The Metaphor in Tayho: In Human Realm, Monsters Reside

Karen Joyce Pumaren

It was a clear Friday night. Seen is the moon above on full disc, bigger and brighter.
Felt is the cold breeze of the coming December. Carried is the pile of reaction papers cause
it's about the end of the semester.
Diane, a university student, is walking alone on a wide and grassy road on the way
home like her normal routine. Everything is usual but her inkling. With her ears twitching
back and forth and body hairs standing and freezing, she knew someone or something was
watching.
She continued her walk, setting aside her fear and humming a song to mollify her
apprehension. But later on is another tension kindled by sounds of slow running horses at her
right. Strange, no one is tending horses in their community. Odd, no carabaos or cows are left
outside at night.
She wanted to run but was afraid to make loud noises. Heart pounding faster, she
walked hurriedly but with lighter steps on the ground. She reached the gate, locked the door
and looked back.
On a nearby hill, standing there are two people or animals? No, they were not humans
nor animals. Seemingly they were a junction of both. She knew these creatures, their familiar
silhouettes are similar to a character from a legend told by her parents and ancestors- beasts
who are half human and half horse.
“Kapoy ako, pero bugtaw ako. Nakita ko ulo nila daw ana tawo kag ang lawas nila
daw kabayo,” she stressed.
She was so confused, did her vision played her or did she get a glimpse of a notable
creature of known Visayan legend, the Tayho? But one thing’s for sure, if they were real,
they meant no harm.

The Legend of Tayho

Tayho, also spelled as Tayhu, is a character of Western Visayan folklore similar to the
centaur of Greek mythology, it has the head of a man and a torso of a four legged animal. It is
said that Tayho is an offspring of a giant male Agta and a female water buffalo.
Tayho lived in a different realm. They customarily show themselves during the full
moon. They are sighted roaming around forests, hills, grasslands and swampy areas abundant
with mangroves. Sometimes they take a dip on rivers under the moonlight. Natives who see
them end up staring blankly in the air for a few moments, if they attempt to follow these
creatures they often lose their way.
Some narratives depict Tayho as guardians of the forests and its inhabitants.But
oftentimes, they were labeled as beasts because of their mysticity and peculiarity. They have
unconventional features and atypical lineage. Noticeably, they are unfittingly human nor
acceptably animals, they are different, hence, subjected to torment.
The legend and tale of Tayho may be sketchy for many, but undeniably, its depiction
carries an underlying tenor of our social reality, the prejudicial treatment of people based on
society’s standard and instituted categories. Tayho, relatively, are representations of people
who suffer cruelty simply for being different or mismatched to the synods of the social
environment.

The Social Evil

In the human realm, there are many people treated like Tayho, freaks and abnormal,
because they don’t fall under the conventional. Unjustified negative attitudes, from social
exclusion, physical abuse to mental and emotional excruciation, are held against people
outside the society’s cages of gender, race, personality, beauty and status standards.
Similar to Tayho, people with distinct physical attributes and radically different kin
are mortified even though they meant no harm.
Take for example, little Fheljane, her parents call her Jingjing in Chinese means pretty
girl. But like Tayho, she is out of ordinary, she has a great deal of hair all over her body
primarily on her face. She is a hirsute little girl. This feature of hers was used as grounds for
bullying and harassment.
“When I turned five, mommy enrolled me in preschool. I was happy but days passed
and it turned very scary. Almost everyone calls me monkey, they say it’s because I am hairy
and ugly,” Jingjing expressed.
Likewise, Monique, a child from a non-traditional family, has experienced a mass of
of discrimination, hostility and homophobia. She was adopted and raised by lesbian parents
but is afraid to openly share her family set-up and narrative because of stigmatization and
dissent.
“At school, within the class, we did an open sharing. We talked about family,
struggles and personal life. My classmates appeared so warmhearted, my teacher was being
so supportive and sympathetic, I was elated. It seems like everyone is broad minded and
accepting, so I shared my story of being a child of same sex couple. But I was hushed by my
teacher, she proceeded to tell me my story was horrid, that what I am sharing is not
appropriate to be heard by my classmates. She was obviously disgusted,” Monique shared.
At school, at work, at home, on streets, in private and public spaces, there are people
being treated badly or unfairly based on a personal characteristic like appearance, sex,
gender, kind of disability, race, age and sexual preferences. Fheljane and Monique are just
two of these many real life Tayhos, deviant and different, who are living in the realm where
social evil resides and propagate bigotry.
Drawing upon these matters of fact, Tayho may or may not exist, but what’s
unimaginary are monsters. Monsters are real.
Monsters aren’t from other realms, it’s within our society. They don’t customarily
appear during full moonlit, they spread hatred day and night. They don’t roam around forests
and grasslands, they are everywhere. Monsters are indeed real, and they just look like us,
they are people, people who perpetuate oppression, injustice and discrimination.