How the World Was Made

By John Maurice Miller

This is the ancient Filipino account of the creation.

Thousands of years ago there was no land nor sun nor moon nor stars,
and the world was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The
water was the kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great
god Captan.Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Captan had a
son known as Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their
children, so the sea became the bride of the wind. Three sons and a daughter were
born to them. The sons were called Licalibutan, Liadlao, and Libulan; and the
daughter received the name of Lisuga.
Licalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao was
formed of gold and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weak
and timid; and the beautiful Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet and
gentle. Their parents were very fond of them, and nothing was wanting to make
them happy.
After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest son
Licalibutan. The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children,
now grown up, were left without father or mother. However, their grandfathers,
Captan and Maguayan, took care of them and guarded them from all evil.
After a time, Licalibutan, proud of his power over the winds, resolved to
gain more power, and asked his brothers to join him in an attack on Captan in the
sky above. At first they refused; but when Licalibutan became angry with them, the
amiable Liadlao, not wishing to offend his brother, agreed to help. Then together
they induced the timid Libulan to join in the plan.
When all was ready the three brothers rushed at the sky, but they could not
beat down the gates of steel that guarded the entrance. Then Licalibutan let loose
the strongest winds and blew the bars in every direction. The brothers rushed into
the opening, but were met by the angry god Captan. So terrible did he look that
they turned and ran in terror; but Captan, furious at the destruction of his gates,
sent three bolts of lightning after them.
The first struck the copper Libulan and melted him into a ball. The second
struck the golden Liadlao, and he too was melted. The third bolt struck Licalibutan,
and his rocky body broke into many pieces and fell into the sea. So huge was he
that parts of his body stuck out above the water and became what is known as
land.In the meantime the gentle Lisuga had missed her brothers and started to look
for them. She went toward the sky, but as she approached the broken gates,
Captan, blind
with anger, struck her too with lightning, and her silver body broke into thousands
of pieces.
Captan then came down from the sky and tore the sea apart, calling on
Maguayan to come to him and accusing him of ordering the attack on the sky.
Soon Maguayan appeared and answered that he knew nothing of the plot as he
had been asleep far down in the sea.
After a time he succeeded in calming the angry Captan. Together they wept
at the loss of their grandchildren, especially the gentle and beautiful Lisuga; but
with all their power they could not restore the dead to life. However, they gave to
each body a beautiful light that will shine forever.
 And so it was that golden Liadlao became the sun, and copper Libulan the
moon, while the thousands of pieces of silver Lisuga shine as the stars of heaven.
To wicked Licalibutan the gods gave no light, but resolved to make his body
support a new race of people. So Captan gave Maguayan a seed, and he planted it
on the land, which, as you will remember, was part of Licalibutan's huge body.
Soon a bamboo tree grew up, and from the hollow of one of its branches a
man and a woman came out. The man's name was Sicalac, and the woman was
called Sicabay. They were the parents of the human race. Their first child was a
son whom they called Libo; afterwards they had a daughter who was known as
Saman. Pandaguan was a younger son and he had a son called Arion.
Pandaguan was very clever and invented a trap to catch fish. The very first
thing he caught was a huge shark. When he brought it to land, it looked so great
and fierce that he thought it was surely a god, and he at once ordered his people
to worship it. Soon all gathered around and began to sing and pray to the shark.
Suddenly the sky and sea opened, and the gods came out and ordered
Pandaguan to throw the shark back into the sea and to worship none but them.
All were afraid except Pandaguan. He grew very bold and answered that the
shark was as big as the gods, and that since he had been able to overpower it he
would also be able to conquer the gods. Then Captan, hearing this, struck
Pandaguan with a small thunderbolt, for he did not wish to kill him but merely to
teach him a lesson. Then he and Maguayan decided to punish these people by
scattering them over the earth, so they carried some to one land and some to
another. Many children were afterwards born, and thus the earth became inhabited
in all parts.
Pandaguan did not die. After lying on the ground for thirty days he
regained his strength, but his body was blackened from the lightning, and all his
descendants ever since that day have been black.
His first son, Arion, was taken north, but as he had been born before his
father's punishment he did not lose his color, and all his people therefore are
white. Libo and Saman were carried south, where the hot sun scorched their
bodies and caused all their descendants to be of a brown color.
A son of Saman and a daughter of Sicalac were carried east, where the
land at first was so lacking in food that they were compelled to eat clay. On this
account their children and their children's children have always been yellow in
color.
And so the world came to be made and peopled. The sun and moon shine in
the sky, and the beautiful stars light up the night. All over the land, on the body of
the
envious Licalibutan, the children of' Sicalac and Sicabay have grown great in
numbers. May they live forever in peace and brotherly love!
 The Flood Story – Igorot

