Readings

In The
Philippine
History
(Religious Beliefs of the Early Filipino)
 The stories of ancient Philippine mythology include deities,
creation stories, mythical creatures, and beliefs. Ancient
Philippine mythology varies among the many indigenous tribes of
the Philippines. Some groups during the pre-Spanish conquest era
believed in a single Supreme Being who created the world and
everything in it, while others chose to worship a multitude of
tree and forest deities (diwatas).
Many indigenous Filipino cultures assert the existence of a
high god, creator god, or sky god. Among the Tagalogs, the
supreme god was known as Bathala, who was additionally described
as Maykapal (the all-powerful) or Lumikha (the creator). Among
the Visayan peoples the creator God is referred to as Laon,
meaning "the ancient one." These practices coincided with
ancestor worship. Tagalogs for example venerated animals like the
crocodile (buaya) and often called them "nonong" (from cognate
'nuno' ie 'ancestor' or 'elder'). A common ancient curse among
the Tagalogs is "makain ka ng buwaya" "may the crocodile eat
you!" Animistic practices vary between different ethnic groups.
Another Tagalog deities are listed below.

Bathala – The supreme god of being; creator of man and

earth and addressed sometimes as Bathalang Maykapal.

Amanikable – the god of Hunters.

Idiyanale – The goddess of labor and good deeds.

Dimangan The god of good harvest.

Ikapati – The goddess of cultivated land.

Lakapati – Often confused with Ikapati from variant Tagalog

pantheons, Lakapati was a major fertility deity.

Mapulon – The god of seasons and husband of Ikapati of whom

they had a daughter.
 The early Tagalogs is also rich of myth and one of its
famous story is the creation of the Sun, Moon and Stars.

“One day the ugly and quarrelsome sun was very angry about
the moon and she chased after him. She almost had reached him but
then she lost her power and she fell back behind him again. These
vain hunting last up until today. The first child the two was a
big male star. It happened that he also became the victim of the
permanent annoyance of the sun. She cut him into small parts and
scattered them like rice over the whole sky. Since then there are
so many stars.

In the same narration it is told, that another child of sun

and moon was a gigantic crab. The story provides a fantastic
explanation for the appearance of low and high tide as well as
the eclipse of the moon.

The crab is so powerful, that every time when it opens or

close an eye there is lightning on the earth. If the crab lies
deeply in its hole in the sea, then it is high tide. When it
leaves its hole, then a vast amount seawater streams into the
hole again and it is low tide on land. As its father, the sun,
the crab is also very pugnaciously. Then she tries often to
swallow its mother, the moon, and an eclipse of the moon is the
result. If the people notice an attack of the crab, then they try
to frighten the crab by loud calling and raging in order to save
the well-liked moon”.

In the Visayan regions, shamanistic and animistic beliefs in

witchcraft (barang) and mythical creatures like aswang
(vampires), duwende (dwarves), and bakonawa (a gigantic sea
serpent) Similarly to Naga, may exist in some indigenous peoples
alongside more mainstream Christian and Islamic faiths.
 Ancient Visayan Deities Philippine Mythology are listed
below.
Kaptan (Captan) – The supreme god who dwells in the sky. He
is the Ancient Visayan counterpart of Bathala.
Maguayan/Magwayan – The goddess of the sea and death.
SECOND GENERATION GODS:
Lihangin – The god of the wind and the son of Kaptan.
Lidagat – The goddess of the sea, daughter of Maguayan.
Likabutan – The god of the world and the eldest children of
Lihangin and Lidagat.
Liadlaw – The god of the sun and the second children of
Lihangin ang Lidagat.
Libulan – The god of the moon and the third children of
Lihangin and Lidagat.
Lisuga – The goddess of the stars. She was the youngest
children of Lihangin and Lidagat. The deity in which Silalak
and Sibabay came from.

Visayas are also rich of myth. An origin myth from Panay

suggests that Tungkung Langit and Alunsina, the chief gods of the
upperworld, were actually married and settled down in heaven.
After marrying Alunsina, Tungkung Langit worked non-stop to put
an order in the confusing and still-shapeless world. He was
described as a “loving, hard-working god,” while his wife a
“lazy, jealous, and selfish goddess.”
Several lonely months later, Tungkung Langit tried to find
his wife everywhere, but to no avail. In desperation, he took
Alunsina‘s jewels and spread them in the sky, hoping that somehow
she would notice them and be compelled to return.
Sadly, Alunsina never bothered to come back. It is believed among
the old folks of Panay that Alunsina‘s necklace became the stars,
while her comb and crown became what we know today as the moon
and sun, respectively.
They also think that the rain is actually the tears of
Tungkung Langit falling from the sky. The thunders, on the other
hand, could be the supreme god desperately calling for his
beloved wife.
Thereore, we conclude, that Animism was widely practiced in
the pre-colonial Philippines. Today, only a handful of the
indigenous tribes continue to practice the old traditions. The
term animism encompasses a collection of beliefs and cultural
mores anchored more or less in the idea that the world is
inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, both good and
bad, and that respect must be accorded to them through worship.

References:

Demetrio, Francisco R.; Cordero-Fernando, Gilda; Nakpil-Zialcita,

Roberto B.; Feleo, Fernando (1991). The Soul Book: Introduction
to Philippine Pagan Religion. GCF Books, Quezon City.

https://filipiknow.net/the-ancient-visayan-deities-of-philippine-
mythology/

https://www.aswangproject.com/ancient-tagalog-deities-in-
philippine-mythology/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/jhoveloling.wordpress.com/2010/08/03
/cebuanovisayan-gods-and-goddesses/amp/

Maggay, Melba Padilla (1999). Filipino Religious Consciousness.

Quezon City: Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture.
The Sun and The Moon, in:
http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/aufi/folk/folk-m02.htm