Bathala

Philippine mythology

Mythical beings Aswang Berbalang Diwata Duwende Juan Tamad Mambabarang Manananggal Mangkukulam Mariang Makiling Nuno sa punso
Mythical animals Bakunawa Ekek Kapre Limokon Manaul Sarimanok Sigbin Sirena Siyokoy Tikbalang Tigmamanukan Tiyanak
Mythical heroes Bernardo Carpio
Mythological figures
Mythological creatures
Anito
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Bathala Maykapal
The Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe
An illustration depicting Bathala, a Diwata and the bird Sarim
Abode	Kaluwalhatian
Symbol	Tigmamanukin
Adherents	Pre-hispanic Tagalog
Equivalents
Greek equivalent	Phanes
Hinduism equivalent	Prajapati
Yoruba equivalent	Olodumare
Chinese equivalent	Shangdi

In ancient Tagalog indigenous religion, Bathala Maykapal is the transcendent Supreme Being; the originator and ruler of universe. He is commonly known and referred to as Bathala; a term or title which, in the earlier times, also applied to lesser beings such as personal tutelary spirits, omen birds, comets, and other heavenly bodies which the early Tagalog people believed predicted events. It was after the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in the Philippines in the 16th century that Bathala Maykapal came to be identified as the Christian God, thus its synonymy with Diyos. In the course of the 19th century, the term Bathala was no longer in use when it was totally replaced by Panginoon (Lord) and Diyos (God) until it was popularized again by Filipinos who learned it from Chronicles that the Tagalog God was called Bathala.^[1]

Etymology[]

Most scholars believed that Bathala (Chirino 1595–1602), Badhala (Plasencia 1589), Batala (Loarca 1582), or Bachtala (Boxer Codex 1590) was derived from Sanskrit word bhattara or bhattaraka^[2] (noble lord) which appeared as the sixteenth-century title batara in the southern Philippines and Borneo. In Indonesian language, batara means "god", its feminine counterpart was batari. It may be worth noting that in Malay, betara means "holy", and was applied to the greater Hindu gods in Java, and was also assumed by the ruler of Majapahit.^[3]

Dr. Pardo de Taverra, a linguist, states that bhattala could have come from avatara, avatar, that is the descent of a god on earth, in a visible form, such as the ten avatars of Vishnu.^[4] According to John Crawfurd, the Malay word Batara is derived from avatara, both in "sense and orthography" and simply is a prefix to connote any deity.^[5]

According to Jose Rizal's former mentor Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J.—who reprinted in 1900 the early work of his fellow Jesuit, Fr. Pedro Chirino, Labor Evangelica, which was first published in 1663 from an anonymous document dated April 20, 1572—the name of Bathala can be ascertained "by resolving the word into its primary elements, Bata and Ala = 'Son God, or Son of God.' This is why the first missionaries did not deprive the natives of this name when they instructed them about the existence of God and the mysteries of the Trinity, the incarnation, and redemption, as states an anonymous but very circumstantial relation written at Manila, on April 20, 1572.^[6][7]

Other possible origin of the term Bathala or Batala are the Malay word Berhala ("idol")^[8] and the Arabic expression ‘Allah-ta’ala ("God, be exalted") which is the origin of Bathala’s other name i.e. Anatala.^[9]

Mentions during Spanish colonial era[]

The name of the supreme being of the Tagalogs were given as Batala in "Relacion de lasYslas Filipinas" (1582) by Miguel de Loarca; Bathala mei capal in" Relación de las Islas Filipinas" (1595–1602) by Pedro Chirino; Badhala in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589) by Juan de Plasencia; Bachtala napal nanca calgna salahat (Bathala na kumapal at nangangalaga sa lahat – God the creator and preserver of all things), Mulayri, Molaiari, Molayare, and Dioata in the Boxer Codex (1590); Anatala and Ang Maygawa in "Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos" (1686-1688) by Felipe Pardo, O.P.; Bathala mei Capal and Diuata in "The history of Sumatra: containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants, with a description of the natural productions, and a relation of the ancient political state of that island." (1784) by William Marsden. The true name of this deity, however, is actually unknown and the ancient Tagalogs usually referred to or addressed him under several titles and epithets.^[10]

Jose Rizal in his letter to his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt (17 April 1890) wrote that the word Bathala is an error of Chirino or some missionary older or ahead of him who has been copied by subsequent historians, because, according to him, the majority of the historians of the Philippines are mere copyists. He believed that the phrase Bathala Maykapal, that was adopted by the other historians after Chirino, is nothing more than the phrase Bahala ang Maykapal, wrongly written, that is equivalent to Alla or Alah of the Muslims or to the Malayan Tuan Alla punia Kraja; because Bahala ang May Kapal means "God will take care", a meaning given also in a dictionary to the phrase Bathala May Kapal. The fact that the phrase Bathala May Kapal is often encountered, makes him presumed that it may be only a copy, and that there cannot be found another source where the word Bathala is used but without the denomination May Kapal. He believed that the Tagalogs never pronounced the name of their God, just as they do not pronounce the name of their parents, especially before strangers whom they considered their greatest enemies. That they only called him Maykapal, a designation still used and understood by any Tagalog. He also points out that there is no trace at all of the name Bathalà among the Tagalogs in the towns despite the fact that the Tagalogs in the towns use such words as Tikbalang, Asuang, Anito, Nuno, Tiyanak, etc., and they retain many pagan usages, many traditions, legends, stories of pagan origin. He believe that the old missionaries did not take much interest in knowing exactly the religion of the Filipinos, for, on account of their religious zeal, they considered it unworthy, diabolical, and for this reason they did not undertake a thorough investigation of it.^[11]

For Isabelo de los Reyes the name of the Tagalog supreme god was Maykapal or Lumikha, and hence they called their sacred images likha, and not Badhala, since the latter was not a specific name, but a common treatment of deities and to the ominous beings and other fabulous beings that they feared; thus there was Badhala Maykapal (Lord Maker), Badhala Katutubo (Conborn Lord Anito), Badhala Blue bird, or the tigmamanok or the kásay kásay (Kingfisher) and his name was Badhala, like comets, not because he was god, but for being ominous. And that it was pronounced Badhala and not Bathala as an enlightened Tagalog elder told him, and confirmed by Fr. Noceda in his old Dictionario Tagalog (Year 1754). Also according to him, the term Bathala or Badhala was only used among Tagalogs who had relation to Malay Hindus or Mohammedans, i.e. those from Manila to the South. Moreover, the Tagalogs did not remember the word Bathala, Bátala, or Badhala until it was popularized again by the Filipinos when they learned from those lightly written Chronicles that the Filipino God was called Bathala.^[12]

Other names, titles or epithets[]

