Kapre

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

Legend and myth

The very word Kapre is derived from the Arabic Kaffir, a term the Arabs reserved for the pagan inhabitants of Africa. As time passed, usage of it somehow passed into the lingua franca of the Spaniards who soon corrupted it to their bastardised Kapre. With their arrival in the Phillipines, this coined word like the rest of their imported lingo, quickly displaced old native names and descriptions. The mysterious creature once known as the Agta in the native Visasyan dialect prior to the Spanish arrival, is now simply referred to as Kapre, a name whose true orgins have absolutely nothing to do with its associated subject.

The question of its proper name aside, the Kapre is a simple enough being to fathom. Reputedly always a male, he is said to dwell at the top of large trees like the banyan or bamboo. Typical sightings of him are fleeting but thoroughly unsettling encounters, with frightened wayfarers reporting loud booming masculine laughter assailing their astonished ears as they pass a large tree swaying in the night even as no breeze stirs. Their attention drawn by the racuous mermiment descending from the tree-top, they stare up and find their gaze returned by two huge red orbs.

Elusive yet vocal, the Kapre is a famous legend. Rarely allowing himself to be seen by virture of of wearing a magic belt that shields him from prying eyes, only a few have ever been fortunate enough to catch a complete look at him as they find him lounging under the branches of his tree dwelling, or wandering the jungle. Most of these accounts speak of a strapping man-like creature sporting a beard and completely covered in black, matted hair. Tall and imposing, estimations of his lofty height range from seven to eight feet, though the most sensational accounts speak of a massive giant well over twelve feet high at the shoulder. Amusingly enough, such a fearsome creature to behold and inspire terror in the human heart, is often given an amusingly comical feel by those who swear that he is never seen without a massive cigar that perpetually spews a cloud of red embers into the night sky, leading the less skeptical to confuse a cloud of fire-flies for the tell-tale embers of the Kapre's cigar.

In certain other ways, the Kapre is distinguished from a wild brute of the wilderness. Cladd clad in a traditonal loin-cloth to grant him a certain degree of modesty, he is not without some degree of human civilization, though admittedly, that may be debatable, since the existence of the loin cloth is sometimes thrown into question. A certain traditonal healer who claims to have struck up a friendship with a resident Kapre, was adamant that his hairy friend was not shy in the least bit shy about exposing his genitals, that were to his eyes, no different from the average man's.

The Kapre are, as one might have guessed from the above sentance, seldom maloveant or hostile towards man-kind, choosing to usually inflict nothing worse than a harmleses prank. Delighting in beffudling the senses of a person to ensure that he finds himself hopelessly lost in his own garden, they watch in amusment as the poor soul finds himself confused by the unfamiliar landscape that greets his eyes instead of his own home. Less extreme forms of trickery might involve them using their wiles to cause a traveller to loose his way in the mountains or jungles.

Occasionally though, the Kapre legend can take darker, more sinister turns. If a Kapre develops an obssession over someone, commonly a comely woman that has unknowingly ignited a passion in its heart, it will stalk that person forever, paying clandestine visits to her homestead under the cover of darkness. These women have sometimes described awakening at night to find themselves staring into the red eyes of the Kapre as he looks at them longingly through their window.

Little children too, may attract the attention of a lonely Kapre and in the more rural districts of the Phillipines where superstition prevails, cautious parents are careful to keep their children locked behind closed doors once the sun sets. Some youngsters recollect visitations of the Kapre that were marked by pig-lie grunts emanting from outside and a foul stench wafting through the windows, as anxious mothers signalled them to remain silent.

In its more wholesome aspects though, a Kapre approaching a human being to offer his friendship can be an excellent thing for that individual, given that the Kapre is capable of becoming a devoted friend that might impart to him some of its magic and healing arts, once it develops an attachment for him.

For the fool-hardy and the bold, the Kapre can also be a source of quick wealth if they can succeed in stealing a white stone belonging to him. Slightly smaller than a quail's egg and possessing the power to grant any wish demanded of it, it is an indeed coveted prize for any human that can lay his hands on it.