Tikbalang - The Phillipines' Cryptid

When we analyze cryptid reports from all over the world, there’s one thing that’s very clear—cryptids come in many different shapes, sizes, and appearances. There can be many characteristics that are quite common between cryptids, but there can also be immense variation. Often, they are described as having features so strange that even Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm could have never envisioned such fantastical elements. One such creature—the Tikbalang—comes from the isles of the western Pacific.  

The Tikbalang is a prominent creature in Philippine folklore. It lives in the mountains and forested areas and is described as tall and bony with a humanoid body and the head of a horse. However, it is believed amongst locals that Tikbalang can shape-shift into any kind of beast or human. 

Tikbalangs are not particularly nefarious, but they are most certainly devious, and they seem to take impish joy in misleading humans. In one account, a young boy named Jeronimo was walking to his cousin’s house through a coconut grove. On his way, he encountered a Tikbalang that had taken the form of an old man. The impish Tikbalang agreed to guide poor Jeronimo, but instead of guiding him to his cousin’s house, Jeronimo was led into a dense thicket of bamboo from which escape was impossible. There was a small house in this thicket, and Jeronimo was left alone in this house for three days until his desperate relatives were able to find him, hungry and sick.   

In 1589 an exasperated Father Juan de Plasencia documented that the native Philippinos were terrified by the Tikbalang and would trade their rosaries with the beast in order to gain superstitious items to protect them. 

Tikbalang have three golden hairs on their neck. Legend says that the brave will lasso the Tikbalan, climb on its back, and try to pluck one of the golden hairs. If successful, the Tikbalan will be enslaved to the brave soul for the rest of the Tikbalan’s life.   

So, if you’re tired of chasing your local cryptid through the same haunts you been to so many times, hop on a plane and head over to the Philippines. Who knows, if you’re lucky, and good with a lasso, you might just capture a Tikbalang who will be your servant for the rest of your life.