A host of mythological creatures occur in the mythologies from the Philippines. Philippine mythological creatures are the mythological beasts, monsters, and enchanted beings of more than 140 ethnic groups in the Philippines. Each ethnic people has their own unique set of belief systems, which includes the belief in various mythological creatures. The list does not include figures such as gods, goddesses, deities, and heroes; for these, see

List of Philippine mythological figures __FORCETOC__ The following is a list of gods, goddesses, deities, and many other divine, semi-divine, and important figures from classical Philippine mythology and indigenous Philippine folk religions collectively referred to as Anito, whos ...

General terms

Some mythological creatures, aside from their specific name, are also referred through a generic term which encompasses other similar mythological creatures. Some of these terms include: *

Aswang Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and werebeasts (usually dogs, cats, pigs). The aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, s ...

: bracket term for shape-shifting creatures that have a variety of forms, such as the blood-sucking vampire, the self-segmenting viscera sucker, the man-eating weredog, the vindictive or evil-eye witch, and the carrion-eating ghoul *Duwende: bracket term for small magical beings of the land * Engkanto: bracket term for highly-attractive enchanted human-like environmental beings, usually exuding the scent of flowers and having no philthrum *Higante: bracket term for giant humanoid land creatures * Sirena: bracket term for water creatures with a humanoid upper body and the body of a fish from waist down similar to merfolks Most creatures originating from Philippine mythology, however, are not under any specific bracket term.

Creatures of the soil

* Agta * Alan *

Amalanhig Amalanhig (also called 'Maranhig' or 'Amaranhig') are creatures in Visayan mythology, particularly among Hiligaynon speaking groups. ''Amalanhig'' are ''Aswangs'' who failed to transfer their monstrosity causing them to rise from their graves to ...

Amomongo In Philippine folklore, the Amomongo is a creature described as a hairy, man-sized ape with long nails. The name is probably derived from the Hiligaynon word ''amó'', which translates "ape" or "monkey". Residents of La Castellana in Negros Occ ...

* Anggitay *

Bal-Bal In Philippine mythology, a Bal-Bal is an undead monster that steals corpses whether it is in a funeral or grave and feeds on them. It has a strong sense of smell for dead human bodies. It also has claws and teeth sharp enough to rip the clothing ...

* Batibat * Berbalang * Bungisngis: one-eyed

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

, purported to dwell in Meluz, Orion, Bataan, and Cebu; described as always laughing. *

Busaw Busaw is a legendary creature that resembles humans in appearance and behavior, raising farm animals and planting root crops. However, its favorite food is humans, resulting in scattered human skeletons on the grounds of its dwelling place. The ' ...

* Dalaketnon *Diwata: (from Sanskrit ''

devata ''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') (Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (''tevoda''); Thai: เทวดา (''tevada''); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: ''dewata''; Batak languages: ''debata'' (Toba) ...

'', "''gods''"), '' engkantada'' (from Spanish ''encantada'', "''enchantress, charmed''") or engkanto (from Spanish encanto, ''"spell, incantation, charm"'') are gods and goddesses below the supreme deity or deities; some are similar to dryads who guard natural creations such as forests, seas, mountains, land and air; fair-skinned, good-looking and, sometimes, blonde-haired. reside in large trees, such as acacia and balete, and tend to be resentful of humanity's intrusion into their realm *Dwende:

goblins A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

, hobgoblins,

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...

or dwarfs (''

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

'': ''

duende A duende is a humanoid figure of folklore, with variations from Iberian, Ibero American, and Filipino cultures, comparable to dwarves, gnomes, or leprechauns. In Spanish ''duende'' originated as a contraction of the phrase or , effectively ...

