Creation Myths and Legends

ALAMAT or myths form an important cenre of folk literature. Together with legends and folktales, they
constitute the large group of folk narratives in prose. A myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the
world and man come to be in their present form" (Dundes, 1984). Attached are links which we can visit
as analyses of these myths are unfolded so we may gain better understanding of our ancient beliefs and
relate these to modern lives

The Gods and the Creation of the World:

Philippine myths show that our ancient peoples believed in one supreme god and in a number of lesser
gods and goddesses. Sometimes the name of the god is not giver, he is simply referred to as the
Supreme God, great Being, or God the Most high. Most of the time, their names were given, and these
names varied with the different tribes: Bathaia for the Tagalogs, Mongetchay for the Pamponges,
Gugurang for the Bles, Lumawig and Kabunian for the Bentoe and Igurot, Liddum for the Ifugan, Mahal
Makakaako for the Mangyan, Laon for the Visayans, Magbabaya for the Bukidnons, Sualla or Tullus for
the tinuray, Melu for the Blaan, Makalidug for the Manobo of the Agusan Valley, Diwata for the Bagobo,
Manama for the Munuvu, the couple-god Kadaw La

Early Conceptions of the Universe:

Stores of creation contain scattered references which indicate the early Filipinos ennception of the
universe. This universe consists of the Skyworld, the earth or middleworld, and the underworld. Almost
all the different regional groups believe that the universe has many layers with which each layer is
inhabited by different kinds of being. Part of the early Filipinos concept of the universe is the belief that
once upon a time the sky was low, and many myths attest to this belief.

Mythology speaks of such world calamities as a great fire and a deluge that happened a long time ago,
and myths describing such calamines are worldwide in occurrence. In the Philippines, there seems to be
no myth about great fires, but flood myths are cuite common. In majority of the myths, the flood occurs
as a punishment for the people's failure to fulfill their sacrificial obligations to the gods or to observe
Gods: laws. Other reasons or causes of the flood are given in the myths. A Nabalo version blames the
flood on the negligence of the woman guarding the river. She fell asloop and wood and thrash dogged
the river and caused it to swel and overflow.

Establishment of Natural Order:

Myths try to explain many kinds of natural phenomena: why there is rain, rainbow, thunder, lightning,
earthquake, eclipse, and the like. The rain is believed by many as the tears shed by a man longing for his
vanished wife, a Diwata (fairy) throwing out water in the sky. The rainbow is believed to be the flower
loving daughter of Bathala, who was cursed by the latter to stay on earth forever because of her failure
to attend a family council ordered by the Bathala. Other believed that the rainbow is not a person but a
road from the sky to the earth that a man built so that his star wife and child could visit him without any
difficulty. The origin of the lightning and thunder are stories about the marriage of a god and a mortal
wife. The earthquake is what curly Filipinos believed as the movement of the body part of a great being
or by the movement of the post or being that supports the earth. Others believed that the eclipse of the
moon occurs whenever the moon is swallowed or embraced by a monster-huge snake, lion, or gigantic
tarantula

Philippine mythological creatures

Some mythological creatures, aside from their specific name, are also referred through a generic term
which encompasses other similar mythological creatures. Some of these

Aswang: bracket term for shape-shifting creatures that have a variety of forms, such as the blood-
sucking vampire, the self-segmenting viscera sucker, the man-eating weredag, the vindictive or evil-eye
witch, and the carrion-eating ghoul

Duwende: bracket term for small magical beings of the land.

Engkanto: bracket term for highly-attractive enchanted human-like environmental beings, usually
exuding the scent of flowers and having no philthrum

Higante: bracket term for giant humanoid land creatures

Sirena: bracket term for water creatures with a humanoid upper body and the body of a fish from waist
down similar to merfolks Most creatures originating from Philippine mythology, however, are not under
any specific bracket term

Creatures of the soil.

Agta: is a tall mythical creature with skin as black as charcoal, found in Philippine mythology. These
creatures reside in different trees, most commonly Santo or Balete trees. They are known to climb down
from their perches and roam around the land warning fishermen to stay on land instead of fishing. Then,
the agta will push trees down so that the timbers will prevent the fishermen from going to the sea to
fish. The agta is just like the kapre, who likes staying in its tree while smoking a rolled cigar. They are
usually depicted as naked.

