The Aswang as a Weapon: How Spain and the CIA Turned Our Own Folklore Against Us
The aswang is one of the most feared figures in Philippine folklore. But the story of how it was used against Filipinos is scarier than any myth.
The aswang was ours first
Belief in the aswang predates Spanish colonization. Some scholars connect parts of the lore to older influences that reached the islands through trade, and the creature shows up in different forms across regions. In parts of Bicol, Asuang was even remembered as a god — the opposite of Gugurang, keeper of the sacred fire — part of a balance, not simply evil.
Spain didn't invent the aswang. It took an existing fear and reshaped it.
Spain aimed it at the babaylan
The babaylan were healers, spiritual leaders and keepers of community knowledge — very often women. They were a direct challenge to the authority of the friars.
Friar Juan de Plasencia's 1589 account of Tagalog customs described both the aswang and native priests as servants of the devil. Spanish missionaries labeled the babaylan as witches, gendered the aswang female and layered it with Christian ideas of sin and hell. The goal was to break the babaylan's hold on their communities and install the Church in their place.
Scholars note an important nuance: it's hard to prove from the record that Spain systematically called every babaylan an aswang. What's well documented is that Spain demonized indigenous spiritual leaders and used existing fears to do it.
The CIA did it again
In the early 1950s, the Hukbalahap — the guerrilla movement that had fought the Japanese — was fighting the U.S.-backed Philippine government over land and justice. American officer Edward Lansdale, working with the CIA, was sent to help crush them.
In his own memoir, In the Midst of Wars, Lansdale described a psychological warfare operation: rumors were spread that an aswang haunted the hills where the Huks camped. Then a patrol was ambushed at night, a soldier was captured and killed, two holes were punctured in his neck, his blood was drained, and his body was left on the trail. According to Lansdale, the Huks abandoned the area.
Our fears, used against us — twice
Four centuries apart, two empires found the same exploit: take something Filipinos already believed, and turn it into a cage. Knowing this doesn't make the aswang disappear. It shows us who rewrote the story, and why.
Sources
Shop the story
Wear the history. These Ugat pieces carry the roots behind this post:
Know History, Know Self. No History, No Self.
Ugat means root. We design Filipino streetwear rooted in our history, from Baybayin tees to our oversized barong-style jerseys. Follow us on Instagram at @ugatclothing.
Comments