Back in 2014, I made a list of deities from various ethnic groups on my blog Diwatahan on Tumblr. I made another list on the Pinoy-Culture blog in 2017.
As the years have gone by, there has been an increase in interest on our precolonial deities, myths, and beliefs. Many artists have created beautiful artwork in honor of these deities. However, in the search for information on these deities, many stumble upon paragraphs and lists that are sometimes incorrect. Through the use and access of the internet, this misinformation has spread until the origin of this information gets lost and people pass if off as being historically accurate.
Lets take for example a popular one happening today on the “myth” of the love story of the gods Si Dapa and Bulan/Buwan. I won’t get too much into detail into this as Jordan Clark has already went into a detailed post about this on The Aswang Project. But while it started as a blog post by 1 person, it later became believed to be true and precolonial.
Now I want state and clarify that while I don’t frown upon these modern myths happening and giving empowerment to those who connect with it, I do condone when people classify them as precolonial and historical. There is a big difference between the two and a line should be drawn. Not only is it a disservice to our ancestors, but also it’s disrespectful to the deities. This also applies to when deities from other ethnic groups are absorbed into the Tagalog pantheon, claiming it was Tagalog, when in fact they weren’t. This erases the identity of these deities from their respective culture and people and thus erases the ethnic group even further.
So while these stories are fine, one should know what was historically believed in by our ancestors and what wasn’t. In this post is a list of these deities based on historical records. Today I will be focusing on the Tagalog deities and a separate post will be on the Bisayan.
✦ Bathala Maykapal – The creator deity of the Tagalog.
Bathala Maykapal/Meykapal or by his full name, Bathala na May Kapangyarihan sa Lahat, is the creator god among the Tagalog. He has both Islamic influences and indigenous beliefs correlating with the fact that the Tagalog at the time of the Spaniards arrival were a mix between those who converted to Islam and those who didn’t. Bathala’s name means “creator of all things” and according to the Boxer Codex he was also referred to as May-Ari/Molayari.
“The Moros of the Philippines believe that the earth, the sky, and all other things that in them are were created and made by only one god, whom they refer to in their tongue as bathala na may kapangyarihan sa lahat, which means “God the creator and preserver of all things”. They also called him by another name, May-Ari. They say that this their god was in the air before there was a sky or earth or anything else, and that he was ab eterno, not made or created from anyone or by anyone, and that he alone made and created everything we have named by his own will alone, desiring to make something as beautiful as the sky and the earth, and that he made and created from the earth a man and a woman from whom all men and generations in the world descend. They also say that when their ancestors learned of this god, whom they consider the highest, it was through prophets whose names they no longer know, because, lacking scriptures where they could read the names of these prophets, they have forgotten them. But what they do know of them is that in their language they are calle tagapaghayag ng banal na kasulatan ng dios, which means “revealers of the scriptures of god”, from whom they learned about this god. They told them that we have already described regarding the creation of the world, people, and everything else. They worship and revere this god according to their understanding. And in certain meetings held in their homes—they lack temples for this purpose nor is it their tradition to have any—they hold feasts and revels in which they eat and drink very splendidly.”
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
Bathala was said to be the creator of all things and had those who assisted him. They were known as the anito and dominated human affairs and aspects of life such as war, farming, and fishing. Through the katalonan, a priestess/priest, ritual offerings were given to these anito as they would pass on their prayers and messages to Bathala.
