Friday, July 5, 2024

REDISCOVER THE GABUNAN IN PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY

  

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ANG ASWANG GABUNAN


The Gabunan: Apex Predator of Aswangs


The Gabunan, an apex predator among aswangs, tales often depict Gabunans as dark-skinned, fierce creatures with a taste for consuming other types of aswangs. This trait makes them the natural enemies of the Bangkilan, as they hunt and devour the black pearls and chicks that reside within these powerful aswangs. 

Gabunan


The Gabunan is a type of Aswang in Philippine mythology. Gabunans are the apex predators among aswangs, possessing unparalleled experience, strength, and cunning. Unlike other aswangs, they prefer not to shape-shift into animals and maintain their formidable power even in daylight. Gabunans are known for their swift and stealthy attacks on humans, often pouncing on their victims before sunset, strangling them or breaking their necks with lethal efficiency.


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These creatures exhibit extraordinary speed, making their approach nearly imperceptible. Surprisingly, gabunans can fly without wings, allowing them to move silently through the air. One of their notorious abilities is the stealthy abduction of infants. They can snatch a baby without being noticed, substituting it with a piglet or a large fish cleverly altered to resemble the missing infant.


In their true form, the eldest gabunans are characterized by coal-black skin, bloodshot eyes, protruding fangs, and long, disheveled white hair. Despite their ferocity, gabunans consume human flesh sparingly, indulging in this gruesome feast only once or twice a year.


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Gabunan


Gabunan in contemporary stories and oral mythologies 

Contemporary tales often depict gabunans as dark-skinned, fierce creatures with a taste for consuming other types of aswangs. Alternatively, some narratives take a more European approach, portraying gabunans with attributes reminiscent of demons and werewolves. Regardless of the variation, gabunans stand as the epitome of aswang power and malevolence in the realm of folklore.

Gabunan



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Orally Passed Down Folktales: Stories about the Aswang Gabunan

The Hermit who sells fruits

A story from Antique involves Gabunans and a male diwata. An old hermit living in the forest sells extremely sweet fruits to villagers. Out of envy, a group of men attacks the old man, but a kind lad helps him. The old man reveals his true form as a luminous male diwata, summoning two Gabunans. With the diwata's blessing, one Gabunan sprouts big wings, and the other turns into a huge black beast. The Gabunans hunt down the men who attacked the diwata, bringing their bodies back to the sacred tree. The kind lad is rewarded with good fortune and long life.


Diwata and Gabunan


Bangkilan battles a Gabunan

A story from Negros tells of a young man in love with a girl from a remote place. While visiting, he is attacked by a Gabunan but is saved by a big pig that transforms into a bat-winged maiden with sharp claws called Bangkilan. Bangkilan battles the Gabunan to protect the young man, who recognizes the maiden's voice as similar to the woman he loves. Thankful but scared, he struggles to accept that the maiden he loves is a monster called Bangkilan.

Gabunan that attacks and kills other Aswang

A folktale from Masbate narrates the story of a young man who discovers he is a Gabunan. Upon reaching puberty, his Gabunan characteristics awaken, and instead of consuming humans, he decides to hunt other types of aswangs such as Amalanhig, Karaniwang Aswang, and tik-tik. He becomes a hunter, targeting these creatures to protect others.




A folktale in Samar about a recluse lone man who has many pet chiken who is secretly Gabunan who refuses to eat humans instead it kills and eats other variant of Aswang to keep the villages safe from other entities and creatures of the night.






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