Thursday, March 28, 2013

POST#9: Urban Legends: Some Philippines' Urban Legend


Philippines has a lot of different Urban Legends where we sometimes utter without us having an idea, that the stories we have been telling is actually an Urban Legend.

Ken Lace, the writer of the other article that I have found while researching for an introduction in Philippines’ Urban Legends, stated that Urban Legends here in our country focuses on paranormal creatures, business competition strategies, historical figures, health issues, western influences, and others. Urban Legends here in our country is also called “Kwentong Bayan” but in modern way. It is also called “Kwentong Kotsero (Driver’s Tale),” “Kwentong Kalye(Street Tale),” and “Kwentong Barbero(Barber’s Tale),” that sometimes, they are being used as a joke when someone tells a story because the story are sometimes exaggerated that it is already hard to believe. The main elements of the story are composed of supernatural events, just heard, or real from foreign tale-tellers. Ken said that, not all urban legends are false, and some of them were actually real. People start to tell that it is not untrue, because of the exaggerated way of how it is being told or it is added with excessive details and information.

Apparently, Filipinos today still remember their traditional lower mythical creatures even if they are now influenced with the Western Culture. Examples are Manananggal in Tondo, Sigbins are cure for AIDS, and the White Lady of the Balete Drive.

And “The Proctor and Gamble’s issue of being connected to a satanic organization,” “The Romblon Triangle,” “Alien Abductions,” and the “Moviegoer Scares,” are examples of western influences which made a large impact to Filipinos.

These legends give cautionary effect on people that makes them think, going on the said companies and buy their products. Legends were sometimes told to give a bad image to the company or to a person; some gives meanings to the person who looks like a certain person who is famous, and some just wants neither to scare nor to entertain the others.

Ken stated that every country is composed of numerous, different kind of stories and folklores, traditions and customs, and every single group of ethnicity has their own Urban Legends.


Here now, I will cite examples of some Popular Urban Legends from Ken Lace, which is popular:




The San Juanico Bridge was the longest bridge in Samar-Leyte, Philippines. According to the rumors, it is said that Imelda Marcos ordered to kidnap children to become for the foundation to make the bridge stronger. Blood of numerous children was mixed in cement and used on the bridge and the other rumors were the body of the children was put in a cement mixer to grind the body. It all started when Imelda was in charge of the bridge. She consulted a clairvoyant and has been told that the bridge won’t be finished unless she adds children’s blood on the foundation. So Imelda ordered the construction workers to kidnap children and slit their throat and add the blood on the bridge’s location.

Their bodies were thrown in the river. Probably, the rumors said that a goddess got frustrated on what Imelda did and cursed her as Imelda grew scales on her legs and she smelled fishy and that’s why she often wear long skirts.

It is because they say that children offered and sacrificed on certain demonic rituals can make the structures stronger. That is why the bridge is haunted with lost souls. Others say that the bridge is not the only structure that used children as a foundation; they also used them as a structure in some buildings.
I also have read stories from particular horror books that every time they pass by the bridge, they will experience a supernatural even where the spirits of the dead children will show their selves, in a bloody form, and knock on their car’s windows.





Do you like Siopao?

This Urban Legend was quite popular in Philippines where the rumors said that Cat Meat was used in making of Siopao because it is much cheaper than the pork meat. Some says that in Quiapo, Manila City, there were restaurants caught, throwing heads and body parts of cats. Some says that they actually saw those cooking cats. The Urban Legend started way back in Japan where they use Cat Meat as a substitute when there was a scarcity of meat.

Cat meat was actually eaten as uncommon cuisines in China, Vietnam, and some other in Swiss Cultures. In some times, people was known to eat cat meat desperately because of famine and scarcity of food; rather, meat. For example is the famine in Siege of Leningrad.

Sometimes, this urban legend was used and told for business competitions. Some is used by the elders to prevent their children to eat various foods.

There are still a lot of popular Urban Legends in our country. Some are told, and some has still hasn’t. But nevertheless, it depends on a person whether he will believe it or not, because Urban Legends are also told to give information, and to warn people to become aware on our surroundings, as we don’t know what will happen next; that we might experience those Legends ourselves.

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