Do you Believe in Aswang, Mumu or Mangkukulam?

[neodragon0l 6]

My fiancee and I are talking about the above topic. I am wondering what others think.

[actob99 156]

Hindi, but my wife to be does...

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

Of course there are ghosts. Everyone knows that!

[renecherubs 18]

they are legends. some filipinos believe they are real. even in our province, they would point out who are the aswangs.they're like a family. the power handed down to generation to generation. i wanted to see one to be sure they are real. but never ever seen any aswang. some night a bird would call into the night "wak wak wak". and they would say, that's the aswang. when i look for it outside, it's only just a big black bird eating on the fruits on the tree next to our house. in the morning, the fruit was on the ground, half eaten. i believe...aswang is only a legend. mangkukulam is another story. some people obviously do these bad omen things to wish their enemies harm. but whether or not it is effective is a matter of faith, i personally believe. but i'm sure, God will always protect his people against evil deeds.

[X Factor 1,112]

My fiancee doesn't believe in anything superstitious

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

I believe in them and my fiance and her family definetely do believe.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Yes. My wife has stories, and sees multo in her dreams all the time. Her mom saw a kapre sitting in a tree one day while on her way home. Another time on the way to church, she saw a white lady crossing her path. When she got close, she noticed the lady didn't have any feet, then she just vanished.

Be afraid. Be very afraid!

[Caryh 5,206]

My wife claims not to believe at times, but then she'll be afraid of them to. There will never be a mango tree in any yard we have, thats for sure. She was afraid to visit this one island that is supposed to have witches on it to. I guess they just need to touch you and you'll die and this island was full of them. We was also told her younger brother died because his heart was tied to a snake's heart. And when someone killed the snake, her brother died. Thats all she knows about why that one brother died. I guess you mind can tell you these things are not real, but when you grow up in the culture that believes in them, its hard to get that fear and superstition out of your system.

[X Factor 1,112]

I believe in them and my fiance and her family definetely do believe.

Just to clarify - that doen't mean she doesn't belive in the invisible realm. As a Christian she certainly belives that angels as well as demons exist and that they are active on the earth - Revelation 12:9

[El Rey 4]

I don't believe, neither does the missus. But, I tell you, there might be some under that huge ancient balete tree, as Rizal expounded in "Noli Me Tangere".

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I don't believe, neither does the missus. But, I tell you, there might be some under that huge ancient balete tree, as Rizal expounded in "Noli Me Tangere".

How are you doing, A.J.! How is Tess?

[lierre 224]

I don't believe in the supernatural

[Calypso 464]

Stories about supernatural elements are crafted to explain strange or less common phenomenon, illness and some natural occurrences. They are also perpetuated to strike fear because with fear comes control. Other stories are forged in order to preserve something. That's how folklore usually works.

For example, a Filipino develops a neglected tropical disease such as lymphatic filariasis. People will often attribute that to "kulam" or "barang" and refuse to go to the doctor out of shame or poverty. What makes it worse is when the afflicted seeks medical help but due to the doctor's incompetence or lack of technology, he would not be able to treat the disease. That's the time when suspicions of "kulam" get stronger or affirmed by the patient and his relatives.

Another example: Once upon a time, the elders realized that cutting trees is not good for the environment. Since they couldn't go around by simply telling people to stop bringing trees down, they made up stories like some vicious spirits live in trees, especially in a "balete tree" or banyan (ask your wife/fiancee what some Filipinos think of a "balete tree") and if you destroy the home of the spirits, they'd hit back by inflicting you with some odd disease and misfortune.

As for fear, well, some parents in the Philippines scare their kids about aswang, wakwak, balbal, manananggal, etc. starting at a very young age so the children won't stay up late at night. They can't make their kids sleep early by natural means. This stupid plot produces grownup individuals who are afraid of the dark, don't wanna be alone in a room, or think that a forest is home to malicious spirits. They see the silhouette of a banana leaf in a windy night and imagine the wings of a manananggal. They hear stray cats in heat chasing each other on the roof, they assume an aswang has landed with a thump. They give meanings to the rustling of trees, the howling of the wind, etc.

What I don't find amusing is that some Filipinos are so used to nurturing fear and intimidation that they fear the government, they fear the curious look of an innocent neighbor, they fear change and other natural elements.

they are legends. some filipinos believe they are real. even in our province, they would point out who are the aswangs.they're like a family. the power handed down to generation to generation. i wanted to see one to be sure they are real. but never ever seen any aswang. some night a bird would call into the night "wak wak wak". and they would say, that's the aswang. when i look for it outside, it's only just a big black bird eating on the fruits on the tree next to our house. in the morning, the fruit was on the ground, half eaten. i believe...aswang is only a legend. mangkukulam is another story. some people obviously do these bad omen things to wish their enemies harm. but whether or not it is effective is a matter of faith, i personally believe. but i'm sure, God will always protect his people against evil deeds.

I believe in them and my fiance and her family definetely do believe.

My wife claims not to believe at times, but then she'll be afraid of them to. There will never be a mango tree in any yard we have, thats for sure. She was afraid to visit this one island that is supposed to have witches on it to. I guess they just need to touch you and you'll die and this island was full of them. We was also told her younger brother died because his heart was tied to a snake's heart. And when someone killed the snake, her brother died. Thats all she knows about why that one brother died. I guess you mind can tell you these things are not real, but when you grow up in the culture that believes in them, its hard to get that fear and superstition out of your system.

[rlogan 2,036]

Sure there's superstition in Philippines like most countries.

In traveling the most remote impoverished and illiterate provinces the biggest evidence of that is seen in the one building that is not a clap-board shanty cobbled together out of scraps from the road. It stands in such blazing contrast in all its glory - concrete and steel construction with hardwood decoration inside, stained-glass windows, a towering giant. Empty all but one day, for a matter of hours. As a money-collection machine that has financed the building along with the guy in the satin robe up front. They, dressed in rags. Giving what few pesos they have.

Talk about an eye opener. What superstitions can do.

[El Rey 4]

Sure there's superstition in Philippines like most countries.

In traveling the most remote impoverished and illiterate provinces the biggest evidence of that is seen in the one building that is not a clap-board shanty cobbled together out of scraps from the road. It stands in such blazing contrast in all its glory - concrete and steel construction with hardwood decoration inside, stained-glass windows, a towering giant. Empty all but one day, for a matter of hours. As a money-collection machine that has financed the building along with the guy in the satin robe up front. They, dressed in rags. Giving what few pesos they have.

Talk about an eye opener. What superstitions can do.

Anyone who goes to church is not superstitious. And, putting a little oblation in the offering plate is not obligatory unlike taxes imposed by the government. Reckon somebody doles out a peso because he holds onto his religious beliefs. He offers because he has something to spare and not because he visualizes that something unfortunate will befall him if he does not open his wallet.