The god Batala. According to the religion formerly observed by these Moros, they worshiped a deity called among them Batala, which properly means “God.” They said that they adored this Batala because he was the Lord of all, and had created human beings and villages. They said that this Batala had many agents under him, whom he sent to this world to produce, in behalf of men, what is yielded here. These beings were called anitos, and each anito had a special office. Some of them were for the fields, and some for those who journey by sea; some for those who went to war, and some for diseases. Each anito was therefore named for his office; there was, for instance, the anito of the fields, and the anito of the rain. To these anitos the people offered sacrifices, when they desired anything—to each one according to his office. The mode of sacrifice was like that of the Pintados. They summoned a catalonan, which is the same as the vaylan among the Pintados, that is, a priest. He offered the sacrifice, requesting from the anito whatever the people desired him to ask, and heaping up great quantities of rice, meat, and fish. His invocations lasted until the demon entered his body, when the catalonan fell into a swoon, foaming at the mouth. The Indians sang, drank, and feasted until the catalonan came to himself, and told them the answer that the anito had given to him. If the sacrifice was in behalf of a sick person, they offered many golden chains and ornaments, saying that they were paying a ransom for the sick person’s health. This invocation of the anito continued as long as the sickness lasted.
Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca (1582)
When the natives were asked why the sacrifices were offered to the anito, and not to the Batala, they answered that the Batala was a great lord, and no one could speak to him. He lived in the sky; but the anito, who was of such a nature that he came down here to talk with men, was to the Batala as a minister, and interceded for them. In some places and especially in the mountain districts, when the father, mother, or other relative dies, the people unite in making a small wooden idol, and preserve it. Accordingly there is a house which contains one hundred or two hundred of these idols. These images also are called anitos; for they say that when people die, they go to serve the Batala. Therefore they make sacrifices to these anitos, offering them food, wine, and gold ornaments; and request them to be intercessors for them before the Batala, whom they regard as God.
These infidels said that they knew that there was another life of rest which they called maca, just as if we should say “paradise,” or, in other words, “village of rest.” They say that those who go to this place are the just, and the valiant, and those who lived without doing harm, or who possessed other moral virtues. They said also that in the other life and mortality, there was a place of punishment, grief, and affliction, called casanaan, which was “a place of anguish;” they also maintained that no one would go to heaven, where there dwelt only Bathala, “the maker of all things,” who governed from above. There were also other pagans who confessed more clearly to a hell, which they called, as I have said, casanaan; they said that all the wicked went to that place, and there dwelt the demons, whom they called sitan.
Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations) by Juan de Plasencia (1589)
Besides the anito, Bathala also had a messenger bird. It was a blue and black bird known as Tigmamanukan, which scholars today believe is the Philippine fairy blue bird. It was a sacred animal and an omen.
All the religion of those Indians is founded on tradition, and on a custom introduced by the devil himself, who formerly spoke to them by the mouth of their idols and of their priests. That tradition is preserved by the songs that they learn by heart in their childhood, by hearing them sung in their sailing, [283]in their work, in their amusements, and in their festivals, and, better yet, when they bewail their dead. In those barbarous songs, they recount the fabulous genealogies and deeds of their gods, of whom they have one who is chief and head of all the others. The Tagáls call that god Bathala mei Capal, which signifies “God the Creator.” The Bisayans call him Laon, which signifies “Time.” They are not far from our belief on the point of the creation of the world. They believe in a first man, the flood, and paradise, and the punishments of the future life.
They say that the first man and the first woman came out of a reed stalk which burst in Sumatra, and that there were some quarrels between them at their marriage. They believed that when the soul left the body, it went to an island, where the trees, birds, waters, and all other things were black; that it passed thence to another island, where all things were of different colors; and finally that it arrived at one, where everything was white. They recognized invisible spirits, another life, and devils hostile to men, of whom they had great fear. Their chief idolatry was in adoring and regarding as gods those of their ancestors who were most remarkable for their courage, or for their intelligence. Such they called humalagar, or, as is said in Latin, manes. Each one, as far as possible, ascribed divinity to his father at death. The old men even died with that conceit, and that is why they chose a remarkable place—as did one in the island of Leite, who had himself placed on the seashore, so that those who went sailing should recognize him as a god, and commend themselves to him. They also worshiped animals and birds. They regarded the rainbow as a sort of divinity. The Tagáls worshiped a totally blue bird, of the size of a thrush, which they called bathala, which was a name of the divinity. They worshiped the raven, which they called meilupa, meaning “the master of the earth.
