BULAN, the Bikol Moon Deity

By now we all know that the story of the love affair between Bulan (Bicolano Moon Deity) and Sidapa (Visayan Deity of the Afterlife) was fanfiction.  I won’t rehash the discussions, but the arguments have been posed and the experts have already spoken. The story is fiction, albeit a beautiful fiction. You may read more about that HERE.

This does leave a question.  Who was Bulan in the Bicolano pantheon? There are historical sources for Sidapa (Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas, Miguel de Loarca, 1582), but many have presented that there is no historical documentation for Bulan.  Not to stir the pot, but this simply isn’t the case.  While there is certainly no documentation or oral stories of Bulan and Sidapa  together, there are folk tales of a Bicolano deity called Bulan.

Before talking about where the deity Bulan does appear in documentation, it is equally important to state where it does not. Eden K. Nasayao, PhD did not mention the deity Bulan in her work “Bikol Beliefs and Folkways; A Showcase of Tradition.”  The moon deity Haliya was mentioned as a ritual. In his book “Bikol Maharlika,” Jose Calleja Reyes compiled known information regarding the Bicolano people.  In his chapter regarding early religion of Bikol, Bulan is not mentioned.  Again, Haliya is.

So, where does Bulan appear? The Beyer Collection is an extensive library and accumulation of anthropological materials on Philippine culture and history. It was collected and assembled by Professor Henry Otley Beyer, American anthropologist and an eminent Filipiniana collector, during his more than half century of residence in the Philippines. In the H. Otley Beyer, “Ethnography of the Bicol People” (part of the Beyer Collection), there are more modern folk tales regarding Bulan. He is not brother to Haliya as the fanfiction states, but he is brother to Adlao (Sun).  As Beyer states, “among the Christianized peoples of the plains, the myths are preserved chiefly as folk tales”.  It is unclear how old the stories of Bulan are, but they do seem to have similarities with Visayan, Tagalog, and Kapampangan tales documented around the same time. In a Bikol tale of night and day,  the Sun and Moon were brothers who had a violent fight. Adlao (Sun) hit one eye of Bulan (Moon) with his club and pursued him as he fled. Until now, Adlao is still pursuing Bulan, whose light has been much reduced because only one eye can emit light. We find a similar situation in a Kapampangan myth where Apolaqui and Mayari are brother and sister from whose eyes the earth received light. A Bicolano creation tale bears a striking resemblance to a Visayan creation story.  I’ve read speculation that these tales were borrowed, but I have no reason to believe that.  I think it is more a result of migrations and transient workers sharing stories over the years, than anything else. That is the beautiful and confusing part about studying Philippine Mythologies. It is however curious that Bulan seems to have disappeared in modern Bicol, while the moon deity Haliya seems to still have relevance. That said, Maria Lilia F. Realubit acknowledged the myths of Bulan documented by Beyer in her work “Bikol Literary History.”

Bulan is Bisayan for “moon”, so some have speculated that the tales may have originated in the Visayas and been brought to Bikol. It’s plausible, but other Philippine mythologies include a moon deity named Bulan, which is translated as’moon’ in the local language.  Some Pangasinan, Manobo and T’boli tales have a moon deity named Bulan.  An Iloko tale has Bulan as the god of peace and calm. In an Ifugao myth, the moon is called Umbulan. In the Visayan creation story, the name of Kaptan’s meekest child is Libulan.  I’d also be curious to know how the Municipality of Bulan in the province of Sorsogon, Bicol got its name.

Below are three Bikol tales from Beyer’s Collection that feature the moon deity Bulan.

The Creation of the World (Bikol)

Thousands and thousands of years ago, there was a time when the space occupied by the universe was vacant. The moon, the sun, the stars, and the earth were conspicuous by their absence. Only the vast expanse of water and the sky above it could be seen. The kingdom of the sky was under the rule of the great god Languit while the water was under the sovereignty of the god Tubigan.

Languit had a daughter called Dagat, the Sea, who became the wife of Paros, the wind, who was the son of Tubigan.

Four children were born to Dagat and Paros, three of whom were boys called Daga, Aldao, and Bulan, and one girl named Bitoon.

Daga, a strong man, possessed a body of rock; Aldao, a jolly fellow, had a body of gold; Bulan, a copper-made man, was a weakling; while the beautiful Bitoon was made of pure silver.

After the death of the father Paros, Daga, being the eldest son, succeeded in the control of the winds. Soon after, Dagat, the mother died, leaving her children under the care of the grandparents Languit and Tubigan.

After assuming the control of the winds, Daga became arrogant and ambitious, desiring to gain more power, so he induced his younger brothers to attack the kingdom of Languit. At first they refused; at Daga’s anger, Bulan and Aldao were constrained to join Daga in his plot.

Preparations were made and when everything was ready they set out on their expedition and began to attack the gates of the sky. Failing to open the gates, Daga let loose the winds in all directions so that the gate was destroyed and the brothers succeeded in gaining an entrance. But they were met by the enraged god Languit who sent out three bolts of lightning after them. All of them were struck by lightning. The copper body of Bulan melted into a ball so also with the golden body of Aldao. Daga’s body fell into the sea and became what is now the earth.