1. Mulayari (Boxer Codex: Mulayri [42r], Molaiari [59r], Molayare [62r]) – In the transcription and translation of the Boxer Codex (1590) by George Bryan Souza and Jeffrey Scott Turley (2015), the word May-ari ("Owner" or "Owner of Property") is used instead of the original spelling Mulayri, explaining in the footnote that "Q&G, 419, gloss this Tagalog term as "an indirect appellation of God"".^[13] According to the author Jean-Paul G. Potet (Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs, 2018) "Its compounds are mula "origin" and yari "power", therefore it means "Source of Power". The absence of linker between the two components, as in Malay, points at the Bruneian period for the time when it was coined".^[14] The word Yari could also mean "made, finished or complete, etc."^[15] Thus, the meaning of Mulayari is also similar to that of Mulajadi ("Beginning of Becoming")^[16] which is the name of the creator deity of Batak people of Indonesia.^[17] The Tagalog and Malay word mula is derived from Sanskrit mula, meaning "root";^[18] while the Malay word jadi and its Tagalog equivalent yari^[15] are descended from the Sanskrit word jati (birth),^[19][20] and both words could mean "finished" or "completion" of something made or created (becoming/being).^[21] Other possible origin of this name is the Malayalam word mulayari which means "bamboo seed".^[22] This name was not entered by Spanish lexicographers in the old Tagalog dictionaries.

2. Diwata (Dioata,^[23] Diuata^[24][25][26]) - Derived from Sanskrit deva and devata which means deity.^[27][28] Like Mulayari, this name was not entered by Spanish lexicographers in the old Tagalog dictionaries.^[29] In Richard E. Elkin's Manobo-English Dictionary ( 1968 ), diwata specifically refer to the supreme being.^[30] In the Bla'an mythology, Diwata is one of the four primordial beings. According to some Bla'ans, Diwata and Melu (the Creator) were brothers; and because Diwata was older than Melu , Christian bible translators chose Diwata to render the Christian "God".^[31] Among the Tagbanua people, Diwata is another name for the supreme deity Mangindusa.^[32] In Kaharingan religion of Borneo, the supreme god Hatala (represented as a hornbill Tingang) named his reflection on the primeval waters Jata (represented as a watersnake Tambon). In unity they were known as Jatatala which is considered a male deity in general, but Jata represents the Underworld, the Earth, and the feminine aspect of God; while Hatala represents the Upperworld, the Sun, and the masculine aspect. The name "Jata" is derived from the Sanskrit deva and devata [Wilken (1912, vol. III)]. "Jata" as a collective designation refers to a category of spirits inhabiting the Underworld.^{[33][34][35][36]} With the ancient Visayans, diwata is the equivalent of Tagalog anito (ancestral spirit).^[37] According to Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J. the interpretation of the word Bathala as 'Son of God' is confirmed by the Visayan word Diuata: "we always find here the same idea signified in the words Diwa and uata differing only in their transposition.... In closing, we may note that Dewa in Malay, Déwa in Javanese, Sunda, Makasar, and Day[ak?], Deva in Maguindanao, and Djebata in Bornean, signify 'the supreme God,’ or 'Divinity."^[6] In Tagalog language diwa means "spirit, thought, idea, central point, sense".^[38][39][40] According to Demetrio, Cordero-Fernando, and Nakpil Zialcita; the Luzon Tagalogs and Kapampangans' use of the word "anito", instead of the word "diwata" which was more predominant in the Visayan regions, indicated that these peoples of Luzon were less influenced by the Hindu and Buddhist beliefs of the Madjapahit empire than the Visayans were.^[41] In modern Tagalog, diwata means fairy or nymph; it refers particularly to feminine nature spirits of extraordinary beauty like Maria Makiling.^[42][43]

3. Maykapal (Meicapal, Meycapal) – Which means "Owner of what has been Shaped". The title or epithet Maykapal is derived from the word kapal the basic meaning of which is "to shape earth, clay, or wax into balls". This is also expressed about food by its doublet kipil "to make rice balls and eat them". This title is related to his other title Maylupa in that pots are made of earth.^[10]

4. Maygawa (Meigaua, Meygawa) – Which means "Owner of the Work".^[44]

5. Maylupa (Meilupa, Meylupa) – Which means "Owner of the Earth/Land". Under this title he is symbolically represented by a crow/raven (uwak), one of the birds associated with the omen of death.^[45] Fr. Francisco Colin (1663) compared Maylupa with ancient European deities such as Ceres (agricultural deity) and Pan (pastoral deity), which indicates that devotees of Bathala under this title were farmers and herders.^[46]

6. Magpalaylay – Which means "the One Fond of Incantations (i.e. laylay)".^[10] The word laylay could also mean reverence, hence the term kalaylayan (your reverence) which the early Tagalog men with children used to address their father.^[47]

7. Lumikha – Which means "Creator". In old Tagalog language the word likha also refer to the statuettes of the anitos, in modern Tagalog or Filipino it mainly refer to or mean "creation". The word likha was derived from Sanskrit word lekha which means "drawing, picture or writing".^[48][49] In Tagalog creation myth, the first man and woman sprang forth from a "bamboo" which is the most common writing material of pre-Hispanic Filipinos.^[50]

8. Anatala – A corruption of the Arabic expression ‘Allah-ta’ala which means "God, be exalted". It probably reached Tagalog through Malay or Maranao, where the Arabic form is read "Alataala".^[9] Because of the ending "a" the Spanish inquisitor thought it was a female deity of the Tagalogs, the superior goddess of all their deities, thus making this name a synonym of Bathala.^[51] The name of the Bornean deity Hatala, Mahatala, or Lahatala is also a corruption of said Arabic expression [Wilken (1912, vol. III)].^[52] However, according to Blumentritt Mahatala or Mahatara is the contraction of Mahabatara which means "the Great Lord".^[53] Pedro A. Paterno (1892) also referred to Anatala as Anak-Hala which, according to him, means "Son of God".^[54]

9. Nuno (Nono) – Which means "grandparent" or "ancient one"; similar to Laon of the Visayans and Gugurang of the Bicolanos. This is the name referred to him by the initiates (antiñgeros) of Anting-anting, a post-colonial esoteric belief system of the Tagalogs.^[55] The antiñgeros also referred to the Nuno as Infinito Dios (Infinite God). The term nuno is also used by the ancient Tagalogs to refer to the spirits of their ancestors (i.e. anito), nature spirits (e.g. nuno sa punso),^[56] and the crocodile/cayman/alligator (buwaya).^[57]

Tagalismo[]

Ancient Tagalog idea of god[]

Excerpts from the Boxer Codex (1590):

The Moors [i.e. the Tagalogs from Manila] of the Philippines have that the world, earth, and sky, and all other things that are in them, were created and made by only one god, whom they calls in their language Bachtala, napalnanca, calgna salabat , which means "God, creator and preserver of all things", and by another name they call him Mulayri. They said that this god of theirs was in the atmosphere before there was heaven or earth or anything else, that he was ab eterno (from eternity) and not made or created by anybody from anything, and that he alone made and created all that we have mentioned simply by his own volition because he wanted to make something so beautiful as the heaven and earth, and that he made and created one man and one woman out of the earth, from whom have come and descended all the men and their generations that are in the world."

these people feared and revered a god, maker of all things, who some call him Bathala, others Molaiari, others Dioata and, although they confess this god as the maker of all things, they do not even know nor do they know when or how he did or what for, and that his dwelling place is in heaven.

Every time the chiefs eat, they put a little of everything they eat or drink in small plates on the table as an offering to the anitos and the Molayare or Batala, creator of all things.

Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca (1582):

According to the religion formerly observed by these Moros, they worshiped a deity called among them Batala, which properly means "God." They said that they adored this Batala because he was the Lord of all, and had created human beings and villages. They said that this Batala had many agents under him, whom he sent to this world to produce, in behalf of men, what is yielded here. These beings were called anitos, and each anito had a special office. Some of them were for the fields, and some for those who journey by sea; some for those who went to war, and some for diseases.^[58]

Because there were many Borneo people in Manila when the Spaniards first arrived, they called the people of Manila Moro, the Spanish name for the Muslims. It was something that the friars repudiate because it was so different from what they knew that they could not possibly identify it as Islam, all the more so as pigs (often called "an unclean animal" by Spanish chroniclers, possibly crypto-Jews) are listed among the chief holocausts to their deities, and, other than rooster (manok na kalakyan), no other animal is mentioned. There was no feast without at least one pig being killed and roasted. This pig was always a holocaust, and consuming its flesh in common was certainly regarded as a form of communion with the deity to whom it had been sacrificed. The water buffalo (anwang), that is the greatest holocaust among Malays, was never used as such by the Tagalogs. But they keep insisting to call the people of Manila Moros for a very long time, because it is a strong reason or justification for the Spaniards to seize and enslave them.^[59][60][61] The English translation of the Boxer Codex (1590) by Souza and Turley rendered "Bachtala, napalnanca, calgna salahat" as "Bathala na may kapangyarihan sa lahat" which translate in English as "God who has power over everything". The exact translation of "God, creator and preserver of all things" in Tagalog is "Bathala na kumapal at nangangalaga sa lahat".^[62]

Bathala and the Anitos[]

The chief deity of the Tagalas is called Bathala mei Capal, and also Diuata; and their principal idolatry consists in adoring those of their ancestors who signalised themselves for courage or abilities; calling them Humalagar, i.e. manes.

— William Marsden, The History of Sumatra (1784)

^[25][26]

Anitería (literally means worship of anitos) was the term coined by some Spanish chroniclers to denote the Tagalog religion as they observed that despite the people's belief and respect to the omnipotent Bathala, they offered sacrifices to ancestral spirits called anito. Miguel de Loarca (Relación de las Yslas Filipinas, 1582) asked them why the holocausts were offered to the anitos, and not to Batala, they answered that Batala was a great lord, and no one could speak to him directly because he lives in heaven (Kaluwálhatian), so he sent down the anitos to provide for them.^[63]

They placed their ancestors, the invocation of whom was the first thing in all their work and dangers, among these anitos.

— Francisco Colin, et al. [The Philippine Islands (1493-1898)]^[64]

The function of the anitos, therefore, is similar to that of liminal deities in polytheistic religions who serves as intermediary between mortals and the divine, such as Agni (Hindu) and Janus (Roman) who holds the access to divine realms; hence the reason why they are invoked first and the first to receive offerings, regardless of the deity they want to pray to.^[65][66] The anitos—just like the loa of Haitian Vodou^[67]—are not considered gods and goddesses but merely: messengers, intermediaries, and advocate (abogado) of the people to the Supreme Being. Similar in concept to Neoplatonism wherein spiritual beings called daimones carry divine things to mortals and mortal things to the Divine; requests and sacrifices from below and commandments and answers from above.^[68][69]

They are the assistants, the ministers of Batala, who sends 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 in his behalf to Batala.

— Miguel de Loarca (1582)

Some chroniclers, such as the anonymous author of Boxer Codex, does not call these agents of Bathala anitos, but instead referred to them as dioses and rendered in translation by Quirino and Garcia as "gods".^[70] The American-Filipino historian William Henry Scott supports the opinion of these chroniclers (some of whom might be Crypto-Jews^[71]), that the ancient Tagalogs worship the anitos as gods and goddesses (aniteria). Arguing that "in actual prayers, they were petitioned directly, not as intermediarries". Scott cites the example of a farmer's prayer to the anito named Lakapati, where a child would be held over a field, and the farmer would pray: "Lakapati, pakanin mo yaring alipin mo; huwag mong gutumin [Lakapati feed this thy slave; let him not hunger]".^[72] However, Scott—who himself was an appointed lay missionary in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America^[73]—might be using the Protestant definition or idea of intercession and worship in contrast to the Catholic explorers and missionaries who described the role of the anitos as advocate (abogado) or intercessor. Majority of the chronicles (and isolated descriptions by explorers and missionaries) present one supreme deity, analogous to the Christian God, evoking the impression that the Tagalog religion was monotheistic. Only a few sources include the names of other deities.^[74] Although, the missionaries who described the Tagalog religion in the early modern period did emphasized (with only a few exceptions) that the Tagalogs believed in one supreme god as the creator of all things; their intention was mainly to find an equivalent for the Christian god, in order to help them explain Catholic doctrines. Mostly, the titles of their chapters on the Tagalog religion suggest that they intended to described a "false religion" or "superstition",^[75] despite their constant wondering whether the "new peoples" they claimed to have discovered had not already had some knowledge of the Gospel.^[76]

Although Bathala can only be reached through the agency of the anitos, he is not a distant deity too mighty to be bothered with the concerns of mortal men. The early Tagalogs believed that on the birth of every child the god Badhala appoints a lesser spirit whom they also call Badhala as guardian or Badhala Catotobo (Katutubo),^[77] identified by Father Noceda with the guardian angel. He also guides them through omens and prophetic dreams. The souls of those who: perished by the sword, were devoured by crocodiles, and killed by lightning; immediately ascends to Kaluwálhatian (glory) by means of the rainbow (balangaw).^[78]

Rituals and ceremonies[]

Bathala is the subject of sacred songs such as Diona and Tulingdao, wherein they invoke him to prevent flood, drought, and pests, and instead grant them plentiful harvest and a beautiful field.^[79] The people of Indang and Alfonso, Cavite conducted Sanghiyang rituals as an offering to Bathala for a bountiful harvests, healing, a thanksgiving for a recovery from illness, or deliverance from death. The ritual is believed to have started from Naic long before the arrival of the Spaniards and the friars suppressed its observance. This is always done in preparation for other rituals such as "Sayaw sa Apoy" (Fire Dancing), "Basang-Gilagid" (House Blessing), Ancestral Offering, or Mediumistic Healing. It is also performed before searching for a lost item, such as jewelry and other valuables. After it, the Magsasanghiyang dialogues with the Superpower through her Timbangan (pendulum). Some believed that the term Sanghiyang is coined from two Tagalog words, Isa (one) and hiyang (compatible), meaning, "compatible whole" ("nagkakaisang kabuuan").^[80][81]

However, it is more likely that said ritual is related to the sacred Balinese dance ceremony Sanghyang, which is also the title for a deified spirit and means "The Reverend One" or "Holiness".^[82] Hyang or personified as Sang Hyang (Kawi, Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese) is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Nusantara mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. In modern Nusantara this term tends to be associated with gods, dewata or God, widely associated with Indonesian Dharmism developed in ancient Java and Bali for more than a millennium ago. However, this term actually has an older origin, it has its root in indigenous animism and dynamism beliefs of Austronesian people that inhabit the Nusantara archipelago. The Hyang concept is indigenously developed in archipelago and considered not originated from Indian dharmic religions.^[83]

Sacred animals and omens[]

The early Tagalogs believed that Bathala reveal his will through omens by sending the bird tigmamanukin (tigmamanuquin) to which they also attributed the name Bathala. Plasencia (1589), Chirino (1604), and Colin (1663) described this bird called Bathala as blue in color and as large as a thrush or turtledove. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson identified this bird as the Philippine fairy-bluebird (Irena cyanogastra). Although the Boxer Codex described it as "reddish blue and black" while Antonio de Morga speaks of the bird as "yellow colored" which is the color of beauty for the early Tagalogs and has religious significance in the old religion.^[84] According to Morga, the bird tigmamanukin—as described by Chirino and Colin—could be either inexistent or extinct; since there is no known any blue bird of the size of thrush, however there is a yellow (though not completely so) bird called kuliawan (golden oriole).^[85] The name Bathala was also attributed to comets and other heavenly bodies which the Tagalog people believed predicted events.^[86]

The other animals observed for omens are the balatiti or balantikis, uwak (crow/raven), kuwago (owl), bahaw (mountain owl), butiki (lizard), malimakan snail, the tigmamanok (white-collared kingfisher, also known as salaksak among the Ilocanos), etc.^[87] These animals—birds, crocodiles and lizards—are sacred to the ancient Tagalogs that killing one is considered taboo.^[88] When a crocodile died, they anointed it with sesame oil, enshrouded it in a mat and buried it. This is also reported about the tuko (gecko), a venomous lizard. San Buenaventura questioned the Tagalogs for tolerating monitor lizards (bayawak), a saurian fond of eggs and chicken, a danger for poultry: "Ano’t di ninyo siluin itong bayawak?" [=How is it you haven't noosed this monitor lizard?]^[89] The while-collared kingfishers (tigmamanok) are considered very sacred because they are permitted to pick a crocodile's teeth without harm. According to Chirino (1595–1602) and Colin (1663) the ancient Tagalogs held the crocodiles in the greatest veneration and when they saw one in the water they cried out in all subjection, "Nono" (Nuno) meaning "grandfather". They asked it pleasantly and tenderly not to harm and for that purpose offered it a portion of what they carried in the boat (fish), by throwing it into the water. And that the river of Manila (now called Pasig River) had a large rock (Buayang Bato/Stone Crocodile) that served as an idol for many years, they leave offering to it whenever they pass by, until the fathers of St. Augustine broke it into small bits and set up a cross in its place. Soon a small shrine or chapel, with an image of St. Nicolas of Tolentino, was built in that place.^[90][91]

Creation myth[]

From The History of Sumatra (1784) by William Marsden:

Their notions of the creation of the world, and formation of mankind, had something ridiculously extravagant. They believed that the world at first consisted only of sky and water, and between these two, a glede; which, weary with flying about, and finding no place to rest, set the water at variance with the sky, which, in order to keep it in bounds, and that it should not get uppermost, loaded the water with a number of islands, in which the glede might settle and leave them at peace. Mankind they said, sprang out of a large cane with two joints, that, floating about in the water, was at length thrown by the waves against the feet of the glede, as it stood on shore, which opened it with its bill, and the man came out of one joint, and the woman out of the other. These were soon after married by consent of their god, Bathala Meycapal, which caused the first trembling of the earth; and from thence are descended the different nations of the world.^[92][25][93]

From Philippine Folktales (1916) by Mabel Cook Cole:

When the world first began there was no land, but only the sea and the sky, and between them was a kite (a bird something like a hawk). One day the bird which had nowhere to light grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up the sea until it threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon it many islands until it could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite to light on one of the islands to build her nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in peace. Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a child which was a bamboo. One day when this bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the feet of the kite which was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything should strike it, pecked at the bamboo, and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman. Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these two, and it was decided that they should marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all the different races of people. After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children around, and they wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no place to send them to. Time went on and the children became so numerous that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick and began beating them on all sides. This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions, seeking hidden rooms in the house—some concealed themselves in the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace, and several fled to the sea. Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of the islands; and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those who ran outside were free men; and those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea were gone many years, and when their children came back they were the white people.^[94]

These creation myths refer to what is known by theologians as "second creation". This conception presupposes a pre-existing matter or substratum out of which the earth was made. In Philippine mythologies, struggle between two hostile forces is a common theme in the formation of the earth (hence, the existence of the Land Breeze) which is always subsequently followed by the creation or appearance of the first man and woman in contrast to the animals that precedes it.^[95] According to Andres San Nicolas (1624) the Sambal people (An ethnic group closely related to the Tagalogs particularly those in Tanay, Rizal) "did not doubt the fact of there having been in its time a creation of man, but they believed that the first one had emerged from a bamboo joint and his wife out of another, under very ridiculous and stupid circumstances."^[96] According to William Marsden (1784) the ancient Tagalogs believed that the first man and woman were produced from a bamboo, which burst in the island of Sumatra; and they quarreled about their marriage.^[24] A paper by Catalina Villaruz written about 1920 and now in the H. Otley Beyer manuscript collection reports that the Southern Luzon Tagalog believed that the first man started his life inside a bamboo pole. He grew, the bamboo cracked, and out he came. The same story is told of the first woman, and once out of the cane they looked at each other, fell in love, and married. A Tagalog euphemism for a child born out of wedlock is "putok sa buho" ("one who burst out of a bamboo") – an evident carryover from the times when the myth was held as gospel of truth.^[97] According to Nick Joaquin [Alamanac for Manileño (1979)] "The man wooed the woman but the woman was shy, illusive, and stubbornly coy. Becoming impatient, God [i.e. Bathala] started violent earthquake, which flung the woman into the man’s arm. Only thus were they married and the earth populated".^[98]

Francisco Colin identified the "earthquake", in the creation myth, as a "god".^[99] Based on the version of creation myth provided by William Marsden (1784), the ancient Tagalogs viewed the "earthquake" as a manifestation of Bathala Maykapal. However, Pedro Chirino in his writings did not speak of the "earthquake" nor does he believe that it is considered as God, because according to the Tagalogs and the Mandayas of Mindanao who informed him: the "earthquake" is nothing more than the effect of the movements of a huge animal in the entrails of the earth which according to some, an alligator; others, a boar who scratches his body against the trunk of the earth; which is also the belief of the mountain people of Palawan and Camarines. ^[100][101] San Buenaventura (1663:76) threatened his congregation with the manunungab na buwaya sa impierno (the devouring crocodile of hell).^[102] Some of the documented old Tagalog curses includes: Kainin ka nang buaya! (May a crocodile eat you!) and Lamunin ka nang lindol! (May the earthquake swallow you up!).^[103] The low-frequency vibrations produced by male crocodiles just before bellowing, which could vibrate the ground and result in the water's appearing to "dance", is more likely where the ancient Tagalogs get the idea of the origin of earthquake. In modern Tagalog mythology, the earthquake is caused by a messianic figure named Bernardo Carpio, the King of the Tagalogs, who was trapped between the boulders in the mountains of Montalban.^[104] In contrast to the gigantic subterranean crocodile, the ancient Tagalogs also believed in the existence of a gigantic celestial bird which makes its nest in the clouds.^[105] It is not clear, however, whether this bird is identified to the primordial kite/glede that initiates the series of events which leads to the creation of the world and humankind. According to Colin, the Tagalogs believed that the first man and woman sprang from a bamboo pecked by a bird called by them Tigmamanokin and to which they applied the name of their god Bathala.^[106]

Connection to Dian Masalanta[]

According to Father San Agustin the Tirurays worshipped Linog (earthquake), who advised the first man and woman to mate and people the earth, as the god of marriage.^[107] Bathala Meycapal, therefore, is identified with the Tiruray's god of marriage which links him to another Tagalog deity named Dian Masalanta, an idol who was the patron of lovers and generation (procreation) mentioned by Juan de Plasencia in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589). Dian Masalanta is also identified by some scholars with the unnamed Tagalog deity referred to, by the contemporary of Plasencia, as Alpriapo.^[108][109] This deity is often misidentified as the "goddess of childbirth" by modern writers, despite the fact that Plasencia used the masculine patron instead of the feminine patrona (patroness); the correct anito of childbirth is actually La Campinay (Lakang Pinay or Lakampinay) [Pardo inquisition report (1686-1688)],^[110] who is said to be "the first midwife in the world" [Boxer Codex (1590)].^[111]

The meaning of the name Dian Masalanta is not provided, but according to Jean-Paul G. Potet (Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs, 2018) the meaning could be "the blind deity" [dian "deity", ma – "adj. prefic" + salanta "blindness"].^[108] Although, the name could also mean "the blinding light" (Sun?) if we are going to consider that the correct spelling of the name in native Tagalog is Diyang Masalanta, from Sanskrit Dia or Diya meaning "lamp or light";^[112] in Malay language Dian means candle.^[113] Dia is also the name of the supreme god of the early Visayans according to Blumentritt, which some scholars believed was derived from Sanskrit Dyu "bright shining sky", one of the first name ever given to god and which developed into the Dewas and Diwatas of all the Malayan nations.^[114] Masalanta (devastating) comes from the root word salanta, which in the "Noceda and Sanlucar Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala (1754)" and the "San Buenaventura dictionary (1613)" lists the meaning as "poor, needy, crippled, and blind". Generally, magsalanta and nasalanta, which means "is destroyed/devastated", is used when there is a calamity; such as a typhoon, flood, or earthquake.^[115]

Professor of Anthropology Fay-Cooper Cole identified the Mandayan supreme gods—the father and son—Mansilatan (The Creator) and Batla/Badla (The Preserver/Protector) with the Tagalog deities Dian Masalanta and Bathala/Badhala respectively. He also noted that Todlai, the god of marriage of the Bagobo people, is sometimes addressed as Maniládan.^[116][117] Mansilatan is the source of the ominipotent virtue called Busao, which takes possession of the Baylans (Priestesses) during the state of trance and the Baganis (Warriors) making them strong and valiant above other men.^[118] In other ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines, the term Busao might refer to demons, monsters, and the spirit or god of calamity.^[119][120] In Mandayan language, the prefix man indicates: paternity, being or dominion; while the word silatan means 'east', the direction of the rising sun.^[6][121]

Among the ancient Tagalogs, there existed a doctrine—which according to Chirino (1601-1604) is sowed by the Devil—that a woman, whether married or single, could not be saved, who did not have some lover. They said that this man, in the other world, hastened to offer the woman his hand at the passage of a very perilous stream which had no other bridge than a very narrow beam, which may be traversed to reach the repose that they call Kaluwálhatian i.e. Bathala's abode. Hence, virginity was not recognized or esteemed among them; rather they considered it as a misfortune or humiliation.^[122] This doctrine explains why most religious ministers (catalonas) are women. Some minority tribes in the Philippines such as the Mandayas, who still have some priestesses serving them, offer an explanation. They assert that women are more appealing and persuasive toward the 'gods and the evil spirits' who are mostly "males".^[123] Other places in the afterlife besides Kaluwálhatian, includes Maca or "kasanáan ng tuwa" ("a thousand joys") where the good souls temporarily stays pending reincarnation; and the "kasanáan ng hírap" ("a thousand pains") where the bad souls went.^[124] Whether or not Dian Masalanta is identified with Bathala Meycapal is impossible to know as the former was only mentioned, albeit briefly, in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589) by Juan de Plasencia.

Whether or not Bathala is a solar deity[]

Other possible name of Bathala, although not confirmed, is Hari which is the old Tagalog name for the sun ('king’ in modern Tagalog), hence the Tagalog words tanghali (noon) and halimaw (lion or tiger, an animal associated with the sun in Vedic religion).^[125][126] The ancient Tagalogs believed that the rainbow (balangaw) was either Bathala's bridge (balaghari)^[127] or loincloth (bahaghari).^[128] The rainbow was regarded as a divine sign and it is considered blasphemy to point finger at it.^[129] The Tagalogs still use the expression harinawa which means "God willing" or "may God wills it".^[130] In an article written by Lorenz Lasco in Dalumat Ejournal, he cited that (in Philippine mythologies) the sky-world's own anito (deity) is the Sun which is symbolized by a bird. However, there is no evidence or documentations directly referring to or describing Bathala as a solar deity. The Hiligaynon anthropologist F. Landa Jocano mentioned Apolaki as solar and war god of the ancient Tagalogs,^[131] who is actually the supreme god of the ancient Pangasinenses whom they also addressed as Anagaoley or Ama-Gaoley (Supreme Father).^[132] According to Jean-Paul G. Potet (Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs, 2018), no sun deity allegedly worshipped or venerated by the ancient Tagalogs was mentioned in Spanish chronicles.^[129]

Christianity[]

The ancient Indian [Indio i.e. the Tagalogs] name for God was Bathala, to whom they attributed the creation of the world. Remnants of the old idolatry remain among the people, and the names of some of the idols are preserved. A few phrases are still retained, especially in the remoter parts, as for example, "Magpabathala ca" (Let the will of Bathala be done), and the priest have been generally willing to recognize the name as not objectionable in substitution for Dios. The Tagal word adopted for Idolatry is Pagaanito, but to the worship of images they give the term Anito.

— Sir John Bowring, A Visit to the Philippine Islands in 1858, 1859

After the conversion of the Tagalogs to Christianity, the katalonan (shamans) were condemned by Spaniard missionaries as witches and were forced to convert.^[133] Ancestral and nature spirits were demonised, sometimes conflated with Biblical demons.^[134] The dictionary of Fray Domingo de los Santos gives Bathala as the Tagal name for God the Creator, in contradiction to idols, which it says were called anito, and lic-ha or statues.^[135] The friars believed that the anitos were demons who deceived the Tagalogs from the worship of God, but Bathala was the exception to this as he was similar to the Christian concept of the Creator. The people learned to incorporate Catholic elements into some of their traditional rituals such as the Sanghiyang wherein the majority of the spirits invoked are presumed Christian saints. As noted by Alejandro Roces, "In Alfonso, Cavite, there is a Barrio called Marahan where there lives an exclusive sect that perform a cultic ritual known as Sanghiyang. This ritual used to be a pagan rite of ancestral worship but was later imbued with Christian connotations and biblical justification". Presently, it is being practiced not only as a form of ancestral worship but also as preparation of mediumistic healing and a preliminary rite for a more colorful ritual called "Sayaw sa Apoy" (Dance on Fire).^[80] In the course of the 19th century, the term Bathala was no longer in use when it was replaced by Panginoon (Lord) and Diyos (God).

but now they never say: Bathalang Maykapal, Bathalang San Jose; if not Panginoong Diyos, Panginoong San Jose, and the Panginoon means "Lord", like Apo.

— De los Reyes' study (1909:113)^[136]

Bathalismo[]

Bathalismo is the neo-paganist movement in the Philippines whose mythology is partly borrowed in Christianity. Bathala is a name in this movement, hence its markers are si/ni/kay. In classical Tagalog, Bathala, being a title, not a name, has the markers of common nouns – ang/nang/sa – e.g. ngunit ang Bathala’y dapat nating sundin (but God we must obey). The same rule applies to Diyos – ang Diyos/ nang Diyos/ sa Diyos. Pedro Paterno (1915 in Pambid 2000:108) analyzing bathala written in baybayin considers that the ba stands for babae (woman/female), the la for lalake (man/male) and the ha (artificially turned vertically) for the rays of spiritual light beaming from heaven or the Holy Spirit of God. According to him, this would have been the concept of the Holy Trinity before the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.^[137] Paterno was a self-styled renaissance man. He wrote fiction, poetry, stage plays and operas. He was educated in philosophy and theology, and he held a doctorate in law. He also wrote several books on Filipino ethnology, including La antigua civilización tagalog, the book in which he first imagined the Bathala-baybayin connection, which some people today misconstrued as a real part of ancient Filipino spirituality. Jose Rizal, no less, wrote the following in a letter to his friend, the ethnologist Ferdinand Blumentritt:

In regard to the work of my countryman P.A. Paterno on Bathalà, I tell you, pay no attention to it; P.A. Paterno is like this: [here Rizal drew a line with a series of loops]. I can find no word for it, but only a sign like this: [more loops].^[138]

Anting-anting[]

In Anting-anting—a post-colonial esoteric belief system and traditional occult practices of the Tagalogs—Bathala, also known as the Infinito Dios or Nuno, is identified with the magical power (bertud or galing) residing in amulets and talismans.

It can be said that the Infinito Dios or Nuno (native Bathala of the Tagalogs) is the genius or galing of Filipinos who entered the stone or anting-anting, that even though they were not able to blossom and won because of poverty and lack of power

— Nenita Pambid, "Anting-Anting: O Kung Bakit Nagtatago sa Loob ng Bato si Bathala"^[55]

In this belief system the Nuno or Infinito Dios is the highest God and the oldest being from whom everything emanated. One of these emanations is the Santisima Trinidad (Holy Trinity) to whom the Infinito Dios gave authority to create the world and its inhabitants. Maria (which should not be confused with the Virgin Mary)^[139] or the Infinita Dios (i.e. the female aspect of the Divine) is said to be the first emanation of the Infinito Dios who sprang forth from his mind (Holy Wisdom/Divine Logos?). The sum of all these powers is the Cinco Vocales i.e. the five vowels of the Filipino alphabet: AEIOU. 'A’ for the Infinito Dios/Nuno, ’E’ for the Infinita Dios/Maria, 'I’ for God the Father, 'O’ for God the Son, and 'U’ for the Holy Spirit. The Cinco Vocales, also known as the fragment (Basag) of the supreme deity, is said to be the secret names of God that gives power. The antiñgeros (initiates of anting-anting) simplified the complexity of one god in five personas. For them, the Cinco Vocales ranked as the highest deity because it is the complete composition of the five highest gods (Kadeusan). The Infinito Dios/Nuno, the Infinita Dios/Maria, and the Santisima Trinidad all share in the equality of their divinity. No one is more or less than the other. The Infinito Dios is also referred to as Animasola (Lonely Soul), Waksim (As water deity), and Atardar (His warrior or protective aspect).^[140] While the Infinita Dios is also referred to as Gumamela Celis (Flower of Heaven), Rosa Mundi (Flower of the World), and Dios Ina (God the Mother); she is also identified with the Inang Pilipinas (Mother Philippines) or Inang Bayan (Motherland) celebrated in the writings of the revolutionary Andres Bonifacio (Tapunan ng Lingap; Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas).^[139] Although it is widely believed that this esoteric belief system preceded Spanish colonization and Catholicism, the Tagalog term antíng-antíng "talisman" is not recorded by lexicographers until the second half of the 19th century. The same can be said of its synonyms: agímat, búti, dúpil, and galíng (Laktaw 1914:236: dúpil).^[141]

The Theogony of the Infinito Dios[]

In the beginning, there was a bright light that covered the entire universe. This light was called the Infinito Dios. There is no God other than the Infinito Dios. He was the Animasola (Lonely Soul), a winged eye wrapped in a shawl, forever changing his form while floating in space. Soon the Infinito Dios decided to create the world. He pulled the light in order to give way to the darkness. His light receded until it became a small ball of light. The ball of light suddenly had a gash on the lower portion that became a mouth. On top of the mouth a line appeared that became the nose. On top of the nose emerged two holes that became eyes. From these eyes came forth bursts of flame. Parallel to the eyes, on the sides, two holes appeared that became the ears. In short, the Infinito Dios, the ball of light, became a figure resembling a man's head.