Once upon a time, when the world was flat and there were no mountains,
there lived two brothers, sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The brothers were fond
of hunting, and since no mountains had formed there was no good place to catch
wild pig and deer, and the older brother said, "Let us cause water to flow over all
the world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up."
So they caused water to flow over all the earth, and when it was covered they
took the head-basket [a bamboo basket, in which the heads of victims are kept prior
to the head-taking celebration] of the town and set it for a trap. The brothers were
very much pleased when they went to look at their trap, for they had caught not
only many wild pigs and deer, but also many people.
Now Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his sons
had flooded the earth and that in all the world there was just one spot which was
not covered. And he saw that all the people in the world had been drowned except
one brother and sister who lived in Pokis.
Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl, saying, "Oh,
you are still alive." "Yes," answered the boy, "we are still alive, but we are very
cold."
So Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire for the boy and girl.
The dog and the deer swam quickly away, but though Lumawig waited a long time
they did not return, and all the time the boy and girl were growing colder.
Finally Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer, and when he
reached them he said, "Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get
ready and come quickly while I watch you, for the boy and girl are very cold."

Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim
through the flood, but when they had gone only a little way, the fire was put out.
Lumawig commanded them to get more fire and they did so, but they swam only a
little way again when that of the deer went out, and that of the dog would have been
extinguished also had not Lumawig gone quickly to him and taken it.
As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis he built a big fire which warmed the
brother and sister; and the water evaporated so that the world was as it was
before, except that now there were mountains. The brother and sister married and
had children, and thus there came to be many people on the earth.
 When the Lilies Return
Retold by: John M. Miller
(Pasig Metro Manila,
Luzon)

At the time when the Pasig River flowed peacefully along between flowery
banks, when its breast was not torn by puffing steamers, and when only a few
clustering huts marked the present site of Manila, there grew on the banks of the
river, a beautiful field of lilies. The lilies glistened like silver in the sunlight and
filled the air with delicious perfume. No hand plucked them from the earth, and no
foot trampled out their fragrance; for an ancient prophecy had said that while the
lilies stood the happiness of the people should endure.
But after a time cane dark days in the history of the Philippines. Yellow
hordes swept across the water and carried all before them. The people could
hardly expect to resist the invaders, for their warrior king, Loku, had profaned the
word of the god, who, in the form of a lizard, was fulfilling his threats of
punishment. Their armies were weal and scattered, and the conquerors marched
on in triumph. As report after report of disaster reached Luzon, the people
trembled for the safety of their fair land. Warriors gathered hastily for the defense
of the nation, and all united and waited for the enemy to appear.
One day the water was dotted with the junks of the invaders. They came
slowly down the bay, and anchored near the mouth of the Pasig. Then from the boat
poured the yellow warriors. Spears rained upon them, stones and arrows laid them
low, but their numbers were countless. The people were along the riverbanks.
Fiercely they fought, but numbers told against them. Foot by foot they were
pressed back, till they stood on the border of the field of lilies, where they made
their last stand. But it was to no purpose.The invaders poured from the ships, and
in one desperate charge drove back the ranks of the people, who fought and died
among their sacred lilies. All through the night the battle raged, and all daybreak,
when the victorious invaders rested on their spears, the beautiful field was no
more.
The lilies were crushed and torn. The bodies of dead and dying
warriors laid everywhere, and the crushed flowers were stained with blood of
friend and foe. The peace of the land was lost.
Many years have passed since then. New races have come to the islands,
and new manners and customs have been introduced. The Pasig still flows on to
the sea, but its
banks are harness by bridges. Lofty dwellings and stores took the place of the
little huts, and a great city marks the site of the little village. Where once was the
beautiful field is now a busy part of the great city. It is called Quiapo, after the
lilies. Many of the older people remember the prophecy and wonder if the lilies will
ever return.
The land is now a peaceful and contented one. Comfort and happiness
maybe found among its inhabitants. Perhaps the fair, strange women from the
great land over the sea are the lilies. Who can tell?
 Mythical Beings

