Hidden among human society, the vampiric Mandurugo creature is slowly draining her unassuming husbands of their blood and life to sustain her eternal youth and beauty.
In Philippine folklore terminology, Mandurugo is distinguished from the broader category of aswang, a general term for malevolent shape-shifters. The name mandurugo itself comes from the root word dugo, which means “blood” in several Philippine languages. A mandurugo is literally “one who deals in blood.”
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the Philippines
The mandurugo is typically described as a woman of striking beauty by day, indistinguishable from any other person in her community. And unlike many vampiric notions, she is not seen as a revenant or a part of the undead, but rather a real life woman or creature with powers.
A Beautiful Woman in the Dark
As mentioned, the mandurugo blends in with the rest of human society and targets mainly young men. She marries time and time again to feed on her husbands. She feeds on her husband at night, laying in bed next to him as he sleeps. She has a pointed tongue she uses to prick and suck his blood and life.
She also has the ability to shapeshift into a harpy-like creature with wings and at night she can fly and hunt her prey, something she has in common with another vampiric creature in Filipino mythology we’ll come back to.
Her appetites give rise to fear and mystery. If a man suddenly falls ill without explanation, communities whisper that a mandurugo may have visited him in the night. If livestock weaken or drain perplexingly, people suspect the same hunger at work.
For protection, some would make a concoction of duhat (Java plum) mixed with ginger, manzanitas bark, yantok, blood and makahiya leaves and used as an offering to the mandurugo, so she wouldn’t harm those in the household.
Folklore and Fear of the Filipino Shapeshifters
The Mandurugo is thought of being a type of Aswang creature, shapeshifting monsters in Filipino myths and legends. These creatures were documented to be some of the most feared in folklore and their motifs were often nothing but causing most harm.
Asawang: Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil and malevolent creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and transforming human-beast hybrids. Spanish colonists noted that the aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures of the Philippines, even in the 16th century.
Most of the stories and legends about the Mandurugo are found in both Tagalog and Bicol lore, specifically around Capiz, Panay Island it seems to have been most prominent.
We have documented tales about the lore from the Spanish from the 16th century and where the lore about the Asawang and Mandurugo were seen and understood through the Christian lense and demonology, that made an impact about how they are seen today.
It seems that the lore about the Mandrurugo changed drastically. In pre-colonial Philippines the Mandurugo used protective rituals during vulnerable life stages such as childbirth. It is also likely that once, the mandurugo were a type of Kinnara or kinnari, gentle and beautiful winged creatures that resemble slim youths. They have wings same as birds on their backs, some on their buttocks, in oral tradition it is believed that the Kinari will love and serve devotedly any human who has treated it kind and when the human breaks the creature’s heart the kinari turns into a blood sucking monster.
The Manananggal Vampiric Creature Targeting Pregnant Women
As mentioned, the Mandurugo is only one of many vampiric creatures with a bird-like appearance. The manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the night with huge bat-like wings.
They are definitely similar and have sometimes been used interchangeably in stories. The main difference being who they are hunting. The Manananggal prey on unsuspecting, sleeping pregnant women in their homes. The myth of the manananggal is widely recognized in the Visayan regions of the Philippines.
The word manananggál is derived from the Tagalog word tanggál, meaning “to remove” or “to separate”, and literally translating to “remover” or “separator”. They also use an elongated proboscis-like tongue to suck fetuses from these pregnant women. They also prefer to eat the heart and the liver and the phlegm of sick people. Folklore also associates the creature with targeting newlyweds, lovers, newborn children, and occasionally grooms who were abandoned before marriage.
Traditional practices for killing a manananggal include applying salt, garlic, ash, or fire to the lower half, thereby preventing the upper torso from reuniting with it. If it fails to recombine before sunrise, the creature is believed to die.
The Girl With Many Lovers
One of the most famous stories about the husband hunting mandurugo vampire, is the Tagalog story of The Girl With Many Lovers.
A young girl said to have been the most beautiful in the land, married at the age of sixteen. Although she was from an unknown place and an unknown family, her beauty won everyone over. Her husband was young and strong, but something was wrong. Although there were no clear signs of illness or disease, he withered away within a year and died.
