Filipinos will tell you that common beliefs in the Philippines include ghosts and other types of spirits. Engkanto are one of these spirits. They are sometimes known as sirens or elves in other cultures. This is one of those beliefs that has been passed down for centuries. People still make reports of coming into contact with these creatures.

Engkanto are very human-like in the facts that they age, have male and female versions, can become ill or even die. They come in many forms including blue eyes, golden hair, and fair skin.  The female spirits typically have a more red complexion than the males. These creatures stay in areas with large trees and surrounding nature, but they may choose to stay closer to humans. Some Engkanto are good and some are bad. There are many variations of the tales.

The dangers that come with these spirits is nothing to look over. Engkanto are known for negative health effects and negative influence on luck. Those that anger the Engkanto have suffered depression, madness, illness, and some even disappear as a result of possession. A true story of an encounter that comes directly from a Filipino close to me goes like this:

“One day, my brother went out to cut wood in the forest. He came across a lake and saw a piece of wood, so he went to cut it. The piece of wood turned out to be a fish, and when he cut it, he became very sick. He wasn’t really getting better. He got really skinny and a couple weeks later he was still sick. A man from town who talks to spirits came and offered his help. The man said that the spirit told him to make an offering. The options for the offering were a pig, or my brother’s life. My mom’s parents raised pigs so they took one and sliced its neck. We took the pig’s blood and drew crosses everywhere on the house to keep the spirits away. My brother got better shortly after that. The man that talked to the Engkanto said that the fish that my brother cut actually had the spirit of a child inside. Apparently the child’s parents’ spirits were the Engkanto haunting my brother. When the man asked the spirits, ‘What did this man do for you to make him this sick?’ The spirits responded saying, ‘He killed my child.'”

Engkanto and other spirits are not taken lightly in the Filipino culture. There are countless stories that warn people about the spirits. There are rules that you have to follow to not upset Engkanto. These rules are still passed down and enforced in the present-day Philippines.

Orang Minyak, better known as the “Oily Man”, has been around since before a movie was created for the character in 1958. This is a Malaysian urban legend that continues through present-day life, the most recent sighting being 2018. Orang Minyak starts with two causes for the origin story:

1. a product of sexually frustrated young men turning their sex-drive into a form of dark magic to win over the one they love.
2. a local legend derived from folklore of witch-doctors.

Since this story dates back to the early 1900s, there have been many different interpretations of the legend. As the legend goes, Orang Minyak must find and rape 3 virgins each day over a week’s time. This is not consistent with more current sightings of the man, so many just assume his basic goals are to rape and steal expensive appliances (weird). His descriptions also take many different forms including:

• Weight: variation from skinny to obese
• Height: variation from tall to below average
• Eye Color: yellow, gold, red, or jet black

One part of the description of the man remains consistent, oil. The “Oily Man” gets his name from the characteristic that his entire body is covered in black slippery oil that does not drip.

There have been so many sightings and concerns about Orang Minyak that women begun to create ways to avoid being raped by the man. One tactic is to only go out during the daytime and be ready to fight during the night. The reason that it is okay to do in the daytime is that a man walking around town covered completely in black oil would be obvious and suspicious, so Orang Minyak only comes out at night. The second tactic to avoid rape is to wear males’ clothing in order to make the “Oily Man” think that there is a man near by (that makes sense).  These tactics only work for those who believe that Orang Minyak is a human, but some believe that he is a supernatural being. In the case that he is a spirit, there is only one solution: bite your own left thumb and cover it with a magically treated cloth known as a Batik (because everyone has one of those lying around).

There are reports of sightings of the Orang Minyak all over the internet and in police records. No one knows if it is simply an urban legend or if people use this urban legend to their advantage (I’m feeling the latter). There will be links of women’s stories of attacks by the Orang Minyak at the bottom of this blog. In the meantime, I would really love someone to make a movie about this that was not made during the 1950s. Stay safe and hide your expensive appliances.

Sightings of the “Oily Man”

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/05/12/attacked-by-orang-minyak-woman-says-man-in-red-underwear-tried-to-rape-her/

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/04/351725/teen-girl-attacked-orang-minyak-kelantan-village