AI illustration
Alan
The Tinguian people of Abra tell of the alan, spirits that live in trees. In one tale the alan wail because they think a man lying still is dead. In another, an alan mother cuts meat with her nails, and two hunters later find jars of beads and gold.
Folklore is retold; versions differ.
Old stories: Malilipeng and the Alan · The Man, the Alan and the Fire
Sources: Philippine Folk Tales (Cole 1916) · Philippine Folk Tales (Cole 1916)
The story
The Tinguian people of Abra tell of the alan, spirits who live in trees in the forest. Mabel Cook Cole wrote down several tales in 1916. Her book is still under copyright in the Philippines. In these tales, the alan are as large as people and have wings. They hang upside down from branches like bats. Their toes point backward, and their long fingers point back from the wrist, so they can reach far.
The tales show different sides of the alan. In one, an alan mother lives in a house with her baby and gives fire to two hunters. The hunters harm the baby. She chases them, climbs a vine, and falls when they cut it. They take her jars of beads and gold. In another, alan find a man who has fainted. They think he is dead and lay gold and beads on his body. When he refuses their demand, they burn his house.
In a third tale, a hero named Sayen has an alan mother and hides her from his wife. The alan can be frightening, but they are not only monsters.