Larrien Keith A.

Alderete BA (History)
202050502 VS 101 - Section 1
Yanggaw Reaction Paper

In the Philippines, there are various legends and stories told to children generation by
generation. Most of these stories came from different provinces in the country and many people
still believed in it and would often use it to scare children. It is also said that scary legend stories
such as ‘aswang’ can be true and would really inflict fear and anxiety among the community.
There are various speculations, not proven, yet are still relevant in the society even today. For
instance, there is an Ilonggo term for a certain venom or infection that is speculated coming from
creatures called ‘aswang’ and they coined it ‘yanggaw’. Yanggaw is also a word used to describe
the conversion of a normal person into a witch or aswang. It is believed to be transmitted through
saliva or contact with a person believed to be an ‘aswang’. In this paper, I will be deconstructing
the film to analyze the symbolism of Yanggaw and the community involved in it. This movie is
inspired by real life events that happened in one of the rural towns in Iloilo and was taken into a
film not to scare people but to educate them of the existing beliefs.

Amor, a beautiful woman and a daughter of a loving and hardworking father. Due to
poverty, she started to look for a job in other municipalities and fell in love with a man named
Lito. In the movie, Amor went home with a mysterious illness and her family thought that it was
just a minor stomach ache that can be cured easily. Days have passed and Amor’s situation has
worsened to the point that she keeps on fleeing from their house every night until her father
discovers her bloody mess. Her family had checked her on several sorcerers until they found out
that she was inflicted by a venom that turned her into what Illongo’s called ‘aswang’. In the rural
setting, the word ‘yanggaw’ is used to define someone being inflicted with a venom or a bad
spirit and would later on cause harm to the community. The affliction experienced by Amor is
perhaps one of the most unexplained phenomena during the time this happened to her. It became
a symbol of fear to the community. Moreover, the community presented in the short film shows
their belief in supernatural events or mythical creatures and legends. Rural areas in different parts
of the Philippines have their own mythical beliefs but what made ‘Yanggaw’ stand out is that it
really happened in real life. It can also be seen in the movie that communities in rural areas still
do believe in ‘albularyo’ especially in certain cases such as Amor’s mysterious illness. This
belief further flourished due to poor accessibility of healthcare programs and facilities. Most of
the clinics or hospitals in far flung areas are also lacking equipment and laboratories. This is why
people from rural areas settle with sorceries and faith healing. Furthermore, ‘Aswang’ and
‘Yanggaw’ are still relevant to the history of the Ilonggos as it pertains to fear and symbolic
mythical creatures.
In conclusion, these living myths and legends from rural areas in the Visayan region,
strengthen the underlying beliefs of people from either made up or real supernatural occurrences.
The movie as a whole, gave a new understanding of the rich history and legends in the Visayas.
It might have inflicted fear to the people, especially to the children growing up hearing stories of
Larrien Keith A. Alderete BA (History)
202050502 VS 101 - Section 1
‘Yanggaw’, it is important to know that it became part of our childhood and would make this a
lesson to always be careful. Furthermore, it is important to incorporate legends and mythical
beliefs when studying Visayan cultures and it’s people.