Dalaketnon (not to be confused with ''Dalaguetenon'', the Cebuano term for natives from the city of

Dalaguete Dalaguete, officially the Municipality of Dalaguete ( ceb, Lungsod sa Dalaguete; tgl, Bayan ng Dalaguete), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 74,596 people. ...

), are the evil '' engkanto''. ''Dalaketnons'' are a race of Elf-like creatures in Philippine mythology In

Visayans Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...

they were believed to be handsome and beautiful creatures that resemble nobles and monarchs of the prehispanic Philippines, They dwell on Dalakit trees (Balete, Dakit) hence the name Dalakitnon which literally means ''From the Dalakit or Dakit tree'' These mythological race exhibits

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

the men having light colored skin and very dark hair and women having bronze-brown skin and brown hair. Stories say that they have leaf-shaped pointy ears. depicted in modern times as gothic-like tall, handsome males and beautiful females. They dress in fashionable manner, live in the "

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the prope ...

-like" mansions and try to fit in with mortal people. Some believe that the only way to ''Dalaket'', their dwelling place, is by entering the ''Dalaket'' trees. These creatures abduct people and take them to their world. They hold a feast for their victims and force them to eat the Black Rice that put them under their spell making them their slaves. ''Dalaketnons'' were known to be rather beautiful elitists. They have a bit of a ''coño'', a kind of telekinesis as well as corporeal duplication—meaning they could generate tangible, living copies of themselves indefinitely, and their hairs and eyes turn white whenever their power manifests. The ''Dalaketnons'' have a normal contact with humans but the humans do not know that they are engkanto. Old folks believed that ''Dalaketnons'' can change an ordinary human into creatures like them. They use a magical black rice to change their victims into a ''Dalaketnon''. It was also believed that they were the mortal enemies of the good '' engkanto''. They are from the royal blood of evil engkantos that served as their ruler. They were associated to be the masters of ''

Tiyanak The Tiyanak (also Tianak or Tianac) is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby. Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to attract unw ...

'', ''

Aswang Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and werebeasts (usually dogs, cats, pigs). The aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, s ...

'', '' Bal-Bal'', '' Wak Wak'', ''

Manananggal The ''manananggal'' is a mythical creature in the Philippines that separates from their lower part of its body and their fangs and wings give it a vampire-like appearance. Mythology The ''manananggal'' is described as scary, often hideous, u ...

'', '' Amalanhig'', and even '' Tiktik''.

References

{{authority control Visayan mythology Philippine demons Mythic humanoids