Romancing The Tamawo Book Launch
The Pinoy Indie Authors (PIA) reimagined once again. After the successful Manananggal In the City, they were at it again, this time featuring the Tamawo, and this time, I was there not as a spectator but rather, one of the authors.
Tamawo or Tamao is a mythological creature of Philippine mythology. They are believed to be malevolent but extremely handsome with very pale skin to white skin that sparkles under direct sunlight, they also have light colored hair, and fangs. They reside primarily near the sea or any body of water. Their Western counterpart would be the Germanic Elves.
They are said to abduct any human female that catch their eye. They do this for one purpose: to breed with them.
It is also believed that their saliva is some kind of aphrodisiac or has that similar property/ healing property.
Tamawos are more commonly known as engkanto, and I've heard a lot of stories about them. I remember one of my older cousins used to say that if the hairs on your arms and legs are growing upward, that means an engkanto is into you. These engkantos are usually good-looking males and extremely nice, and would try to lure you to a place no one knows and once they think they've won you, that's when they would show you how they really look like and it is not pretty. Stories like this where everywhere when I was growing up. A healer practically raised me because I would always get wounded mysteriously, and the healer would say, "'Wag kang naglalaro diyan sa puno ng langka, may nakatira diyan." Yep, maybe the tamawos are more common in the Visayan region, but the mountains of Rizal do not come short when it comes to supernatural stories and tales about mythical creatures.
Most "real-life" stories about this mythical entity are on the ugly side (it was also rumoured that a popular child star in the 80s died because of them), and so PIA reimagined them and decided to write books that would put the tamawos in good light. Seven authors, seven stories, one theme - Romancing The Tamawo was launched on May 19. It happened at the Presidential Car Museum and it was a fun-filled afternoon oozing with prizes.
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| The writers: Me, Paola Aliedo, Mayumi Cruz and Yeyet Soriano. Insert Maita Rue, Fred Figueroa, and Marigold Andres Uy. |
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| This is me, trying to own the stage as I talk about my book, Marahuyo. |
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| Here are the books we launched, along with the other books by the authors. |
