legend, she alleviated a three-year drought by performing a ritual that summoned a rainstorm. Sorcery was not restricted to shamans, but were also a common claim for leaders and warrior-heroes. In the pre-Islamic Maranao society depicted in the Darangen epic poem, heroes are born with "twin spirits" (tonong in Maranao) that grant them superhuman abilities. King Awilawil o Ndaw of the kingdom of Kaibat a Kadaan for example, has a tonong named Salindagaw Masingir that can take the aspect of typhoons, floods, and pillars of fire; while King Dalondong a Mimbantas of the kingdom of Gindolongan Marogong has a tonong named Mabokelod a Romba which took the form of a giant crocodile. Talismans and potions Numerous types of shamans use different kinds of items in their work, such as talismans or charms known as agimat or anting-anting, curse deflectors such as buntot pagi, and sacred oil concoctions, among many other objects. Black magic Sorcerers are also believed to have powers that cause harm to other people covertly. Healer-sorcerers who practice this kind of sorcery usually justify it as a form of criminal punishment, as a widespread belief is that black magic does not work on people who are innocent. Their targets are usually "wrongdoers" like thieves, adulterous spouses, or land grabbers. Sorcery of this type is seen as a kind of "justice", especially for people who can not (or failed to) legally prosecute a wrongdoer. There are also "true" sorcerers who are said to have hereditary sorcerous powers. Unlike healers, they do not consider the justice of their actions. The latter type of sorcerers are often conflated with the aswang, evil vampire-like supernatural beings capable of appearing human (or were originally human). The negative counterparts of the shamans are collectively called as witches, however, these witches actually include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations which depend on the ethnic group they are associated with. They are completely different from the Western notion of what a witch is. Notable examples of witches in a Philippine concept are the mannamay, witches known to the Ibanag people, mangkukulam, witches that use materials from nature and the cursee as a form of curse, and the mambabarang, witches that utilize insects as a form of curse. Social status Babaylan were highly respected members of the community, on par with the pre-colonial noble class. In the absence of the