Kaliwat: Stories of Modern Legends: Myths and Demigods of Negros Island (Philippines) by Reinhard Chavez

What if the Philippine gods never left? What if their children walk among us? In the island of Negros, nine young people carry a secret: they are Kaliwat—descendants of ancient Visayan deities, born with divine powers they must hide from the modern world. A flower-loving teenage boy who fights with weaponized plants. A college student who sees the dead and guards funeral homes from corpse-eating spirits. An electrician who calls down lightning and apologizes for the brownouts he causes. A gender-fluid babaylan who sacrifices twenty years of life to stop a catastrophic flood. A doctor who transfers life force from the willing to the dying, carrying the weight of necessary deaths. By day, they navigate Filipino life—family shame, poverty, unrequited love, and the search for identity. By night, they battle aswang, vengeful gods, and supernatural threats, honoring duties inherited from parents who are literally divine. Blending action, romance, and mythology, Kaliwat brings Visayan folklore into the 21st century. These stories celebrate Philippine culture while exploring universal themes: the price of power, the burden of heritage, and what it means to be a hero when the world will never know you saved it. Read more