Philippine Folklore

Philippine mythology include a collection of tales and superstitions about magical creatures and entities. Many Filipinos, even though heavily Christianized, still believe in these tales. The prevalence of belief in the figures of Filipino mythology is strong in the provinces.

Because the country has many islands and is inhabited by different ethnic groups, Philippine mythology and superstitions are very diverse. However, certain similarities exist among these groups, such as the belief in Heaven (kaluwalhatian, kalangitan, kamurawayan), Hell (impiyerno, kasamaan), and the human soul (kaluluwa).

Philippine mythology is derived from Philippine folk literature, which is the traditional oral literature of the Filipino people. This refers to a wide range of material due to the ethnic mix of the Philippines. Each unique ethnic group has its own stories and myths to tell.

While the oral and thus changeable aspect of folk literature is an important defining characteristic, much of this oral tradition has been written into a print format. It should be noted that all the examples of folk literature cited in this article are taken from print rather than oral sources.

The stories of ancient Philippine mythology include deities, creation stories, mythical creatures, and beliefs. Ancient Philippine mythology varies among the many indigenous tribes of the Philippines. Some groups during the pre-Spanish conquest era believed in a single Supreme Being who created the world and everything in it, while others chose to worship a multitude of tree and forest deities (diwatas). Diwatas came from the Sanskrit word devata which means "deity", one of the several significant Hindu influences in the Pre-Hispanic religion of the ancient Filipinos. Below are some of the gods and goddesses of the ancient Philippines:

Ancient Tagalog Deities:

There are many different creation myths in Philippine mythology, originating from various ethnic groups.

In the beginning of time there were three powerful gods who lived in the universe: Bathala, who was the caretaker of the earth, Ulilang Kaluluwa (lit. Orphaned Spirit), a huge serpent who lived in the clouds, and Galang Kaluluwa (lit. Wandering spirit), the winged god who loved to travel. These three gods did not know each other.

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