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. by Diego de Bobadilla (1640)
They have numerous omens when undertaking a journey. In some places there is a blue, red, and black bird which they call Bathala; this name means God. And this is what the Indians say: that this is not the right label because they do not consider it to be God, but rather one of his messengers who explains the will of Bathala, who is God. And that is why if they are taking a journey and they hear the song of this bird they either stop or return or continue their journey, depending on what they understood from the bird’s song.
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
It is not found that these nations had anything written about their religion or about their government, or of their old-time history. All that we have been able to learn has been handed down from father to son in tradition, and is preserved in their customs; and in some songs that they retain in their memory and repeat when they go on the sea, sung to the time of their rowing, and in their merrymakings, feasts, and funerals, and even in their work, when many of them work together. In those songs are recounted the fabulous genealogies and vain deeds of their gods. Among their gods is one who is the chief and superior to all the others, whom the Tagalogs call Bathala Meycapal, which signifies “God” the “Creator” or “Maker.” The Visayans call him Laon, which denotes “antiquity.” They adored (as did the Egyptians) animals and birds; and the sun and moon, as did the Assyrians. They also attributed to the rainbow its kind of divinity. The Tagalogs worshiped a blue bird as large as a turtle-dove, which they called tigmamanuquin, to which they attributed the name of Bathala, which, as above stated, was among them a name for divinity.
Labor Evangelica by Francisco Colin (1663)
Bathala was also known by another name, Ana Tala. In the Noceda-Sanclucar dictionary, Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala (1754), it says that Ana Tala was the name of the first anito. In the Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos by the archbishop of Manila, Felipe Pardo (1686-1688), Ana Tala is listed among the deities in Santo-Tomas and the towns around Laguna as the Supreme God. In Arabic, Allah Ta’ala means “Almighty God”. This name is most likely derived from the Tagalog Muslims in the area.
✦ Aman Sinaya – Patron God of Fisherman.
Aman Sinaya is the god who invented the art of fishing by creating the use of a net and fishhook. Today Aman Sinaya is often seen and represented as a goddess, but in fact Aman Sinaya is a god. You can tell by simply looking at his name which translates to “father of Sinaya”. The naming system among the precolonial Tagalog was that the parents took on the name of their first child. For example, if the child was named Ilog, the father would thus be named Ama ni Ilog, or Aman Ilog or in the case of the mother, Ina ni Ilog.
The method of giving names was the following. As soon as a child was born, it was the mother’s business to name it. Generally the occasion or motive of the name was taken from some one of the circumstances which occurred at the time. For example, Maliuag, which means “difficult,” because of the difficulty of the birth; Malacas, which signifies “strong,” for it is thought that the infant will be strong. This is like the custom of the Hebrews, as appears from Holy Writ. At other times the name was given without any hidden meaning, from the first thing that struck the fancy, as Daan, which signifies “road,” and Damo, signifying “grass.” They were called by those names, without the use of any surname, until they were married. Then the first son or daughter gave the surname to the parents, as Amani Maliuag, Ynani Malacas, “the father of Maliuag,” “the mother of Malacas.” The names of women are differentiated from those of men by adding the syllable “in,” as Ilog, “river;” Si Ilog, the name of a male; Si Iloguin, the name of a female.
Labor Evangelica by Francisco Colin (1663)
Now Sinaya, we do not know anything about in terms of being a deity or who the mother is as there is no record of them. It could however, also be quite possible Ama is being used here in this context as a reference to the god literally being called the “Father of the fishnet”. The term sinaya means “the first catch of a fishnet, fishtrap, or a hunting dog” according to the NS (1754) dictionary. Pasinaya is a term used as an invitation to share a first catch. In the San Buenaventura dictionary (1613), the entry for Aman Sinaya states he is the anito of fishermen. He also states “Padre de sinaya”. In my personal understanding and opinion, I feel that Aman Sinaya is this deities actual name in reference to him being father of fishing.
