A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In Cole’s Tinguian Story of Sayen, the Komow is a murderous spirit resembling a man. It approaches the people of Magosang while they divide game after a hunt. When they report two animals, it says it has caught two as well; returning home, they discover two people dead. Repeated encounters reduce the village and leave its survivors fearful.

They ask Sayen for help. He accompanies the hunters but hides while they divide two deer. The Komow detects his scent and asks about him; the others deny knowing his location. Sayen springs from concealment and kills the spirit. The narrative identifies a humanlike appearance, correspondence between hunt and deaths, and a specific ambush rather than a detailed fixed monster body.

Cole’s note supplies a contrasting neighboring Ilocano usage: there Komow is an invisible fabulous bird that steals people and possessions. This is an editorial comparative notice, rather than a second fully narrated encounter, and it is kept distinct from the human-shaped predator of the Tinguian Sayen story. The differing appearances are not combined into a human-bird hybrid.

Humanlike appearanceHunting encounterMatching deathsDetects Sayen’s scent
01

Origins & earliest records

Tinguian collected traditions; named source setting

02

Records & interpretation

Identified primary narrative or custodial object record directly read; image pixels verified only where explicitly noted.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Philippine Folk Tales

    Mabel Cook Cole, compiler and annotator · 1916

    Tinguian: The Story of Sayen, printed pp.62–63; comparative Ilocano note72

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Philippine Folk Tales

Tinguian collected traditions. Tinguian: The Story of Sayen, printed pp.62–63

Actual passage or object record read directly. Museum image bytes not yet visually inspected for these new West Asian objects. Full Sayen story pp.60–64 and note72 re-read; note distinguishes neighboring Ilocano invisible stealing bird from Tinguian manlike predator. No reviewed correction found for Komow.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical collection / primary recorded accountPhilippine Folk Tales — Tinguian: The Story of Sayen, printed pp.62–63Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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