The aswang complex in Philippine folklore / Maximo D. Ramos.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The publication of this book is a bold attempt to present to the reader and to students of Filipino society and culture one of the dominant Filipino beliefs, the aswang. For some strange reason the belief has never been explored for its usefulness in the field of literature or social studies. Even educators shy away from it, branding the belief as superstitious and therefore not to be perpetuated. Ehile this view is entertained, however, there is continued use in the schools--including the nursery schools--of Western tales like "Hansel and Gretel," "Rapunzel," "Snow White," and so forth, dealing with witches, dwarfs, and other people of lower mythology. It is sad to note that while we accept these stories as entertaining to our children, we reject our own folktales about equivalent characters as superstitious and undesirable. --From the foreword