Today, many Catholics commemorate Palm Sunday to usher the Holy Week. On this day, parishioners attend Mass so the priest can sprinkle holy water on the
palaspas or palm branches they bring with them. As the priest does the blessing the parishioners sway their
palaspas in remembrance of Jesus Christ's entry to Jerusalem. Many people believe that the blessed
palaspas will protect them against misfortune such as being struck by lightning.
Considering the standing of the
palaspas in Philippine religious tradition and superstition, it has breached the boundaries of popular culture: A case in point is an episode in the first installment of
Shake, Rattle and Roll, the longest-running horror movie franchise in the Philippines. The first movie was released by Athena Productions in 1984; it features three episodes entitled
Baso,
Pridyider, and
Manananggal.
We will focus on the episode about the
manananggal. In Philippine folklore, a
manananggal refers to a vampire-like creature that can sever its upper torso and make huge bat-like wings appear on its back to fly into the night. (Perhaps, the need to be cut in half is motivated by the goal to fly light.) The
manananggal then searches for a victim, with its lower torso is left standing.
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| From rural maiden to manananggal |
Herbert Bautista, the lead actor in this
SRR episode, plays the role of Douglas, who is a visitor to a rural village. Irma Alegre portrays a local lass who transforms into the
manananggal at night
. Smitten with her, Douglas attempts to woo her. He discovers her secret in the process. Upon discovering the
manananggal's lower torso, Douglas puts salt on it. (WARNING: A highly graphic image follows.)
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| The manananggal's lower torso |
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| Douglas putting salt into the manananggal's lower torso |
The
manananggal learns the destruction of its lower torso, so it follows Douglas to his grandmother's house. Along with his brothers, Douglas wards off the
manananggal's attacks by whipping it with a blessed
palaspas. The palaspas not just hurt the
manananggal. It helps in effectively delaying the struggle so that sunrise will finally come and destroy the creature.
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| Douglas holding a palaspas to fight the manananggal |
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