'' "'' little creatures who provide good fortune or foretell an ominous fate to people. goblin, elf, charm''" < "''duen de (casa)''", ''owner of the house''); there are two types of Dwende the white and black, white Dwende represent as good motive and the black is a bad, *

Kapre In Philippine mythology, the kapre is a creature that may be described as a tree giant, being a tall (), dark-coloured, hairy, and muscular creature. Kapres are also said to have a very strong body odour and to sit in tree branches to smoke. O ...

: muscular tree giants described as being a tall (7 to 9 ft), big, black, terrifying, and hairy * Mambabarang: witches who utilize insects to do their bidding * Mangkukulam: bruha (from Spanish: bruja, "witch") are witches, wizards, bruho (Spanish:brujo, "wizard, male witch"), or sorcerers who cast evil spells to humans; also called manggagaway * Multo: is a term used to describe the spirit of a dead person or animal that visually appears in the lives of people that are still alive. *

Nuno sa punso A nuno sa punso ("old man of the mound"), or simply nuno ("old man" or "grandparent" "ancestor"), is a dwarf-like nature spirit (''anito'') in Philippine mythology. It is believed to live in an anthill or termite mound, hence its name, litera ...

: (literally, goblin of the mound) goblins or elves who live within mysterious lumps of soil (ant hills); provide a person who steps on their shelter with good luck or misfortune *

Pugot The Pugot ("decapitated one") is a mythical fiend that is found in the folklore of the Ilocos region of the Philippines. It can assume various shapes such as hogs, dogs or even as humans. However, it usually appears as a black, gigantic headless ...

* Santelmo * Sarangay * Sigbin: a goat with very large ears and a long tail used as a whip, has a long whip-like tail that emit’s a foul stench, and two grasshopper-like legs on its neck that enable it to jump far distances. It is also known to crabwalk backward.They wander around at night in search of children to devour but they keep the hearts to make amulets. * Tikbalang: lurk in the mountains and forests; a tall, bony humanoid 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 *

Tiyanak The Tiyanak (also Tianak or Tianac) is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby. Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to attract unw ...

: un-baptized newborn baby that tricks and preys on people that are usually lost in the woods.

Creatures of the water

Berberoka The people from ''Apayao'', ''Abra'' and ''Ilocos Norte'' believe in and fear a swamp creature called Berberoka. It lures victims by sucking all the water out of a pond so the fish lay dead on the ground. When come to pick up the fish, the Berbero ...

* Kataw * Sirena: sea creatures with a human upper body and a fish tail lower extremities * Siyokoy : Sea creatures that are usually illustrated as green-skinned humanoids with scales, webbed limbs, and fins. Sometimes incorrectly depicted as the male counterpart of the Sirena.

Creatures of the air

* Bakunawa: A serpentine dragon , described as a gargantuan creature that devours the moon *

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...

Manananggal The ''manananggal'' is a mythical creature in the Philippines that separates from their lower part of its body and their fangs and wings give it a vampire-like appearance. Mythology The ''manananggal'' is described as scary, often hideous, u ...

: derived from the word, tanggal, which means "to separate" because of their ability to separate from their lower body partTagalog-English Dictionary by Leo James English, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Manila, distributed by National Book Store, 1583 pages, * Manaul * Minokawa: A gigantic avian dragon creature that devours the sun. A direct counterpart of the Bakunawa *

Sarimanok The Sarimanok (Pronunciation: sá·ri·ma·nók), also known as papanok in its feminine form, is a legendary bird of the Maranao people, who originate from Mindanao, an island in the Philippines, and part of Philippine mythology. It comes from ...

: papanok in its feminine form, is a legendary multi-colored bird or chicken *

Tigmamanukan In Philippine mythology, the Tigmamanukan was believed by the Tagalog people to be an omen or augural bird. Although the behaviors of numerous birds and lizards were said to be omens, particular attention was paid to the tigmamanukan. Before C ...

* Wakwak * Magpukatod: the horse that jumps over mountains.

References

{{Reflist *Main

General terms

Creatures of the soil

Creatures of the water

Creatures of the air

See also

References