Familiar
A new kid from the barrio had difficulties navigating a new life in the city. Sometimes, it takes a familiar creature to find peace of mind even if all the other kids are afraid of it. Listen to our new story below.
The Cigar-smoking Demon
Iyang sa mga taong maitim hindi sasala't, iyan ang mga gi-gante sa guniguni lamang na tinatauag ng mga ilocano: pugut cahuluga, i, maitim. Ang sabi co,i, guniguni lamang, ngunit, sa Iloco may mga taong mahusay at marurunong na ipinaglalaban na hindi at ang sabi ay doon sa manga taon 1865 o 67 isang camay na di naquiquita binabato ang isang bahay na nasasa Vigan, sapagcat, ng bagopa, i, ipinagpalagay nila na gaua ng isang pillo sa lansangan; ang mga justicia sa bayan binacod ang bahay na yaon dapua ang nangyari cahit anong pag-iingat ang gauin nagtutuloy ring lumalagpac ang mga bato doon lamang sa bahay na yaon, na hindi naman maguing aerolito, (o hamog na tumitigas na parang bato), at lalo nanga, na ang mga inihahaguis ay mga capirasong tapayan, at ang lalong di sucat paniualaan ay ang sinasabi ng capitan ng panahong yaon na siyang pinagbilinang magbantay doon sa bahay na tungcol doon sa mga bato cahima’t, tila inihahaguis ng boong lacas ay hindi nacasasaquit sa mga tauo, na cong sila, i, tamaan dahandahan ang lagpac at ang uica pa, i, naquita nang caniyang mga mata. Dapat naman talastasin na ang naturang capitang pasado ay ualang muchang sinungaling at ang ibang mga pare sa Iloco sinasalita sa aquin na canilang naquita ang paglagpac niyong mga bato.
The tale above was taken from El Diablo en Filipinas (1887) by Isabelo Reyes (1864-1934), which was initially written in Spanish. It was later serialized in four parts in Spanish and Tagalog in the newspaper La España Oriental. El Diablo Filipinas is a comedic mockery of the missionary friars' documents in the 17th and 18th centuries of the life and belief of the natives of the Philippines. It recounts how in 1865 to 1867, a Pugot (by the Ilokano, cafre to the Spaniards, literally means "the decapitated one"), a large dark figure started throwing stones from a house in Vigan. Nobody can see the figure thinking that there are boys who were naughty enough to prank them. Nevertheless, the people of Ilocos would maintain that they saw a floating hand, throwing stones to the ground. Even some of the local priest were reported to have witness the incident.
In Dr. Heinrich Rothdauscher's unpublished memoirs, Lebenserinnenrugen eines deutsch en Apothekers (1932), it also contains the following account during his stay in Vigan between 1876-1878. The locals feared that a Pugot is throwing stones from the old unfinished haunted house but it was later refuted. It turns out that someone secretly built a hut inside the unfinished house and threw stones through its window to match the story of a mischievous Pugot as to deter trespassers. As for the Spanish, they would refer to such creature regardless of what the natives in any region calls it, as Cafre because of its physical description. For the locals, the Pugot is just one of many of our Anitos, a nature spirit or deity. The recounted tale brought in an added lore to our mythological creature by categorizing Kapre as a diablo or demon. In the pre-hispanic Philippines, the idea of a diablo or a devil does not exist. It is a Christianized idea that presents good and evil by way of God and the devil. The Hispanic word Cafre was localized to Kapre, since the Philippine language does not possess the c which became a k and then f became a p.
The word cafre originated from an Arabic term kafir ( كافر ) which mean as a disbeliever or non-believer of Allah. In 711 AD, Muslim forces invaded and were able to conquer the Iberian peninsula in just seven years. The Iberian Peninsula is a territory divided between Spain and Portugal. The Muslims, consisting of Arabs and Berbers, conquered most of Spain and Portugal. By 720 AD, Spain is under the Muslim rule (Moorish Civilization) until its decline in 1492, when Boabdil, the ruler of Granada City, was defeated by the Christian armies. During their reign, the Moorish tolerated most of the Spanish Christians and Jews since they are monotheistic like Islam.