Before the Infinito Dios created the universe, he decided to have someone help him in his task of creation. While thinking, five shining letters sprang forth from His mind that became the five petals of a beautiful flower (mayuming bulaklak). This flower is called the Gumamela Celis (Flower of Heaven) or Rosa Mundi (Flower of the Earth). The five letters are none other than the beautiful name M-A-R-I-A, which in Syrian language is Miriam, which means the highest. The original name of Maria before God created the universe was Bulaklak (Flower). The Infinito Dios decided to create beings to assist him in his task of creation. While thinking, the Infinito Dios suddenly had perspiration on his right side. When he wiped his right side, the droplets became 16 spirits. Two of these spirits became Uph Madac and Abo Natac, the two elders who reside in the two corners of the Earth and are the guardians of the Sun and the Moon. The next six spirits became the beings who reside outside the earth. They did not want to receive any blessings from the Infinito Dios. Their names are Elim, Borim, Morim, Bicairim, Persulatim and Mitim. The next seven spirits became the unbaptized Archangels named Amaley, Alpacor, Amacor, Apalco, Alco, Arago, and Azaragoe. The last spirit was called Luzbel, a spirit whose name means light of heaven. His name is Becca, the being who will later rebel against the Infinito Dios. His other name is Lucifer.

Meanwhile, the Infinito Dios decided to create other beings. While thinking, he suddenly perspired on his left side. Wiping the perspiration, the droplets became eight spirit beings. Five of them became the beings who went to Jesus Christ while he was nailed to the cross to ask for his blessing. But before he could give his blessing to these five spirits, Jesus expired. The five spirits never received their blessings and therefore retained their original names of Istac, Inatac, Isnatac, Tartaraw, and Sarapao. The last three spirit beings became known as the Tres Personas, or the Santisima Trinidad. The Infinito Dios gave them the task to create the world and its inhabitants. On each of the eyes of the Tres Personas can be seen the letter M, which is the initial of their names: Magob, Mariagob, and Magogab.^[142]

The Infinito Dios and Bulaklak[]

Before the name Maria was used, God only called the first fruit of his thought Bulaklak (Flower). The first thing God prepared for the beginning of his creation was Impierno (Hell) or Averni which is below and in the abbys. He said to Bulaklak: "I will leave you for a while, guard my Ark of the Covenant and do not dare to open it, if you do not obey my command you will go down to the land that I will create and will suffer to gather the scattered and lost virtudes. When God said that he went down to the abyss to prepare a sad home for his chosen Archangels who would be created and would rebel against him. When God left, Bulaklak opened the said Ark of the Covenant in the desire to know the truth and the fulfillment of his words. When the ark was opened, three letters "B" with wings suddenly appeared and flew away. The three letters mentioned are BAM BAU BIM also known as Tres Virtudes which are very miraculous and wonderful. Bulaklak immediately closed the box, but the three "B" has been released already and she could not find them. When God returned from the abyss, he said to Bulaklak: "Now, what I said to you will be fulfilled, that you will descend to the earth and will suffer."

God has already made the plan or the form of his works and creations: water, fire, earth, heaven, trees and plants, sun, moon, stars, and, above all, the holy spirits that would help him in his works and creations. God showed it to his consultant Bulaklak. She said the spiritual creations are perfect and good, but the material things should be changed. Because in God's plan, the huge and tall trees are to bear large fruits and the small and low trees are to bear tiny fruits. Bulaklak said if those trees were to be placed on the ground, people and animals will seek shelter to the huge and tall trees when exposed to the heat of the sun, and if the large fruits of the trees are ripe and cannot withstand the stalk and fall, it may cause injury or death to said people and animals.

God changed the plan in accordance with Bulaklak’s advice. The huge and tall trees are the one to bear tiny fruits, while the small and low trees are the one to bear large fruits. When everything was ready God thought to create his helpers, he was suddenly sweaty, and when he shed it away on his right and left side, the sixteen droplets of sweat on his right side became the sixteen spirits while the eight droplets of sweat on his left side became the eight spirits. In these twenty-four he drew three to carry out his plan of creation. These are the so-called three powerful AVELATOR AVETEMET AVETILLO. These are the Tres Persona or Santisima Trinidad who spoke from the beginning of creation.^[143]

The Nuno and the Santisima Trinidad[]

The Nuno or Infinito Dios, the first and most powerful of all, created the twenty four holy spirits and among them he chose the three who are known under the names: Tres Persona Solo Dios, the Sagrada Familia, and the Santisima Trinidad. The three were the helpers and executioners of the creative plans made by the Nuno and Maria or Gumamela Celis. When the Tres Persona talked – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – about the things they created, suddenly the Nuno joined and hid from the Three. The Three thought that they are the first and have the right to plan creations. They are not aware that everything was planned before they were created. The Tres Persona was deeply confused by the mysterious voice they heard and what they saw: a winged eye, light, and an old man. As the Three chase the mysterious voice, they exchanged oraciones or words of power until they reach the heaven's gate. In this phase, the Tres Persona will be called Sagrada Familia.

The Tres Persona did not know that they come from One God – The Nuno, that God the Father is the son of the Nuno, and that God the Son is the grandchild. Because they do not know this, they desire to seize and baptize whom they thought was the god of the heathens in order to be saved. The chase ended when the Nuno entered the mount Bood. After the battle and exchange of oraciones, with persuasion, the Nuno agreed to be baptized but would do so by his own power. The Nuno took out his finger from the rock to be baptized, as depicted in the anting-anting of the Infinito Dios. However, it was said that for some mysterious reason the Nuno was not really baptized.^[144]

The Twenty-Four Ancianos[]

The twenty-four Ancianos are the holy spirits created by the Infinito Dios (from his sweat) as helpers in his works; they are identified by the antiñgeros with the Twenty-Four Elders mentioned in Revelation 11: 16. The twenty-four Ancianos have been given by the Infinito Dios roles and names which wield magical powers. One of the duties of the twenty-four Ancianos is to keep track of the hours of each day, the first of them is to keep track of the time of 1 o’clock in the morning, and so on in succession until the end of the exact 24 hours according to their respective numbers. They are also the observers of everything that people do or work on earth, be it right or wrong, so man's sins are not safe from the Lord because of it.

The first two elders (nuno) who reside in the two corners of the Earth and are the guardians of the Sun and the Moon:

1. UPH MADAC - She is the first spirit of the twenty-four Ancianos, except for guarding the first hour after midnight. She designed the Sun in accordance with the task given to her by the Infinito Dios. She made many designs and presented them to her companions and to the Lord, and they chose and all agreed on the shape or appearance of the sun which gives light to the world from then until now and into the future.

