Kapre:http://beastsandmyths.wordpress.com/asia/south-east/philippines/kapre/
What is a Kapre:
This Filipino tree demon looks like a great mixture of human and ape. It is generally a giant, 8 feet tall, with black or brown, long course hair including a beard and eyes that burn like a cigar tip. Its favorite activities include smoking cigars, misleading travelers, tricking little children wandering around the woods at night (honestly, why are children always wandering the woods?), gambling, and drinking. This beast is often compared with the North American Bigfoot, or the Yeti. They have giant tree-thick legs, long fingernails and sharp teeth. It is generally a prankster that enjoys confusing people, sometimes even taking away little bits of their memories so they can’t find their way home, and is not particularly violent (like most Filipino monsters). Also known as the Tikbalang or Agta in the Visayan dialect. Their biggest fashion statement is wearing a bahag (much like shorts), but beyond that they roam the forests au-naturale. For some reason often pictured with dreads, but there’s nothing to suggest that all Kapres wear their hair in dreads.
Where can you find one?
First, you have to be in the Philippines. The Kapres enjoy hanging out in giant trees, like the Mango, Acacia, Bamboo, Narra or Balete (Banyan) trees. He can generally be found sitting in the shade, smoking his cigar or up in the branches just enjoying the good life of being a mythical beast that is generally invisible to the naked human eye unless he wants to be seen. They can also live in abandoned houses or ruins, but your best bet of finding one is in giant trees.
But if they’re invisible, how you can tell if a Kapre’s nearby?
So, having established that Kapres are fond of smoking cigars, oftentimes you can smell them without ever having to see them. They smell strongly of tobacco smoke, and sometimes you can get a glimpse of their red-coal eyes staring down at you as you take your nightly forest stroll. Oftentimes people who have had an encounter with a Kapre report hearing loud laughs from the trees or see leaves rustling when there’s no wind or animals nearby. If you happen to have an ember nearby and its glowing, this means the Kapre is in a mischievous mood. Also, if you find yourself getting constantly lost, chances are a Kapre’s playing little mind tricks on you.
Alright, so what does a Kapre do exactly?
What, being invisible and playing pranks isn’t enough for you people? Ok, alright, so in general Kapres are go-lucky chill beasts, but if you get one angry… First and foremost, the Kapre isn’t like the Bigfoot or Yeti because it isn’t really a beast or an animal. It’s more of an elemental being, so whatever it’s going to do with you won’t be just a mauling with its fingers. Kapres can make you sick, or cause you great harm. Also, they’re apparently very much fond of falling in love with human women (not enough Kapre females to go around, I guess), so they often abduct women from their homes (let’s not go into details about what happens to the women once abducted by this Cupid-struck monstrosity). The poor saps are highly romantic and are said to follow around their female love interest for her entire life. They become very possessive of their female ‘lovers’, or women they fall in love with, and often won’t let any human male have her. Recall that generally they are gentle pranksters, but once they become jealous lovers they turn quite violent. A personal favorite prank that Kapres are inclined to indulge is taking someone’s bed, while occupied, out of their house and putting them up in the branches of a tree without waking up the occupant.
How to not get tricked by a Kapre:
So, if you don’t want a Kapre to be mean to you here are a few things you can do to make sure you’re safe. First off, don’t court a woman who’s being romanced by a Kapre. Just don’t do it. If you don’t want a Kapre to keep getting you lost in a forest, wear your shirt inside-out (why didn’t I think of that? I mean compasses are useless anyways). Also, when passing under a giant tree, assume a Kapre’s hanging, and so not to offend the Kapre make sure to ask for permission to pass his tree. And one last thing: don’t make too much noise in the forest. Kapres are cigar-loving, tree-top dwelling giants, so please, keep your boombox volume at a 0.
What are the Origins (or theoretical origins) of the Kapre?