Their sister Bitoon, on discovering the absence of her brothers went out to seek them. But upon meeting the enraged god Languit, Bitoon was struck also by another bolt of lightning which broke her body into many pieces.

Then Languit descended from the sky and called Tubigan and accused him of helping their grandsons in their attack on his kingdom. But Tubigan defended himself saying he had no knowledge about the attack for he was asleep far down into the sea. Tubigan succeeded in pacifying Languit and the two regretted and wept over the loss of their grandchildren. Since they could not revive them, they gave to each body a light.

Thus the body of Bulan became the moon, Aldao became the sun, and the beautiful Bitoon became the stars in the heaven. But to Daga they did not give light and his body gave rise to the land on earth.

Tubigan then planted a seed which grew up into a bamboo tree. From one of its branches, came a man and a woman, who became the first parents of the human race. Three children were born to them. One called Maisog invented a fish trap. One day he caught such a very big and grotesque looking whale that he thought it was a god, so he ordered his people to worship it. The people gathered around and began to pray; but no sooner had they begun when gods from the sky appeared and commanded Maisog to throw the whale into the water and worship no one but the gods. But Maisog was not afraid and defied the gods. Languit, the king of the sky, struck Maisog with a lightning and stunned him. Then he scattered the people over the earth as a punishment. In this way the earth was peopled.

Maisog’s body was blackened by the lightning and all his descendants are black.

But Maisog’s first son was carried to the north and became the parent of the white people.

His other children were brought to the south where the sun was hot that it scorched their bodies so that all their people were of brown color.

The other people were carried to the east where they had to feed on clay due to scarcity of food. Because of this diet, their descendants were of yellow color.

In this way the earth came into being.

SOURCE: Rosario Bonto, “Bikol Folklore,” in H. Otley Beyer, “Ethnography of the Bicol People,” vol.ii, Paper no. 65, pp. 1-3.

 

On the Origin of Earth and of Man (Bikol)

Many, many years ago there was no earth or man. There was only the sky. Now, in the sky there were two brothers, Bulan and Adlao. The latter was the older and the stronger. But the former was proud and hated his older brother.

One day they had a quarrel. Bulan hurled bad words at Adlao, claimed superiority and challenged Adlao to a fight. The older brother only laughed at his younger brother. But his laugh was answered by Bulan who bellowed: “You coward, come and fight and I will show you my superiority. If you don’t fight, I will kill you.” And Bulan suddenly rushed to Adlao without waiting for an answer. Adlao was angered and he was forced to fight his younger brother.

And the fight commenced. It was a clash between two strengths. With his club, Bulan hit Adlao, but Adlao dodged the hit quickly. Then Bulan used his bolo, but again he missed Adlao. It was Adlao’s turn to hit. So, with his club he hit with all his might, first the eye of Bulan, then the arm of Bulan which became flat at the might of the stroke. Then with his bolo he cut Bulan’s flattened arm. When Bulan’s eye was hit and his arm was flattened and cut from his body, he cried with pain. His tears fell on the cut flattened arm. As Bulan foresaw his defeat with only one eye and one arm to fight with, he fled, and he was pursued by Adlao who was very angry and wanted to kill Bulan. And they kept running on and on, and chasing each other.

Now, the cut flattened arm of Bulan with his tears fell. Down and down it went until it finally settled. The flattened arm of Bulan became the earth, and the tears became the rivers and seas. Time came when two hairs sprang from Bulan’s cut arm, and from these two hairs sprang man and woman.

Thus the earth and man came into being.

SOURCE: Narrated by Arturo M. Arcilla, in Bikol Paper No. 69, in H.O. Beyer, “Ethnography of the Bikol People,” vol. ii (Manila, 1923).

On Light and Darkness (Day and Night) and Why the Sun Is Brighter Than the Moon (Bikol)

Before Adlao and Bulan had a quarrel their eyes gave very much light. After the quarrel, because one of Bulan’s eyes was hit by the club of Adlao, the light emitted by Bulan’s eyes faded, for only one eye could emit light. On the other hand, Adlao still had two eyes and hence he emitted more light than Bulan. Now this Bulan is the moon we see; and this Adlao is the sun we see. That is why the moon gives less light than the sun and the sun is brighter than the moon.

We have left  Adlao pursuing Bulan. As Adlao was a poor runner, he could not catch Bulan who was a better runner. But Adlao continued chasing Bulan. And until now, we see Adlao (the sun) pursuing Bulan (the moon). When Adlao passes over the flattened cut arm of Bulan he laughs; but when Bulan passes over his cut flattened arm, he grieves and laments over it, but he cannot stop, for fear of being caught by Adlao.

Their pursuit has not ended. They will continue chasing each other—and we will continue having day and night; day, when Adlao passes over us; night, when Bulan passes over us, and Adlao is away. Perhaps they will stop only when they both become tired, or die.

SOURCE: Narrated by Arturo M. Arcilla, in Bicol Paper no. 69, in H.O. Beyer, “Ethnography of the Bicol People,” vol. ii (Manila, 1923).

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: 
Bikol Maharlika, Jose Calleja Reyes, Goodwill Trading Inc, 1992
Bikol Beliefs and Folkways, Eden K. Nasayao PhD, Hablong Dawani Publishing House, 2010
Bikol literary history by Maria Lilia F. Realubit Published 1999