The tiyanak (also tianak or tianac ) is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby. Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by an unfortunate passerby, 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.
Historical Accounts
"They had another deception—namely, that if any woman died in childbirth, she and the child suffered punishment; and that, at night, she could be heard lamenting. This was called patianac. May the honor and glory be God our Lord's, that among all the Tagalos not a trace of this is left; and that those who are now marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to the preaching of the holy gospel, which has banished it."
Fr. Juan de Plasencia, Customs of the Tagalogs (1589)
"449. Pregnant women could not cut their hair, for they said that the children that they would bear would have no hair. When a woman is about to give birth, some men undress until they are stark naked. Then taking shields and catans, one takes his stand in the silong, and another on the ridge of the house, and they continually fence with the wind with their catans as long as the parturition lasts. I have removed some from this performance by force of punishment. They say that it is to keep the patiànac and the osuàng away from the woman. These are witches among them who come to obstruct the success of the childbirth, and to suck out the souls of children; and the people act thus in order to prevent them. He who does not wish to have this observed in public, through fear of punishment, removes his wife to another house for the parturition, if he thinks that the witch is in his."
Fr. Francisco de San Antonio, Cronicas (1738-44)
"They have many other superstitions, as that of the patianac, a spirit or ideal being, whose employment or amusement consists in preventing, [41]by certain means peculiar to itself, the delivery of a woman in labour. To counteract the malignity of this spirit, the husband, fastening the door, reduces himself to a state of complete nudity, lights a fire, and arming himself with his sword, continues to flourish it furiously, until the woman is delivered."
Fr. Martinez de Zuniga, Estadismo (1803)
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, able 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 one leg is shorter than the other. This deformity forces it to move by leaping and/or crawling 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 Central Luzon, especially in 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 the Batangas version, the tiyanak are described as regular babies who were lost in the wild. They are believed to be babies who died without a name, aborted or otherwise. It also is said that when the cry of a tiyanak sounds soft, one is actually nearby, and conversely if the cry sounds loud, it is actually distant.
Origins
There are various stories on how tiyanaks came to be. The Mandaya people of Mindanao claim that the tiyanak is the spirit of a child whose mother died before giving birth. This caused it to be "born in the ground", thus gaining its current state. A similar supernatural creature in Malay folklore is the Pontianak, which was a woman who died before giving birth.