Further on in the SB (1613) entry there is a prayer written that was spoken specifically to Aman Sinaya before the fishermen casted their nets or fishing lines. They would first whistle and then say, “Kasumpa ako, naway diriyan” which meant “I am your sworn friend, let it be there”, in reference to the fish.
In another account by Colin, he mentions that fishermen would not personally partake in the first catch as they believe they would not receive any more fish. Traditionally, in terms of offerings and rituals dedicated to the anito, the offering was never eaten and was reserved for the anito. If it was a hog they hunted, the first one they killed would be dedicated to the anito only. One can assume this also included fishermen and their first catch, mostly likely being dedicated to Aman Sinaya so they would be able. tocatch more fish.
Fishermen would not make use of the first cast of the net or a new fish-corral, for they thought that they would get no more fish if they did the opposite. Neither must one talk in the fisherman’s house of his new nets, or in that of the hunter of dogs recently purchased, until they had made a capture or had some good luck; for if they did not observe that, the virtue was taken from the nets and the cunning from the dogs.
Labor Evangelica by Francisco Colin (1663)
✦ Lakan Bakod/Bakor – God of Abundance
Lakan Bakod is known the anito of abundance and the fruits of the earth. In the Boxer Codex manuscript he is described through a carved wooden statue of him as having gold eyes, teeth, and a long, gilded penis the length of rice stalks. He was said to have resided in the plants used to create the fences constructed to protect the crops and fields from animals. Whenever they invoked him to pray for a good harvest and an abundance of food, they held a banquet and reveled in the fields under a canopy that they construct. Here they put up an altar where they place the wooden statue of Lakan Bakod and those participating in the maganito form a ring, dance, eat, and have a feast. The katalonans would then place some of the food offerings, eels being his primary food offering, in the mouth of the statue along with libations of drinks.
They have many other gods whom they say serve other specific purposes; they say their ancestors invented and created these gods because they needed them. One of these is the god they call Lakan Bakod, whome they believe is the god of the fruits of the earth. And when they have need of him they hold a banquet and revel in the fields under a canopy that they construct there for this purpose and where they erect a kind of altar. On this alter they place a wooden statue whom they say is the god Lakan Bakod; he has gold teeth and eyes and gilded genitalia, the size of which is as big as they want their spikes of rice to be. And its body is completely hollow. And those making the sacrifice form a ring and eat and feast. And they have the priests we have mentioned place some of the food they are to eat in the mouth of the god Lakan Bakod; they also give him some of the beverage they are to drink and they are convinced that be reciting some superstitious words he will give them the very good and abundant fruits asked of him.
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
SB mentions in his entry that Lakan Bakod provided protection against damages caused by animals as he was mightier than the fences used to protect the crops against animals. Offerings to him were made in his honor in the field’s in a hut by the katalonan.
idolo: lachanbacor pp: que guardaua las sementeras asistiendo a ellas, duo dic: lacqi, bacor .|. linalachan niya ang bacor nang bucqir .|. que valia el mas que todas las çercas guardandola sementera para que no pudiesse ser destruida de animales, y en la castilla que en cada sementera tenian le ofreçian [ca]ngrejos [? sangreios] y con esto le aplacauan quando les deçia la catalona estaua enojado.
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
✦ Lakan Pati/Lakapati – The Deity of Sown Fields & Fertility
Long before the Spaniards arrived, the concept that there were more than two genders was socially and spiritually accepted in precolonial Tagalog society and other parts of what is now known as the Philippines. In many Spanish records such as the Boxer Codex and dictionaries it states that there were individuals who were born with male sexual organs, however were seen and considered as women by society often marrying men, dressing in women clothing, and partaking in activities often done by women such as weaving and cultivating the fields.