Cafres as part of a panel in the 1734’s Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Islas Filipinas, most commonly known as Murillo Velarde Map. The panel depicted a Manila slave market of Cafres (East African) by the Portuguese.
By the 15th century, Muslims in Africa refers to non-Muslim African natives as Kaffir. Muslim traders sold their Kaffir slaves to the European and Asian merchants. Later on, Kaffir evolved into Cafri. Leo Africanus, a Berber Andalusi 16th century explorer who is best known as the author of the book Descrittione dell'Africa (Description of Africa) describes the Cafri as "pagan negroes". He described them as "as black as pitch, and of a mighty stature, and (as some think) descended of the Jews; but now they are idolators." The Spanish then adopted the term Kafir or Cafri from the Portuguese to Cafre, a new derogatory term that means "uncouth or a savage, or a beast."
Academically, kafir refers to a polytheist, but it is used today as a derogatory term to Muslims who committed a grave sin. In the Philippines, the term Kapre stuck. Because the missionary friars gather tales from the native and started referencing any dark savage-looking creature as Cafre, that some of the original names for some of these creatures were lost over time. In other provinces, though, they were able to retain the local names of their "dark cigar-smoking giant that inhabits tall trees."
To understand the mythology of the Kapre, we must seek the different creatures that resemble its description and category. In different regions in the Philippines, the natives have different names and descriptions for our tall, dark, and muscular demon. They are known to inhabit trees like santol, balete, kamagong, acacia, duhat, bangar or kalumpang, tamarind, and any large trees. They smoke a large cigar or a pipe and can also change shape or size or shapeshift. They sometimes emit a strong smell of human excrement and the appearance of embers in the surrounding area. They love to inhabit large abandoned structures. They are mostly considered harmless when shown respect. If you are brave enough to lasso a rope to a Kapre's neck and tie it to a tree–the next morning, the rope will find the road sunk into the ground. A large pot of gold is buried underneath, but be careful not to show it to anyone as it will turn into ashes.
The cigar-smoking Kapre is a modern addition since tobacco does not exist in the pre-colonial Philippines. These new characteristics of a Kapre may have evolved from their burning mouth or flaming head when they metamorphosed into animal form. In 1592, the Spanish Galleon San Clemente docked in Manila loaded with 50 kilos of Cuban tobacco seed from Mexico. The tobacco seeds were distributed among the Spanish friars. The tobacco flourished that it became a new source of income for the colonial government, making the Philippines a profitable colony to Spain.
Maximo D. Ramos processed the identification and categorization of the creatures under the Philippine lower mythology. He uses the creature's traits and functions to establish the type of creatures under the lower mythology. Thus, he employed the same categorization used by the Europeans. This way, it will make it easier for students to understand and study the concept because of the Filipino’s familiarity with the European category of different type of creatures. As such, the Kapre falls under the category of a Demon, alongside the Tikbalang, Batibat or Bangungot, Santilmo, Tulung or Tuwung, Anggitay, and Alawig or Silew-silew. Here is a compilation of all the regional mythological creatures that have the same physical trait and activities like the Kapre.
