LAGUNA COLLEGE, SAN PABLO CITY, LAGUNA
“Myth”
Submitted by:
Aguila, Jessica
Alfonso, Regor
Bonifacio, Gabrielle
Capistrano, Franchesca
Desuyo, Erika
Ibarlin, Edison
Ramos, Cherrylane
Tope, Samantha Mae
Ulan, Althea
Submitted to:
Ms. Connie Fagsao
Myth
In some places around the world, traditional and legendary stories are being
passed on. Usually it concerns a person, hero or event, with or without a determinable
basis of fact or natural explanations. It is involved with deities or demigods that explains
some natural practice, ritual, and phenomena.
Myth is more commonly known as a widely held opinion or custom that has
developed around something or someone. It is often part of a certain place’s culture
wherein stories or superstitions about it is known by the people who embraces their
culture. It is partly traditional and especially associated with religious beliefs.
Philippine Mythology
Philippine mythology is a collection of legends and folklore concerning magical
entities, sometimes known as deities, or gods and goddesses, who our forefathers
believed were in charge of everything. The stories or adventures of deities, described as
superhuman beings with human traits, fall under this literature category.
History
Philippine mythology is based on Philippine folk literature, which is the Filipino
people's traditional oral literature. Myths in the Philippines originated from the Philippines
Indigenous ethnic groups. As a result of Philippines' ethnic diversity, each ethnic group
has its own myths and stories to tell allowing us to learn and recognize the deities or
superstitions our forefathers left behind,
Philippine Mythology is based from the idea of Greek and Romans way of living
wherein they use Myth to explain various phenomena in their everyday lives. In the
Philippines, ethnic groups also used Myth in their lives. They even performed rituals and
practices to honor their deities. Places in the Philippines have been Christianized but the
belief in the figures of Philippine Mythology is still prevalent in the provinces.
Characteristics of Philippine Mythology:

Fictional: Philippine myths contain a large variety of mythical creatures and are
fictional and have no scientific-basis

Unarranged: Philippine myths have not been organized into a formal pantheon
and does not generally contain long epics nor has it been relegated to history.

Similar To Other Myths: Philippine mythology is incorporated from various
sources, having similarities with Indonesian and Malay myths, as well
as Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian traditions, such as the notion of
heaven (kaluwalhatian, kalangitan, kamurawayan, etc.), hell (kasamaan, sulad,
etc.), and the human soul (kaluluwa, kaulolan, makatu, ginokud, etc.).

Diverse: Each ethnic group in the Philippines has their own distinct mythologies
(or religion), pantheon of deities, and belief systems.

Passed Through Generations: Majority of countless myths circulating in the
Philippines were passed on through oral tradition and were preserved through the
aid
of
community
spiritual
leaders
or
shamans
(babaylan, katalonan, mumbaki, baglan, machanitu, walian, mangubat, bahasa,
etc.) and community elders.

Active: Philippine myths have an active role in the lives of rural Filipinos.
Famous Myths in the Philippines:
“Janus Silang series” by Edgar Samar
Janus Silang investigates the deaths of his fellow TALA MMORPG players after t
heir tournament, only to discover that the murderer is a tiyanak (vampiric baby) from the
game.
“Mga Nilalang Na Kagila-gilalas” by Edgar Samar
It is a non-fictional guide to Philippine mythology that features both popular and
lesser-known
supernatural
beings
from
all
over
the
country.
The book discusses Philippine mythology's good and evil creatures, as well as anitos (s
pirits) and diwatas (fairies). Bathala, the main god in indigenous Tagalog religion, and m
ythical heroes from various places are also discussed.
“Tabi Po” series by Mervin Malonzo
The main character Elias is not human but an aswang (general term for evil
supernatural creatures). In this story, Elias wakes up inside a tree in the midst of the forest
in the 1900s with no memory of his identity or past, but a need for flesh and blood.
“Ang Tikbalang Kung Kabilugan ng Buwan” by Virgilio Almario
This story is a delightful glimpse of an often-feared creature of in Philippine
mythology, the tikbalang, who’s half-man and half-horse.
