Filipino Mythology & Diaspora
I didn't set out to create a mythology series.
Like many of my projects, it started with a drawing.
After spending time researching the tribes, history, weapons, and traditions of the Philippines, I found myself becoming curious about the stories that lived alongside them. Every culture has its legends, and the Philippines is filled with creatures that have been passed down through generations. Some were used as warnings. Some were used as lessons. Some were simply stories told to children long after the sun went down.
As a kid, many of these creatures scared me.
The funny thing is that even though I grew up hearing about them, I never really stopped to think about what they represented. They were just monsters. They lived in forests, dark corners, and places I had no intention of visiting.
It wasn't until much later in life that I found myself looking at them differently.
The more I explored my own journey as part of the Filipino diaspora, the more I realized that these stories were not just about creatures. They were often about fear, uncertainty, belonging, identity, temptation, courage, and transformation. They were stories about navigating the unknown.
In many ways, so is the diaspora experience.
I left the Philippines when I was six years old. Like many children of the diaspora, I spent much of my life moving between worlds. I learned one set of customs at home and another outside of it. There were moments when I felt deeply connected to my heritage and moments when I felt completely disconnected from it. There were questions I didn't know how to answer and pieces of my culture that I didn't realize I was searching for until much later.
As I began drawing these creatures, I noticed something unexpected happening.
The creatures were starting to feel familiar.
Not because I had seen them before, but because I recognized the struggles they represented.
The Tikbalang that leads travelers astray began reminding me of the uncertainty that comes with trying to understand where you belong. Other creatures began revealing their own lessons as well. What I once viewed as monsters slowly transformed into metaphors.
That realization became the foundation for this series.
Rather than simply drawing Filipino mythological creatures, I want to explore what they can teach us. More specifically, I want to explore what they have taught me.
Each entry in this series will follow three questions.
The first question is simple: What is the creature?
This is where I will explore the mythology itself. I will share the stories I uncover, discuss the folklore surrounding the creature, and present my own artistic interpretation of what it might look like. My goal is not to create a definitive version of these beings, but rather to engage with the stories that have allowed them to survive across generations.
The second question asks: What part of the diaspora does this creature parallel?
This is where the series becomes personal.
As I have worked through my own experiences, I have come to realize that many of these creatures mirror challenges that exist outside of mythology. Feelings of being lost, disconnected, misunderstood, uncertain, or caught between identities are not unique experiences. They are part of many diaspora stories. Through these creatures, I hope to better understand my own.
The final question is: How do you battle this creature?
In folklore, there is often a way to overcome the challenge. Sometimes it requires courage. Sometimes it requires wisdom. Sometimes it requires seeing the world differently than before.
For me, this question is less about defeating monsters and more about learning from them.
I have discovered that some of the things that once frightened me become less intimidating once I understand them. The same has been true of my heritage. The more I learn about Filipino history, culture, language, traditions, and stories, the less I feel like an outsider looking in and the more I feel like a participant in an ongoing conversation.
Perhaps that is why I keep returning to these drawings.
Every time I sit down to sketch one of these creatures, I am doing more than creating artwork. I am engaging with a story. I am asking questions. I am examining pieces of myself that I may not have fully understood before.
In a strange way, every drawing feels like a conversation between the child who was afraid of these creatures and the adult who wants to understand them.
Maybe that is what this series is really about.
Not monsters.
Not even mythology.
But the journey of learning that some of the things we fear most often have the most to teach us.
So this is where the journey begins.
One creature at a time.
Creatures of the In-Between Series