Aswang High: Alamat Analysis by A.S.
In this Alamat Analysis, I'll be looking into Macoy and Cy Vendivil's Aswang High (AH), comparing and contrasting the originals and how they're adapted. Spoilers abound below the line.
Adaptation/s
There's more mythical beings in AH, as expected of its name. However, it only gives subsequent screentime on one from our folklore. That is, the Bakunawa, as the main adversary. The rest act as a glimpse into the student body and how Abel interacts with them. In fact, it's Raya, another human albeit evidently more connected to the spiritual world, that he interacts with the most. While the Sirena and the Tiyanak are there to give exposition about the school and who Raya is, Abel doesn't have as much development with them. In this volume, AH's way of utilizing the Aswang cast to further comical moments or more is lacking.
Regardless, what AH's non-human cast brings to the table of folkloric adaptation is the inclusion of creatures (and practices) from contemporary urban legends. For instance, Abel has a White Lady teacher for his A.L.E. class whilst one of the activities his classmates do for MAPEH play Spirit of the Glass.
Other than this, AH makes its own spin on a Tagalog creation myth whilst taking some shared elements of our variations on the subject. Rather than making Bathala make the world with the humans or tao first in mind, He made it for the Aswangs. Despite this, the Aswangs ended up being too fierce and warlike, killing any creature to eat, leading Him to destroy all of them. With the help of the Nuno, however, they persisted and hid underground where Bathala couldn't find them. To replace the Aswang, He made the tao, intending for them to be the perfect beings, and planted them inside a bamboo stalk until they were ready to rule. AH also crowns a Sarimanok to be the first Aswang king and the one to peck it.
Origin/s
Creation myths
As I've detailed in my review, AH takes a lot of inspiration from our creation myths — specifically, the Tagalog and Visayas versions. Since there are no myths that I could find where Bathala first made the Aswang before humans, I can assume that this worldbuilding tidbit is the authors taking creative liberties. However, a god planting a bamboo stalk that will eventually be pecked open by a bird is a detail that comes from the aforementioned myths. Referencing the archived Tagalog version of the myth in Eugenio's book, a kite or a bird resembling a hawk stirred the sea and the sky in order to make land (63). Later on, the land and sea breeze married and had a child, a bamboo. This floated on the water and struck the kite's feet, who in turn pecked at it in annoyance and there, a man and a woman emerged. Here, the bird who pecked at it is not necessarily named or pointed out to be a god.
In the Visayan version, however, it is identified to be Manaul, the great bird. There are two versions of his involvement with the bamboo stalk. First, where he encountered the bamboo stalk after the war between Kaptan (God of the Sea) and Magauyan (God of the Land) settled. This stalk, having a voice call out to him to "open the joints, as those inside desired to aid him in maintaining peace, and furthermore would populate his domains" (Eugenio 76). The first man here is named Si-Kalao and the first woman is named Si-Kalay.
In the second Visayan iteration, Manaul's position is specified to be a king. Compared to the first version where Land and Sea fought on their own volition and Manaul made the decisive blow to stop the war, this Manaul started (and ended) the war between them. The rocks he throwed are also identified to form "the islands of Iraya, one of which being that of Bugto, which is now known as the island of Negros" (Eugenio 77).
As for the bamboo stalk's involvement, it came from Manaul's desire to escape the heat of the sun. Rather than being the God of the Land, the Magauyan here is Manaul's general who sent the plant to him. The same plant had voices from it, though it isn't described for them to specifically call out to Manaul. Once again, Manaul breaks it open with his beak. This time around, the man is named Sikalak whilst the woman is named Sikabay.
Another Visayan version of the myth exists with a handful of similarities, but without the mention of the bird being named. Rather than the bamboo being requested and delivered, it floated to it. The first man and woman's names are also different — the former, being Calaque and the latter, being Cabaye (Eugenio 74-75).
In AH's depiction of this bamboo stalk motif, it has traces of the Visayan and contemporary version of the myth. The description of the first man and woman emerging, "imperfect in strength and beauty" are characteristics referencing their Filipino names, Malakas and Maganda. Manaul is also replaced by a Sarimanok, AH's first king of the Aswang. Rather than the bird urging war for creation, the Sarimanok is relegated to be one part of the equation beside Bathala.
By Nihaya P. Tamano
What's interesting is the fact that the Sarimanok is originally a legendary bird from Maranao that has no relation with the Aswang. Rather, it's a symbol of good fortune and is often at the center of Maranao people's cultural dances (Bangsamoro Information Office). The Sarimanok's visual depiction in AH (or its stylistic silhouette) more resembles a bird rather than a rooster, the usual way it's depicted.
Bakunawa
The Bakunawa's story can be seen in Western Visayas. In Maximo Ramos' book detailing all sorts of creatures from Philippine folklore, he describes the Bakunawa (or Baconaua as it's spelled in Hiligaynon) to be "fishlike," resembling a shark with a large mouth "the size of a lake" alongside whiskers "about one palmo in length" (35). Other than these fishlike characteristics, it had "gills and smaller wings at its sides, ,and it 'obscured the moon or sun whenever it swallowed it'" (35). In the same book, the Bakunawa resides in the sea's depths. The Balete Book further describes that in order to get the creature to release the moon and the sun, one must intimidate it by noises from the earth.
There is also a Cebuano version of the myth archived in Eugenio's Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths, where Bakunawa, "the huge serpent that rules the seas" fell in love with the seven moons in the heavenly kingdom (267). The act of swallowing all of them stemmed from his desire to be their eternal possessor. While he succeeded at stealing them six times, they also melted away after his attempts. Other than people being described to make noises to let go of the moon, Bathala's involvement comes into play with Him planting a "bamboo tree in [the moon's] midst" to prevent it from getting swallowed (268).
As for how the Bakunawa is seen in AH, it's suggested from Raya and Abel's dialogue that there's more than one Bakunawa — rather, it leans towards being a species rather than a singular mythical being. It's also described to be a planet and star eater — no longer limited to only consuming the moon and sun as described in the older variations of the tale. Other than this, astrophysical plasma is a part of its diet, possibly being the reason why it tries to bite off Abel's arm and doesn't go after Raya, though that part is left to interpretation. When the duo initially meet it, it's also in a smaller state. Though, once it eats what's in the cafeteria's cauldron (and more), it transforms into its full state.
AH's visual depiction of it also leans towards it having dragon characteristics. This possibly stems from the contemporary description of the creature to be a dragon-like serpent rather than fishlike. Instead of defeating the Bakunawa with the usual onslaught of noises, AH takes a more fantastical route with Raya using blood rite magic, another decision borne out of creative liberty.
Retelling of Folk
While the elaboration of our folklore's background isn't dwelled too much on in AH, it nonetheless adds another spin to our well-known stories. For instance, its take on the creation myth for it to be tailored to its worldbuilding needs. Rather than Lamang-Lupa referring to dwarf-like creatures that are made out of earth, it refers to the Aswang species as a whole. The same name (without the hyphen) is also now the place where they reside. Although I’m sure that balut being used as a means of transportation to the underside is a tidbit written by the authors, I think it took inspiration from the fact that to turn into an Aswang, one must ingest an infected bird (among a variety of ways). Much like older komiks adapting folklore into their stories, AH continues to keep the stories alive by repurposing them for another generation.
References
Bangsamoro Information Office. “Sarimanok Rising: The Colorful Culture of Maranaos - BARMM Official Website.” BARMM Official Website - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 3 Aug. 2022, bangsamoro.gov.ph/news/latest-news/sarimanok-rising-the-colorful-culture-of-maranaos.
Eugenio, Damiana L. Philippine Folk Literature: The myths. University of the Philippines Press, 1993.
Paraiso, Salvador. The Balete Book: A Collection of Demons, Monsters, Elves and Dwarfs from the Philippine Lower Mythology. Giraffe Books, 2003.
Ramos, Maximo D. The Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. University of the Philippines Press. 1971.