University of the Philippines Study Finds 8 Out of 10 Panay Islanders Have Aswang DNA
(Los Baños, Laguna) – 78 percent of residents of Panay Island in the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo have Aswang DNA, according to a recent study by researchers from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños entitled “DNA Sequencing and Analysis of Panay Island Population” and published in the latest issue of Nature.
The latest study was made possible after a team from Ateneo de Manila University conducted the first complete Aswang genome sequencing in 2008.
The Aswangs (Homo aswangis) are an extinct group of archaic humans who lived in the island of Panay until about 20,000 years ago. Possibly related to Homo luzonensis, their remains–canine teeth and bone fragments–were discovered in 1977 in Langub Cave in Dumalag, Capiz.
“Scientists broadly agree that after the arrival of modern humans to the Philippine archipelago some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, Homo aswangis and modern humans continued to co-exist for thousands of years in Panay Island,” said lead researcher Margie dela Cruz, professor of anthropology at UP Los Baños.
“The Aswangs were eventually displaced and became extinct, but not before interbreeding with the modern Austronesian humans who spoke proto-Hiligaynon and whose descendants now inhabit the islands. Our study shows that Austronesian-Aswang interbreeding in Panay Island was fairly common as reflected in the DNA of its modern inhabitants.”
Researchers have long believed that the Aswangs’ nocturnal nature, aversion to sunlight and exclusive diet of animal viscera played a big role in their failure to compete with Homo sapiens. Other factors are the destruction of their forest habitat, lack of immunity to diseases brought by modern humans, and increased food competition with the newcomers.
The Spanish colonizers of the Philippines have recorded numerous reports from locals of Aswang sightings in remote parts of Panay Island since the 1600s but these have not been fully substantiated. In many instances the reports portray the Aswangs as vampire-like creatures, sucking the blood and entrails of animals and other human beings with their long proboscis-like tongues.
However, according to Professor Dela Cruz, even if the stories were true, these stragglers could not have survived for very long as Aswangs were reportedly easily weakened or killed by holy water and crucifixes brought to the islands by the Christian colonizers.
An interesting result of the study also reveals that members of families of political dynasties on the island that belong to the highest socioeconomic class have an exceptionally high percentage–as much as 20 percent–of Aswang DNA compared to the local population.
The cause of this is presently unknown and may be a subject of further research, but Professor Dela Cruz surmises that this finding reflects the propensity of politicians and other affluent landowners in Panay Island to suck their constituents dry, much like their ancient ancestors with whom they share a large portion of their DNA.