Demon-type creatures that resembles Kapre
| Name | Region | Physical Description | Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kapre | Bikolano, Pampangos, Tagalog, Visayans | Tall and hideous. His skin is dark, rough and hairy with thick lips and big ears and eyes as large as a saucer. He lives in large trees. Can grow shorter or taller. Smells like a goat. Smokes a large cigar that doesn’t get short. | Can change shape or size. Can become a headless, tailless pig, dog, goat, or cat. Appears during New Moon. Wanders alone or sit in tree smoking a cigar |
| Baras | Pangasinense | Same physical description as Kapre. | Steal pretty maiden who is asleep and carries it off to his house in the woods. |
| Kalariot | Pampanga | Same physical description as Kapre. | Steal pretty maiden who is asleep and carries it off to his house in the woods. |
| Kibas | Ilokanos | Same physical description as Kapre. | Steal pretty maiden who is asleep and carries it off to his house in the woods. |
| Ammalabi | Ibanags | Same physical description as Kapre. Ammalabi means, “the ever-changing one”. | Same activities as Kapre. |
| Pugot | Ilokanos, Pampangos | He is headless and sometimes armless. He has strong unpleasant smell. Fire gets out of his cut throat but afraid of fire. | Can change shape or size. Can become a headless, tailless pig, dog, goat, or cat. Frightens people. Loves to dance and eat while walking alone. |
| Sarangay | Ibanags | Same physical description as the Kapre. Wears a large earrings. He owns a magic jewel that you can steal. Anyone who keeps the jewel onto his/her mouth can get the strength of ten men. | Lows like a bull and chases people at night. |
| Talahiang | Zamboangans | Same physical description as the Kapre. He makes travelers lose their way. He is afraid of noise. | Sits on a large tree and make wayfarers lose their sense of direction. |
| Ani-ani | Zambale | Same physical description as Kapre except Ani-ani is eighteen feet tall. You may think you are standing between two trees but you’ll soon realize its the Ani-ani’s lower legs. | Appears during a New Moon. May be seen sitting on a large branch smoking a cigar. |
| Bantay | Pangasinense | Same physical description as Kapre but older looking. It can turn into a white rooster that turns bigger or smaller. | Appears during a New Moon especially on a drizzle. |
| Agta, Bawo, or Ungo | Waray | Same physical description as Kapre but it smokes a large pipe. | Wanders alone or sit in a tree while smoking a pipe. Orders fishermen not to fish between 8:00pm to 4:00 am. Knocks down large trees to stop men. When offended, he punishes folks, steals clothing, and firewood. |
| Lagtaw | Sulu | Same physical description as Kapre but it doesn’t smoke a cigar or pipe. | It lives inside big tree holes and comes out to frighten kids. |
Cultural Bearings of Kapre in our Society
Contrary to all the other mythological creatures in the Philippines, tales of Kapre sighting is the most ubiquitous. You can find stories about Kapre, even in urban areas where old and large trees can be found.
In Code of Kalantiaw, said to have been written in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, chief of the island of Negros state with the following law regarding the protection of trees of value or venerable respect:
Article VI
Ye shall revere respectable places, trees of known value, and other sites. He shall pay a month's work, in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if twice committed, he shall be declared a slave.
Article VII
They shall die who kill trees of venerable aspect; who at night shoot with arrows the aged men and the women; he who enters the house of the headman without permission; he who kills a fish or shark or striped crocodile."
This code though was proven to be a hoax found written in 1913 as part of a historical fiction Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla de Negros (Spanish, "The Ancient Legends of the Island of Negros") by Jose E. Marco. It was disputed by William Henry Scott's dissertation at the University of Sto. Tomas in 1965. This shows how integral the fear of our society with towering trees. This belief had significant implications for an agricultural nation like the Philippines. The country's main agricultural crops are rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, bananas, pineapple, coffee, mangoes, tobacco, and abaca. Secondary are peanut, cassava, camote, garlic, onion, cabbage, eggplant, calamansi, cocoa beans, rubber, and cotton. Since large trees are known to be inhabited by a multitude of different spirits and mythological creatures, they are left to grow bigger leaving some patches of farmland undisturbed. One of the early American officials in 1899 had written about the Filipinos fear of the balete (strangler figs), a huge parasitic tree that envelopes its host tree:
"All Monteses stand in great dread of a certain parasitic tree, which wraps its branches about the trunk of some neighbor until it dies and decays, leaving a cavity surrounded by limbs that are interlaced and grown together. We were informed that there were white men inside the tree, and that its branches would bleed if cut."
Inside the cavernous 600-year old Balete tree (Millennium Tree) in Aurora, Philippines.
