How to Tame Your Tikbalang Ch. 10

A beautifully scaled, very naked, exotic Baywatch babe with high cheekbones, full lips, a strong jaw and the most limpid black eyes Tala had ever seen.

The male was wide, as muscular as Buhawi, and as tall. You could have swapped his face with the male faces in any Juan Luna painting of pastoral scenes where men thresh the grain or plow the fields: His lips sat full and proud above strong cheekbones, a chiseled jaw. He had wide, but slanted, eyes of such a deep green they looked black. Instead of hair, he had a large dorsal fin that caught and refracted the dim starlight to cast a rainbow mohawk over his beautifully-shaped head.

"You give a good show," the male siokoy said, still clapping webbed hands. "My mate was impressed—and aroused. You will give us a wonderful impetus for our coupling tonight. I am sure that, on this night, we will create life."

"Please forgive my mate," the female spoke, her voice sounding like the sea ebbing from the sand. "My name is Siuraya and this is he-who-won-me, Jairasiya. Tell me, what can we give you for the blessing you have given us? We have waited so long for a child and your openness with us grants us that."

"I am Buhawi and this is Tala," the Tikbalang said without preamble. "We need some scales because we have both been poisoned with fouled tiyanak blood."

The pair of siokoy looked at each other, bringing their palms together for a minute or two before Jairasiya turned to Tala. "Our scale may only be given to a Babaylan. I take it you are she?"

"Well, will a Babaylan-in-training do?" Tala fidgeted, wanting very much to cover herself, but feeling that to do so might be rude to these gloriously naked (well, okay, scaled) creatures of the sea.

Oh, what the heck, it's getting chilly. Tala donned her clothes, sand and all and stuffed her shawl back into the satchel before slipping the strap across her neck and torso. Buhawi, meanwhile, got back into his pants.

"Ah, Baylan," Siuraya said, her voice sad indeed. "You must take the third hair and come into your own before we can give you any scales. Indeed, you must come into your own before we can conceive."

"But let us do this much for you," Jairasiya said in his voice of crashing waves. "Let us bring you to an island where you will have privacy so you may complete that final rite. There is a sandbar nearby that we can dry out for you, a path to your own paradise."

With that, the siokoy took the hands of Baylan and Tikbalang and, with their free hands, motioned for the sea to ebb until the sandbar Jairasiya spoke of came into view.

The path was lined with a shimmering that grew into the bodies of more siokoy forming two rainbow-spangled queues that led them to a gorgeous island dominated by a rock-faced waterfall.

"Behind the waterfall is a cave, where my queen mate and I go to worship one another's flesh," Jairasiya said. "Please feel free to use it to complete your coming into power with our felicitations."

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I have had requests for a glossary of terms, so here it is, with a phonetic pronunciation guide, since Filipino is a language where you spell as you speak.

Arao (ah-ra-o) - The god of the sun who did not want to share the sky with his sister, the moon-goddess Bulan. He put out Bulan's eye with his spear, thus making her fall from the Skyworld.

Aswang (asu-wang) - A maligno that passes for human. It was said that the Skyfather Bathala caught some humans committing acts of cannibalism despite the plentitude of food that was theirs.

Bathala cursed these beings and turned them into aswang who needed to eat human livers and drink human blood to survive, even if they were not undead.

In the Visayas and Mindanao, it is believed that aswang traits are inherited, passed on from parent to child or grandparent to grandchild via a sentient, withered and ancient tongue (the actual, physical tongue) that detaches from a dying aswang into the aswang-in-waiting through a kiss with tongues involved (yes, ewww).

Awit (ah-wit) - A traditional Filipino poetry/song form. Song/paean.

Babaylan/Baylan (ba-ba-ee-lan/ba-ee-lan) - Animist priestesses/healers believed to have supernatural powers. They were wise women learned in herb lore and incantations.

Babaylans were were the primary health care providers on a day-to-day basis, but they were also believed to be seers, callers of rain in times of drought and lightning in times of battle.

Their blessings ensured fertility for crops, livestock and people seeking to have children. They were generally advisors to the ruling elite, counselors and spiritual advisors to the rest of their tribe. They were also skilled in reversing the hexes of mangkukulam and mambabarang and sending these hexes back at the casters with interest.

