Talk:Berbalang

Folk tall or tall tale?

Since this curious myth apparently derives from only one source, a paper written in 1896, and that paper contains an alleged eye-witness account by the author of events so bizarre they're very hard to explain without admitting the existence of cat-eyed cannibals who at night turn into invisible flying vampire ghouls, it would be not unreasonable to assume the paper was a mischievous hoax, possibly incorporating some elements of real Malay folklore. I find it particularly odd that although the story has been widely known since 1928, and the Berbalangs supposedly live on a very small island in a village the location of which is no secret, nobody appears to have actually checked it out since 1896.

Are there any other academic sources whatsoever stating that Berbalangs are a genuine part of Filipino folklore? Because if not, it would be unsafe to accept them as such purely on the basis of one paper which in places reads very like horror fiction. Though if there are other sources, I for one would be interested to know about them. However, as things stand, stating that "they are associated with the culture of the smaller towns of Mindanao" hardly seems justified, when it would be more accurate to say that "they are associated with the culture of the native inhabitants of one tiny island who in the late 19th century told one European all about them in great detail but have never mentioned them to anybody else".

In other words, even in folkloric terms they're probably no more authentic than the creatures of the same name who appear in Dungeons & Dragons, unless at least one other source can be quoted, ideally one that comes across as a bit less made up. 86.141.29.187 (talk) 02:12, 27 March 2024 (UTC)