The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands, but they are divided into three main island regions[2]. These regions are: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (which is subdivided here into North and South). Each region contain their own Pre-colonial/pre-Christianity mythologies. Buddhism and Hinduism in the Philippines is influential to the culture and myths of the people within the three major island regions. However, there currently no unified mythology among the three regions[3]. These myths were orally passed down[4], which means that even myths within the same region will have some degree of change.
The story of Bathala explains how he became the ruler of the universe, the etiological explanation of the coconut tree, and how all the everything on earth came to be
Mount Apo referred to in the Bogobo mythThe Creation - Lumawig (Igorot)[6]
Lumawig, a great spirit god created peopled in different areas. This gives an explanation on why people speak differently than others.
Lumawig's two sons decided to flood the earth to bring up mountains so that they can catch pig and deer. However, in the acts of doing this, they drowned all the people on earth except for two people; they were brother and sister. Ludwig helped the two survive the flood and after the flood subsided, the brother and sister got married and repopulated the earth.
Pre-colonial Visayas were influenced by Hindu-Buddhist and animist. The Spaniards even described some of the indigenous people who lived there as Pintados, which means that they had tattoos/paintings on them.
The sun and moon created the stars. An etiological explanation for the stars.
The sun burned the starts and this made the moon upset. They begin to fight, but the moon ran away. This gives an etiological explanation why the sun and moon seem to be "chasing" each other.
Pre-colonial Mindanao (around 900AD) were influenced by Hindu-Buddhist, Indonesian, and Malaysian beliefs and culture. Then around the 17th and 18thcentury, Islam in most northern islands of Mindanao were well established.
The limokon bird laid eggs along a river that created man and woman. However, they were born on separate sides of the river. One day the man came across the woman and they got married and had children.
This gives an explanation on how the Mandaya people were created.
The sun and moon were married, but one day, the sun got angry at the moon and started to chase her. This gives an etiological explanation why the sun and moon “chase” each other.
The first child of the sun and moon was chopped up but the sun because he was angry at him. The sun then scattered him across the sky. This is the etiological explanation why there are starts
Another son of the sun and moon was a gigantic crab that created lightening when he blinks his eyes. He lives in a hole in the bottom of the ocean and is responsible for high and low tides.
How the Moon and the Stars Came to Be (Bukidnon)[11]
This was a time the sky was close to the ground. A spinster who was pounding rice struck the sky so hard it began to rise. Her comb and beads that she hung on the sky to dry also raised with it. That became the moon and stars.
A boy and a girl was the only ones left on Mount Apo. They were so weak because of the drout. However, the boy found a sugarcane and was able to cut it. Water from the sugar cane refreshed him and his sister until rain came.
The Betoti found soil and brought it back to D’wata. They spread out the soil and created dry land. The animals on earth then told Betoti that they need someone to look after them. Betoti told D’wata and thus man and woman were created out of statues.
Melu created the Earth with his dead skin that came off as he cleaned himself. The remaining dead skin was used to make 2 men. However, Melu could not make their noses. Tau Tana appeared below the earth and helped him make the noses. When they were done, they whipped the men until they started to move. Melu then told the two men to save their dead skin and hair so that he would be able to make them companions.
They tried using wax, then dirt. However, their noses were the most difficult to make. Melu was in a hurry and pressed his finger at the root of their noses. This is the reason why the B’laan peoples’ noses are the way it is.