Amalanhig (also called 'Maranhig' or 'Amaranhig') are creatures in Visayan mythology, particularly
among Hiligaynon speaking groups. Amalanhig are Aswangs who failed to transfer their monstrosity
causing them to rise from their graves to kill humans by biting their necks. Another version that has
survived through word-of-mouth recounts that Amanlanhigs are said to chase any living person they
found and once they reach them, they would tickle the victim until they die, both of laughter and terror.
In order to escape from Amanianhigs, one runs in zigzag direction since they can only walk in straight
direction due to the stiffness of their body. One would also climb trees or high platforms enough to be
out of their reach. One would also run into lakes and rivers since Amanlanhigs are scared of deep bodies
of water.
Amomongo is a creature described as hairy, man-sized and ape-like with long nails. The term may have
its roots in the Hiligaynon word amo, which means "ape" or "monkey". Residents of La Castellana in
Negros Occidental refer to the creature as a "wild monkey" that lives in caves near the foot of Mt.
Kanlaon. The creature is said to have attacked two residents of the settlement and disemboweled goats
and chickens in the area, for the purpose of eating the entrails.

Batibat is a vengeful demon found in Ilocano folklore. In Tagalog folklore, the creature is called
Bangungot. These demons were blamed as the cause of the fatal nocturnal disease called bangungot. A
batibat takes the form of a huge, old, fat woman that resides in trees.

Berbalang: are mythical creatures in Filipino culture. They have a human appearance, but resemble the
characters of vampires and have wings and slanted eyes. They dig up graves to feast on the corpses.

Bungisngis: one-eyed giant, purported to dwell in Meluz, Orion, Bataan, and Cebu; described as always
laughing

Busaw; is a legendary creature that resembles humans in appearance and behavior, raising farm animals
and planting root crops. However, its favorite food is humans, resulting in scattered human skeletons on
the grounds of its dwelling place Diwata

Mambabarang: witches who utilize insects to do their bidding

Mangkukulam: bruha (from Spanish: bruja, "witch") are witches, wizards, bruho (Spanish:brujo, "wizard,
male witch"), or sorcerers who cast evil spells to humans; also called manggagaway

Multo: Common themes in ghost legends include the White Lady, the headless priest and the phantom
hitchhiker. The white lady appears in lonely places, dressed in white, with no visible face or with a
disfigured face. Apparently she has died a violent death and is still haunting the vicinity, but with no ill
intent.

Nuno sa punso: (literally, goblin of the mound) goblins or elves who live within mysterious lumps of soil
(ant hills); provide a person who steps on their shelter with good luck or misfortune

Pugot: is a mythical fiend that is found in the folklore of the Ilocos region of the Philippines. It can
assume various shapes such as hogs, dogs or even as humans. However, it usually appears as a black,
gigantic headless being. The creature usually resides in dark places or deserted houses. However, they
especially like living in trees such as the duhat.

Santelmo: is a creature of Philippine mythology. The term santelmo is the shortened form of the
Tagalog words "Apoy ni San Elmo "-"St. Elmo's fire". Santelmo are two balls of fire that fight each other.
They appear in places where accidents place or where big arguments on land boundaries happen.

Sigbin: is a creature in Philippine mythology said to come out at night to suck the blood of victims from
their shadows. It is said to walk backwards with its head lowered between its hind legs, and to have the
ability to become invisible to other creatures, especially humans. It resembles a hornless goat, but has
very large ears which it can clap like a pair of hands and a long, flexible tail that can be used as a whip.
The Sigbin is said to emit a nauseating odor.

Tikbalang: lurk in the mountains and forests; tall, bony humanoid creature with the head and hooves of
a horse and disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it
squats down

Tiyanak: is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby.
Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to
attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by an unfortunate passerby, it reverts to its true form and
attacks the victim. The tiyanak is also depicted to take malevolent delight in leading travelers astray, or
in abducting children.

Creatures of the water

Berberoka: The people from Apayao, Abra and Ilocos Norte believe in and fear thisswamp creature. It
lures victims by sucking water in the pond enough for a number fish to come to the surface. When the
potential victims get attracted to the school of fish, the Berberoka drowns them by hosing water and
swallowing them afterwards. Despite all their powers, these water ogres have a morbid, ironic fear of
crabs.They were compared to the Greek nalads, the nymphs of water elements. They have the ability to
suck up all the water in a swamp or lake. Also, many elderly people believed that they use water to
attack their enemies. They discharge a large amount of water (just like a fire hose) at their victims until
they drown

Kataw: is one of the merfolk in the Philippine Mythology. In Visayan, Kataw was believed to have higher
rankings than other water and sea creatures as those of Sirena, Sireno and Siyokoy. It is believed that
the Kataws are the reigning rulers of the kingdom Bantay Tubig. Based on physical features, Kataws,
along the Sirena and Sireno, were the Bantay Tubig-creatures that bear likeness to human while Siyokoy
are those that resemble water-creatures. Unlike Sirena, they have feet instead of tails but they have gills
on their bodies and fins in their arms. These marine creatures disguises into fishermen asking for help.
When approached by mortals, the Kataws drown them into the abyss. According to old folks, Kataws
have the ability to manipulate and control likes. Also, they can change water to ice.

