PHILIPPINE

FOLK

LITERATURE

Ms. Arcelyn N. Sangalang

Instructor- Engl04

Cpoyright 2010

PHILIPPINE FOLK LITERATURE

traditional oral literature of the

Filipino people

refers to the collection of tales and

superstition about magical

creatures and entities

wide range of material due

to the ethnic mix of the

Philippines

3 MAJOR GROUPS

folk narratives

folk speech

folk songs

PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY

derived from Philippine folk literature

stories of ancient Philippine mythology

include deities, creation stories,

mythical creatures, and beliefs

ancient Philippine mythology varies

among the many indigenous tribes of

the Philippines

CREATION STORIES Tagalog version

In the beginning when the Earth was still young, the gods, Bathala;Aman Sinaya; and Amihan, were the only beings that existed. Bathala was godof the Sky (Langit) and Aman Sinaya was goddess of the Sea (Dagat). The twohave been fierce rivals for a long time, and everyday, they would try to outdoeach other. Bathala used his lighting bolts and thunder, and Aman Sinayaused her waves and typhoons. One day, Aman Sinaya decided to send hertempests into the Sky to cause a wild commotion. In order to stop her, Bathalathrew giant boulders that came from atop of the mountains. It createdthousands of islands onto the surface of the Sea, which became the Philippinearchipelago. 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 thenflew back and forth between them. This made the Sky and the Sea closer thanit was before. At the point where the two realms met, both deities agreed toend the fight and become friends.

As a sign of friendship, Bathala planted a seed underneath the oceanfloor. 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 thebamboo. "Oh, North Wind! North Wind! Please let us out!", the voices said. Shepecked the reed once, then twice. All of a sudden, the bamboo cracked and slitopen. Inside were two human beings; one was a male and the other was afemale. Amihan named the man "Malakas" (Strong) and the woman"Maganda" (Beautiful). She then flew them onto one of the islands where theysettled, built a house, and had millions of offspring that populated the Earth.

CREATION STORIES

Visayan Version

Thousands of years ago, there was no land, sun, moon, or stars, and theworld was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The water wasthe kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god, Kaptan.

Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Kaptan had a sonknown as Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their children, sothe sea became the bride of the wind. A daughter and three sons were born to them.The sons were called Likalibutan, Liadlao, and Libulan, and the daughter receivedthe name of Lisuga.

Likalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao wasformed of gold and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weakand timid; and the beautiful Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet andgentle. Their parents were very fond of them, and nothing was wanting to makethem happy.

After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest sonLikalibutan. The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children,now grown up, were left without father or mother. However, their grandfathers,Kaptan and Maguayan, took care of them and guarded them from all evil.

After some time, Likalibutan, proud of his power over the winds, resolved togain more power, and asked his brothers to join him in an attack on Kaptan in thesky above. They refused at first, but when Likalibutan became angry with them, theamiable Liadlao, not wishing to offend his brother, agreed to help. Then togetherthey induced the timid Libulan to join in the plan.

GODS AND GODDESSES

Bathala - The main god of the Tagalog, who is

formally known as Bathalang Maykapal or

Maykapal. He is the Tagalog‘s chief god, the

creator of the universe and humanity.

Apo Laki - the son of Bathala is the Tagalog god

of the sun and lord of war. To the Pangasinense,

Apo Laki is the god Ama-Kaoley.

Anitun Tabu - the Tagalog goddess of the wind

and rain.

Dian Masalanta - The ancient Tagalogs'

goddess of love, pregnancy, childbirth

GODS AND GODDESSES

Idianalé - the ancient Tagalog goddess of animal

husbandry.

Lakan Bakod - the ancient Tagalog god of

gardens who protect and watch over plants and

sometimes animals

Lakan Pati - the ancient Tagalog's deity of

cultivated fields, a hermaphrodite

Mayari - The ancient one-eyed Tagalog goddess

and protector of the moon. She is the daughter of

Bathala and sister of Tala and Apo Laki.

GODS AND GODDESSES

Tadaklan - the Tinguian god of thunder, as

worshiped by those people of central Luzon.

Kimat-the lightning dog. When Kimat attacks,

he comes down from heaven and bites whatever

it is aimed at.

OTHER GODS

Aswang is the god of evil in Bicol; the brother and

enemy of Gugurang

Gugurang is the Bicolano chief god and keeper of

a sacred fire atop Mt. Mayon

Haliya is the Bicolano goddess of the moon and

protector of women

Kan-Laon(or Lalahon) is the Visayan supreme

deity

Kaptan is the ancient Visayan sky god; sibling of

Maguayen

Maguayen is the god of the sea

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

Manananggal

Self-segmenter

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

Manananggal

It resembles a Western vampire, in being an evil,human-devouring monster or witch.

The myth of the manananggal is popular in theVisayan region of the Philippines, especially inthe western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Antique.

There are varying accounts of the features of amanananggal. Like vampires, Visayan folklorecreatures, and aswangs, manananggals are alsosaid to abhor garlic and salt. They were alsoknown to avoid daggers, light, vinegar, spices andthe tail of a sting ray which can be fashioned as awhip

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

Aswang

-the most famous Philippinemythological creature

-the most dreaded of supernaturalbeings and is a person whoassumes other forms, like that of adog, pig, horse, or carabao, when heor she roams about at night insearch of prey, particularly sickpersons or expectant mothers.

-the form an aswang takes isusually extraordinarily large and ofcompletely black color.

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

Kapre The kapre sits quietly

smoking a leg-sized cigar

that never burns out. It

terrifies passerby with its

size, glowing eyes and

cigar, but it is otherwise

harmless. It is said to live

in trees, abandoned

houses and ruined

buildings. They are

believed to appear only at

night.

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

Tikbalang (demon horse) is a

half-man and half-horse

creature. It has a horse's

head, the body of a human

but with the feet of the

horse. It travels at night to

rape female mortals. The

raped women will then give

birth to more tikbalang.

They are also believed to

cause travelers to lose their

way particularly in

mountainous or forest areas.

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

Tiyanak or impakto

The tiyanak can also be the offspring of a woman

and a demon. It can also be the aborted fetus,

which comes to life to take revenge on its mother.

Tiyanak are very vengeful creatures. Most

Tiyanaks are said to live in forests. If they see a

human, they transform into what looks like a

normal baby. When the person notices the

Tiyanak and comes near to take a look at it, that's

when the Tiyanak changes back to its true form

and eats its prey.

Well, that’s all folks!