Philippine Folk Tales Paperback – January 15, 2016

I like the enchanting stories in this book its filled with mythical creatures, moral lessons, and vibrant characters, the book beautifully captures the essence of Filipino folklore and provides insights into Filipino customs and traditions.

Bought this book to read as a family. Should have preread some of it. Haha! Death, naked people, beating of children, animals dying, fighting, are all told. Readers, please bear in mind the respectfulness of the Philippine culture before Spanish influence. It’s 2020 and still to this day we pass down oral stories. Many written works are destroyed by natural disasters and it’s not in our forethought to write it all down. Thankfully a foreigner though to write them down so many years ago. Reading the preface of this book gives good insight. Be open minded to the time these original stories were gathered. The terms used might be racially charged to a reader in 2020. Keep reading. The stories are great and our children, though shocked at first, are now so excited to hear more folk tales and are proud of their Filipino culture.

This book was first published in 1916 and had been out of print until Forbidden Books reprinted it. It was compiled through field work by anthropologists so there are not a lot of, if any at all, embellishments to the stories - which is a good thing. Being schooled in the Philippines, I already knew a few of the stories in this compilation but many are quite new, especially the tribal ones with no foreign influence. Anyone interested in Filipino literature and history should have a copy of this book.A copy of this book is also freely available via Google Books (digitized copy) but Forbidden Books have done a great job in re-printing this book so I definitely recommend buying the physical book. Its no classic but still, 4-stars for the re-printing job and the contents of the book itself.

How men learned to hunt human heads!How monkey's came into existence. (a real classic.)Creation stories of natives touched by Catholic influence andother tribes without such influence. Written in what, 1901 whenmost of the tribes in the interior were still untouched by Catholicismor Muslim influence and when many still enaged the taking of human heads."HEAD for a HEAD" :o)The stories of many of the native monsters, heavenly dieties and the first man and woman.A classic! Out of print except for these folks. This would be a great hit in any of theJoesph Cambell mythology Roundtable meetings around the US i am sure. I am goingto share it at our local meeting soon!

This is a very interesting collection of folk tales from across the islands that give some insight into the origins of their culture. The folktales are in their original form and have not been "polished" but appear to be direct translations into English. I see this as a valuable book for those wishing to understand the Philippines on deeper levels.

Have not read the whole book but from the stories I have read, this is a good addition to my Filipiniana library. Lots of good folk tales from the indigenous and major tribes/peoples of the Philippines.

Was shocked to find out the publication date: 1916. It was a great read. Enjoy folklore. Most of it seemed to be free of western influence.

Still in the midst of reading it, but it's fascinating discovering the myths of my ancestors. There's a surreal quality to the stories that imparts a very strong fantasy element to the tales. Belief in personal magic, transformation into other forms of life, communicating with inanimate objects...it's a very revealing look at the psychology of a culture. The patronizing preface written by one of the collectors of these myths also provides an insightful look at the attitudes of westerners at the time this was written. I'm really enjoying it!