To quote Fonzi Christ (because even I get tired of trying to make original content): “The term kapre comes from the Arabic “kaffir” meaning a non-believer in Islam. The early Arabs and the Moors used it to refer to the non-Muslim Dravidians who were dark-skinned. The term was later brought to the Philippines by the Spanish who had previous contact with the Moors. Some historians speculate that the legend was propagated by the Spanish to prevent Filipinos from assisting any escaped African slaves.” From the website: http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/jocelyn/others/philippine-mythical-creatures/
Alibata: http://urbananito.wikispaces.com/Baybayin
Baybayin / Basahan
This is a pre-Hispanic script or syllabary that is erroneously known as alibata, a term coined by Paul Rodriguez Versoza in 1914 because of his belief that the Philippine language was connected to Arabic-- which it is not. The script is more related to Indonesia, if anything. Baybayin is a Tagalog word, the root baybay meaning "spell". To the Bikolanos it is known as basahan, and the letters areguhit. Baybayin, according to historical Spanish accounts, can be traced to the 16th century in Philippines, though theory has it that it traveled to the Philippines from Borneo and reached Luzon in the 13th or 14th century.The script was used to write letters, poetry, and protective incantations mostly on bamboo, though leaves, fruit rinds, and tree bark were also sometimes used. After Spanish contact, paper became the most common medium for the script. Unfortunately, though signatures were still in baybayin in the 17th and even 18th century, the script had already declined and most correspondence was written in Spanish. The script survives in varied form with the tribes of Mindoro (Buhid and Hanunoo) and the Tagbanuwa of Palawan (though they rarely use it). These people use their script like those of old, for communication and poetry.
There is also a modern revival of baybayin, specifically with the Filipino Diaspora in the United States, though this is spreading throughout the rest of North America and beyond.Baybayin is used in tattoos, jewelery, paintings, and logos. Most people, myself included, have figured out a way to sign their name in baybayin.
What interests me specifically, however, is the magical/spiritual use of baybayin. There's no evidence that I can find to prove that the script was used in any similarity to that of the Norse runes or Celtic ogham, though more information on the subject could be found in the book Saysayin ng Baybayin, which I don't have access to and am unaware if it is translated into English. However, the author of the book, Maria Rhodora "Bing-Bing" Veloso (aka Bing Veloso), has made a set of divination cards based on the baybayin. When I attended the First International Babaylan Conference at Sonoma State University in April 2010, I had the privilege of looking at the divination cards that belonged to Mary Ann Ubaldo, an amazing jewelry designer based in New York who uses baybayin script and has an online store called Urduja.
From what I can recall, the following chart has Bing Veloso's spiritual baybayin meanings in Tagalog and English:
 | DIWA Na ang hanap ay katotohanan | SPIRIT Ever seeking the truth |
 | Ang siyan matimbang sa loobin | Heart's Bidding |
 | KATAWAN | BODY |
 | BABAE | WOMAN |
 | Katipunang minimithi | Kinship we seek |
 | DUYAN | CRADLE |
 | Garalgal sa bigat | Heavy Load |
 | Hipan ng hangin | Blowing Wind |
 | LALAKE | MAN |
 | Tahinik na magmuni | Quietly Contemplating |
 | Nakapinid na pinto | Closed Door |
 | Siping at Libing | Sex & Death |
 | Paghanda sa Paglipad | Prepare for Flight |
 | Sunasayaw mong sarili | Dancing Alone |
 | Tapos na tapos na | It has ended |
 | Walang wala na | It is no more |
 | Yaong Pagbubukas | Opening Doors |
How the World Was Made http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/creation-phil.html
This is the ancient Filipino account of the creation.
Thousands of years ago there was no land nor sun nor moon nor stars, and the world was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The water was the kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god Captan.
Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Captan had a son known as Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their children, so the sea became the bride of the wind.
Three sons and a daughter were born to them. The sons were called Licalibutan, Liadlao, and Libulan; and the daughter received the name of Lisuga.
Licalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao was formed of gold and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weak and timid; and the beautiful Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet and gentle. Their parents were very fond of them, and nothing was wanting to make them happy.
After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest son Licalibutan. The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children, now grown up, were left without father or mother. However, their grandfathers, Captan and Maguayan, took care of them and guarded them from all evil.
After a time, Licalibutan, proud of his power over the winds, resolved to gain more power, and asked his brothers to join him in an attack on Captan in the sky above. At first they refused; but when Licalibutan became angry with them, the amiable Liadlao, not wishing to offend his brother, agreed to help. Then together they induced the timid Libulan to join in the plan.
When all was ready the three brothers rushed at the sky, but they could not beat down the gates of steel that guarded the entrance. Then Licalibutan let loose the strongest winds and blew the bars in every direction. The brothers rushed into the opening, but were met by the angry god Captan. So terrible did he look that they turned and ran in terror; but Captan, furious at the destruction of his gates, sent three bolts of lightning after them.
The first struck the copper Libulan and melted him into a ball. The second struck the golden Liadlao, and he too was melted. The third bolt struck Licalibutan, and his rocky body broke into many pieces and fell into the sea. So huge was he that parts of his body stuck out above the water and became what is known as land.
