PH Mythology

A 22 yr old law student who is a passionate phil myth enthusiast. Ready to share sources and posts regarding philippine mythology! You can also follow me on twitter @MythPH || My text || Aesthetic ||

[hvmrtia-blog]

Luyong Baybay, She who was born from the Sea.

The deity who controls the rising and falling of the tides. She was worshipped by ancient Visayan fishing villages especially in the island of Panay.  Unfortunately for Luyong Baybay, her worshippers lessened after the Spanish invasion. Most Visayans went on to follow the Catholic faith and their belief in her vanished. Their belief in her was replaced by venerations to the Mother of Good Voyage (Nuestra Seniora dela Buen Viaje), an aspect of the Virgin Mary who was said to protect sailors and fishermen from the tragedies of the sea. read more | x

[relmint]

Hanan, goddess of the morning and dawn. In Tagalog mythology, she is Mayari and Tala's sister. She symbolizes the sign of a new day and age, and people pray to her at the break of dawn.

Tala, goddess of the stars. In Tagalog mythology, she is Mayari and Hanan's sister. She is famous for her help in creating the Tagalog constellations and is known to use divine spheres of light to guide sailors to safety at night. These spheres were soon feared as deadly beings of fire called "santelmos" due to Spanish influence.

[prinsomnia]

pre-orders of @DamesZine’s Horns book is finally up! ✨i had the pleasure of illustrating the anggitay for this one. go check it out! 👉👉🌷

[bestiarium]

Tambanokano [Philippine mythology; Mindanao/Mandaya myths]

In the native religion of Mindanao and Mandaya (in the Philippines), the moon and the sun are somewhat important characters (or, rather, personifications of the moon and the sun). The moon was married to the sun, but her husband was angry and prone to outbursts of rage. One day, for reasons that are unknown to me, the sun became particularly mad at the moon. The moon ran away with all her might, but the sun gave chase and pursued her relentlessly. At times, the moon grew tired and slowed down, nearly allowing her pursuer to catch up with her. But he never reached her, because every time he comes close to catching his wife, the moon starts running again. And the two of them are still running, sometimes coming close to one another but never touching. And that is why the sun and the moon move across the sky.

In better times, though, the moon and the sun had children together. Among them was a magical creature, shaped like a man but glowing like a star. But the sun got angry and murdered his own son before horribly cutting the corpse up in hundreds of little bits. He then spread the tiny little bits across the night sky, where they are still glowing, just as the son did when he was whole. And that is why you can see stars at night.

Not all offspring of the sun and the moon were slain, however. One of them is named Tambanokano, and to this day he still resides in the depths of the ocean. Tambanokano is a humongous crab with power over lightning: every time the creature opens and closes his eyes, a bolt of lightning flashes in the sky. Tambanokano unfortunately inherited his father’s temper and he, too, is often angry at the poor moon. It happened several times that he becomes enraged at his mother and rises up, trying to devour the moon alive. But the people saw this and left their homes, beating gongs and shouting at the crab until the creature becomes scared of the noise and retreats to his oceanic home. And that is why the moon still exists. (Note: it is believed that this story refers to a lunar eclipse!)

Tambanokano’s dwelling is a huge hole somewhere in the ocean floor. When he is there, the ocean stands high. But sometimes he leaves his dwelling, and the water rushes into the cave, after which it becomes low tide. The movement this titanic creature makes as it wanders about the ocean floor causes waves to appear on the surface of the sea. When the crab re-enters his home, he pushes the water up again. And that is why the ocean has high and low tides.

Sources: Cole, M. C., 1916, Philippine Folk Tales. Eugenio, D. L., 2007, Philippine Folk Literature: an Anthology, UP Press, 500 pp. (image source 1: Alfred Ismael Galaroza on Artstation) (image source 2: ZanderBarcelo on Deviantart)

[philippinemythology]

Is anyone interested with a philippine mythology themed tarot deck set? I'm making one this summer for myself but i'm curious if anybody wants a copy of it as well? Cause i can sell a limited one (pre orders only) if anyone is interested that is

[motziedapul]

Filipino Comics Available Online

Hey all! Penlab is an absolutely fantastic community resource ensuring Filipino comics are accessible online, with a plethora of titles from different Filipino creatives, and it NEEDS YOUR HELP to stay online! 

Go check out Penlab and donate to help them renew the domain and keep everything running smoothly. 

They announced a hiatus recently and need help to renew the domain for another year.  

I’ll link the direct donate link in a reblog, so that this post isn’t hidden from searches. 

Look at all these amazing titles! 

Some of them are even in English, so you don’t have to speak the language to appreciate the excellent storytelling. 

