The supernatural characters that inhabit the world of Trese are all-too familiar to many Filipinos weaned on a childhood diet of our elder’s folklore. But besides being household bogeymen meant to scare kids to go home before nightfall, these magical characters also symbolize actual events and trends in our history.
With the help of Rodriguez, who is a specialist in Philippine studies, we sought to demystify the origins of some of these mystical creatures in our folklore that populate the world of Trese.“The more you destroy nature, the more evil they become. Aswang in the early times, according to the early chronicles, was some sort of an animal-like creature; not necessarily humans, nor human-like. The depiction only becomes clear as the contemporary period enters,” she said.
Rodriguez said in our folklore, the Tikbalang usually prey on humans and even cause accidents. They could also hunt in pairs.