The manananggal is a feared being in Philippine folklore, especially in Tagalog and neighboring traditions. At night the upper body separates from the lower half and flies in search of victims. The name comes from a root meaning to remove or separate.
A form of aswang
Manananggal stories overlap with the wider category of aswang, but regional words and descriptions are not interchangeable. A common image gives the flying torso bat-like wings and a long tongue or proboscis. Pregnant women are frequent targets in later recorded accounts.
Defense in folktales
Stories say the abandoned lower body can be found and treated with salt, ash, garlic, spices, or other substances so the upper body cannot rejoin before daylight. The exact defense changes by region and narrator. Presenting one recipe as an established rule mistakes folklore variation for a fixed system.
History and modern media
Spanish colonial writers recorded related beliefs, but the creature cannot be reduced to a Spanish invention. Local traditions developed over long periods and continue through oral storytelling, comics, film, and television. The manananggal is a cultural figure, not evidence for a biological species.