Their power is based in the divine feminine, the aspects of mother/nurturer, protector and life-giver

that is intrinsic to women.

Barang (bah-rang) - A deadly hex cast by a Mambabarang.

Bathaha (bat-ha-lah) - The Skyfather and father of all gods, the creator of life with his consort, Poon. Father of Bulan and Arao.

Bayot/Binabae (ba-ee-yot/bee-nah-bah-ey) - Animist priests who cross-dress as women to access the powers of the divine feminine. They served the same function as the Babaylan/Baylan.

As the Spanish colonization of the Philippines progressed, the terms "bayot" and "binabae" became derogatory terms for homosexual males.

Bulan (boo-lan) - Goddess of the Moon. She was cast down from the Skyworld after her brother, Arao, put out her eye with a spear. Her eye is now the moon and, through this moon, Bulan watches over the Tao of Lupa.

Dalit (dah-lit) - A traditional Filipino poetry/song form. Lament/dirge.

Diwata (dee-wah-ta) - Nymph, usually a woodland nymph. However, these nymphs are more than just beautiful enchantresses. They are also capable of healing injured humans, guiding lost travelers to areas where they can get help. When angered, the diwata can lay terrible curses on the offender that last for generations.

Duwende (doo-wen-deh) - Dwarves, wee folk who are no bigger than a human child's hand.

Colorful duwende are good duwende who help with household chores and farm work. They like to play with infants and, if they like a child too much, may lure that child to the Other Land and, without meaning harm, feed that child food from their dimension, making it difficult for the child to return to his/her own plane.

Black duwende are evil wee folk and they wear only black clothing and they bring disease to crops, pestilence to livestock and miasma into one's home.

They hate children and make children sick, sometimes killing the children in the process.

Inay (ee-nah-ay) - Mother. Also, Nanay, Ina.

Itay(ee-tah-ay) - Father. Also, Tatay, Ama.

Kapre (kah-pre) - A tobacco-smoking giant who likes to perch on large balete trees. Usually non-hostile to humans, the kapre has a frightening appearance simply because of its size.

If one is courageous enough to befriend a Kapre by giving it good cigars, then one may attempt to climb up a Kapre's tree with a goodly length of Manila hemp rope. Should you manage to tie the rope fast around the Kapre's neck or waist so that the Kapre cannot get loose, you will find a pot of gold at the noose end of the rope in the morning.

Not that the Kapre will remain your friend, so watch your back ever after.

Kulam (coo-lam) - A non-lethal hex cast by a Mangkukulam.

Lupa (loo-pah) - Earth, the dimension where humans live.

Mahal ko (mah-hal koh) - An endearment: My beloved.

Maligno (mah-lig-noh) - A blanket term for supernatural beings, inclusing ghosts and shape-shifting beings. However, this term is considered derogatory and is

most often used to describe supernatural beings who harm or frighten humans.

Mambabarang (mam-bah-bah-rang ) - Maleficar. More powerful and more evil than a mangkukulam, the mambabarang casts deadly hexes that may kill a target instantly, from a distance and without leaving any traces of their hexes that can be detected by medical science.

Like the mangkukulam, the mambabarang need items taken from the intended target (nail clippings, hair clippings, pieces of umbilical cord, scraps of unlaundered clothing, etc.) to cast their hexes successfully, as well as other spell components, such as blood and teeth drawn from a fresh corpse, which is partly why Filipinos stay awake and alert to watch over their dead day and night until the deceased is buried. The other reason for vigilance during a wake is that aswan like to steal the newly dead and put enchanted banana plant trunks in place of the cadaver, which they feast upon.

Manananggal (manna-nang-gal) - A maligno that mixes with the human population by day but victimizes pregnant women and sucks their babies out through the pregnant women's navels with its long, straw-like tongues.

The manananggal is another creature cursed by Bathala. It can separate its top half from its bottom half and sports huge bat-like wings. The bottom half is usually left amid a stand of banana plants with a few stumps in it. Thus camouflaged, the bottom half of a manananggal ensures the survival of its top half no matter what injuries the manananngal's top half may recieve. To truly kill a manananggal, one must find its bottom half, and sprinkle it with sea salt and minced raw garlic before staking the manananggal with sharpened and fire-hardended bamboo to kill it.

Mangkululam (mahng-coo-coo-lam) - Maleficar. Someone who casts evil spells that cause ill-luck to befall a given target for a fee, usually paid in gold or currency. Mangkukulam also hex people to make them sick in a way that cannot be remedied (such as by making hordes of insects crawl out of one's skin or orifices), though they are rarely able to cast hexes that kill their targets.

A mangkukulam usually requires something taken from the target of a hex without that person's knowledge, such as a photograph, hair clippings or scraps taken from clothing that was worn but not yet laundered. The closer to a person's body the item taken has been, the more powerful as spell focus this item is.

Mundong Kakaiba (moon-dong kaka-eeh-ba) - The Other World, where supernatural beings dwell. The world between the Skyworld (heaven) and Earth.

Nuno (nooh-noh) - A humanoid earth elemental with limbs and digits that are longer than twice the length of the average human. They are neutral beings who may choose to help or hinder whoever they come across. They live in earthen hillocks that resemble anthills but are much bigger.

It is said that laying sweets in front of a Nuno's house or punso will gain you the guardianship and favor of a Nuno.

If you point at a punso with your fingers, you will draw the Nuno's ire and it will make parts of your body swell painfully for weeks. This is probably why Filipinos prefer to point at things with their lips, or nod in the direction they wish to indicate.

If you step on a punso, your foot will swell painfully and it will become infected to the point where you may need an amputation.

However, if you do have the protection of the Nuno, your house is secure and your fields will be well-guarded and woe betide anyone who attempts to steal from your home or your crops.

Oraciones (ora-si-on-es) - Spells, usually beneficial ones.

Poon (poh-on) - The Earthmother who created the world along with the Skyfather. Mother of Arao and Bulan.

Puki (pooky) - Pussy. Also: Kepyas (kep-yahs), Pekpek, Puday (pooh-day), Ari, Bilat (bee-lat).

Punso (poohn-so) - A Nuno's home.

Sigbinn (sig-been) - A totally black demon goat with red eyes that kills its victims by turning its back on the victim and staring at it from between its hind legs. The sigbinn's hindquarters are almost twice as long as its forelegs and it has the long, venomous fangs of a snake.

Once the victim is dead, the sigbinn tears into its chest and abdomen to gorge itself on the victim's heart and liver.

Siokoy (see-oh-coy) - A sea-dwelling and river-dwelling creature that is often (but not always) humanoid and bipedal in form that is covered from head to foot in iridescent scales that shimmer like mother-of-pearl. Its scales are said to have very powerful healing properties.

The siokoy are not usually hostile to humans, and that they like watching humans who are close to the shorelines or traveling over the sea and rivers. When its compassion is stirred, the siokoy may even help hungry fisherfolk by filling their nets with edible seafood.

They have also been said to have come to the rescue of drowning people. When provoked, however, the siokoy will drag a human into the water and drown him or her.

Taga-Lupa (tag-a-loop-ah) - Beings of Earth, of the dimension where humans dwell.

Tarugo (tah-roo-go) - Penis. Specifically a larger than average penis. A penis is average is also called "ari" (also the generic term for genitals, male or female) and "titi." If it is small, or the member of a young boy, it is called "pototoy (poh-toh-toy)."

Tikbalang (tick-bah-lang) - A creature that has the head and hindquarters of a horse (usually a warhorse like a destrier), and the muscular torso of a human male, with an unusually large male member. It is believed that plucking the golden hairs off a Tikbalang will bring the daring adventurer uncanny good luck and immense wealth.

Tiyanak (tia-nak) - A monster that disguises itself as an abandoned but beautiful infant.

The tiyanak targets humans for food and entraps them by crying like a hungry or distressed human baby. If the Tiyanak is picked up by its human target, it will attack the human, reverting to its real form while doing so. The Tiyanak is said to look like a demonic infant, with black voids for eyes and the gray, ashen skin of the dead.

A Tiyanak comes to be when a mother is distressed over or resents her pregnancy enough to passively or actively cause a second- or third-trimester abortion/miscarriage.

Lore from the Chritstianization period of the Philippines onward says a Tiyanak is made when a stillborn infant is buried secretly, without benefit of blessing or baptism.