Tiyanak

Updated on Mar 18, 2024

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Title Tiyanak Gender Male or female		Description Demon child/Changeling Region Philippines

The tiyanak aswang phenomenon full documentary

The Tiyanak (also Tianak or Tianac) is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that imitates the form of a child. It usually takes the form of a newborn baby and cries like one in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by the victim, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim. The tiyanak is also depicted to take malevolent delight in leading travelers astray, or in abducting children.

Magpakailanman ang anak kong tiyanak

Appearance and characteristics

While various legends have slightly different versions of the tiyanak folklore, the stories all agree on its ability to mimic an infant, with its ability to imitate an infant's cries for luring victims. In some legends, the Tiyanak may take the form of a specific child.

In one version, it retains the general shape of a baby but then forms sharp claws and fangs to attack its victim.

In another, it shares certain similarities with dwarfs and is similarly associated with the earth. In this version, the "true" form of the tiyanak is that of a little old man with wrinkled skin, a long beard and mustache, a flat nose and eyes the size of peseta coins. The same story says that a tiyanak is relatively immobile because its right leg is much shorter than the other. This deformity forces it to move by leaping rather than walking, making it difficult to hunt or stalk victims, but its ability to mimic an infant's cry compensates for this disadvantage.

In yet another story it is seen supernaturally flying through the forest (still in the form of a baby) and in a legend from the island of Mindoro it transforms into a black bird before flying away

In another version from Pampanga, the tiyanak are described as small, nut-brown people who don't walk on the ground but rather float on air. They have large noses, wide mouths, large fierce eyes and sharp voices.

In Batangas version, the tiyanak are described as a regular baby who is lost in the wild. They are believed to be an aborted or died fetus who died without a name. It also is said that when you hear like the tiyanak is far, the tiyanak is actually nearby. If the tiyanak sounds like near, the tiyanak is actually far.

Origins

Tiyanak is a creature which, in Philippine mythology, imitates the form of a child. It usually takes the formâ¦ | Philippine mythology, Mythical creatures, Mythology

There are various stories on how tiyanaks came to being. The Mandaya people from Mindanao believe that the tiyanak represents the spirit of an unborn child, whose mother passed away prior to childbirth. This situation leads to the child being "born in the ground," resulting in its supernatural existence. A comparable entity in Malay folklore is the Pontianak, described as the spirit of a woman who died during pregnancy.

With the Spanish colonization of the Philippines in the 16th century, the tiyanak myth was integrated into Christianity. The tiyanak in the Christian version were supposedly the souls of infants that died before being baptized. In modern-day Philippines, this definition has extended to that of aborted fetuses that returned from death to seek revenge on those who deprived them of life. It is also said that Tiyanak cannot go to after life because of not having a name. It then led them to be an Earth bound creature which wonder around searching for someone to give them names.

Countermeasures

In local belief, various countermeasures are supposedly effective against the tiyanak. Those that were led astray by the creature's cries are believed to be able to break the enchantment by turning their clothes inside out. The tiyanak finds the method humorous enough to let go of the traveler and go back to the jungles. Loud noises such as a New Year's celebration are also thought to be enough to drive the tiyanak away from the vicinity. Objects believed to repel Aswang (vampiric shape-shifters), like garlic and the rosary, are also commonly believed to be effective against the tiyanak. It is also believed that giving a name will give peace to this lost souls and offer white candle to guide its spirit to afterlife.

In popular culture

The tiyanak is the subject of many Philippine movies:

Tianak (1953)

Tiyanak (1988)

Juan Tanga, super naman, at ang kambal na tiyanak (1990)

Impakto (1996)

Tiyanaks (2007)

Tiyanaks appeared in the 2006 TV series, Super Inggo. Dubbed as the "junanaks" by Budong and Pareng Jomar. They also appeared in week-32 2013 episodes of Juan dela Cruz (TV series).

The Tiyanak is also featured as a monster, along with other Philippine folklore-inspired beings, in the Port Malaya patch of Ragnarok Online.

Additional reading

Cruz, Neal (2008-10-31). "As I See It: Philippine mythological monsters". Philippine Daily Inquirer.

References

Tiyanak Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA