BAKUNAWA: The Moon Eater
CREATURES
OF PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY: Episode Three
What
always fascinates me most about the Creatures of Philippine Mythology, is where the origins came from and how they were integrated
into early
animist beliefs. During a lunar eclipse in the ancient
Philippines, it was believed that a monstrous dragon was attempting to swallow
the moon. Watch our new 14 minute documentary and discover the
origin of this giant serpent and how the colossal being evolved as both a
god and demon throughout the archipelago.
This episode posed a lot
of difficult challenges and raised more questions than answers,
so I’ve included some supplementary information in this post for those
wishing to learn more. I am always open to feedback and I am always
hoping to learn more. Please feel free to leave a comment and contribute
to the discussion.
Legends of Bakunawa
THE SEVENTH MOON: Tales about the
Bakunawa say that it is the cause of eclipses. During ancient times, Filipinos
believe that there are seven moons created by Bathala to light up the sky. The
Bakunawa, amazed by their beauty, would rise from the ocean and swallow the
moons whole, angering Bathala and causing them to be mortal enemies.
To keep the moons from completely
being swallowed by the Bakunawa, ancient Filipinos would go out of their homes
with pans and pots, and would make noise in order to scare the Bakunawa into
spitting out the moon back into the sky. Some of the people in the villages would
play soothing sounds with their musical instruments, in hopes that the dragon
would fall into a deep sleep. Thus, the brave men of the village hoped that
while the dragon was hypnotized by the musical sounds they could somehow slay
the dragon. Although the dragon was known as a “moon eater” it was also known
as a “man eater”.
THE DRAGON & THE TURTLE: Other tales
tell that the Bakunawa has a sister in the form of a sea turtle. The sea turtle
would visit a certain island in the Philippines in order to lay its eggs.
However, locals soon discovered that every time the sea turtle went to shore,
the water seemed to follow her, thus reducing the island’s size. Worried that
their island would eventually disappear, the locals killed the sea turtle.
When the Bakunawa found out about
this, it arose from the sea and ate the moon. The people were afraid so they
prayed to Bathala to punish the creature. Bathala refused but instead told them
to bang some pots and pans in order to disturb the serpent. The moon is then
regurgitated while the Bakunawa disappeared, never to be seen again.
The island where the sea turtle
lays its eggs is said to exist today. Some sources say that the island might
just be one of the Turtle Islands.
BAKUNAWA’S REVENGE: Others tell
how the Bakunawa fell in love with a human girl in one of the native tribes.
The head of the tribe found out about their affair and had their house burned
to ashes. The Bakunawa, finding out about this, became immersed in anger and
tried to take revenge by eating all the 7 moons. When the Bakunawa was about to
eat the last one, Bathala took action and punished the Bakunawa by banishing it
from its home away from the sea. It also tells that the reason of the eclipses
is how the Bakunawa is trying to come back to its home and deceased family.
(http://www.aswangproject.com/bakunawa/)
