(CLICK FOR Part Two: Indianized Kingdoms | Understanding Philippine Mythology)

 

MUSLIM STATES:

Meaning to acquire or conform to some of the characteristics, culture, or usage of Islamic nations

Muslim traders from the Arabian peninsula were thought to have brought Islam to SE Asia by the 10th century. Islam was established as the dominant religion in the Indonesian archipelago by the 16th century.  Islam came to the Philippines around the 13th century, about two hundred years before the advent of Christianity in the country. The early centuries of Islam in the Philippines were marked by the gradual spread of the faith in the southern region especially in the areas of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao, Cotabato and Lanao.

The growth of the faith had become quite evident by the 16th century when a Muslim Kingdom emerged in what is now Manila as the focus of political power on Luzon.

The biggest impact was the development of dynamic interaction between inhabitants and communities in the archipelago, especially in matters of trade and commerce.  This may have been a catalyst for growth in foreign trade between the southern island and the outside world, including the west.

Unlike Catholicism in the Philippines, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam (in Southeast Asia) was spread through trade, not force.  The stimulated trade during this period may have produced a strong intermingling of beliefs and stories.

It has been mentioned by historians that Moro raids (and piracy) on a larger scale did not begin until the arrival of the Spanish and the spread of Christianity.   It was likely a reaction to them being displaced from the political and economic dominance they had in the region. This had a grave impact on the belief structures of the areas most affected – especially on the coastal areas of Luzon and the Visayas.

The Moro’s belief in “bagih” (destiny determined only by Allah), made them formidable opponents in battle.  In the Visayas, the local Babaylans turned to elaborate ceremonies invoking the favour of spirits and gods to win battles.  They also had ceremonies dedicated to the knowledge and creation of poisons of which they would dip their weapons. Was this witchcraft?  I suppose that depends on which side your personal beliefs and view of history goes.

Pre-Islamic religious beliefs and rituals became part of Muslim ceremonies in much of SE Asia.  They were mostly tolerated until a global Islamic revivalism swept the world in the late sixties and early seventies.

Spanish Arrival and the Elimination of Gods

First, we need to remember that there were many Filipino tribes who never gave up their inherent spirituality in place of Catholicism. At the turn of the 19th century, several anthropological studies were done on the mountain tribes in the Philippines and those belief structures give us an excellent insight into the core of the larger belief systems that were destroyed when the Spanish arrived. The destruction of these gods is in no way a reflection of the resolve of Filipinos.  In fact, the opposite is true – because many parts of it survived.  Simply put, the persuasive powers and tactics of the missionaries were so overwhelming that Filipinos had no choice but to toss their beliefs aside and embrace Catholicism.  In 1595 just outside Manila, Fray Diego del Villar reported that many men and women were still seeking the guidance of the catalonan (priest or priestess in Tagalog animist religion).  This caused a massive burning of all the idols in the village in front of the people residing there.  The Spanish flogged and tortured the catalonans into submission.  The people were gathered in the church where the priests launched into tirades about their evil practices.  The catalonans were then stripped half naked, hair shorn, arms bound and then paraded into the church covered in ash and their own blood.  One catalonan, in tears, confessed her transgressions while the entire congregation wept.  This is only one example of how the Spanish destroyed the gods of the old Philippines.  Instead of worshipping multiple gods, the people were trained, forced, or convinced to love and revere one – or suffer the consequence.

This was the end of the gods, totemism, and idols in the accessible regions of the Philippines.  The Spanish destroyed the belief in gods, but they did not destroy the deeply inherent belief in malevolent spirits, and they certainly did not invent them.  To the contrary, the Spanish found it a point of great frustration that the “natives” retained belief in their “superstitions” regardless of the efforts made by the friars.

However, the Spanish were successful in changing the thinking about these beings.  Before the Spanish arrival, it was generally understood that these ghouls and malevolent spirits were just doing what they were supposed to be doing.  There was a great fear of them, but they were not considered “evil”.  The Spanish concept of the devil swayed that thinking in the more populated regions.  This incorrect thinking has stuck ever since.

The superstitions and omens of these Filipinos are so many, and so different are those which yet prevail in many of them, especially in the districts more remote from intercourse with the religious, that it would take a great space to mention them.

