of these trees). Specific trees (and nature in general) in pre-colonial Philippines were considered sacred (often used as shrines), esp. the large ficus trees (known locally as balete, ). An offensive expression "Tigbalang ca mandin!" "You are a wild beast!" was used by early Tagalogs to signify one as uncouth and uncivilized. Later on, as horses were brought from China and Japan through the Spanish colonial government, accounts of them appearing horse-like slowly became the norm (i.e. de San Antonio's 18th c. account). This mirrors a similar cultural evolution of another mythological creature from the Philippines, the kapre. The kapre evolved from earlier mentions of forest dwelling-giants who kidnap children during the early colonial period (mirroring how they were viewed in pre-colonial times), to eventually becoming depicted as a tall dark men (cafre slaves brought by Iberians from East Africa via India) who smoked tobacco (a New World plant imported to Asia via Columbian Exchange) during the colonial and modern era. Superstitions Tikbalangs or Tigbolan scare travelers, lead them astray and play tricks on them such as making them return to an arbitrary path no matter how far they go or turn. This is counteracted by wearing one's shirt inside out. Another countermeasure is to ask permission out loud to pass by or, not to produce too much noise while in the woods in order not to offend or disturb the tikbalang. The "tigbolan" is a ghost which assumes a variety of forms, and sometimes confers a similar gift upon a certain favored individual. A superstition popular with the Tagalogs of Rizal Province is that Tikbalangs are benevolent guardians of elemental kingdoms. They are usually found standing at the foot of large trees looking around for anyone who dares to bestow malignancy on their kingdom's territory. A common saying has it that rain from a clear sky means "may kinakasal na tikbalang."(Filipino, "a tikbalang is getting married".) This was potentially connected with a similar Spanish proverb that claimed a witch was getting married when there was rain on a sunny day, although many cultures have such sayings in which a trickster figure gets married (cp. fox's wedding, bear's wedding, monkey's birthday/wedding). In some versions, the tikbalang can also transform itself into human form or turn invisible to humans. They like to lead travelers astray. Tikbalang is generally associated with dark, sparsely populated, foliage-overgrown areas, with legends variously identifying their abode