Most societies in the world have their own share of
folktales that are passed from one generation to another through word of mouth.
These myths and fantasies have passed the test of time so that their stories
are still told even today. In the Philippines there are many folktales about
fairies, witches, ghosts, evil spirits and of mythical creatures. In the
Southern Philippines particularly in some parts of Mindanao and in the Visayas
region some of these mythical creatures include the sigbin and tambaloslos which
are the topic of this article.
Sigbin is a mythical creature which is said to be a pet of a witch
or aswang. It looks similar to a hornless
goat that has a body size slightly larger than that of a cat with an
oversized ears and long tail. Its hind legs are longer than its fore legs. The sigbin
usually moves at night and unseen at day time because it turns itself into a
charcoal that is hidden in a clay jar. When moving, it walks backward with its
head pointed down and looking through its hind legs so that it sees objects to
its rear rather than to its front.
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There are different kinds of sigbin that are distinguished
according to their use to its owner, the witch or the wizard. It could be used
as a manslayer by its owner to kill the latter’s enemy. A sigbin could disguise
itself as a dog or any other animal, and at opportune time would attack its
victim. It is even said that it could sip the victim's blood through the latter's shadow. The sigbin could also be used as a means of conveyance by
the owner. The speed of the sigbin is very fast so that it could bring her to any
place just within a few seconds. People wonder why she arrives ahead of them
when she had not yet even moved from her place when they departed. Another kind
of sigbin is one which could be used as food to serve the owner’s guests during
a feast. The taste of the meat could be like that of a pork, a beef, a mutton
or whatever the owner desire it to be. She should not worry about the number of
guests because the supply of meat is inexhaustible. Being served as food on the
table is not the end of the life of the sigbin because its owner could restore
it back to life through any piece of the leftover bones. The resurrected sigbin
is the very same original sigbin that had existed before the feast.
Tambaloslos is a male
mischievous mythical creature with a big head and a large mouth that is a
denizen of the woods. It plays prank to people who stray into its territory by
having them become disoriented. The tambaloslos is delighted to see its victim
become confused and lost, and its excitement makes its mouth become bigger so that
its entire face would be covered. The only way for the victim to regain his bearings
is to take his shirt off and then put it back on inside out. The Bicol region
has a sensual version of the tambaloslos story because it prefers women to be
its victim. In its usual way, it disorients its victim, and again, the only way
for her to escape from the situation is to take off her clothes and put it back
on inside out. When she undresses the tambalolos upon seeing her breast becomes
sexually aroused causing its genital to rise up to its head so that its vision
would be blocked. In that instance the power of the tambaloslos to control her
is lost, and it would also be her opportune time to quickly get out of
harm’s way in the woods.
In the literary sense, the word “tambaloslos” is used to
mean a useless or an inept male person. It is seldom used to refer to a woman.
Tambaloslos is a slang word in The Cebuano language. It is a vulgar word and is
not used in a polite and formal conversation. Saying the word in such a situation indicates a lack of good taste on the part of the speaker. In rare
instances people say it to elicit a humorous effect. The suffix “loslos “is a slang
term for the male genital. It is maybe for this reason that the word “Tambaloslos”
has not finds its way to acceptance in formal conversational usage despite the
fact that the tales of tambaloslos is as old as the Visayan culture. “Tambaloslos kang daku!”is a sentence in
Cebuano that is somewhat similar to “You’re such a dimwit!” or something to
that effect.
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