The American town planners decided to plant large trees like acacia and talisay trees to provide shades in the town plaza. They wanted to encourage people to use the cooling shade of the trees for gathering, but much to their dismay, the public did not utilize the space. The Americans thought that the balete are the only preferred trees by different mythological creatures. Tales of Kapre, Encanto, and Tikbalang sightings materialize as the trees attained great heights. Modern accounts of this belief still prevail until today. There are countless other trees in the Philippines that are left uncut even though it encroaches the middle of the road like the sampaloc tree in Project 3, Quezon City. The tree is believed to be inhabited by spirits. Since road workers that attempted to cut down the trees get sick, they decided to leave the sampaloc tree standing. In 2019, DENR (Department of Natural Resources and Environment) declared the Sampaloc as a heritage tree, along with its own plaque displayed within the vicinity. The most famous and regarded as the home of a Kapre is the balete tree found inside the Malacañan Palace. The balete tree was said to date back as the 1800s, and a Kapre known as Mr. Brown lives there since the American occupation. Stories of Mr. Brown is reported as mischievous but a good-natured creature. It was declared a heritage tree by DENR in 2011.
Stories of Kapre are often about their mischievous nature. Some stories are rife with their antics, and they like to frighten people for fun. Some aspire to woo women by leaving them gifts, and some are told to be extra friendly. Perhaps, we shouldn't fear large trees anymore and learn to appreciate our old culture filled with stories about different spirits and mythological creatures living inside large trees. Metro Manila is slowly losing nature parks and it keeps getting denser. Progress hasn't treated our Kapre's domicile well. But some good news pops up like Manila Mayor Isko Moreno pledging to expand the Arroceros Forest Park. There’s also the local residents of La Union trying to protect their century-old acacia trees that line their major highway.
If there is something that we can learn from history, is that balance is needed between Filipinos and they're local spirits and/or mythological creatures for a harmonious relationship. I felt that they are more advantage now on keeping our trees intact than removing them for the sake of progress such as road widening. Advantages that includes fighting global warming, air and noise pollution, general well-being, and beautification. With the climate change crisis looming, I don't mind building more homes for a Kapre to live in.
For further reading:
Isabelo delos Reyes El Folk-lore Filipino
Maximo D. Ramos The Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology
Tony Perez Beings
Ang Diablo sa Filipinas ayon sa nasasabi sa mga casulatan luma sa Kastila thru Anvil or Scribd
(use my link to get free 60 days on Scridb)
Quezon City’s short history as Nation's Capital
What is unique about Quezon City in the era of decolonization was that it was the first capital city that was moved to another site and the first planned capital since the establishment of the Pagan in Burma and Angkor in Cambodia. Quezon City is shaped by decolonization from the US, the postwar authoritarianism coming from the Japanese occupation in World War II, the Cold War, and urbanization.
One of Manuel L. Quezon's goal for Quezon City is to build low-cost housing projects for Manila's working class. It became the focal point of the new capital. He sees Quezon City as home for the national buildings. He intend it as the center for academics away from the hustle and bustle of Manila and thus strived to move the national university, University of the Philippines to Diliman, Quezon City. But one of the significant reasons Quezon wanted to move UP was to insulate students from politics and subject them to more stringent supervision in a controlled environment. But rather than become a haven for the working class, Quezon City transformed into gated communities and homes for middle class. Hacienderos to sugar baron from Visayas buying off land start developing properties for the upper-middle class. That made it difficult for the working class to afford the low-cost housing prepared by the People's Homesite Corporation (PHC) mired with corruption. Quezon City made it palatable for the upper class even though Manila still acts as the economic center. But at the same time, the large tract of land made it possible for the urban poor to build informal settlements in Quezon City as they were driven out of Manila, where most of them work. For this reason, students from Diliman became conscious to the plight of the income-poor household and the failings of the national government to provide for its people. The violent dispersion and eviction of illegal settlements had driven the population growth of Quezon City. The city is also lined with cockpit and cabaret on its Manila borders to provided Manila's demand for vices and illicit activities. The position of Quezon City also provides Manila a buffer from the countryside sympathetic to the struggle of the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon) against the government.
Quezon City's role in the Marcos era is to be the hub for "designer hospitals"—such as the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Heart Center, and Philippine Children's Hospital. It shows Imelda's twisted vision of a health care system devoted primarily to medical tourism rather than address diseases that plagued ordinary Filipinos like Tuberculosis. Since Quezon City is a residential enclave with gated communities and most religious organizations and convents are abundant, it was the strategic place for covert activities of anti-Marcos forces. Anti-Marcos groups received support from religious organizations, and their proximity to UP and Ateneo made it easy to recruit student activists. Imelda Marcos moved all the planned cultural buildings to Manila. As such, it lacks the cultural and historical structure as Manila.
