The Mangmangkik: Tree Spirits in Ilocos Norte

A Mangmangkik poem
by the Spirits of the Philippine Archipelago

I remember the lightning

The smell of burning skin

The bright flash

Made me see

The caiman

It stole my body away

And took it for its own

Separated me from my flesh

The knife

They took it from me

And put it in my back

Cutting my soul apart

My grave marked my new home

The roots welcomed me

They nourished my spirit

And I became one

With the branches and the leaves

You will never own me

With your blades and steel

My home will remain

 We will not be cut down

Not by the likes of you

Say your prayers

Sing your songs

I survived the Lightning

I survived the Caiman

I survived the knife

I will survive you

Explanation

“Bari Bari

Dika agunget pari

Ta pumukan kami

Iti pabakirda kami”

In older times, Ilocanos, especially those from Ilocos Norte would sing these verses before cutting
trees in the mountains.

The literal translation of the bari bari is “do not feel bad my friend for we cut as we are ordered”. This
is done so that spirits in the trees, the mangmangkik are not offended. If these spirits are offended,
they can inflict grave illness upon the offending human.

These creatures are usually invisible but can appear in human form, as in the Ilocano story “Ni Juan
Sadut” (Juan the lazy) where a mangmangkik appeared in human form to the protagonist because
he did not ask permission from the spirit to cut down the tree.

There is no clear definition of the nature of the mangmangkik. Though Isabelo Delos Reyes in “El
Folk-Lore Filipino” suggests that they are old anitos found in trees that have existed since the
Spanish context. Delos Reyes uses ‘anito’ to refer to secondary gods that came to be like tutelary
patrons, likening them to the many Greek gods and spirits.

Delos Reyes says that the mangmangkik are human beings that were struck dead by lightning, by a
caiman or by a big knife and got buried at the foot of some tree in a tomb, from whom one has to ask
permission before entering the mountains to cut trees or plants. (Delos Reyes cited Padre
Concepcion in his General History of the Philippines for this definition of the mangmangkik).

Maximo Ramos in his “Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology” also gives the same description of
the mangmangkik. He likens them to the elven spirits of Western myth and describes them as a
spirit that protects trees from being chopped down. One must ask for permission from the
mangmangkiks before chopping any tree, otherwise, something bad might happen to the loggers.
Though he names them as Mangmangkit instead of Mangmangkik.

The mangmangkik show similarities to other tree-dwelling spirits in Philippine myth such as the
magtitima of the Bukidnons, the annani of the Ibanags, and the pinading of the Ifugaos.
 The Gods and Goddesses (Ilokano)

Cabalangegan was formerly a jungle at the edge of the river Abra. On the far side of the river
were mountains high and steep. On these mountains lived an old man named Abra, the father
of Caburayan. The old man lived and controlled the weather. It is said that the river Abra was a
gathering of water vapor, shaded, and the days were always bright with sunlight.

At that time Anianihan, God of Harvests, was in love with Caburayan, Goddess of Healing. Her
mother, Lady Makiling knew about their mutual understanding, but Abra did not know it for the
three were afraid to tell him since he might punish them as he disapproved of Anianihan. Abra
wanted his daughter to marry either Saguday, God of the Wind, or Revenador, God of Thunder
and Lightning. This being so, Anianihan took Caburayan from her home. Abra wept a great deal.
He sent Lady Makiling away after beating her.

When Abra was alone, he wept day and night till Bulan, God of Peace and Calm, came. But
though Bulan was there to brighten Abra’s spirits, Abra did not stop weeping. He could not
express his anger. He begged the other gods to bring back his daughter.

One day the sun, eye of Amman, shone so bright that the water of the river Abra was
excessively heated. Smoke rose from the river. Soon, thick, black clouds began to darken the
sky. Then Saguday sent the strongest wind until the crowns of the trees brushed the ground.
The god Revenador sent down the largest strings of fire. The heaviest of rains fell. All these
frightful events lasted seven days. The river Abra then rose and covered the trees. There rose a
vast body of water and the highest part of the mountain could be seen. It looked like the back of
a turtle from a distance. At this spot Abra lived.

On the seventh day, Abra heard a cry. He also heard a most sorrowful song. Abra dried his
tears and looked around, but he saw no one. He was determined to find Maria Makiling, his
grandchild. He did not find her for the cries of the baby had stopped.

The search for the baby lasted three full moons, but to no avail and the poor old man returned to
his home very sad. He lost all hope. His wits were gone. At that time Maria Makiling was under
the care of the fierce dog Lobo, that was under a god of the Underworld. He had been punished
by the other gods and that is why he looked like a fierce dog. He was sent down to do charity.
 CYCLOPEAN GIANTS: Ang-ngalo and Aran, the Creators | Ilocos, Philippines

Ang-ngalo and Aran: The Creators

Ang-ngalo and Aran, popular beliefs say,

lived before the creation of the sky, the
sea, the land, and, for that matter, man.
They were beings, with human form, of
formidable proportions. They are believed
to be the biggest giants in legend. Ang-
ngalo’s head reached the heavens, and he
could make the distance between Manila
and Vigan in one step. The earth trembled
when he walked, and he could be heard
throughout the world when he spoke or
laughed.