Aswang
An Aswang (or Asuwang) is a ghoul in Filipino folklore. The myth of the
aswang is popular in the Western Visayan regions such as Capiz, Iloilo and
Antique. The trademark or major feature of Aswangs which distinguish them from
other Filipino mythological creatures is their propensity to replace stolen
cadavers with the trunk of a banana tree carved in the cadaver's likeness. They are
also said to like to eat small children. Their favorite body parts are the liver and
heart. Other local names, especially in Capiz are tik-tik and wak-wak.
Aswang, at times, is also a generic term applied to all types of mythological
creatures, ghosts, manananggals, witches, shapeshifters, lycanths and monsters.
Aswang is often interchanged with manananggal, but they are different. There are
also characteristics and features that the Aswang also varies from Filipino to
Filipino.They usually live near the mountains and they never go in to cities.
With respect to Aswang, Capiz (a province on Panay island) is the subject or
focus of many Aswang, and other types of mythological and folkloric ghosts
(multo), goblins, ghouls, manananggal, witches (mangkukulam), giant half-horse
men (tikbalang) and other monster stories, especially for tabloids. Capiz is
(unfairly) rumored to have a number of aswang and covens of witches.
Superstitious folk who believe in their existence can still be found in these parts.
They typically adorn windows, rooms, etc. with garlic bulbs, holy water, and other
anti- aswang paraphernalia which supposedly repels these creatures. Aswangs
have the ability to transform into other animals like dogs, bats and snakes.
The myth of the Aswang is popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines,
specially in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Antique. Aside from
entertainment value, mothers are said to tell their children Aswang stories to keep
them off the streets and keep them home at night. Similar to Count Vlad III Dracula
of Transylvania in Vampire stories, the most popular characters are the clan of
Teñente/ Tenyente/ Tiniente Gimo of the town of Dueñas, Iloilo.
An aswang is a regular townsperson by day and prefer an occupation
related to meat, such as butchery or making sausages. Aswangs have an ageless
appearance and a quiet, shy and elusive manner. They can be distinguished from
humans by two signs. One is the bloodshot eyes from staying up all night looking
for opportunities to sneak into houses where funeral wakes are being held, and
stealing the dead bodies.
According to the elderly, the Aswang can also transform from human to
animal and animal to human. The Aswang can disguise him/herself as a pig, dog
or a black bird. Supposedly if a person looks at them in the eyes, the reflection
would appear inverted.
During their nocturnal activities, they walk with their feet facing backwards and
toenails reversed.One type is the tik-tik which transforms into a huge bird/bat at
night and prowls.
The tik-tik looks for a pregnant woman. Then extends a very long proboscis into
the womb and licks the baby to kill it. While performing, a 'tik-tik' sound is heard.
In some stories, the tik-tik is an aswang's familiar, said to confuse people by its 'tik-
tik' sound. If the aswang is near, the sound would be faint so that people hearing it
would think that the aswang is still far away
Mangkukulam

Mangkukulam (noun) is a person employing or using Kulam. Kinukulam is

the target of the Kulam. Nakulam means someone or something experiencing the
effects of the Kulam.
Kulam in the Philippines is said to be centered on the islands of Siquijor
and Samar and the province of Sorsogon, where many of the country's faith
healers reside.
Kulam also exists in many of the hinterlands, especially in Samar and Leyte.
The mangkukulam is the Filipino version of witch or sorcerer, the name
deriving from the word kulam. Another term is brujo ('bruho' for warlocks), bruja
('bruha' for witches). The verb kulamin means "to place a hex". And a curse in
Filipino is a sumpa.
The mangkukulam recites spells and mixes potions. Modern influences have
transformed popular perception so that the mangkukulam now also uses the
equivalent of dolls. The mangkukulam's curses are mitigated by finding him/her
and giving bribes.
Superstitious folks still attribute certain illnesses or diseases to kulam. This
most often happens in the provinces, where an herbal doctor, albularyo, treats
them. In some rural provincial areas, people completely rely on the albularyo for
treatment.
 Mythical Animals

Bakunawa

The Bakunawa, also known as Bakonawa, Baconaua, or Bakonaua, is a

deity in Philippine mythology that is often represented as a gigantic sea
serpent. He is believed to be the god of the underworld and is often
considered to be the cause of eclipses.
It appears as a giant sea serpent with a mouth the size of a lake, a red
tongue, whiskers, gills, small wires at its sides, and two sets of wings, one
is large and ash-gray while the other is small and is found further down
its body.
Tales about the Bakunawa say that it is the cause of eclipses. During
ancient times, Filipinos believe that
there are seven moons created by Bathala to light up the sky. The Bakunawa, amazed by their beauty, would rise
from the ocean and

swallow the moons whole, angering Bathala and causing them to be mortal enemies.
To keep the Bakonawa moons from completely being swallowed, ancient Filipinos would go out of their homes
with pans and pots, and would make noise in order to scare the Bakonawa into spitting out the moon back into
the sky.
In Filipino folk literature, the Bakonawa is said to have a sister in the form of a sea turtle. The sea turtle would
visit a certain island in the Philippines in order to lay its eggs. However, locals soon discovered that every time
the sea turtle went to shore, the water seemed to follow her, thus reducing the island's size. Worried that their
island would eventually disappear, the locals killed the sea turtle.
When the Bakunawa found out about this, it arose from the sea and ate the moon. The people were afraid so they
prayed to Bathala to punish the creature. Bathala refused but instead told them to bang some pots and pans in
order to disturb the serpent. The moon is then regurgitated while the Bakunawa disappeared, never to be seen
again. The island where the sea turtle lays its eggs is said to exist today. Some sources say that the island might
just be one of the Turtle Islands.
Figures of the Bakunawa's head decorate the hilts of many ancient Filipino swords. These swords that originate
in Panay are said to bestow upon the hangaway or mandirigma (sacred warriors) the fearful presence and power
of the Bakunawa (or whatever deity/animal they have on their deity hilt) when they wield their swords in combat.
A children's game called Bulan Bulan, Buwan Buwan, or Bakunawa is played in the Philippines. It has 8-6
players arranged in a circle. A player acts as the buwan/bulan (moon) while another player act as the bakunawa
(eclipse), chosen either through Jack- en-poy, “maalis taya”, or “maiba taya.” The other participants stand in a
circle facing the center and holding each other's hands. The buwan/bulan stands inside the circle while the
bakunawa stands outside.
The object of the game is for the bakunawa to tag or touch the buwan/bulan. The rest of the players try to prevent
the bakunawa from doing so by holding on to each other

and running around the circle as fast as they can while not letting go of the ones next to them.
For the bakunawa to get into the circle, he or she asks one of the players, "What chain is this?" and when the
player replies, "This is an iron chain," the bakunawa should ask another player because an iron chain is
supposed to be unbreakable. A player who wants to let the bakunawa in can say, "This is an abaca chain," and
should let go of his or her hold. This is usually done when the player playing as the bakunawa is tired from
running around.
The bakunawa can also try to get in by going under the linked hands. If the player chosen as the bakunawa is fast
and small enough, this can be done easily. As soon as the bakunawa succeeds in getting in, the players forming
the circle should let the buwan out of the circle.
The bakunawa then tries to break out of the linked hands to try and get out to catch the buwan/bulan. When the
bakunawa succeeds in catching the buwan/bulan, they exchange places, or if both of them are too tired, another
pair from the circle of players is chosen as the new bakunawa and buwan/bulan.
 Manananggal