These individuals were not thought of as being abnormal, but actually were seen as people who were more closer to the divine, often becoming spiritual leaders, known as bayog, asog, bayoguin, those who were an intermediary between the mundane and spirit world. According to the Boxer Codex they were the highest spiritual authority of katalonans, the priests and priestesses. In fact, one of the most beloved deities in the Tagalog pantheon was Lakapati or Lakan Pati, the giver of food, fertility, and an intersex deity (in Spanish and English texts the term used is hermaphrodite, but to adhere to modern terms, I will refrain from using the old derogatory word and use intersex).
The name Lakapati comes from the Tagalog word “Lakan” which was a title for a noble ruler, the Tagalogs version of Rajah or Datu used in other parts of the Philippines, and “Pati”, which comes from Sanskrit and also is a title meaning master or lord of. During rituals and offerings in the fields and during the planting season farmers would hold a child up in the air while invoking Lakapati chanting directly to them:
“Lakapati, pakanin mo yaring alipin mo, huwag mo gutumin.” (Translation: Lakapati, feed this servant who is yours, let them not be hungry).
This chant was written down in the oldest Tagalog dictionary, Pedro de San Buenaventura’s Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala (1613). San Buenaventura also mentions that offerings were made to Lakapati in hut like chapels or oratories built on the fields to be protected under the term, balag.
Lacapati pp : era el abogado de las sementeras, figura de hombre y muger todo junto, la ofrenda de cosas de comer para aplacalle. Quando sembrauan lleuauan los hijos y enfeñauan selos diçiendo, lacapate pacanin mo yaring alipin mo, hovag mong gotomin (neçedades
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
The idols called Lacapati and Idianale were the patrons of the cultivated lands and of husbandry
Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations). Juan de Plasencia, (1589)
Interestingly, in the Boxer Codex, Lakapati was also known as a fishing deity. People would pray and give offerings to them so that they would be provided water for their crops. Whenever they went fishing out at sea they asked Lakapati for a good catch.
They have another god called Lakan Pati, to whom they make the same sacrifices of food and utter the same words, asking that he provide them with water for their crops and fish when they go fishing in the sea, saying that were they not to do this they would not have water for their crops and much less would they have any fish when they go fishing.
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
It is quite possible, Lakapati was one a part of the original festival of the Obando Fertility rites alongside the goddess Diyan Masalanta and the phallic god, Linga. You can read more on my thoughts on this here.
✦ Lakan Bini/Lakabini/Lakambini- Goddess of Throat Ailments
Lakan Bini, whose name literally means “noble lady”, is listed as the “abogado de la garganta” in the older Tagalog dictionaries such as the one by San Buenaventura, meaning “advocate of the throat”. According to SB, Lakan Bini was invoked in “enfermedad”, diseases, of the throat. This most likely applies to any sickness involving the throat, such as strep throat, having a sore throat, etc. From this, Lakan Bini was a goddess prayed to for health.
In the Diccionario de Mitologico, Blumentritt says that she may have been the wife of Lakan Pati according to Dr. Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino physician and historian, but there is no further evidence of this in other sources.
In El Cristianismo en la Antigua Civilizacion Tagalo by Pedro A. Paterno (1892), he mentions that she was the goddess of purity and modesty, but only to use as an example of Christianity in the Philippines and relating it to the Christian mythos. This has caused the misconception of her being a goddess of purity.
Lacambini pp : era el abogado de lagarganta y llamauanele en esta enfermedad.
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
✦ Aman Ikabli/Ama ni Kabli – Patron God of Hunters.
Most commonly mistaken as an angry god of the sea, in every source that mentions him, Aman Ikabli or Ama ni Kabli was not the god of the sea but was referred to as “abogado de los cazadores”, the god of hunting and the patron god of hunters.
Amanicable pp : abogado de los cazadores, llamauanle quando y vanacacar.
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
✦ Diyan Masalanta – Goddess of lovers and childbirth.
According to Juan de Plascenia in his Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations) (1589), she is the goddess of lovers and generation. Ironically, her name loosely translates to be destroyed. Besides this entry nothing much is known about Diyan Masalanta, however one can possibly piece together who she was and why her name means “to be destroyed there”. You can find out what I think as I try to trace Diyan Masalanta and her possible connections with the Obando Fertility Rites in this post here.