Spanish Document of 1691

The Spanish also popularized the ideas of the western “witch”.  A while back I posted about the Spanish classification of witches.   With an understanding of Philippine history, these classifications have much more clarity, and it can easily be seen which ones were branded incorrectly, and which ones were – perhaps – more accurate descriptions than we would like to believe.  I’ve copied sections from Juan de Placensia’s classification for “agents of the devil” from “Customs of the Tagalogs (1589).“

• There were also ghosts, which they called _vibit_; and phantoms, which they called _Tigbalaang_. They had another deception–namely, that if any woman died in childbirth, she and the child suffered punishment; and that, at night, she could be heard lamenting. This was called _patianac_.
• The fourth was called _mancocolam_,
• The seventh was called _magtatangal_, and his purpose was to show himself at night to many persons, without his head or entrails.
• The eighth they called _osuang_, which is equivalent to “sorcerer;” they say that they have seen him fly, and that he murdered men and ate their flesh. This was among the Visayas Islands; among the Tagalogs these did not exist.

 

Summary

Here is a simple summary of the influences we can hypothesize so far – remembering that the influences moved South to North (with the exception of the Austronesian Expansion) and knowing there was a particularism of each island, ethnic group, and dialect:

1. Negrito Tribes – animism, benevolent and malevolent spirits. Early concepts of a supreme being.
2. Sundaland Model – ancestor worship, ghouls and gods.
3. Austronesian Expansion – totemism.
4. Indianized Kingdoms – Hybrid beasts, giant supernatural beings, amulets and charms, multi layered worlds and more detailed concepts of heaven and hell.
5. Sinified States – Ghosts.
6. Muslim States – Widespread trade and cultural intermingling between the archipelago. More elaborate rituals of invoking gods and spirits for victory in battle and creation of poisons.
7. Christianity – elimination of gods, idol worship and an introduction to “evil”.

 

WESTERNIZATION and a the re-classification of ghouls

During the American occupation of the Philippines, dozens of anthropologists came to study the mountain tribes.  These papers have given us a wonderful insight into the pre-Spanish belief system, as many of these tribes were relatively unaffected by the various religions that came to the area.  In fact, many of these indigenous tribes still practice these early beliefs today.  Also with the Americans, came a standardized public education system.  At the time (and even today), the American education system focused strictly on Western history.  This unfortunately introduced the constant equating of everything to its “western” counterpart.  This is still rampant throughout the Philippines – almost as if things have little cultural value unless there is an Western counterpart. It’s changing now, but I hope for all Filipinos to see how beautiful and unique their culture is.

In the mid 1960’s, Maximo Ramos started his study on “The Creature of Philippine Lower Mythology”.  His work is invaluable and I would probably not have the interest in this subject had it not been for him.  Unfortunately, the classifications of these creatures (Demons, Dragons, Dwarfs, Elves, Ghouls, Giants, Merfolk, Ogres, Vampires, Viscera Suckers, Werebeasts, and Witches) were created with comparative studies to European mythology.  Regardless, thanks to Ramos,  documentation exists for the names and stories of these wonderful folk and mythical spirits.  If we simply change the comparative study to other cultures along the same migration paths, we can gain a clearer understanding of the pre-Spanish beliefs.

So instead of comparing the creatures of the Philippines to European Dwarfs, Elves and Ogres, a closer comparison might be found along migration routes and similarly influenced country. The Anito and Diwata in the pre-Spanish Philippines may have more in common with the Japanese Kodama (those forest spirits in Princess Mononoke) than they do with the fairies or dryads from the west.  Similarly, the horse-headed tikbalang may have more to do with Hindu imagery, than with the often compared centaur. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to change the thinking about this.  It is relatively harmless to use European descriptions as a reference point, but to use it as a classification system, or an equating standard, devalues the importance of these mythical beings in Philippine history and may have contributed to diminishing their cultural worth.

Congratulations!  You made it all the way to the end.  I hope these three articles might have answer a few of your questions on the gods and ghouls of the Philippines.  Most importantly,  I hope you now have a better understand of ‘why there are so many’.