Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Aklan Adventures: An Encounter with a Tiktik

A tiktik is known to be as another form of aswang, which is similar to a manananggal (a lady aswang who is capable of separating her torso from her legs). They are the Philippine version for vampires and werewolves, however, unlike vampires and werewolves, they are not capable of thinking rationally, and they follow their instincts just like wild, hostile beasts. They are hideous-looking, flying creatures who usually victimize pregnant women, and they even take the innocent lives of people living in rural areas brutally.



Aklan, aside from Capiz, is also known as the haven for various aswang(s), mambabarang(s) (witches), demons, and elemental creatures such as evil elves, kapre(s) (half-human, half-horse creatures who live in Balete trees), and diwata(s) (fairies or enchantresses). It's pretty scary to think that those creatures might actually exist, and the fact that they also take away human lives in order to survive... in the most grotesque manner.

Aklan is my province. We visit the place yearly to celebrate Holy Week, or simply, just to wind up and relax.

One of my most horrifying experience in Aklan happened a year ago.

It was already dusk during that time. My father, together with an older cousin, invited me to visit the wake of my previous yaya, who I fondly call Manang. We were trying to locate the place, but unfortunately, we failed. We sought the help of a relative who happened to know the house of Manang, and she accompanied us. It's starting to get dark, and we didn't bring any flashlight, but luckily we do have our cell phones.

I never thought that the route going to Manang's place would be a savage, dense forest. I was like WOAH! At last, we reached Manang's house situated in a very remote area. It saddens me a lot to think that the woman (aside from my mother) who raised me was already inside a casket, lifeless. May her soul rest in peace.

We stayed there for a couple of hours, until it was seven in the evening. We are about to bid our goodbyes to them, but unfortunately, the rain poured really hard. So we had to stay there until the rain stops. They offered us snacks, such as peanuts and juice, which I really enjoyed munching. The rain stopped at around ten in the evening. I was really worried for the fact that we are using the same route (the savage, dense forest) in order to get our asses off from that place.

Fortunately, we were still with a relative who knew pretty well the route even if the inkiness of the night had engulfed the forest. It was still drizzling, and we depended on our cell phones as our only light while we struggled ourselves to find the way. The darkness of our surrounding during that time was really enthralling. It was unbelievably horrifying! My imagination was really playful at that moment. Just imagining myself being alone in my room with lights turned off makes me want to scream. What more being in a savage, dense forest in the vast darkness, right? I mean, who would want to be stuck in a situation like that?

At last we found our way. There was the street. Houses, the street lights, and a few people are also to be found. I thought I was really relieved. But then, when we reached our way to my grandfather's house, it was dark again--no lights in the street, and no people lingering outside. It was still drizzling, and we didn't have umbrellas (How fortunate of us! LOL!). As we made our way to that street, we heard a sound near us. The sound made was like "tiktiktik," though I'm not really certain if it was a tiktik. Then all of a sudden, the relative of ours shouted and said in Aklanon dialect, "Get outta here! I know who you are! I will kill you if you get near us!" I was really terrified after what she shouted. My father told us to hurry up, and even though he was calm, I could still sense the fear in him.

I honestly don't know if that was really a tiktik, or some sort of aswang, but one thing is for sure, we were not safe during that time judging by the situation happened.

I also don't know if such creature exists, and I don't want to believe that they exists because it creeps me out. It is also possible that our playful minds are the only ones who creates such thing. Remember that the mind is great--it can either create or destroy.

Image got from:
  • http://images.elfwood.com/art/j/a/jayjay/manananggal.jpg

2 comments:

  1. Most of the beasts from popular myths would pale in comparison to the creatures from the Philippines' mythology~ lol

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  2. I agree with Eric. I'm making a book about people's real-life paranormal stories from all over the world, and the Philippines by far has the most creepy paranormal creatures. And it's not just a few people, every Filipino I talk to believes in aswangs and the rest of the creatures/monsters that live in the provinces.

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