Mandurugo
The Mandurugo is a mythical being from Philippine folklore, similar to a vampire.
A variety of Aswang (Filipino shapeshifter), the Mandurugo resembles a vampire. They are usually young and beautiful women by day, but develop wings and long, sharp tongues by night, which they use to either make cuts in a man's neck, or prick the inside of his mouth while kissing him to obtain blood. The stories, popular to Tagalog and Bicol speakers, have many variations.[1] Sometimes the Mandurugo marries unsuspecting men to prey upon them,[2] or may just select one husband, using him as a cover for her blood drinking activities, flying to other villages to feed.[3]
Legend
[edit]"The Girl With Many Loves" is one popular tale. A young, beautiful woman marries at age sixteen. Her husband, described as an over-weight youth, withers away to bones in less than a year. After he dies, the woman marries again and again with the same result, until she reaches her fourth husband. The fourth husband, fearing the same fate as his predecessors, is afraid to sleep at night and holds a knife in his hand. A little after midnight, the man feels something over him and then a prick on his neck. He stabs at the creature on top of him and hears a loud screech and the flapping of wings. The next day, his wife is found dead not far from the house with a knife wound in her chest.[4]
Films
[edit]In post World War II Philippines, vampirism was a hot topic. The Roman Catholic Church had a major influence on the film industry all over the globe. Films such as The Vampire People (1966) were the product of vampire folklore and mainstream culture.[5]
Popular culture
[edit]- In Marvel Anime: Blade, the Mandurugos are depicted as vampires that can assume a bird-like form. The Mandurugos' genetic enhancements were the result of experiments conducted by Deacon Frost and the Existence.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ PERTIERRA, RAUL (1983). "Viscera-Suckers and Female Sociality: The Philippine Asuang". Philippine Studies. 31 (3): 319–337. JSTOR 42633556.
- ^ Bane, Theresa (2012-01-09). Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures. McFarland. ISBN 9780786488940.
- ^ Ramos, Maximo (1969). "The Aswang Syncrasy in Philippine Folklore". Western Folklore. 28 (4): 238–248. doi:10.2307/1499218. JSTOR 1499218.
- ^ Ramos, Maximo D. (1990). Creatures of Philippine lower mythology. Phoenix Pub. House.
- ^ Lansdale, Edward Geary (1991). In the Midst of Wars: An American's Mission to Southeast Asia. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-1314-6.