Philippine Folklore

In Philippine folklore, the Manananggal is a mythical, evil, cannibalistic, vampiric , witch that as well as sucking the blood from victims also eats them.  Sometimes it is confused with the Wakwak which is a strange bird-like, vampiric creature.  However, although they are both vampires unlike the Manananggal, the Wakwak cannot separate its upper body from its lower body.  It is from this bizarre ability that the Manananggal gets its name.  The term Manananggal comes from the  Tagalog word, tanggal, meaning to separate.

Origin of the Manananggal

Philippine folklore gives varying accounts of the origin of Manananggals.  One tradition says there is a black chick living inside the creature.  This is passed on from the deathbed of those afflicted to another person who is usually a relative.  The chick is then believed to reside inside the body of the Manananggal eating the innards of its host while keeping them alive.   It is this that is believed to be the reason why the Manananggal craves the taste of human blood and flesh and transforms into its hideous shape.

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On the walls of Lincoln Cathedral in the city of Lincoln in England is a rather strange figure of an imp that is carved on the stonework of a pillar inside the cathedral.  Despite its strangeness, or perhaps because of it,  the imp has become a symbol of the city as well as a number of other local organizations.  There is a legend that tells that the grotesque was once a real imp that was turned to stone by an angel.

The legend is thought to date from the 13th or 14th century and tells how two imps were sent to Earth by Satan to cause as much mischief and mayhem as possible.   Arriving in the north of  England they set about their task with glee and malice causing mayhem and mischief everywhere they went.  Settling on the spire of St. Mary’s Church in Chesterfield they spitefully twisted it out of shape and even today the results of their mischief can still be seen. Today, the Crooked Spire is a well-known feature of Chesterfield, though there are other legends which give different accounts of how this came to be.

The imps were not satisfied with their handiwork and went on a spree of mayhem and mischief. 

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The Paiute people are a Native American people living in areas of California, Nevada and Oregon, Arizona, southeastern parts of California and Utah. They have a rich heritage of culture and tradition and strong family values.   In the past, much of their known history had been passed on orally to their children from a long line of ancestors.  Like many other cultures, they used folktales to pass on information and to attempt to make sense of the world around them.   Presented here is the story of the Great Stone Mother is one of their folktales and what is presented here is a rewrite from more than one source,  but first a word about the Great Stone Mother.
The Great Stone Mother of the Paiutes people sits on the eastern shore of Pyramid Lake, in eastern Nevada, North America and is actually an extraordinary natural tufa rock formation. It bears a remarkable likeness to the figure of a hooded Indian woman sat looking out over the lake with her basket resting next to her.  To the Paiutes she has not always been stone but was the mother of their people.  What follows next is an extraordinary legend that tells of their origin and how she became petrified into stone.
The Legend of the Great Stone MotherWhen the world was very young Man, the father of the people, roamed the earth alone and came to a mountain that was near still water.  Finding the place to his liking he made the Reese River and decided to live there. The father had a good and great soul but he was lonely living on his own and longed for company.
Many days passed and eventually rumor of the existence of Man reached Woman, who became the mother of the people, but at then was married to Bear.  She grew very curious about Man and longed to see him.  

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In Philippine folklore, a tikbalang is a bizarre, shape-shifting, trickster spirit that haunts certain places in the wildlands of the country.   It is said to be a tall humanoid creature that dwells in the forests and mountains of the Philippines and often described as a reverse form of a centaur.  Where the centaur has the body of a horse and the torso and head of a man, the tikbalang has the head of a horse and the body of a human.  Although descriptions vary they are generally described as being tall and bony creatures with limbs that tend to be disproportionate to their body.  For example, because its legs are so long and skinny, when the creature squats down its knees are higher than its head.  It is usually said to have animal-like feet usually similar to horse hooves.   In some traditions, it is said to have evolved from an aborted human fetus that was held in limbo and sent back to Earth.  In some traditions, tikbalangs can change their shape into that of humans and can also become invisible.

Shapeshifting Tricks

One of the tricks of the tikbalang is to change its physical form into that of a relative, friend or someone closely associated to any traveler that it may come across in the wilds. It then appears to the victim in this familiar form pretending to know the way deceiving them into being led through the dark woods or along remote mountain paths to a place far from the help of others.  When the time comes the for the tikbalang to reveal itself the victim may experience the smell of tobacco before the face and the body of their guide blurs as it changes from the that of the victim’s, relative or friend, into its own true monstrous form.

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This article was first published on 14th December 2017 on #FolkloreThursday.com titled British Legends — The Founding of Britain: Brutus of Troy and the Prophecy of Diana by zteve t evans

Brutus of Troy was a legendary Trojan exile who some medieval chroniclers claimed was responsible for the founding of Britain. They maintained that he was the first King of Britain and named the island, its people, and its language after himself. He built the city that would eventually become London, and gave laws to allow people to live in peace. The story of Brutus of Troy first appears in the work Historia Britonum or The History of Britons (ca AD 829), which is often attributed to the medieval chronicler Nennius. He is also mentioned later in more detail in Historia Regum Britanniae or History of the Kings of Britain, written in about 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. There are some significant differences in the stories the two present, though Geoffrey’s work provides more information. Geoffrey dates the arrival of Brutus on the island, which was then called Albion, to 1115 BC. Although his work is not given much credence today, from its creation up until the 17th century, when it fell from favour, it was very popular. It is still an important medieval text, and a central piece in the collective works known as The Matter of Britain. Despite being discounted as a reliable history book, The History of the Kings of Britain remains of great interest to many people today. Many scholars think that Geoffrey drew on existing legends, myths, and traditions which he included in his work. It is Geoffrey’s work that this article draws chiefly from to present a version of the mythical founding of Britain by Brutus of Troy
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The Lineage of Brutus

Brutus was said to be the great-great-grandson of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. His great-grandfather was the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was the son of Anchises and Aphrodite. Aeneas escaped the destruction of Troy carrying his crippled father in his arms and became the leader of a group of Trojan exiles, who escaped to settle in Italy. He was the progenitor of Romulus and Remus, and many of Rome’s rulers later claimed descent from him and the Royal House of Troy. Aeneas had a son named Ascanius, who was the father of Silvius who was the father of Brutus. 

