Perhaps more than any other ethnolinguistic group throughout the Philippine archipelago, the Tagalogs elicit the most confusion when the casual researcher begins to delve into
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LUBLUBAN: The First Visayan Lawgiver Was A Woman
On the island of Panay in the Visayas, women in pre-colonial times were held in high regard for their wisdom and judgment. Their status can
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LIKHA: ‘Created Image’ or ‘Celestial Deity’ among the early Tagalogs?
In this article, I explore the documentation regarding likha. There seems to be some differing opinions on whether the term was given to ancestor and
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SAPPIA, The Bohol Deity of Mercy | Philippine Mythology
There is something about Visayan Mythology that has always bothered me. When it comes to Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Samar, there is almost no unique
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The Mysterious Cebuano Bird in Pigafetta’s Account
As we approach 500 years since Magellan reached what would become the Philippines, I have been revisiting Antonio Pigafetta’s chronicle of the voyage. While reading
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Religion of the early Bikols | Bicolano Culture
The early chroniclers reported that the ancient peoples of the Philippines were moved by the belief of a powerful being who was responsible for the
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PANAY ISLAND — “Sacred Center” and the “Four Pillars” | Kinaray-a, Mariitnon Beliefs
Kinaray-a is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Antique Province in the Philippines. It is also spoken in Iloilo province, the south of Capiz Province,
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Follow in the footsteps of the BONTOC Culture Hero, Lumawig
Follow in the footsteps of the BONTOC Culture Hero, Lumawig. Your next Philippine adventure… The pre-Christian Bontoc belief system centers on a hierarchy of spirits, the highest
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KALINGA BELIEFS: Their Deities, Cosmos, and the Shaman’s Call
The Kalinga people are highlanders and the most extensive rice farmers of the Cordillera peoples, having been blessed with some of the most suitable land
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AMOMONGO: Visayan Folkloric Being or Cryptid?
AMOMONGO – (Western Visayas) The term amomongo has not only been used to describe a gorilla in traditional Visayan folktales, such as “Amomongo and Iput-Iput
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