Berbalang

The Berbalang is a vampiric creature from the island of Cagayan Sulu, now known as the Island of Mapun. The main source of information is that recounted by Ethelbert Forbes Skertchley while the island was under Spanish rule. He tells stories given to him by locals and his own experience. It’s believed there is a small village located in the center of the island inhabited by those who follow neither of the two chiefs of the area. These people are feared and called Berbalang. These creatures are described as ghouls who need to consume human flesh to survive. They crave human flesh because of black chicks living in their stomachs. They dig up graves and eat the entrails from corpses, though there is often a limited supply of corpses to feed on. When there are no corpses to feed on, they target live prey. It’s because of this that they have incredible hearing to hear when someone’s dying. They take jobs working with meat to hide their murderous activities. They sometimes go into the grass, hide their bodies, and hold their breath to enter a trance. Doing this allows them to astral project, and this astral form flies away and enters houses. They tend to fly in groups but are also described as shy and hate socializing. They then enter the body of its inhabitants without making any mark and consume their entrails. They can be detected by the moaning sound they make; this noise paradoxically sounds quieter when close and louder when far away. As they approach, wing flaps can be heard, and their eyes flicker and glow like fireflies. They can be identified in human form because their eyes are narrow slits like a cat’s. They fear spices, vinegar, fire, and knives. It’s advised to slash at them with a kris blade rubbed in lime juice. Should you hear the sounds of the Berbalang, you need to spin around and strike in the opposite direction since they always appear opposite to the indications suggest. People who possess a coconut pearl, which is a stone supposedly found in coconuts similar to an opal, are safe from the Berbalang. Unfortunately, the power of the pearl only works on those who find it and dissipates when the pearl is given away or the finder dies. Sprinkling lime juice on a grave prevents it from being dug up by a Berbalang. Bodies would be buried near houses so they could be sprinkled with fresh lime juice daily.

The researcher has a first-person encounter, unique to most stories of local legends. After hearing the stories, Mr. Skertchley wanted to encounter a Berbalang himself, but no one would guide him to find one. After several days, a man named Matali agreed to accompany him. Matali took him within half a mile of the village, and Mr. Skertchley decided to go ahead himself, but was urged to bring a Kris and a lime. He was also advised to eat nothing unless he sprinkled it with lime juice. This is because the Berbalang are known to give people food that looks like curried fish, but is human flesh; it would be revealed if sprinkled with lime. Eating this disguised flesh would destroy the person’s soul and turn them into a Berbalang. He left Matali, who was praying for him, and went to the village. He found the village empty aside from a dozen native houses, chickens, and a goat. He checked the houses and found them all empty. In one, he found a basin of rice, and it was still hot. He returned to Matali and described the abandoned state of the village. Matali said this was because the Berbalang were out hunting and they needed to leave. They hurried to get home before dark, but only got halfway before the sun set. It was completely still and silent when they suddenly heard loud moans. Matali panicked and pulled them both down into the grass, because their only chance of survival was hiding and letting the Berbalangs pass by. The moaning got quieter, and they began hearing wing flaps and saw several reddish fireflies overhead. A minute passed, and the moaning became louder, indicating to Matali that they had passed. They continued walking and arrived at a house owned by a man named Hassan. Matali said Hassan had a coconut pearl and would be safe despite hearing a faint moaning, indicating they were in the home. The next day, Mr. Skertchley went back to the house to get an account from Hassan of what happened. He knocked, but no one answered, and eventually he broke the door down to get in. He entered and found Hassan dead, curled up, with a distorted face staring forward, and clenched hands.

Citations:

The Ang Ink Artists Collective. Amazing Beasts of Philippine Mythology: When You Have to Say: “Excuse Me, Mister Monster Sir!” (Bilingual English and Filipino Texts). United States, Tuttle Publishing, 2024.

Behrendt, Kenneth W.. The Physics of the Paranormal. United Kingdom, AuthorHouse, 2003.

Gould, Rupert Thomas. Oddities: A Book of Unexplained Facts. United Kingdom, P. Allan, 1928.