A manananggal in Filipino folklore or penanggalan in Malay

folklore is a mythical creature. It resembles a
Western vampire, in being an evil, human-devouring monster
or witch. The myth of the Manananggal is
popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines, especially in the
western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Antique. There are varying accounts of
the features of a manananggal. Like
vampires, Visayan folklore creatures, and aswangs, manananggals are
also said to abhor garlic and salt. They were also known to avoid
daggers, light, vinegar, spices and the tail of a sting ray which can be
fashioned as a whip. Folklore of similar creatures can be found in the
neighbouring nations of Indonesia and Malaysia.
A manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman
(as opposed to an aswang), capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the with night huge
bat-like wings to prey on
Unsuspecting, pregnant women in their homes; using an elongated proboscis-like tongue, it sucks the
hearts of fetuses or blood of an unsuspecting, sleeping victim. The severed lower torso is left
standing and it is said to be the more vulnerable of the two halves.
Sprinkling salt or smearing crushed garlic or ash on top of the standing torso is fatal to the creature.
The upper torso then would not be able to rejoin and will die at daybreak. The name of the creature
originates from an expression used for a severed torso: Manananggal comes from the Tagalog,
tanggal (cognate of Malay and Indonesian tanggal) which means to remove or to separate.
Manananggal then means the one who separates itself from its lower body.
Superstitious folk in the Visayan provinces still hang cloves of garlic or onion around
windows, doors, etc. with the purpose of repelling this creature as well as the aswang. They are a
favorite theme for sensationalist tabloids. They may be a product of mass hysteria or intentionally
propagated to keep children off the street, home at night and wary or careful of strangers, or simply
to entertain them.
There are various ways into which a person can become a manananggal. In one story, a girl
that became a viscera sucker admitted to her human suitor that she felt like eating the sputum of sick
people. She said that she had this feeling after she rejected the advances of a former suitor which
turned out to be an aswang. Another way of producing a manananggal would be by swallowing a
black chick, a creature that came from the throat of an old manananggal. The old manananggal
cannot die unless they pass this chick to a replacement. The monster chick can be removed by
fumigating the victim while attached upside down in a tree. The victim can also be spun round and
round until she throws up the chick due to dizziness.
There are four other ways to transform a person into an aswang or as a viscera sucker: by
"personal effort", through contamination (addition of an old manananggal's
saliva or bits of human flesh to the victim's food), transmission via supernatural means, and heredity.
For personal effort, one can force the transmission by holding a fertilized egg to one's body and
securing it via a cloth. The egg would then mysteriously osmose to one's body after an unknown amount
of time, creating the chick that would make the person a fully-fledged viscera sucker.
The province of Capiz is the subject or focus of many manananggal stories, similarly with the
stories of other types of mythical creatures, such as ghosts, goblins, ghouls and aswangs. Among
the indigenous people, Capiz has a reputation for harboring many of these creatures.
 A popular legend tells the story of how Bathala
created the people of the islands.

In the beginning when the Earth was still young, the

gods, Bathala; Aman Sinaya; and Amihan, were the only
beings that existed. Bathala was god of the Sky (Langit) and
Aman Sinaya was goddess of the Sea (Dagat). The two have
been fierce rivals for a long time, and everyday, they would
try to outdo each other. Bathala used his lighting bolts and
thunder, and Aman Sinaya used her waves and typhoons.
One day, Aman Sinaya decided to send her tempests
into the Sky to cause a wild commotion. In order to stop her,
Bathala threw giant boulders that came from atop of the
mountains. It created thousands of islands onto the surface
of the Sea, which became the Philippine archipelago. Amihan, the Northeast Wind in the middle of the
two realms, decided to stop the battle once and for all by taking the form of a bird. She then flew back
and forth between them. This made the Sky and the Sea closer than it was before. At the point where
the two realms met, both deities agreed to end the fight and become friends.
As a sign of friendship, Bathala planted a seed underneath the ocean floor. It soon grew into a
bamboo reed, sticking out of the edge of the Sea. Amihan had gazed upon it one day and heard
voices, coming from inside the bamboo. "Oh, North Wind! North Wind!
Please let us out!" the voices said. She pecked the reed once, then twice. All of a sudden, the
bamboo cracked and slit open. Inside were two human beings; one was a male and the other was a
female. Amihan named the man "Malakas" (Strong) and the woman "Maganda" (Beautiful). She then
flew them onto one of the islands where they settled, built a house, and had millions of offspring that
populated the Earth.
Then, it finally came when the children were too numerous for Malakas and Maganda to
control. One day, they were ordered to work in the fields, but instead, they did nothing. When the
parents arrived home, they noticed that their instructions weren't followed. Asking for some guidance,
they prayed to the great god, Bathala, and he came to them and said, "Let your anger be shown to
everyone and it shall make them into what they are meant to be." So out of their anger, they grabbed
spoon ladles and began to give blows to everyone.
All the children started running away. Some hid under the bamboo tables and became slaves.
A few of them went inside the burning cauldron and turned into the Aetas of the islands. Others
climbed up the rooftop and became the datus of the villages. While some climbed on top of the trees
and were believed to have become the commoners.

Those who fled to the mountains turned into hunters and the ones who ran to the seashore
turned into fishermen.