The Royal House of Troy had two branches: the Dardanoi of Dardania and the House of Troy. Although the Dardanoi of Dardania was the most ancient branch, it was the House of Troy which became the most famous and powerful. Anchises (the father of Aeneas) was from the city of Dardania, which was founded by Dardanus whose grandson Tros gave his name to the city of Troy and its people the Trojans. 

The Birth of Brutus

The story of Brutus begins in Italy, where the Trojan exiles resided. When his wife fell pregnant, Silvius asked a sorcerer what sex the unborn child would be and what its future would hold. The sorcerer predicted a boy would be born and this proved correct. He also predicted that the boy would be exiled after causing the death of both of his parents. Finally, he predicted that when he reached adulthood he would travel through many countries and would fulfil many great achievements. Not all these predictions were to the liking of Silvius, who killed the sorcerer. However, his wife died during the birth of the boy, who was named Brutus, and when he reached the age of 15 he accidentally killed his father, shooting him with an arrow while hunting. As punishment, Brutus was exiled from Italy and travelled to several islands before reaching Greece. The unfortunate seer was proved correct about the first two parts of his prophecy, and the rest was beginning to unfold. 

Trojans Enslaved in Greece

Whilst in Greece, Brutus met a group of Trojans living in slavery and led them in rebellion against Pandrasus, the Greek king. He was successful, and after defeating and capturing Pandrasus he held him hostage. Although he had him at his mercy, he realized that there would be a continuing war with the Greeks which the Trojans could not win. Therefore, instead of killing Pandrasus, Brutus made a bargain with him. He freed Pandrasus, in return for him freeing the Trojans from slavery and providing Brutus and his band of followers with enough ships and supplies to sail from Greece in search of a new home. Pandrasus also gave his daughter, Ingoge, in marriage, who sailed with Brutus and his company in search of a place they could settle and live in peace. 

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Pentrefoelas Myths, Legends and Folklore

Myths, folktales and legends abound in the village of Pentrefoelas, Conwy, in North Wales and one such tale known as the Pentrefoelas Legend tells how a shepherd came across a girl in distress upon a hillside while he was tending his flocks.  The girl was like no other he had ever seen in his life and in his earnest attempt to comfort her he fell in love with her and she with him.  Although the girl was not from earth they married and had children and lived a happy life.  Sadly their happiness was shattered by a freak accident that broke a  promise the shepherd had made to his wife’s father.  This meant she had to return to the Otherworld where she came from and they were parted forever.  The story describes one of the few examples of the interbreeding of mortals with the inhabitants of the Otherworld and the descendants of the couple are still said to live among humans today.  The following is a rewrite of that tale.

The Pentrefoelas Legend

One misty morning, shepherd from Hafod-y-garreg was out in the pastures looking after the flock of sheep owned by his father .  It was not a particularly demanding task and his mind wandered as he looked around for something to engage his interest for a while.  His eye fell upon a peat-stack and as he looked he saw a girl sat besides it who appeared to be crying her eyes out.  Disturbed by the apparent distress of the girl he approached quietly and gently trying not to alarm her to see if there was something he could do to help.

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There are many petrification myths and legends in settings scattered around the British Isles that tell how people have become turned to stone.  It is often the case that some religious code or rule has been transgressed by one or more people for some reason and they have been punished by being turned to stone.

The Stone Women of Moelfre Hill

The legend of the Stone Women of Moelfre tells the story of how three women were turned to stone for working on the Sabbath.  Its setting is on Moelfre, which  is a Welsh hill in Gwynedd, Wales sitting on the western edge of the Snowdonia National Park, situated about three miles from the village of Dyffryn Ardudwy and about five miles from the village of Llanbedr.

The legend was said to have originated about the time Christianity was taking over from the old pagan beliefs and tells how three women had a problem winnowing their corn because there was no wind.  Winnowing was an important task that their families and community depended upon to make bread.  According to the legend, one woman wore a red kirtle.  Another wore a white kirtle and the third wore a kirtle of the darkest blue.

After the corn was harvested the people would thresh the corn, sometimes by making oxen walk in circles over the harvested ears of corn, or by pounding it on the ground with flails.  This would crush the ears leaving the chaff and grain that needed separating, or winnowing which was hard work and done by the women of the community.  They would spend many hours  throwing the mixed chaff and grain into the air so that the wind would take the light chaff away but leave the heavier grain to fall to the ground.  The remaining grain would then be placed in sacks and ground into flour.

The problem the women had was that for many days there had been no wind or even the slightest breeze, making it impossible for them to winnow.  The women worried that unless they could get their task done soon it would rain and ruin the corn.  The grain and chaff would get wet making them stick together and hard to separate and they would not be able to bake bread to feed their families and began to despair that they would not be able to complete their task.

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