Aswang

Origin and tradition

Aswang is a broad Philippine term for several frightening beings, rather than a single species. Stories may describe shapeshifters, witches, or predatory undead figures. Regional variations explain why different accounts give the aswang incompatible bodies and habits.

Illustration in this atlas

A red-eyed doglike creature with a long tongue. The plate selects one animal guise within varied Philippine aswang traditions; other stories describe human, avian, or different monstrous forms.

References and further reading

1. britannica.com — aswang

These references offer further reading. Accounts and depictions vary; the atlas illustration is interpretive artwork, rather than historical or scientific evidence.