image to India, circa 2000BCE, and follows its evolution to the modern-day.
• A tikbalang named Lusyo features prominently in The Mythology Class, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Filipino comic creator Arnold Arre.
• Tikbalang Kung Kabilugan ng Buwan is a child-friendly telling of the Tikbalang mythos – written by Victoria Añonuevo, illustrated by Kora Dandan-Albano and released by Adarna House – intended to familiarize young Filipino audiences with Philippine Mythological creatures. In the story, a Tikbalang becomes lonely for lack of a playmate during the full moon, a time when Filipino children of generations past traditionally went out to play in the moonlight. In a search for a playmate, the Tikbalang leaves his home in the Kalumpang tree and encounters first a Kapre, then a Nuno, an Aswang, and a Tiyanak before he finally meets another Tikbalang as a suitable playmate.
• A Tikbalang features as a fae in series 3, episode 10 ("Delinquents") of the SyFy supernatural drama Lost Girl.
• A Tikbalang was featured as the deity itself, another as a racecar driver, and more as the fighters in the fighting scene in the Netflix's Singaporean anime-influenced streaming television series based on the Filipino comic series, Trese, that was released the day before the Philippines' Independence Day.
• Tikbalang is the name of a unit in the wargame Infinity, where many of the war machines are given mythological names.
• Tikbalang, along with other creatures are also appeared in 1978 animated film, Tadhana (Destiny).
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury features a flight system called 'Tickbalang' that the series' mecha use for aerial transport.

See also

• List of fictional horses
• Sihuanaba

References

• Blair, Emma Helen; Edward Gaylord Bourne, James Alexander Robertson, John Boyd Thacher (1905). The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803. The A. H. Clark company. pp. 269–270. ASIN B000858BO4. 
• Bergaño, Diego (1860) (in es). Vocabulario de la lengua Pampangan en romance. Ramirez y Giruadier. p. 254. https://archive.org/details/vocabulariodela01librgoog. 

Further reading

• Cruz, Neal (October 31, 2008). "As I See It:Philippine mythological monsters". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20081031-169390/Philippine-mythological-monsters. 

External links

• Keith Thompson's rendition of a tikbalang.