Tigmamanukan

Introduction

The Tagalog people believe that this bird is an indication of whether or not an anticipated journey will be successful. If it flies to the right, it means that the journey will be fruitful, while if it flies to the left, that means that the traveller will never return. It is also believed that it was instrumental in the evolution of humans by helping to open the primordial bamboo.

The Tagalog people believed that the Tigmamankan was an example of an animal that signifies a journey’s success or failure. Although other animals and birds were also considered to be harbingers, the tigma mankan was focused on due to its behavior. During pre-colonial periods, the people believed that Bathala sent the bird to warn people about their future. It was also sent to help people open a bamboo, which was the first object they came from.

Physical Traits

The native Filipinos continued to hold onto their superstitious belief in the “Tigmamanukan” even after the introduction of the Roman Catholic religion to the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. At the time, this term had come to be used exclusively to describe a mystifying small, dark-coloured bird that sought refuge in forests and farmlands throughout the archipelago. Despite the fact that the term “tigmamanukan” is no longer in common usage, some early western explorers claim that the particular bird meant by the name is a fairy bluebird.

Other names

The word tigmamankan is derived from the Proto-Austronesian “manuk”, which is used exclusively for the chicken in the Philippines. Before Christianization, the word was used to refer to any animal or creature that crossed a person’s path as an indication of their success or failure.

The most likely explanation for the term “encounter” was due to the practice of an augury, which involves the killing of a chicken and then reading its entrails to predict the outcome of an event. During this time period, the augury was performed by shamans and priestesses.

Powers and Abilities

The Tagalogs believed that a tigmamankan’s direction across a person’s path indicated the expected outcome of a journey. They also called this sign “labay,” which means “proceed.” It was believed that if a tigmamankan flew to the left, its passengers would never come back. It was also said that hunters would release the bird after cutting off it’s beak if it was captured.

Opening the bamboo that produced the first man, Malakas, and first woman, Maganda, was accomplished by the Tigmamanukan. Although other sources identify Amihan, the god of peace and wind, as the bird that pecked the bamboo, it is claimed that Bathala named the specific tigmamanukan that pecked the bamboo as Manaul. Amihan’s bird form is Manaul, according to some sources.

Modern Day Influence

Although the term “tigmamanukan” is no longer in use, some early western explorers assert that the bird in question is the fairy bluebird (genus Irena and family Irenidae), which goes by the name. Irena cyanogastra, also known as the Philippine fairy bluebird, was specifically identified by one explorer as the Asian fairy bluebird (Irena puella turcosa). In any case, the majority of sources that describe the tigmamanukan concur that it is distinguished by a “blue” color.

In a study published in 2017 and supported by the IUCN, it was noted that the Philippines is home to two Irena species: the Philippine fairy-bluebird (Irena cyanogastra), which is native to the faunal regions of Luzon and Mindanao, and the Palawan fairy-bluebird (Irena tweeddalii), which was recognized as a distinct species from the Asian fairy-bluebird (Irena puella) in 2017.