After his death she remarried, but her second husband, and then her third, suffered the same fate. After all the death that kept following her, suspicion around her grew, although nothing could be proved.
Her fourth husband, having been warned, feigned sleep one night while keeping a knife close at hand. At midnight he felt a presence looming over him and then a prick in his neck. He stuck at the creature with his knife, and heard a screech and the flapping of wings.
The next day, his bride was found dead near their house with a knife wound in her chest, having been a blood sucking Manurugo the whole time.
Newest Posts
- The Hauntings of Stortorvet Gjestgiveri Restaurant
In one of the city’s oldest buildings, the freshest food is served in the ancient locale. For years though, there have been talks about Stortorvet Gjestgiveri restaurant being haunted, and even made it as one of the most haunted clips in the national ghost hunting show. - The Headless Ghost of Buck Jones: Dublin’s Restless Sheriff
Haunting Jone’s Road in Dublin, a headless horseman is said to roam after his life turned dark after scheming peers. And the former Dublin Sheriff, Buck Jones has become one of Ireland’s most well known headless horseman ghosts. - John Kavanagh’s ‘The Gravediggers’: A Pint with the Dead
Next to the Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, there is a pub called John Kavanagh’s ‘The Gravediggers’, where they went to have a pint after working at the cemetery. Rumor has it that the pub is haunted by those buried next door. - The Armenian Vampire Dakhanavar of the Valleys
Said to be a protector of the Valleys in Armenia, the Dakhanavar vampire hides in the caves in the mountains, waiting for intruders to quench his thirst. - Connolly Station: The Soldier Who Waits for a Train That Never Comes
Could the Connolly Station in Dublin be haunted? Some claim that the ghosts of the victims from the Dublin Bombing in world war two could still be lingering near the tracks. - The Headless Undead in the Ruffinihaus Courtyard
Once a place for executions, the place the Ruffinihaus in Munich, Germany is built upon is said to be haunted. It is said that in the dead of night, the undead rises from their graves, still carrying their heads the executioners took. - The Ghost of Könizwald, Bern: The Ghost of General Robert Scipio von Lentulus
Where the former country estate Campagne Mon Repos in Bern once was, the ghostly council of the military leader from General Robert Scipio von Lentulus was given in times of unrest. Is he still haunting the Könizwald woods, even after his estate is gone? - The Alter Südfriedhof Cemetery and the Ghost of the Munich Eskimo Tragedy
One of the old cemeteries in Munich said to be haunted is the Alter Südfriedhof, or the old south cemetery. According to lore, the ghostly voices of the so-called Eskimo Tragedy are still heard at night. - The Uhaml Forest Spirit of Without a Face
In the darkness of night and under the foliage cover of the forest, the demonic spirit of Uhaml is said to roam. The only way to escape it is getting out of the forest faster. - Gwrach y Rhibyn – The Hag of the Mist Haunting the Welsh Waters
In the shadows between ghost, creature and witch, the Welsh Gwarch y Rhibyn has been given many names. Like a Banshee she has been said to be a deadly omen, often called The Hag of the Mist because of her presence in wet areas, or the Hag of the Dribble because of the versions where her mouth is dripping with blood. - The Hofbräuhaus and the Ghost of A Munich Man in Heaven
Unhappy with the lack of beer in heaven, the Bavarian angel never returned when sent on a mission back on earth. To this day, he sits at The Hofbräuhaus bar in Munich, enjoying his brew. - The Demonic Omen of Disaster at Mödling Castle Hill
Sometimes called the Devil’s Stone, the ruins of the former Mödling Castle is said to be haunted by a demonic bird-like entity, screeching at night as an omen of death and disaster.
References:
mandurugo | Facts, Information, and Mythology
https://solarspell-dls.sfis.asu.edu/mea/wikipedia/wp/v/Vampire.htm
Bicolano Myths : ASWANG (BIKOLANO MYTHOLOGY)
Mandurugo: A vampire from Filipino folklore
3 thoughts on “The Mandurugo Vampire Bride of Philippine Folklore”