"The rest of the site was an alphabetized listing of all the different myths of vampires held throughout the world. The first i clicked on, the Danag, was a Filipino vampire supposedly responsible for planting taro on the islands long ago. The myth continued that the Danag worked with humans for many years, but the partnership ended one day when a woman cut her finger and a Danag sucked her wound, enjoying the taste so much that it drained her body completely of blood." - * Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, pages 184-185 (page 116 in hardbound copy)
One must admit that the subject of Philippine vampires is quite difficult and confusing. To my understanding there are over fifty ethnic groups in the Philippines, and each one has its own dialect. Moreover, there are specific names for different types of Philippine vampires. But, at the same time, these names are interchangeable as you go from one place to another. (The same problem of variable, inter-changing names for different types of vampires also occurs in European lore, such as Romania.)
In the Philippine Islands today, the term Aswang, in its broadest meaning, applies to all the vampiric witches and sorcerers in Philippine lore.
There is some chance that this creature was also known as Asuwang.
Bebarlangs: A tribe found in the Philippines that had members that practiced a form of psychic vampirism. They apparently sent out there astral bodies and fed on the life forces and vitality of individuals.
Danag: A Filipino vampire held to be very ancient as a species, responsible for having planted taro on the islands long ago. The Danag worked with humans for many years but the partnership ended one day when a woman cut her finger and a Danag sucked her wound, enjoying the taste so much that it drained her body completely of blood.
Mandurugo (possibly also seen as Mandurago): A Filipino vampire found in the region of Capiz, said to appear as a beautiful woman during the day and as a foul flying fiend at night. The Mandurugo ("bloodsucker") uses her beauty to attract and wed young men, thus providing her with a constant blood supply.
Source: http://enchanteddoorway.tripod.com/vamp/philippines.html
.... The picture is of a manananggal, which is't even mentioned in this article, and has got nothing to do with the Twilight universe's vampires.
ReplyDeleteManananggals appear as humans by day, but as nighttime comes and they have to feed, their midsection breaks into two, and they grown wings. the upper part flies away to hunt, and the legs are left unprotected. They have very long tongues, and they hover above roofs of homes that have pregnant women housed in them. They make a hole in the roof, and, as the pregnant woman inside the house is asleep, they feed on the infant they are carrying inside. It is not clear what happens to the mother when her baby is eaten by the manananggal, but it is said that the lower half of the monster could be killed by putting salt on the part where the top half should be attached to, and, as they have to be attached to the lower half of their body before sunrise and the salt prevents that, they die at the first rays of sunlight.
I know this is completely irrelevant, even I said so. But the picture is just really irrelevant as well, so might as well say what the hell it is.
thanks for the info.
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