This year marks the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines. The year-long celebration formally began on April 4, 2021, Easter Sunday, and will end on April 22, 2022. This event has been prepared for the last nine years by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The significant event draws mixed emotions and opinions from the Filipinos. Undeniably, our conversion to Christianity was rather violent. However the CBCP reminded the people to “ let us therefore be clear that what we are celebrating is not colonization but the Christian faith that our ancestors welcome as a gift, albeit from people who were not necessarily motivated by the purest of motives.”
But who were our ancestors’ deities before Christianity? There are many versions of the stories of our ancient deities which makes it challenging for those who want to learn more about the Philippine Mythology. Nevertheless, here the pre-colonial deities of our land.
Luzon
The supreme god of the Tagalogs is “Bathala.” According to F. Landa Jocano’s Outline of Philippine Mythology (1969), “Bathala is the grand conserver of the universe and the caretaker of earth.”
It said that this is where the Filipino word “bahala” or “mabahala” originated. The word means “to care” which explains the Filipino phrase “bahala na” or “let Bathala take care of it.”
The ancient god is not to be confused with the Christian god. Although they have the same attributes they have different origins.
Bathala is said to be so holy that normal human beings are not allowed to talk to him, thus, the existence of “anitos”. According to the Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca published in 1582, anitos are “the assistants, the ministers of Batala, who send them on earth to help men. These helpers are called: Anitos. The nature of the Anito is such that he comes on earth, deals with men and speaks on his behalf to Bathala.”
Visayas
The Visayans have two supreme gods which originated from different islands. “Kaptan” is worshipped by the people who are from the islands of Cebu, Bohol, Negros island, Samar, Leyte, and Panay. While “Kan-laon” is worshiped mainly by the Negrenses from Negros. The two gods are considered as counterparts of Bathala but they are three different gods.
“Kaptan” is known as the sky-god. He is the most worshipped god by the natives but he was replaced by Christianity due to lack of records. This is the main reason why there is only very limited information about Kaptan.
“Kan-laon” is the supreme god that dwells in Mount Kanlaon in the Negros island. In ancient Negrense, Kan-laon translates to the “exalted one” or “eternal one.” The ancient Visayans believed that the supreme god used to live with mortals and can be visited in his home on top of the mountain.
Mindanao
There are different stories about supreme deities in Mindanao due to the various ethnic tribes in the island. But the most attributed story about a creator is from the Manobo tribe where the creation is credited to “Makalidung.” He is said to be the first great Manobo.
The Manobos say that Makalidung sets up a central pole accompanied by a python which he shakes when displeased with men. The shaking causes earthquakes which could destroy the world if the trembling continues.
Another version of creation by the Manobos is by a female supreme deity called “Dagau.” Just like Makalidung, she has a python that also shakes the world when angered by humans. She is triggered by the sight of human blood. When extremely angry she punishes the people by making the soil unproductive for harvest.