✦ Mankukutod – God of Coconut Trees & Patron God of Tuba Tappers
Mankukutod was mentioned by San Buenaventura as the “abogado de los manunubas”, patron god of tuba tappers. If tuba tappers failed to make offerings to him before climbing a tree, they risked falling from it.
Mancocotor pp : T. abogado de los manunubas, haçian le anito por que les guardale las palmas, y antes desubir le llamauan y allieran los cantares contorillo. Basta esto, que es nunca acabar.
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
✦ Uwinan Sana – God of the fields and forests.
Those going into forests acknowledged him or they were regarded as trespassers. In the Boxer Codex, it says that people would ask permission to enter his domains, asking him not to cause them any harm while in the fields and forests
They have another god whom they say is the god of the fields and the jungle, whom they call Uwinan Sana, to whom sacrifices of food are made by the same priests called katulungan and they utter some words as they do so, beseeching him to do them no harm or injury while they are in their fields or the jungle; they say he has power to do them evil and injury. And so that he will do them no harm, they perform this sacrifice and hold this banquet for him in order to keep him satisfied and benevolent, and this is why they do this, and they fear him greatly.
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
✦ Haik – God of the Sea
Haik was known to the Tagalogs as the anito of the sea. According to the Boxer Codex, in maganitos performed in his honor they asked for his protection whenever they traveled by the sea from tempests and storms. They also prayed to him for good weather and favorable calm winds.
They have another god they call Haik. They consider him the god of the sea, to whom they also perform sacrifices of banquets and food, offered by the same priests, asking him to protect them from tempests and storms when traveling by sea, and to grant them good weather and favorable calm winds. They believe he has the power to do this.
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
✦ Linga – A phallic and fertility god.
Linga was a phallic god known for fertility and for curing diseases. He was also known to cause illnesses if he wasn’t giving offerings. Today, it is believed that his fertility festival is now celebrated in the Christianized Kasilonawan dance ritual in the Obando fertility rites. You can find out more how which Linga might be connected to these rites here.
This deity is obviously a remnant of Hinduism that was present in parts of the Philippines at one point. In Hinduism, linga or lingam, is a phallic symbol representing the Hindu god, Shiva.
Linga pc : otro diablo quien tambien llamauan estando enfermos.
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
✦ Bulak Tala – The morning star
Bulak Tala or Tala, was the goddess who represented the morning star, Venus. According to Juan de Plasencia, Tala was one of the stars worshiped along with Mapulon (who they saw as Pleiades) and Balatik (the constellation Orion).
Some of them also adored the stars, although they did not know them by their names, as the Spaniards and other nations know the planets—with the one exception of the morning star, which they called Tala.
Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations). Juan de Plasencia, (1589)
In the Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos by the archbishop of Manila, Felipe Pardo (1686-1688) he mentions several deities that were worshiped in the town of Santo-Thomas and around Laguna. One of these deities was Bulak Tala who was mentioned as the deity of the morning star or Venus, which could be seen at dawn. Today Tala, as the word represents, is seen as the general goddess of stars not just the morning star.
✦ Idiyanale/Diyan Ale – the goddess of husbandry
Not much is known about this goddess other than the very short sentence of her by Juan de Plasencia. He writes that she was the goddess who overlooked all activities of raising crops/land and animals used in farming. She isn’t mentioned in any of the oldest dictionaries.
The idols called Lacapati and Idianale were the patrons of the cultivated lands and of husbandry.
Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations). Juan de Plasencia, (1589)
✦ Meylupa – Crow God of the Earth
According to Francisco Colin in his Labor Evangelica (1663), he mentions Meylupa was a crow god that was compared to the god Pan and goddess Ceres. He is also mentioned in Diego Bobadilla’s account.
