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 ''Busaw'' was a

ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

and corpse thief. An evil spirit who looked and behaved like ordinary human beings by day, it listened for sounds of death in the evenings, and dwelled in large trees near cemeteries. It had pointed teeth, hooked nails and a long tongue. It took

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

tree trunks to replace the dead as it stole the corpses out of their coffins. Then, spiriting the corpse off after first turning it into a pig, the ''Busaw'' would feast on it and even try to feed it to their human neighbors during the day in order to turn them into ghouls like itself. To ward the ''Busaw'' off, all corpses should be washed completely with vinegar and strong-smelling herbs. Salt is also a ''Busaw'' repellent.

References

Visayan mythology Philippine demons {{Philippines-stub