Help keep these creatives online! 

[lasolidaridad]

There is a crackle, and the sampaguita he had been reaching for burns up in a wisp of smoke.

Libulan feels the presence of the immortal before he sees him. He inhales deeply, straightens his back, and prepares to look at the god in the eye without flinching.

“So, you’re Libulan Agbayani.”

Hello i made a fantasy novel of sidapa and libulan but in this story libulan is a human while sidapa is a god! Trying to update every week 🙏

[amp-le]

HEAR ME OUT - I am a POC, a Filipino who realized a bit too late about how cool my country is.

I'm so sick of just sitting back and seeing my pre-colonial culture fade into obscurity like this.

I've been thinking of making literally any media-related thing for Bikol / Bicol mythology to maybe help it become more known cause I really think it's super decent and was highly impressed when I first learned bits about it on the internet years ago.

This is why I made that post about Bulan a few months/years back cause i'm just... so passionate abt this alright?

Every time I remember that Bikol myths could be mainstream if only the right pieces of media was published by now, i just.... feel so bad

I just want to produce something memorable and will make the internet go nuts over it.

I just want to make our culture, like, mainstream.

No more Philippines as just an outsourcing country that's used for manpower and left to fade into obscurity.

It doesn't even have to be me, but if you want something done, sometimes you yourself have to work on it.

So I want to do this.

If any of you folks want to help bring an idea to life, I'll be all ears.

We could do a book, a webcomic, a game, an album, literally anything. I'm technically still just a young adult with no money and no job but I want to work on something I can be proud of, even if there's no pay.

And while exactly zero people will probably respond, just let this be my promise to myself, and also a message to hold accountability. I'm putting this out on the internet (granted, the deeper parts, but still) so I convince myself better to do this.

As a side note, someone has actually written a book Percy Jackson-style about this, I've read it and while there's a lot to criticise about it and stuff to improve upon, it was still a step in the right direction!

The book is entitled The Seventh Moon by Jeremiah Cordial. Check it out and support the author if you can.

TLDR:

I wanna create a piece of media regarding Bicolano mythology as a passion project, so if you have a similar drive, don't hesitate to hit me up and we could work on one! Or don't lmao, either way i'm doing smth!

[7clubs]

After the death of their father the Creator Bathala, the Moon Goddess Mayari fought with her brother, Sun God Apolaki, for the right to rule the world. After a long battle, Apolaki struck her in one eye, blinding her, and was so horrified at what he’d done that he apologized. The two siblings then came to an agreement where they could both rule.

Where both their eyes once shined brightly upon all of life, Mayari’s light became dimmer after she was blinded, creating the difference between day and night as they took turns ruling over the earth.

[betsy-cola]

My piece for this year’s Maynananggal!

A manananggal is a man-eating mythological creature from the Philippines. They have the ability to detach their torsos and fly with their big bat-like wings 🦇💜

[godfreyescota]

Love Story

Bulan ( boy god of the moon) and Sidapa (male god of death) living together on top of Mt.Madjaas after courtship. From Panay/Bicol Myth from Philippines.

[littlestpersimmon]

In Philippine mythology, Haliya the masked goddess, Mayari the one-eyed Goddess of beauty and war, and Bulan the lover of the death god Sidapa were the three surviving moons,The rest were devoured by Bakunawa the sea serpent, who was once a beautiful but vain sea goddess who loved them. Haliya and Bakunawa would fight during eclipses, and during these times, it is said that the people would cry, as it was Bakunawa eating the moons that was causing the eclipse. It was the cries of these people that Haliya would use as her weapons and armor during her battle with Bakunawa.

[littlestpersimmon]

In Philippine folklore, it was said that the god of voyagers and the sea,  Magindang, loved the moon god, Bulan, who was dancing in the sky with his siblings. So much was Magindang fond of Bulan, in fact, that Magindang had made his shores sway along to shy, shy Bulan’s dance.

Happy Pride!

[burquillos]

Been looking into filipino mythology again cause I’m working on ocs and I thought I’d share some moon deities

[littlestpersimmon]

Haliya was a warrior goddess who would wear a mask of gold to hide her beauty. 

 In Philippine Mythology, Haliya was the name of a lunar goddess. She was said to be so beautiful that the sea goddess Bakunawa fell in love with her and sought her affections.

[puruneepai]

Have some Filipino folklore art ✨ I'm trying to design my takes on Bulan/Libulan and his husband Sidapa at the moment.

[monicabares]

The Bakunawa, also spelled Bakonawa, Baconaua, or Bakonaua, is a dragon in Philippine mythology that is often represented as a gigantic sea serpent. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses.