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Philippine mythology is the body of myths of the Filipino people, concerning their gods and goddesses, mythical creatures, and beliefs about the origin of life and nature of the world. It is also the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practiced by ancient Filipinos before Christianization and still being practiced by contemporary pagan Filipinos.

Because the country is inhabited by various ethnic groups, Philippine mythology is very diverse in nature though similarities exist among these groups such as the belief in afterlife, eternity, transmigration of the human soul, and paranormal occurrences.

Philippine mythology is derived from Philippine folk literature, which is the traditional oral literature of the Filipino people. This refers to a wide range of material due to the ethnic mix of the Philippines. Each ethnic group has its own stories and myths to tell.^[1]

Philippine mythology recounts the adventures, love affairs, and family relationships of the gods and goddesses; gives details about the creation of the universe, the heavenly bodies, and the earth; tells the creation of the first man and woman and the origin of social classes; narrates stories of a great flood and the repeopling of the world through the only surviving man and woman; and explains natural phenomena.^[2][3]

Folklorist Damiana Eugenio stresses that there are two kinds of Philippine myths: those about gods, their activities and relationships, and those that explain origins.^[4] Anthropologist H. Otley Beyer asserts that among the Christianized peoples of the plains these myths are preserved as folktales, but in the mountains their recitation and preservation is a real and living part of the daily religious life of the people. Very few of these myths are written as the great majority of them are preserved by oral tradition only.^[5] Filipino anthropologist F. Landa Jocano accentuates that the value of these myths cannot be overemphasized; it is basic to the country’s tradition and it constitutes part of the Filipino heritage. Some of these tales have been analyzed by native and foreign scholars, while others remain to be collected and collated.^[6]

Philippine mythology varies among the many indigenous tribes of the Philippines. Ancient and contemporary pagan Filipinos has a polytheistic kind of worship.^[7] They are also animistic; they believe that all objects, including inanimate one and natural phenomena, have spirits. They made offerings to these objects or phenomena, and accorded the latter with much respect.^[8] Early Filipinos believed that heaven and earth had no beginning and would have no end, and that both existed for perpetuity.^[3] Believing that they were the original people of the world, Filipinos had several tales on how the world came to be populated such as the Visayan story of Sikalak and Sikabay, the first man and woman who emerged from a reed.^[9][10]

In addition, Philippine mythology has been heavily influenced by Indian culture. Pre-Islamic inhabitants of Sulu adored Vedic deities from India. The Mandayas of Mindanao worships a trinity of deities, namely, Mansilatan, creator of the universe; Badla, protector of men; and Pudaugnon, destroyer of men. This bears a resemblance to the Hindu triad of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Siva the Destroyer. Likewise, the Bukidnon gods of the four cardinal points – Domalondong of the north, Ongli of the south, Tagalambong of the east, and Mababaya of the west – originated from the Hindu deities of Kubera of the north, Yama of the south, Indra of the east, and Varuna of the west.^[11] Furthermore, the name Bathala originated from a Sanskrit term Bhattara which means "great lord" and so as diwata from a Sanskrit word devadha which means "deity."^[12][13]

However, the study of Philippine mythology has not apparently attracted the attention of many Filipino educators and students. In the study of Philippine literature, it is the most neglected field. Thus, a lot of universities and colleges in the Philippines does not carry a course on it in their curriculum; instead, they have Greek and Roman mythologies as major offerings.^[14] Hence, according to Eugenio, all educated Filipinos should be familiar with the collective mythology of their country because these myths can give them valuable insights into their past to better understand themselves today.^[15]

Due to its multiethnic structure, the Philippines possesses not one national pantheon; instead, each ethnic group has its own pantheon.^[4] Ancient and contemporary pagan Filipinos believed in one supreme god and in a number of lesser gods and goddesses.^[16] Some of them are perceived to be very close to men and participates actively in their concerns while others took an interest in human affairs only when invoked during proper ceremonies.^[17]

In many myths, the supreme gods are the creators of the world, among them are Bathala of the pre-Christian Tagalogs,^[18] Mangetchay of the pre-Christian Kapampangans,^[16] Gugurang and Aswang of the pre-Christian Bicolanos,^[19] Apo Langit of the pre-Christian Ilocanos,^[8] Malayari of the pre-Christian Sambals,^[20] Kaptan and Laon of the pre-Christian Visayans,^[21][22] Lumawig of the Bontocs and the Kankanaeys,^[23] Kabunyian of the Ifugaos,^[24] Mahal Makakaako of the Mangyans,^[16] Tungkung Langit and Alunsina of the Suludnons,^[25] Magbabaya of the Bukidnons,^[16] Melu of the B’laans,^[26] Pamulak Manobo of the Bagobos,^[27] and the couple-god Kadaw La Sambad and Bulon La Mogoaw of the T’bolis.^[26] They perceive the supreme gods as invisible, their names sacred, an all-seeing judge of earthly beings, and the deliverer or redeemer of those who have been aggrieved.^[28]

Nevertheless, many of them believe that the supreme gods are too distant and too preoccupied with higher matters to concern with the affairs of the human. As such, the lesser gods and goddesses are the ones they pray to,^[29] among them are Ikapati, the Tagalog goddess of agriculture;^[30] Akasi, Sambal god of health and sickness;^[31] Haliya, Bicolano deity of the moon;^[32] Magwayen, a Visayan god who ferried the soul of the deceased to the afterworld;^[33] and Mandarangan, a Bagobo god of evil that dwells at the summit of Mount Apo.^[34] Some of the lesser deities are thought to bring harm to earthly beings and it is the duty of the priests and priestess (known as babaylan to the Visayans and katalonan to the Tagalogs)^[22] to defend the people by invoking the help of the benevolent gods and to appease the malevolent ones.^[8]

In addition, ancient and contemporary pagan Filipinos worships the anitos and diwatas,^[33] the ancestral or nature spirits.^[35] The anito concept is pervasive in Luzon, while the diwata prevails in Visayas and Mindanao.^[17] They are perceived to be good or evil; good if these are the souls of one’s relatives and bad if these are the enemies.^[33] On the other hand, diwatas can be female divinities that are endowed with extraordinary beauty and are venerated based on the needs of the people.^[36] The most well-known diwatas or enchantresses in the Philippines are Mariang Makiling of Laguna, Mariang Sinukuan of Pampanga, and Maria Cacao of Cebu.^[37]

The beliefs in lower forms of supernatural beings are widespread among Christian Filipinos.^[38] Philippine mythology has many of these creatures but the most famed are the aswangs, duwendes, kapres, tikbalangs, and tiyanaks. An aswang assumes form of a dog, a bird or any other animal, and devours human flesh;^[39] duwendes, literally dwarves, tend to be capricious, sometimes acting benevolently toward humans and sometimes acting cruelly;^[21] a kapre is a giant who smokes cigar, resides in trees, and destroys houses;^[40] a tikbalang is a creature that has a human-like body and hands but with long legs and thighs similar to horses;^[41] and tiyanaks are said to be souls of infants who died unbaptized, often playful, and cause travelers to lose their way.^[42] In spite of the very extensive Christianization of the Filipinos, particularly the lowlanders, the aforementioned mythical entities persist in their traditional belief systems.^[43]

The Biblical story of the Great flood has many corresponding versions in Philippine mythology. Some of it is stated in the Tinguians’ tale of the sea maiden Humitau and in the Ibalong epic of the Bicolanos. [Jocano, p. 47, 51-52].

• Philippine epic poetry
• Philippine literature