Even in the 1970s, few people were not aware that Quezon City is the capital city. It is evident, as stated in Primitivo Mijares' book, The Conjugal Dictatorship:
"Quezon City's lack of global appeal is evident in how the bout was titled "Thrilla in Manila" despite the fact that it happened outside Manila. This event's legacy is somehow preserved in the form of a Quezon City shopping mall. Named Ali Mall, this establishment was built in 1976 in the Araneta Center after the match."
By 1978, Quezon City lost its status as the capital city after twenty-nine years as Ferdinand Marcos moved the capital back to Manila. Quezon City had its revenge in 1986 when the city became the center for ousting Marcos dictatorship with EDSA People Power.
Quezon City acted more like the northern gateway and not as a center of Metro Manila. The position of Cubao makes it the transportation hub that connects Metro Manila to provinces up north. Cubao is the center of consumerism in Quezon City—it contains the commercial and entertainment center of the city. In particular, the Araneta Center, which is developed by the Aranetas, a clan that is linked and continually opposed to the Marcoses through marriage ties and electoral rivalries. Cubao also caters to brothels as Araneta Center's borders contain a plethora of activities devoted to masculinity as it is sandwiched between two military camps (Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame) and universities in Diliman (Ateneo was an all-male school until 1976). But it also provided a platform for LGBTQA liberation to prosper and allow feminist movements to emerge. Tony Perez believed that Cubao is the historic birthplace of the Philippine genre revolution, as shown in his 1992 book, Cubao 1980 at Iba Pang mga Katha: Unang Sigaw ng Gay Liberation Movement sa Pilipinas. Tony Perez tackled homosexuality in the masculinist atmosphere of Martial Law. As literature and media portrayed homosexuality in Manila as the result of poverty and societal decay—Cubao provided the space for homosexuality to blend into society.
When I arrived in Cubao, Quezon City, in the early 1990s' it was mired with crime and poverty. School rivalries were fisticuffs rather than a basketball game. The unwarranted violence between KASO (Quezon City High School) students and MonSay (Ramon Magsaysay High School) students, students from different schools would openly wear their school patches to ensure safe passage. Fraternities promised protection but often leads to more violence in the district. As if it is not enough that metal and hip/hop fans would also clash in the streets with their own brand of violence. While Araneta Center is free of crime at the most, it also provided the space for students to hangout and riot. The corner of Aurora Boulevard and EDSA acted as the transportation hub for people passing-by or going-in or out of the city. The boulevard is also lined with pickpockets and prostitutes 24/7.
Quezon City is in a constant decline of its promise for the poor working class amidst the glitzy changes of its skyline with its green architecture and hip places for arts and culture. The gentrification of Cubao was still dependent on the middle-class idea of urbanization. That leaves a few spaces for the urban poor to prosper. Quezon City was an example of a failed planned capital. While pockets of progress are happening all around the city, people in Batasan Hills, Tatalon, Payatas, and Sitio San Roque, Quezon City, can only hope that the city they call home would finally fulfill its destiny.
If you wish to read more about the history of Quezon City which most of the information above are based, please read Michael D. Pante’s A Capital City at the Margins published by the Ateneo de Manila Press.
A Timeline of Quezon City
A historical timeline of Quezon City starting from 1922 and up to the present. The image below is just a small sample (entry 20-33) as there are currently 245 entries (as of March 26, 2020) to the timeline. As the original image is too large to display, you have to download the high-resolution image to view the massive 32,767 × 11,517 pixel image. To gain access a PDF version and to an interactive timeline with additional information to the entries, please consider supporting Stories from the Barrio through our Patreon account. If you wish to course your donation outside Patreon, please contact me for other arrangements.
Download the QC Timeline image here.
References used for the timeline:
A Capital City at the Margins by Michael D. Pante
Inquirer
Philstar
Rappler
ABS-CBN News
GMA News Online
Lakbay ng Lakan
The Stellan Collection
Wikipedia
Special thanks to Tony Perez.
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