The Tagalogs adored now Tigmamanoquin, which was a blue bird of the size of a turtledove; now the crow, which they called Meylupa, which signifies “Lord of the soil,” as if he were the god Pan, or the goddess Ceres of the ancients.
Labor Evangelica by Francisco Colin (1663)
They worshiped the raven, which they called meilupa, meaning “the master of the earth.
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. by Diego de Bobadilla (1640)
✦ Laho – Naga God who Caused Eclipses.
Similar to Bakunawa in the Bisayas and in Bikol , Laho is a type of naga, or mythical serpent. Laho was believed to devour the moon and sun, causing solar and lunar eclipses. People would scare Laho away by playing loud music and banging pots and gongs to free the sun and moon from the god. There is an account mentioned by Tomas Ortiz in 1731 of an eclipse happening and the people of Pagsanjan in Laguna province played the musical instrument, the kulingtang to make noise to scare away the serpent deity. Laho is believed to have been influenced and introduced to the Tagalog through the Hindu god, Rahu, who is also a serpent deity who caused eclipses by eating the sun or moon as revenge toward Vishnu.
When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells, panastanes, etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say, Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the above said is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.
Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos by Tomas Ortiz (1731)
Once when there was an eclipse of the moon, the Moros of Pasanjan began to make a great racket with their culintíngans (kulingtang) and other things. When they were asked why they made so much noise, they answered that it was in order to scare the serpent which was eating the moon.
Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos by Tomas Ortiz (1731)
✦ Bibit – God Who Cured Illness
This deity, like the god Linga, was prayed to cure the sick according to San Buenaventura. If someone was sick they would make offerings of food to Bibit because according to the katalonan, the deity would have to be cured first for the patient to recover.
Bibit pc : ofrençian a este cosas de comida quando alguno enfermana, por que deçir la carolonan era la causa el no sauer saludado a este anito quele saludo el primero.
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
✦ Lakan Balingasay – unknown
What the Tagalog prayed to Lakan Balingasay for is relatively unknown. He isn’t mentioned in any of the older dictionaries and one of the only accounts that do mention him is by Father Juan de Oliver in his Declaracion de la Doctrina Christiana en idioma tagalog (1599). While preaching in Batangas, he mentioned Lakan Balingasay and compared him to Beelzebub, though most likely in a bias as many Spanish friars tended to refer to the deities as the Devil. When looking in the Noceda-Sanclucar and San Buenaventura dictionaries, only the NS dictionary has the word balingasay listed, which it is the name of a type of wood. The scientific name for this tree which that wood is derived from is the Buchanania arborescens, a type of fruit bearing species that is commonly found in Luzon. Most likely the name of this obscure deity has something to do with the tree with the same name.
✦ Kulalaying or Dalagang nasa Buwan – Goddess of the Moon
Their are many mentions of the Tagalog revering the moon as a deity. In the Boxer Codex it mentions that they revered and worshiped it during the new moon, praying for life and riches.
They also consider the moon a god, which they worship and revere whenever it is new, asking it for life and riches because they believe and are convinced it can give it to them abundantly, as well as long life.
The Boxer Codex Manuscript c. 1590, using the English translation by Souza & Turley
They also worshiped the sun, which, on account of its beauty, is almost universally respected and honored by heathens. They worshiped, too, the moon, especially when it was new, at which time they held great rejoicings, adoring it and bidding it welcome.
Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations) by Juan de Plasencia (1589)
They celebrated Bacchanalian feasts with drinking-bouts and barbarous outcries, with offerings of food and garments made to the idols themselves, from which they sought health and riches. They worshiped the moon, with sacrificial offerings to it in many places at the time of the new moon. .
