Aswangs are shapeshifting evil spirits in Philippine Mythology. The myth of the Aswang is popular in the Visayas, especially in provinces such as Capiz, Antique, and Iloilo. Aswangs can change from a human to an animal form, usually as a bat, a pig or a black dog. Some aswangs can change form at will, others through the use of foul oils concocted by evil magicians.
They are also known to keep pets, including the Wakwak (vampiric bird) and the Sigbin (vampiric dog).
Diet & Behavior[]
They transform into different monstrous forms to harass and eat humans at night, especially specific organs, including the liver, the heart, and most notably a developed fetus.
Aswangs appear at night to prey upon unwary travellers or sleeping people. It is said that they have a peculiar liking for the taste of human liver. Aswangs such as the Manananggal also have a peculiar liking for the fetus of pregnant women and are said to find their quarry by the scent of the mother, which to the aswang smells like ripe jackfruit. Upon finding the house of the pregnant mother, the aswang alights on the roof from where it stretches its tongue until it is as thin as a thread and uses it to enter the womb and feast on the fetus. Aswang are typically blamed for miscarriages.
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