A source-led introduction to animism in the Philippines, examining relationships with spirits, ancestors and places without treating diverse traditions as one religion.

The subject of countless movies here in the Philippines, the Manananggal and Wakwak are other types of evil creatures in the same league as the Aswang.

Common Medicinal Plants of the Cordillera Region by botanist Leonardo L. Co is a 487-page English-language paperback and practical reference for community-based health programs. It documents medicinal plants used in the Philippine Cordillera, with plant names, preparations, uses, references and indexes. Published by Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region.

I often choose subjects for The Aswang Project because something has captured my own interest.

If there is one name that has become synonymous with the religion of the early Tagalogs, it is Bathala.

We have Mangkukulams and their deadly dolls, along with mysterious tales of Agimat - powerful charms that can make someone become a god among men.

It is a collective term used for the eight (8) indigenous cultural communities residing in the island of Mindoro, while the word Buhid is derived from the Mangyan word “Sambuhid” which refers to an elevated parcel of land or mountainous area.

The former Diplomat Hotel in Baguio City, Philippines sits on top of the Dominican Hill.

"Bari Bari Dika agunget pari Ta pumukan kami Iti pabakirda kami" In older times, Ilocanos, especially those from Ilocos Norte would sing these verses before cutting trees in the mountains.

What did early sources say about Tala? Explore the Tagalog name for the morning star, Venus, and how later writers transformed Tala into a goddess and daughter of Bathala.

Hilot: The Science of the Ancient Filipino Healing Art by Bibiano S. Fajardo and Ma. Aleli V. Pansacola examines the history, principles and practice of hilot in the Philippines. This 219-page English-language paperback discusses traditional Filipino healing knowledge, the work of albularyo healers and the relationship between inherited practice and scientific study. Published by Anvil Publishing, Inc.

A celestial council became a war, and the stones hurled by divine rivals formed the earth. Read the documented Kapampangan creation account and the careful source trail behind it.

Kinaray-a is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Antique Province in the Philippines.

A few months ago, writer, fellow metalhead, and friend Karl R De Mesa sent me a link to Adamanta's new video "Conquer." From the thumbnail (and because it was from Karl), I had a feeling it was a metal song containing precolonial elements.

In 1582, Spanish encomendero Miguel de Loarca recorded a brief but important statement about sacred powers invoked before warfare or raiding in the Visayas.

Filipinos of long ago believed that many conditions that plagued them were caused by invisible sprites, flying cannibals, or a bitter vengeful soul.

“When shy, troubled Marisol (Mari) Reyes discovers a wooden mask at her great-grandmother's wake, destiny beckons in the form of a giant sea serpent, an ancient battle, and a grim vision of the future.” This is the official synopsis for The Mask of Haliya, the first release from the all-female/ all-Asian run Kwento Comics.

The sirena or mermaid and the facts surrounding this mythical creature are of Spanish origin.

There is a place in the Bagobo underworld for children who died while they were still nursing.

A hooded Tagbanwa babalyan has become one of the most recognizable images of Indigenous Philippine spirituality. Why was her face concealed—and what is lost when this specific ritual image is made to ...

William Henry Scott exposed one of Philippine history’s most enduring frauds and reconstructed the world of the sixteenth-century barangay. In Sagada, his legacy survives in books, old stories, a mode...