Letter to Gregory XIII by Pablo de Jesus 1580
While many today depict the moon goddess as the name Mayari, according to the Noceda-Sanclucar dictionary, the name of this moon goddess was actually Kulalaying. In the San Buenaventura dictionary, he lists a prayer dedicated to the moon goddess that was recited during the new moon. “Buwang Panginoon ko, payamanin mo ako“which translates to “Moon, my Lady, make me rich.”
luna: bovan pp: L. del cielo, bagong bova, luna nueua luego es, palaba, nagpapalaba, ir creciando algo cada dia como el logro, luego, ypagdadamag .|. que dura toda la noche, q es la llena, leugo, laib na .|. ya sale mas tarde y esta algo manguada, a la quinta o sesta noche de la menguate es, napingas na ang bovan .|. desportillado fea, luego, matotonao na, mentguando va, quando salia nueua la adorauan estos, y decian, bovang panginoong co payamanin mo aco (y otras bobetias).
Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
In the Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos by the archbishop of Manila, Felipe Pardo (1686-1688), he mentions two names referred to the goddess among the people of Laguna. The first. is Dalagang nasa Buwan, the maiden in the moon, and Dalagang Binubukot, the Cloistered Maiden in the moon.
The myth of the one eyed goddess, Mayari and her sisters Hanan and Tala, is fairly recent and can be traced back to Felipe Landa Jocano’s Notes on Philippine Divinities. Unfortunately Jocano never mentioned the source he got this information from and thus, as an academic I have to give it some doubt as there is no other mention of this myth anywhere else and without a credible source to back his claim, it shouldn’t be taken as truth. Jocano passed away in 2013 so we aren’t able to question and find out where he got this information sadly.
✦ Other Deities Listed in Pardo’s manuscript
There are several other deities listed in Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos by Pardo. Some are just mentions as he interview the people around Laguna on who still believed in or remembered the old deities. Since some of these deities are briefly mentioned I will just name those that I haven’t mentioned yet in this list.
- Balakbak and Balantay = two deities who guarded Tanguban, the realm of the dead souls
- Bingsol = the god of ploughmen
- Biso = a type of police officer in the heavens
- Bulak Pandan = deity of pandan
- Kampungan = a god of harvests and sown fields
- Kapiso Pabalita = the protector of travelers
- Lampinsaka = the god of those who are crippled
- Makapulaw = god of sailors
- Matanda = god of merchants
- Paalulong = god of the sick and dead
- Paglingniyalan = another god of hunters
- Ginuong Pagsuutan = goddess of women in labor
- Pagwaagan = a wind god
- Pusod Lupa = god of the fields
- Sirit = a servant of the anito
There are others mentioned in the text, however I am still currently going through the manuscript and translating the text so the list will most likely be updated.
Remember to keep in mind this list is strictly based on historical references of the Tagalog deities. I do not include modern myths and deities that have been labeled and associated with the Tagalog such as Mayari, Apo Laki, Anagolay, Hanan, Anitun Tabu, Galang Kaluluwa, etc. Some deities mentioned fairly recently since the mid 1900s and others are deities taken from other ethnic groups. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I don’t disregard these modern myths, but I do draw the line between what was historically believed in to what is fairly recent and has only been known within the last 60 years or so.
Cited Sources:
- The Boxer Codex Manuscript 1590. English translation from The Boxer Codex: Transcription and Translation of an Illustrated Late Sixteenth-Century Spanish Manuscript Concerning the Geography, History and Ethnography of the Pacific, South-east and East Asia by George Bryan Souza, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Jeffrey S. Turley, Brigham Young University
- Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca (1582)
- Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations) by Juan de Plasencia (1589)
- Relation of the Filipinas Islands. by Diego de Bobadilla (1640)
- Labor Evangelica by Francisco Colin (1663)
- Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos by the archbishop of Manila, Felipe Pardo (1686-1688)
- Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala (1754) by Noceda-Sanclucar
- Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613)
- Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos by Tomas Ortiz (1731)
- Diccionario Mitologico de Filipinas by Fernando Blumentritt (1895)
- Declaracion de la Doctrina Christiana en idioma tagalog (1599) by Father Juan de Oliver
- Letter to Gregory XIII by Pablo de Jesus 1580
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