“You Shall Be as Gods: Anting-Anting and the Filipino Quest for Mystical
Power” by
Dennis
Santos
Villegas
The belief in the power of anting-anting has a long history in the Philippines, going
back to the pre-colonial Filipinos. This book explores the various forms of anting-anting
and its significance in Philippine culture and psychology.
Myths that are often told in the Philippines:
“Tumalon ka sa New Year para tumangkad ka!”
To grow taller next year, a person should jump up and down as soon as the clock
strikes 12 on January 1. It's a well-known New Year's Day tradition or superstition that
almost every Filipino believes in.
“Wala pang 5 seconds!”
If someone drops a piece of food on their table or on the floor, they pick it up and
act as if nothing happened, saying something like "Wala pang 5 seconds!". Filipinos
believe that food is germ-free for 5 seconds and that they can easily consume it.
“Pwera Usog”
One of the oldest myths in Filipino culture is the concept of "usog," which almost
every Filipino believes in. Filipinos believe that a stranger or visitor with an "evil eye" can
cause pain or discomfort to a baby. They do this by saying "Pwera usog" and forcing the
visitor to lick their thumb. They also have the stranger draw a cross with saliva on the
baby's forehead.
“Pampaganda ng boses ang langgam!”
It involves drinking or eating any ants that happen to be swimming in someone’s
coffee or crawling across their plate. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence that
eating ants will improve their ability to hit those high notes.
“Kapag nabasag mo ‘yang salamin, pitong taon kang mamalasin!”
Filipinos believe that a sick person looking into a mirror will probably break it. Once
that happens, the person needs to wait for next seven years for the “bad luck” to wear off
from his life.
Some of the Philippines Mythological Creatures
1. Tiyanak- a creature that disguises itself as a crying baby When it is picked up, it
transforms into a kind of hideous creature with sharp teeth and amazing power that mauls
and devour its target.
2. Aswang- The aswang is one of the most well-known legendary monsters in the
country. They are thought to be wicked beings who feed on their victims' blood and flesh.
They seem as ordinary humans during the day, but at night transform into an animal,
usually a dog, with superhuman power and speed.
3. Duwende- In Filipino culture, these creatures are described as goblins, elves or
dwarves. The name duwende comes from the Spanish duende for “owner of the house,”
but are also sometimes called nuno sa punso (Tagalog for “old man of the mound”). They
are claimed to live in modern times in homes or mounds in forests or regions with a lot of
trees. Whether they use their abilities for good or evil is determined on how they are
treated by the humans that live in their area. To avoid their anger, the people say TabiTabi Po Nuno, which translates to "pardon me, little people."
4.Tikbalang (demon horse)- is a half-man, half-horse hybrid. It has the head of a horse,
the body of a person, but the feet of a horse. It is said to rape mortals at night. It may
occasionally cause travelers to become lost, and in order to contradict this, someone has
to wear the shirt inside-out.
5. Batibat or Bangungot- is a vengeful demon found in Ilocano folklore. These demons
were blamed as the cause of the fatal nocturnal disease called bangungot.
Some of the Ancient Filipino Gods and Goddesses
1. Bathala- Also known as Abba, this highest-ranking deity was described as “may kapal
sa lahat,” or the creator of everything -the sea, the sky, the earth, and all the plants.
2. Idianale (Idiyanale or Idianali in other sources), the goddess of labor and good
deeds.Idianale married Dumangan, the god of good harvest, and later gave birth to two
more Tagalog deities: Dumakulem (God of hunting) and Anitun Tabu (Goddess of rain
and wind).
3. Diyan Masalanta – The goddess of love, conception and childbirth and the protector
of lovers. She was the daughter of Anagolay and Dumakulem and youngest of all the
deities.
4. Bakunawa - one of the harmful Tagalog deities in the Philippines. “The Moon Eating
Water Dragon Deity of the Underworld”. It is a dragon in Philippine mythology that is often
represented as a gigantic sea serpent. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses.
5. Mangagauay- She was the one responsible for the occurrence of disease.
Sometimes, she would change herself into a human being and roam about the
countryside as a healer. She could induce maladies with her charms.