In the meantime the gentle Lisuga had missed her brothers and started to look for them. She went toward the sky, but as she approached the broken gates, Captan, blind with anger, struck her too with lightning, and her silver body broke into thousands of pieces.
Captan then came down from the sky and tore the sea apart, calling on Maguayan to come to him and accusing him of ordering the attack on the sky. Soon Maguayan appeared and answered that he knew nothing of the plot as he had been asleep far down in the sea.
After a time he succeeded in calming the angry Captan. Together they wept at the loss of their grandchildren, especially the gentle and beautiful Lisuga; but with all their power they could not restore the dead to life. However, they gave to each body a beautiful light that will shine forever.
And so it was that golden Liadlao became the sun, and copper Libulan the moon, while the thousands of pieces of silver Lisuga shine as the stars of heaven. To wicked Licalibutan the gods gave no light, but resolved to make his body support a new race of people. So Captan gave Maguayan a seed, and he planted it on the land, which, as you will remember, was part of Licalibutan's huge body.
Soon a bamboo tree grew up, and from the hollow of one of its branches a man and a woman came out. The man's name was Sicalac, and the woman was called Sicabay. They were the parents of the human race. Their first child was a son whom they called Libo; afterwards they had a daughter who was known as Saman. Pandaguan was a younger son and he had a son called Arion.
Pandaguan was very clever and invented a trap to catch fish. The very first thing he caught was a huge shark. When he brought it to land, it looked so great and fierce that he thought it was surely a god, and he at once ordered his people to worship it. Soon all gathered around and began to sing and pray to the shark. Suddenly the sky and sea opened, and the gods came out and ordered Pandaguan to throw the shark back into the sea and to worship none but them.
All were afraid except Pandaguan. He grew very bold and answered that the shark was as big as the gods, and that since he had been able to overpower it he would also be able to conquer the gods. Then Captan, hearing this, struck Pandaguan with a small thunderbolt, for he did not wish to kill him but merely to teach him a lesson. Then he and Maguayan decided to punish these people by scattering them over the earth, so they carried some to one land and some to another. Many children were afterwards born, and thus the earth became inhabited in all parts.
Pandaguan did not die. After lying on the ground for thirty days he regained his strength, but his body was blackened from the lightning, and all his descendants ever since that day have been black.
His first son, Arion, was taken north, but as he had been born before his father's punishment he did not lose his color, and all his people therefore are white.
Libo and Saman were carried south, where the hot sun scorched their bodies and caused all their descendants to be of a brown color.
A son of Saman and a daughter of Sicalac were carried east, where the land at first was so lacking in food that they were compelled to eat clay. On this account their children and their children's children have always been yellow in color.
And so the world came to be made and peopled. The sun and moon shine in the sky, and the beautiful stars light up the night. All over the land, on the body of the envious Licalibutan, the children of' Sicalac and Sicabay have grown great in numbers. May they live forever in peace and brotherly love!
Tribal Costumes here:
http://philippineculture.ph/filer/toledo-cebu/Philippine-traditional-Costumes.pdfFilipino Community in Seattle
http://www.seattlechinatownid.com/neighborhood/filipino-community
Filipinos came to the Pacific Northwest as students and laborers during the early 1900s. Hotels were filled with Filipino Alaskeros (cannery workers) and farmworkers headed to eastern Washington as well as the farms in South Park, Renton, Kent, Auburn and Bellevue. Cafes, barbershops, dance halls and the Filipino Improvement Club clustered around Maynard Avenue and King Street to form an unofficial “Manilatown.”
For decades, Seattle’s Manilatown thrived, as did others up and down the West Coast. But, as younger generations accessed new opportunities and greater freedom, the number of Filipino businesses in the International District declined.
Though there is no visible Manilatown today, the International District continues to be heavily influenced by the Filipino community’s presence. Approximately 10% of the International District’s current residents are Filipinos, many of whom continue to work in the Alaskan canneries as seasonal laborers. Community leaders of Filipino descent have become prominent in local, state and national politics, including former WA State Representative Velma Veloria, former Seattle City Councilmember David Della and former Director of HUD Region 9 “Uncle” Bob Santos. Filipino artists contribute to and shape the cultural fabric of today’s International District.
Visitors can catch a glimpse of the past in the beautifully restored Eastern Hotel, on Maynard Avenue and King Street, which celebrates the mark of these pioneers with a stunning mural, featuring the writer Carlos Bulosan, who chronicled his days of living in the neighborhood in America Is in the Heart.
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