Realizing that society would find it harder to accept powerful women on their own merits, Vernasha sought to subvert expectations by encouraging asha to dance, sing, and charm – encouraging the charade of being outwardly submissive and seemingly harmless, to make their influence more palatable.

This was a deliberate move by Kion’s founder, Vernasha of the Roses. Although asha are easily the most powerful faction within the kingdoms, a whole industry was formed around them entertaining and playing host to customers. When Tea raised Fox from the dead, one of the main reasons she was allowed her to keep him was that Fox was her brother rather than a boyfriend.ģ. These tend to be slightly scandalous, as it is considered a breach of ethics / abuse of their responsibilities (hypocritical, given that it was NOT considered a shirking of their duties if they raised a person for a noble who can pay them). Most of their clientele tend to be kings and queens, but bone witches themselves are not above raising deceased loved ones for their own, often spouses or significant others. The rates for this are high, since bone witches have a finite number of familiars that they can raise at a time, and clients are charged per annum that the familiar remains resurrected. One such revenue is raising the dead for nobles who are willing to pay for the privilege – wives, family members, etc.

While Dark asha are also expected to entertain visitors in parties to earn their living like most other asha, there are many Dark asha throughout history who have chosen not to do so, because there are better financial alternatives at their disposal. Many people also believe that mangkukulams are capable of shapeshifting into different creatures, often black animals like rats or dogs, or that they can control certain animals like rats – a nod to bone witches’ ability to control daeva.Ģ. They are something of a fixture among many rural areas in the Philippines while they are generally feared and disliked by most people in society, they are still considered a necessary evil, as many seek their help for potions or for reversing a curse they believe they’ve been put under. Mangkukulams are at their core medicine women who also use curses and hexes to sell on the side for those who want to seek revenge against their enemies, or for people who disrespect the witches.

Bone witches / Dark asha are based on Filipino witches called mangkukulams. “3 things we don’t know about The Bone Witch world”ġ.

The shadowglass rin chupeco