Engkantong Cuyonon

Country: Philippines

Author Name: Fe Esperanza Pediapco Trampe

Publisner Name: Everything's Fine

Original Language: English

Magic is never far from Filipino life.

Faced with the latest bizarreries of our day to day lives, the most rational skeptic will throw up their hands and attribute these mysteries to engkanto, aswang, kulam, and so on.

Are they being dismissive, or are they acknowledging the possibility that these weird beliefs may contain a grain of truth?

The beliefs may be pure fancy, but their consequences are real.

Engkantong Cuyonon merges a contemporary story of fractured families, lost children, and sibling loyalty with elements of Filipino myth and legend.

It asks the reader to imagine that the fearsome creatures of folklore are not super-powered entities but individuals much like ourselves, under constant threat from the destruction of nature and the greed and ineptitude of the powerful.

Months into her move from mainland Luzon to Cuyo Island, 12-year old Jandi Gomez’s twin brother Junpyo and many other young schoolboys begin to go missing.

There are no leads, and Jandi’s aunt, teachers, and the authorities of the municipality seem to have given up.

Things happen, and boys disappear.

Refusing to believe

...

that nothing can be done, Jandi is forced to seek help from Maring, the island’s neighborhood baryada or crazy person.

She tells Jandi of the many engkantos on and around Cuyo who live parallel lives with its human inhabitants.

These mythical creatures may not know much, but they are willing to help.

Together, they embark on a mission Jandi was told to be impossible, ultimately finding the missing boys and the reason their disappearances were deemed beyond action.