Ang-ngalo created the world at the

command of the supreme god. Who this
god was, the legends don’t mention. In the
beginning the earth was all plain; there
were no seas, no mountains, no hills, no
valleys. Ang-ngalo dug the earth with his
fingers, and with the earth he extracted, he
formed the present mountains and hills. He
urinated into the bigger and deeper holes
and they became the present oceans and
seas. He spat and the sputum became the first man and woman. He put them in a bamboo tube,
sealed the tube, and cast it into the sea. The tube was tossed on the waves to the Ilocos shore, and
the man and woman came out of it and lived in the Ilocos. Then he put up the sky, the sun, the
moon, and arranged the stars.

Ang-ngalo and Aran: The Salt in the Sea

That the sea became salty was due to Ang-ngalo, according to Ilocano legend. In the beginning the
sea, whose water was Ang-ngalo’s urine, was not salty. The story is told that he, his wife, and their
three daughters, while carrying salt to Manila from a land across the sea, stumbled with their loads of salt
in the middle of the sea，and since then the sea has been salty.

Another story is told this way. Ang-ngalo, son of the god of building, who lived shortly after the creation of
the world，one morning spied across the sea, from his loftiest cave in the Ilocos Mountains at a beautiful
maiden named Sipnget, goddess of the dark. Sipnget beckoned to him and he waded across the sea to her,
his foot-prints becoming the present deep caverns of the ocean. Sipnget told him she was tired of her kingdom
of darkness, and requested him to build a mansion ，white as snow，on the very spot where they were then
standing. He acceded to her request and, as he did not know of anything as white as snow except salt, asked
Asin, ruler of the kingdom of salt, for help. Millions of people were employed in the making and transporting
of the bricks of salt across the ocean and in the construction of the edifice. But as the work progressed, Ocean
became more and more impatient for being disturbed in her deep slumber and finally sent forth big waves to
demolish the edifice, which crumbled and dissolved in the water. Hence the salty sea.

Footprints of Angalo: The Legend of Abra

Ang-ngalo and Aran: Carving the Earth

Ang-ngalo and Aran and their children settled and lived for some time in the Ilocos. The caves in
the mountains were their places of abode. One such cave is in Abra, said to be that of Aran, which
is believed to be connected by a tunnel to another cave somewhere in Cagayan. Another is in
Sinait, Ilocos Sur，called Balay ni Aran (Cave of Aran), in the little barrio of Marnay, near the foot
of the Ilocos Mountains. This cave, according to stories related to the writer by persons who have
entered it, is as big as the Manila Cathedral, but it has a very narrow opening. Aran and her three
daughters lived here when she was not on good terms with her husband. It is said to be inhabited by
snakes ，bats, and evil spirits ， who guard the supposed treasure stored in it. A version of the story which
departs considerably from the common narrative represents Ang-ngalo, as a lonely lover who had been
betrayed and deserted by his sweetheart, and had taken up the job of a fisherman in the hope of finding her and
taking her to wife. He had left home on a ship which had been wrecked in the sea, and was stranded, the lone
survivor, on the shore of the Ilocos. He helped the people in their fishing to divert his sorrows ，and slew a
sea-monster which had killed many people annually. His young friends had sweethearts ; he alone had none. In
memory of his faithless sweetheart, he carved a big image of her on the side of the mountain near the
Banawang Gap, on the Abra River, and he loved to gaze at it when he came home from his fishing trips.
Towards the end of the fishing season, seeing that if he stayed longer the people would have no more food left
(he was a voracious eater), he set out to sea to return no more. The mountain on which the huge image was
carved is today popularly known as Bantay Mataan— the mountain with eyes.

Aran Cave is located at Sitio Tukang, Kennon Road, Camp 3, Tuba, Tuba Benguet across the Bued
River.
Several other stories are told about this giant. One is that while his daughters, who were poor
swimmers, were bathing in what is now the China Sea, they got into very deep water and were
about to be drowned when Ang-ngalo came to their rescue by dipping his bahag (traditional attire) in
the sea. The bahag absorbed a considerable amount of the water, making the sea shallower.
Another story is to the effect that what is now Abra was formerly a lake, but that, in a fit of anger at
his wife, Ang-ngalo kicked away a part of the Ilocos Mountains, draining all the water of the lake
into the China Sea. The opening is the Banawang Gap, a deep chasm in the Ilocos Mountains
through which the Abra River bursts on its tortuous seaward course. A different version of the story
states that the opening was caused by the unintentional kicking of Ang-ngalo when he was sleeping
one night on the Ilocos Mountains.

There are said to be in the Ilocos, in Pangasinan, and in Cagayan some big “ footprints” suggesting
those of a gigantic human being’s, attributed to Ang-ngalo. One is in the mountains of Pangasinan,
one in Cagayan, one on Bangbang near the Banawang Gap, one on Mount Bullagaw in the
IIlocos Mountains, and one at Pinsal Falls, Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. The Tagalogs say there are
similar footprints in the Mariveles and San Mateo Mountains. Footprints like these have also been
imagined in other parts of the world, particularly in China and Malaysia.
The mystical Pinsal Falls in Barangay Babal-lasioan, Sta. Maria (Ilocos Sur) is believed to be the
footprint of a legendary giant named Ang-ngalo.