Sirena: sea creature with a human upper body and a fish tail instead of lower extremities.

Siyokoy: are creatures in Philippine mythology which were members of Bantay Tubig (merfolk). They are
usually illustrated as green-skinned humanoids with scales, webbed limbs, and fins.

Creatures of the air

Bakunawa: is a serpent-like dragon in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses,

earthquakes, rains, and wind. The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system
for ancient Filipinos and were part of the shamanistic rituals of the babaylan. It is usually depicted with a
characteristic looped tail and a single horn on the nose. It was generally believed to be a sea serpent,
but are also variously believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld Garuda: is described as the
king of birds and a kite-like figure. He is shown either in zoomorphic form (giant bird with partially open
wings) or an anthropomorphic

Manananggal: derived from the word, tanggal, which means "to separate" because oftheir ability to
separate from their lower body part

Manaul: is a creature of Philippine folklore. There are at least four existing stories regarding Manaul.
Panay Manaul. A Manaul bird was mentioned in the Code of Kalantiaw, a sacred code from the island of
Panay. According to this document, the killing of this bird is punishable by death. It is highly believed
that the belief surrounding the said Manaul originated during the dominance of the Confederation of
Madja-as.

Mangyan Manaul. In Mangyan and Negrito folklore, Manaul was a wrathful king who was imprisoned
by King Tubluck Lawi. When Manaul escaped, he later revolted against all gods and spirits and was
punished by Kaptan by throwing in rocks onto him. The rocks missed Manaul, and created islands,
where Manaul rested and lived in peace.

Tagalog Manaul. In Tagalog folklore, it is said that Bathala sent a tigmamanukan omen bird he named
"Manaul" to peck on the bamboo. Manaul flew from right to left and landed on the bamboo. When
Manaul pecked on the bamboo, it opened in half and released the first man, Malakas, and first woman,
Maganda. Manaul afterwards flew from right to left again, signalling a labay, or a good omen to
proceed. In other sources, it was the bird form of the deity of peace, Amihan, who pecked the bamboo.

Bisaya Manaul. In Bisaya folklore, the king who guided destinies was Manaul. He incited the earth and
sky to wage a war, and when tired of the war, Manaul dawed rocks from the ocean depths and threw
the rocks onto the sea, creating islands. Minokawa: is a giant, dragon-like bird in Philippine legends.
Early people believed this creature is so big that it can swallow (or cover) the sun to explain the
occurrence of eclipses. It is even described as a giant bird named

Minokawa that lives in outer space which can devour the sun and the moon, and would try to do the
same with the earth. In a Bagobo tale, the Minokawa is a bird as large as an island. Its feathers are those
of sharp swords, the eyes reflect like mirrors, its beak and legs are like steel. It lives "outside the sky, at
the eastern horizon". While the Baua lived "above the sky" because the Visayans believe that there is a
cave called "calulundan" above the sky, the entrance covered by blue smoke

Sarimanok: papanok in its feminine form, is a legendary multi-colored bird or chicken

Tigmamanuka: was believed by the Tagalog people to be an omen or augural bird. Although the
behaviors of numerous birds and lizards were said to be omens, particular attention was paid to the
tigmamanukan. In pre-colonial times, the Tagalogs believed that the tigmamanukan was sent by Bathala
to give hints to mankind whether they needed to proceed on a journey or not. In some Philippine
creation myths, the tigmamanukan bird was sent by Bathala to crack open the primordial bamboo
whence the first man and woman came out
Wakwak; is a vampiric, bird-like creature in Philippine mythology. It is said to snatch humans at night as
prey, similar to the Manananggal and the Ekek in rural areas of the Philippines. The difference between
the Manananggal and the Wakwak is that Wakwak cannot separate its torso from its body while the
Manananggal can. Some believe the Wakwak is a form of vampire. Other people contend that a Wakwak
is a Philippine night bird associated with witches

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