Importance of Philippine Mythology as well as its Contribution to Literature
According to Jocano (1969), myths are fundamental to our social heritage; they
represent part of our social legacy. Yet the study of Filipino mythology has not captured
the attention of many lecturers and students. In the Philippines with the entrance of the
Spaniards, our predecessors believed in many divinities. These deities inhabited the
surrounding environment of our ancestors and maintained social and ritual links with
them. They were considered to have power over all phenomena crucial to man's survivale.g., weather, diseases, crops, and so forth. Myths and legends have a far-more-reaching
value than we assume they have by merely scrutinizing the recorded word. They were
the first-hand tools which man deployed to justify and legitimize the social order of his
civilization. Their effect has contributed directly to the formation of that immense unseen
world of ideas and ideals. Myths are means in which the institutions and expectations of
the society are emphasized and made dramatic and persuasive in narrative form. Myths
demonstrate that what a people has to enjoy or suffer is right and authentic — faithful to
the sensations the people experience. One cannot understand the Filipinos if their tales,
myths, legends, and songs are disregarded (https://www.aswangproject.com/mythologyand-philippine-studies-why-it-is-important/).
According to a journal, myth has always been "an important feature of literature".
Not only does it supply a library of varied stories for the fictitious world-making of literature,
it also gives the narrative tactics which literature emerges from. Myth embodies the
fundamental beginning of literature founded in oral tradition and the performance of
literary works. Myth is dependent on its translation into other mediums, notably art and
literature to preserve and perpetuate its imagery as well as its "knowledge", which
becomes retrievable in multiple cultural, geographical, and temporal settings. Literature
emerges as the primary instrument for the transmission of mythical stories
How Myths affect the values/beliefs of the Filipino?
Many of us are unaware that myths serve one of society's most significant
functions: they allow people to clearly describe key notions of life and methodically
express the emotions associated with those beliefs.
A traveler who embarks on a new path should first seek permission from the gods
of the environment to ensure that he arrives safely at his destination. Appropriate
sacrifices should be presented to the "soul spirits" of the departed relatives who were
considered intercessors with the higher divinities for a fruitful crop, fishing, building a
house, or any other concern. During the performance of these suitable ceremonies, the
offerings should be made. These various methods of connecting with the spirit world
demonstrate how our forefathers' mythologies, as well as our own, have favored the
development of traditional beliefs and behaviors. These also highlight the fact that myths
are inextricably linked to any social organization as long as humans are involved in group
activities.
When viewed in this light, myths and tales have significantly greater meaning than
we might assume based on a cursory examination of the printed text. This could be stated
plainly in terms of how myths play an important role in the social lives of ancient and
modern Filipinos. It's important to understand that myths touch on the most primal of
human emotions—fears, feelings, desires, and hopes—and how they shape one's social
behavior. They were the initial instruments that man used (and still uses) to justify and
validate his society's social order and to explain his surroundings, long before he had any
systematic knowledge of natural occurrences. Their influence has had a direct impact on
the development of that vast unseen world of ideas and values. Our predecessors defined
their reality, conveyed their sentiments, explained their success, and made their decisions
using these tales. To put it another way, myths are the threads of meaning through which
our forefathers evaluated their experiences and led their actions; they are the root of their
realization that everything they learnt had precedents in the past.
For one thing, "myths are methods through which the institutions and expectations
of the society are stressed and made dramatic and persuasive in narrative form," as one
famous anthropologist puts it in a broader perspective. Myths demonstrate that what a
people has to enjoy or endure is right and true – true to the sentiments that the people
hold." It is clear, then, that one cannot hope to understand the Filipinos as a people unless
one considers their tales, myths, legends, and songs, which are part of their tradition's
matrix; this native lore gives them a sense of being Filipinos.
Traditions and Culture on how they worship Gods and Goddesses
In the Philippines, there were many diverse ways to worship Gods and Goddesses,
and this tradition is still practiced today. When we truly know and treasure God, we may
worship him authentically. When we mention worship, we're referring to a religious act of
devotion, usually directed at a deity. Individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a
chosen leader, an act of worship can be performed.
