Filipino Mythical Creatures Quiz / Test | Mythology & Legends

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. He's a tree-dweller who never shaves and who loves a good smoke on his everlasting cigar.

Answer: kapre

I wonder if the kapre has ever heard of lung cancer? He's usually depicted as a hairy naked giant sitting in a tree smoking a cigar. In fact the first indication that he's in the neighborhood is the glowing tip of his cigar. That, and the clouds of smoke arising from it!

2. He's no centaur and certainly no unicorn either. When this horse-man sits down, his knees are said to be higher than his head! The only way to tame him, it is said, is to get the one golden hair in his mane.

Answer: tikbalang

Yup, it's the tikbalang. They are often depicted as fiery creatures with fierce tempers. Except of course if you get that golden hair...

3. This bird is no phoenix, but it's just as colorful. It is often depicted as a rooster with a huge colorful tail, and a fish dangling from its beak.

Answer: sarimanok

This legendary bird comes from Maranao legend and is a prominent part of the intricate designs of this Muslim Filipino tribe. It is the symbol of Mindanao State University, my alma mater, and also the symbol of ABS-CBN broadcasting network.

4. This mythical tiny old man with sharp teeth feeds on blood. It often lures its victims into coming close enough by taking on the form of an abandoned baby, then sinks its teeth in!

Answer: tyanak

That is why Filipinos are wary of foundlings! The tyanak takes on the baby's appearance, then when the victim cuddles the poor tyke close to comfort it, yum, yum, the fiend sinks its teeth in! It could be driven away by the words "Susmaryosep" (Jesus, Mary and Joseph!) or killed by burning the 'swaddling clothes' it is found in, which is really its skin. Popular literature now depicts the tyanak as the soul of a baby killed in the womb, which could never get into paradise because it was not baptized.

5. This old man is always depicted as squatting on top of an anthill.

Answer: nuno sa punso

Hence, the name. "Nuno" means "ancestor", or literally, "old man". "Punso" means "mound". That is why Filipinos also do not want to destroy anthills... because they're afraid they may hurt the 'nuno' sitting on top of it. And that would result in the 'nuno' beating with his staff the person who hurt him... ouch!

6. The name of this creature has come to mean, in Hiligaynon, "a very tall person". He likes especially to stand beside tall thin poles or trees.

Answer: mantiw

The "mantiw" has a peculiar call like the high-pitched call of a bird "tiw! tiw!" You may not know it, but that telephone pole or tree up ahead may have a mantiw concealed in its shadow! By the way, just a note: the word Hiligaynon refers to the Filipino (Visayan) dialect which is often mistakenly called "Ilonggo" because it is spoken by the Ilonggo people.

7. The name of this creature has come to be applied to a mimic in Hiligaynon, because it repeats every word you say! Flowing water is anathema to it, because once it touches flowing water, it will dissolve into a lot of worms. Yuckk!

Answer: amaranhig

As a child, whenever my siblings and I got into those silly quarrels where you mimic one another, the old people would chide us, "you are like amaranhigs!"

8. This species of fiend is supposed to have the unique power of cutting its body in half. Then the upper part sprouts wings and flies off in search of prey, and the lower part stays behind.

Answer: manananggal

"Manananggal" literally means "one who removes". Which is what she does... (it's usually a pretty girl when it's not a fiend) she removes the upper part of her body in order to look for a nice pregnant woman to feed on. She especially likes preggies and babies, and preys on them by poking her threadlike tongue through the roof of the house and sucking up the baby from the womb. Ouch! Naturally, the best defense is to have a solid roof and a ceiling... or for the pregnant lady to just keep a pair of scissors handy.

The first sign of discomfort, and snip, snip! No more tongue! The next day, just see who among your neighbors is tongueless, and that's the culprit!

9. These "people of the place" are what we call "fairies" in other countries. They inhabit forests, trees, mountains, or, in Ilonggo folklore,even your own home. They are described as fair-skinned and with a piercing beauty--- slanting dark eyes, Caucasian features, and long straight black hair. But their identifying feature? That furrow above your upper lip? They don't have them!

Answer: tamawo

"Tamawo" means "people of the place" or "inhabitants" in Hiligaynon. The Ilonggos believe that they may also be sort of household spirits who live with you in your house and you won't even know it. So when things begin disappearing and no one knows where to, the Ilonggo just yells "Okay, put it back already!" and poof, a few minutes later, whatever's been lost is found... in the same place where he's searched for it for the umpteenth time! "Tamawo" inhabit a parallel dimension which correspond to the places in our world. Thus, your house may also be a tamawo's house... but it's much bigger in the tamawo's world. That balete tree may be a tamawo's village. Just don't eat anything black if you happen to wander into their world--- you'll never be allowed to come back to your own!

10. Here's the most popularized fiend in Filipino folklore. Question 8 is actually a species of this genus. The most appropriate description of this fiend, however, is "shapechanger" because it can take many forms. It can be a cat, a big black dog, or, in Ilonggo folklore, a huge pig that enters your pigpen and picks a fight with your pig in the middle of the night. It can be a child, a beautiful girl, or an old woman. And it especially likes to eat people.

Answer: aswang

My favorite part of the movie "Aswang" is where the reporter shows the child the footage he took of the aswang. In normal motion, it just looks like a beautiful woman walking in the woods. But in slow-mo, the woman, as she walks, turns into an old woman, then a cat, then a beautiful woman again.

They say that to identify this fiend as one, you have to (1) bend over and look at her upside down between your legs, and you will see her true form, or (2) look into her eyes (if you can stand to!) and you will see your image in her eyes, upside down! To kill an aswang, you have to spear it through the heart, or you can wound it and then sit on its doorstep with a jar of salt thus preventing it from getting home before sunrise. If the sun catches it in its fiend form, it's a goner. Oh, yeah, stories have been told of people luring strangers to their villages for fiestas, only for the hapless victim to find out that he's been earmarked for the main dish. Which is why some Filipinos are wary of invitations to out of the way places. And yeah, be careful of the food you're served at the fiesta.

It may be contaminated with aswang saliva. In short, if you can't be eaten by them, you will join them!

Source: Author layadriel

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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Filipino Mythical Creatures Trivia Quiz

This is about creatures appearing in Filipino myths, legends, epics and folk tales. I'll describe it, you name it.

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