If our politicians can misunderstand the "aswang", then they cannot lead us at all into progress or any form of light at the end of the long dark night.
Senator Mar Roxas, a few weeks back, surprised the hallowed halls of the Philippine Senate by giving each of the senators a wreath or necklace of garlic. The message being given was that there was a witch in the Palace and the bunch of garlic was the only way to ward off that "Aswang."
Immediately, there were reactions from many writers - historians, folklorists, etc - who criticized Roxas for not knowing his "aswang." What was troubling was not that the "aswang" and the belief in this creature were brought into the domain of politics but that the person who used the metaphor and the image was identified with Capiz, a sub-regional capital of the aswang belief.
Each region in the Philippines really has a site where the aswang belief and therefore, the aswang herself or himself resides.
One of the questions about the garlic necklace is that Philippine aswang is not really scared of these spices - in pure form or already transformed as condiment.
Perhaps, the greater issue there is that even as our politicians affect a personality that is rooted in the province or barrio, they remain foreign to the native beliefs that their constituents are readily exposed to.
Fr. Frank Lynch devoted a long article about the Philippine Aswang, which was really about the Bikol Aswang. Apparently, the Aswang was a dominant image then in the Bikol families. The aswang was used to scare children so that they would be home before dark. The aswang, however, explained also maternal and child death.
The ignorance of a politician regarding the Aswang is not surprising. Even our film directors always confuse the Aswang with the vampires whose ethnicity is always European-related.
What I do know about the Aswang is that they do not fly. If they appear to have the capacity of flight, it is because they can levitate using energies that do not come from some supernatural sources but from coconut oil mashed with chicken dung. Such powerful concoction can certainly allow individuals to float.
My grandmother used to tell me of the kind of Aswang that becomes only once a year. This contractual Aswang is called "Gabunan." But the regular Aswang does come out at night, when the desires are strong. These desires are awakened when there is someone dying or they smell the foetus in the mother's womb. The Aswang then puts her ears close to the ground and listens for wailing or for someone coughing. One strategy is for the Aswang to climb to the roof of the hut where the sick, the dying and the pregnant may be staying. The Aswang then puts her tongue in between the nipa slats and allows her saliva to dribble down to the stomach of the pregnant woman. This was easier during the 50s and in the rural areas where houses have roofs made of nipa and palm. Houses with roofs made of corrugated iron made this approach difficult.
Always, the Aswang has a mascot. This being is in the form of a bird that cries in a shrill voice to announce the arrival of its Master. This creature is called "kikik" but Fr. James O'Brien prefers the longer appellation: Barukikik. Some people say, this bird is really inside the guts of the Aswang. If one does not want anymore the Aswang task, she can request that she be tied upside down in a jute sack. She will then be whirled and whirled till she vomits the bird. There must be huge flame under the sack so the bird can fall quickly into its death. Be careful when the bird-like being is coughed out because it may go inside an open mouth and make that person the next Aswang.
Many years back, in the island of Ticao, an old man was arrested of trying to rape a woman. The problem was the woman was an old woman and was, in the macho chauvinist sense of it, already deprived of what we would call attractive features and loveliness. The accused rapist happened to be also a relative of the old woman. The judge could not make sense of the crime but the villagers knew better. The man was not about to rape the old woman. He was overcome with the desire to harass anyone who came near him. Something was aching to get out of this old man's body, the uncontrollable strength and fury that needed to be fulfilled by wrestling down any being, or any animal. The man was rumoured to be an Aswang.
What is not a rumor is the efficacy of oil made from coconut and hanged at the beam or lintel of the house. You would know if an Aswang has paid you a visit because that vial of oil will explode. The violent sound will scare away an Aswang who is very careful about revealing her identity and schemes. Just like any politician.
If you want to do some anthropologizing, note that the Aswang represents many things that are not acceptable in our society: She violates the private and public space; she does not respect kinship; and she partakes of a diet (exuviae, like phlegm) that is otherwise filthy. She may have power but that strength is derived from scaring people. Just like in politics.