Deities of Philippine mythology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The deities of Philippine mythology are the gods, goddesses and diwatas worshiped by ancient
Filipinos before the Christianization of the natives after the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.
While not as widely known as its European and Asian counterparts, they have similar elements and
characteristics when compared to other mythologies.
List of Gods and Goddesses[edit]
Ancient Philippine mythology varies among the many indigenous tribes of the Philippines. During the
pre-Spanish era, some tribes believed in a single supreme being who created the world and
everything in it, along with lesser deities. Others chose to worship a multitude of trees as an act
of animism. Below are some of the gods and goddesses of the various ancient Philippine tribes:
Ancient Tagalog Deities[edit]
This section includes the deities of the Ancient Tagalogs from a certain pantheon story. The first part
as shown below were the residents of Kaluwalhatian (the Ancient Tagalog counterpart of Christian's
Heaven).[1]
Name God(dess) of... Generation
The supreme god of being; creator of man and earth and addressed sometimes
as Bathalang Maykapal. He dwells in Kaluwalhatian together with the lesser
gods and goddesses. Aside from the lesser gods and goddesses, he sent his
Bathala First[A]
anitos in order to assist the daily lives of every human. When most of the
natives were converted to Christianity during the Spanish Era, he was
referred to the Christian God.[2]
Originally this god was worshipped as the god of Hunters. In more modern
stories he has become associated as the ill-tempered god of the sea, replacing
Aman Sinaya among of the first generation gods (aside from Bathala), he was
Amanikable never married after his love was spurned by a beautiful mortal maiden, First[B]
Maganda. In frustration, he swore vengeance against the humans by sending
turbulent waves and horrible tempests in order to wreck boats and to drown
men.[3]
The goddess of labor and good deeds. Natives used to call for her guidance in
Idiyanale order to make their works successful. She married Dimangan and had two First[C][D]
offspring.[4]
Dimangan The god of good harvest. He was married to Idiyanale and had two offspring. First
[3]
The goddess of fertility and the most understanding and kind of all the
deities. Also known as Ikapati, she was the giver of food and prosperity. Her
Lakapati best gift to mankind was agriculture (cultivated fields). Through this, she was First[E]
respected and loved by the people. Later, she was married to Mapulon and
had a daughter.[4]
Mapulon The god of seasons and husband of Lakapati of whom they had a daughter.[3] First
The goddess of the moon and one of the three daughters of Bathala by a
Mayari mortal woman. She was the most charming of all the goddesses. She had two Second[F][G]
sisters, Tala and Hanan.[5]
The goddess of the stars; sister of Mayari and Hanan and one of the three
Tala Second[H]
daughters of Bathala by a mortal woman.[5]
The goddess of morning; sister of Mayari and Tala and one of the three
Hanan Second
daughters of Bathala by a mortal woman.[5]
The strong, agile guardian of mountains and the son of Idiyanale and
Dumakulem Second
Dimangan. His sister was Anitun Tabu. He later married Anagolay.[3]
The fickle-minded goddess of wind and rain. She was the daughter of
Anitun Tabu Second
Idiyanale and Dimangan and the sister of Dumakulem.[3]
The goddess of lost things and the only offspring of Lakapati and Mapulon.
Anagolay Second
She was married to Dumakulem.[3]
The god of sun and the chief patron of warriors. He was the son of Anagolay Third (or
Apolaki
and Dumakulem.[5] Second)[I]
The goddess of love, conception and childbirth and the protector of lovers.
Diyan
She was the daughter of Anagolay and Dumakulem and youngest of all the Third
Masalanta
deities.
Other definitions
A^ In some sources, Bathala is the father of Apolaki, aside from Mayari and Tala hence excluding
Hanan.[6]
B^ In some sources, Amanikable is referred as a sea deity of the Manobo tribe.[7]
C^ In some sources, Idiyanale is identified as the goddess of agriculture. [8]
D^ In some sources, aside from being a goddess of agriculture, Idiyanale is also identified as the
goddess of animal husbandry.
E^ In some sources, Lakapati is identified as a hermaphrodite.
F^ In some creation myth, Mayari is the sister of Apolaki. [9]
G^ In some sources, Mayari is identified as an one-eyed goddess. [6]
H^ In some creation myth, Tala is the sister of Mayari and Apolaki and the daughter of Bathala. [6]
I^ In some creation myth, Apolaki is the brother of Mayari and the son of Bathala. [10]
The list includes the god/goddess-like, residents of Kasamaan (Ancient Tagalog counterpart of Hell).
They were the evil entities all opposed to Bathala and the rest of his deities. [1]
Name Definition
The guardian of Kasamaan and the keeper of all souls therein, the counterpart of Satan. He
Sitan
had four agents whose task was to lead man to sin and destruction.[3]
She was the first agent of Sitan and was primarily blamed as the cause of diseases.
Manggagaway Sometimes, she would change herself into a human form, appearing as a false healer. If she
wished to kill someone, she employed a magic wand.[11]
The second agent of Sitan, she was tasked to destroy and break every happy and united
Manisilat
family that she could find.[3]
The only male agent of Sitan, he was to emit fire at night and when there was bad weather.
Like his fellow agents, he could change his form to that of a healer and then induce fire at
Mangkukulam
his victim's house. If the fire were extinguished immediately, the victim would eventually
die. His name remains today as witch.[3]
The last agent of Sitan could change herself into any form she desired. She could kill
Hukluban someone by simply raising her hand and could heal without any difficulty as she wished.
Her name literally means "crone" or "hag."[12]
Other Tagalog Deities[edit]
The list includes the gods and goddesses who don't have a unified pantheon within the Tagalog
deities mentioned in Table #1.
Name God(dess) of
She is the primordial goddess of the ocean and protector of fishermen. She was one of
the three original deities along with Bathala and Amihan. She sent tempests into the
Aman Sinaya
heavens, to which Bathala responded by throwing boulders which would become the
Philippine Islands. Amihan flew back and forth between them, making peace.
Galang Kaluluwa
The winged god present in some creation myths who loves to travel. He is identified as
(Wandering
a close friend of Bathala.[13]
Spirit)
Haik god of the sea.
Lakambakod The protector of the growing crops.[3]
Spanish called him as "Abogado de la Garganta" (The Throat Advocate). He is referred
Lakambini
as the god of gluttony, food and eating.[3]
Lingga a phallic god.
Ulilang Kaluluwa It is a serpent god present in some creation myths that was killed by Bathala after an
(Orphaned Spirit) ensuing rival.[14]