2. ABO NATAC - He is the second spirit who designed the Moon which gives us light during the night. He did the same, many were also created and these were presented to his companions and to the Infinito Dios, and they agreed on the shape of the moon that is present today.

The following six spirits do not receive any other office. What they did was just wander out into the world, and be God's watchmen:

3. ELIM – The watchman from 3 a.m. to 3:59 AM

4. BORIM – The watchman from 4:00 AM to 4:59 AM

5. MORIM – The watchman from 5:00 AM to 5:59 AM

6. BICAIRIM – The watchman from 6:00 AM to 6:59 AM

7. PERSALUTIM - The watchman from 7:00 AM to 7:59 AM

8. MITIM - The watchman from 8:00 AM to 8:59 AM

The Siete Arkanghelis:

9. AMALEY - He is the president and first minister of the archangel warriors. He is San Miguel Arcanghel, on his shoulders rests the fight against the wicked to have security on earth and in heaven. San Miguel is assigned as the watchman from 9:00 AM to 9:59 AM on each day, he is also the watchman on the first day of each week, which is Sunday, so he is the one to call on these days to avoid any disasters or events that do not occur. He is also the spirit messenger and messenger of the Infinito Dios throughout the heavens.

10. ALPACOR – He is the one made secretary by the Siete Arkanghelis of the whole universe, he is San Gabriel who is the recorder of all the hidden wonders in the whole universe and galaxy. San Gabriel is the watchman from 10:00 AM to 10:59 AM of each day, He is also the watchman every Monday, therefore it is good to call him on this day to be saved from all disasters .

11. AMACOR - He is the prince of the angelic justice and also the giver of heavenly grace for which he is also the Butler of the Infinite God. This angel is well known by the name San Rafael, he is the watchman at 11:00 AM of each day and of Tuesdays. He is the one to be called on these days for salvation from calamities.

12. APALCO - He is the angel who was made Justicia mayor in heaven. Chief Ruler of heavenly things and recommender to God of the punishment to be inflicted, he is also the giver of wisdom to be used by the soul and earthly body of man. This angel is identified as San Uriel who is assigned to watch at 12 noon and he is also the watchman on Wednesdays, so he must be called on this day to be saved from any disaster.

13. ALCO - This is the spirit that offers or prays to God of any good work of man, he is also the receiver and informer of human needs, regarding God. This angel is San Seatiel who is the watchman on Thursdays and the time of the first hour of the afternoon of each day, so he should be the one to be called on these days:

14. ARACO - This is the spirit who was made the keeper of treasures and graces. He holds the key to giving the riches and glory of God. This angel is San Judiel, the benefactor and giver of God's mercy. He is also the assigned watchman on Fridays, so he should be the one to be called on these days.

15. AZARAGUE - This is the guardian spirit of Heaven and Earth, and he is the helper and protector of all spirits under the Infinito Dios. He is San Baraquiel the watchman at 3 pm of each day and is also assigned as the watchman of every Saturdays, so he is the one to be called on these days. San Baraquiel is the last of the Seven Archangels to be known as the seven warriors of God the Father.

The Rebel:

16. LUXBEL – He is the youngest (bunso) of the 16 spirits first created by the Infinito Dios. His name means "Light of Heaven" because he is the closest to God. When God began his creation, he was baptized with the name BECCA, but he disobeyed the Infinito Dios so he renamed him LUXQUER or LUCIFER. The history of Luxbel can be found in a book entitled DIEZ MUNDOS (Ten Planets). In this book you will find various types of illicit wisdom such as hexes (kulam), glamour (malik mata), philters (gayuma) and many more. Anyone is discouraged to have a copy of this book because it is the cause of unforgivable sin to the Lord.

The following five spirits were not baptized and did not accept the calling. When the Lord Jesus Christ was currently hanging on the cross, they came to be baptized, but it did not happen because at that time our Lord Jesus breathed his last. They are:

17. ISTAC - The watchman from 5:00 PM to 5:59 PM.

18. INATAC - The watchman from 6:00 PM to 6:59 PM.

19. ISLALAO - The watchman from 7:00 PM to 7:59 PM.

20. TARTARAO - The watchman from 8:00 PM to 8:59 PM.

21. SARAPAO - The watchman from 9:00 PM to 9:59 PM.

The last three are the Santisima Trinidad:

22. MAGUGAB - This spirit presents himself as Dios Ama (God the Father), who some say is the first person of the Santisima Trinidad. But as Dios Ama, he is not the Infinito Dios, but only given him the right and duty to identify himself as God the Father. He was given the design of the world and all its contents such as the various types of flying creatures in the air or those crawling on the ground, especially man. He is the watchman from 9:00 PM to 9:59 PM.

23. MARIAGUB - This spirit is the second person in the Santisima Trinidad, he has the fullness of Dios Anak (God the Son) and the power to fulfill the mysteries wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the spirit who incarnates in order to save those who receive and believe in him. This spirit is the one who, in every age, enters the body of the people commanded by God, which was then called the "Lamb of God." He is the watchman from 10:00 PM to 10:59 PM.

24. MAGUB - This is the third person of the Santisima Trinidad as the Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit), he is the one who acts to accomplish the thing that must happen in the present. Through his power the promises of the Infinito Dios to the People are formed and fulfilled. He is watchman from 11:00 PM to midnight or 12: 00MN.^[145]

The term "bathala" in other cultures[]

In ancient Bicol, bathala is a minor divinity, represented by a small image which they always carried for good luck; according to the Bicol grammar of Mark of Lisbon (1628, 61) "they say it was an anito that brought good luck to one it accompanied". Thus if a man was never hit by objects thrown at him, he was said to be batalaan.^[146] According to Ferdinand Blumentritt it is a kind of guardian angel.^[53] Its counterpart in the Tagalog culture, according to Isabelo de los Reyes, is the badhala katutubo.^[147]

According to Andrés de San Nicolás (1664, 420), Bathala mey kapal was also listed among the deities of the Sambal people, whose false genealogies and fabulous deeds they celebrated in certain tunes and verses like hymns, which William Henry Scott wrote may due to the influences of the Tagalogs in their culture or beliefs.^[148]

Diccionario Pampango del P. Beiv gaño, 1860 defined batala as "a bird to whom the Pampangos have their omens".^[149]

According to Ferdinand Blumentritt (1895) the term "bathala" among the ancient Visayans refers to the images of diwatas (gods).^[53]

Ancient Visayan Invocation to Bathala[]

Note: The bird Adarna is the eponymous character of a 16th-century Filipino tale in verse "Corrido and Life Lived by the Three Princes, children of King Fernando and Queen Valeriana in the Kingdom of Berbania", which is believed by some researchers to have been based on similar European stories. The tale is also known as "The Aderna Bird".^[151]

Original Visayan invocation[]

References[]