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Engkanto
The word engkanto comes from the Spanish encanto, "enchantment". People in Cebu, Siquijor and elsewhere say engkanto are spirits of the environment that can look human. Many people link them to ancestors and to the anito.
Folklore is retold; versions differ.
Sources: Wikipedia: Engkanto (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikidata (CC0)
The story
Engkanto is a general word for enchanted beings who can take human shape. It comes from Spanish encanto, meaning enchantment. Spanish writers used the word for the many kinds of spirits they met in the islands, and it still covers many kinds today. Stories say engkanto age, fall ill and die, like people. They often look beautiful, with fair skin, light eyes and a high nose. Some listeners notice that the face feels slightly odd.
They live in nature, and tellers name large trees, especially the balete, as favorite homes. A rock, a tree or a shadow may hide a dwelling. To a person the engkanto befriends, the home may look like a grand palace. People often link them to ancestor spirits and to the anito. Among Bagobo storytellers, two named spirits are the female tahamaling and the male mahomanay.
In Cebu and Siquijor, storytellers tell of people taken or tricked by an engkanto. The scholar Francisco Demetrio studied 87 folk stories from the Visayas and Mindanao. He argued that some engkanto came from early European friars. That is one scholar's view, not settled.