Indigenous Philippine folk religions are distinct native religions practiced by several
ethnic groups in the Philippines, the bulk of which are based on animism. Anitism,
Bathalism, or Dayawism, which is more modern and less Tagalog-centric, are the names
given to these indigenous folk religions. The most common rituals performed by tribes for
their Gods and Goddesses in pre-colonial Philippines were offering fruits, sacrificing
animals, and even their lives. In Filipino religion, sacrifice is a crucial component, and
outside of it, neither animal flesh nor intoxicating beverages produced from rice or sugar
cane are typically ingested. Knives and fabrics are among the other important items
sacrificed. Since the other Gods do not have physical bodies, they can only devour the
offerings spiritually; the physical portion is left to the human participants to ingest,
however this must be done with respect. As a result, a knife that has been sacrificed to
the spirits cannot be sold afterwards, as this would effectively negate the sacrifice.
Offerings are made on a regular basis to beseech the Gods for both good and bad things,
such as crops and cures for ailments. It is stated that during the pre-Hispanic time,
babaylan were shamans and spiritual leaders, while the mananambal were medicine
men. The persecution of the babaylans and the native Filipino religion at the start of the
colonial era gave rise to the albularyo. The albularyo was able to syncretize the ancient
technique of healing with the new religion by exchanging native prayers and charms with
Catholic oraciones and Christian prayers.
Ancient Filipinos and Filipinos who continue to practice indigenous Philippine folk
religions do not have so-called "temples" of worship in the perspective of other
civilizations. They do, however, have sacred shrines, sometimes known as spirit houses.
They can be as little as small roofed platforms, as large as small houses (but without
walls), and as small as shrines that resemble pagodas, especially in the south, where
early mosques were also modeled in this manner. These shrines were known by a variety
of indigenous names, depending on the ethnic group with which they were associated.
They can also be utilized to keep taotao and ancestor's caskets. Taotao were also
maintained in sacred caverns known as moog by the Bicolanos.
Difference Between Myths and Religion
Myths and religion are not quite the same thing. Myths are symbolic narratives that
apparently describe historical occurrences and are often related with religious belief. They
are typically of unknown origin and at least partially traditional. It differs from symbolic
behavior as well as symbolic places or objects. Myths are also precise stories of gods or
superhuman creatures participating in unusual occurrences or situations in an
undetermined historical period that is thought to exist outside of ordinary human
experience. Religion is a set of beliefs or practices, generally accompanied by a code of
ethics and philosophy. It is often made up of a collection of morals, ethics, beliefs, and
rituals that serve as a guide for individuals. While myths are commonly connected with a
religious tradition, they may also have merely cultural associations. Religion is defined as
a system of officially structured beliefs and behaviors, generally based around the worship
of supernatural powers or entities. Associating myths with individuals or objects whose
existence is purely fictitious or unverifiable, or with old belief systems that have lost their
followers, might foster the erroneous assumption that myths are essentially
fictional. Religious belief contains not just a collection of tales, but also a wide set of
beliefs, rituals, and moral codes that adherents to that religion believe to be true.
According to author Zenaide Ragozin, religion is a matter of sentiments, whereas
mythology is a matter of imagination.
Do people who used to believe in myths changed as they age? How are myths used
by Filipino’s today?
Myths are traditional stories that address timeless questions and act as a guide for
future generations. In ancient and modern societies, it is more than just stories that serve
a deeper function. Some myths describe natural phenomena as divine acts rather than
normal occurrences.
Myths played a big part for Filipinos due to the series spans of retellings of urban
legends handed by our grandparents.. As a result of these myths, we can have a deeper
understanding of our forefathers' thinking and familiarize ourselves with their way of life,
enriching our cultural identity as self-aware Filipinos.
In prehistoric Philippines, there were people who dedicated their life to
communicating with ghosts. For example, before traveling, farming, or even hunting in
the area, people would seek permission from neighboring spirits such as "tabi-tabi po,"
failing to do so would bring them calamities. Entities dwelling in trees and playful
duwendes lurking in antiquities or household things are thought to be another example.
Furthermore, listening to a speaker repeat his opinions might boost the statement's
plausibility, especially if the person already believes it, but those on the fence about a
concept being given to them can be swayed after hearing facts concerning disinformation.
Because it's difficult to change one's mind, hearing accurate information might help to
dispel myths.
Fortunately, many of our countrymen have been preserving our myths in
various ways. By doing so, a significant portion of our culture has been conserved and
reincarnated into versions that assist future generations in staying connected to their roots
while also opening doors to our past that have strengthened our cultural identity.
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