Before life blossomed in Luzon, Bathala lived and watched over the empty Earth. No sign of life was to be seen in the lonely world. Thus, he deemed himself the ruler of the universe. Often lonely, the god always thought of creating living beings. However, with only rocks, he is unable to provide food, drink, and shelter to his creations.
Ulilang Kaluluwa, on the other hand, lived on the clouds and saw nothing in his kingdom. ‘I must be the god of this universe.’ He thought to himself. But like Bathala, Ulilang Kaluluwa felt lonely in the clouds and would visit different places. Earth was his favorite and called it his own. He found pleasure in climbing high mountains and going down the deep caves of the world. The serpent god visited the Earth so much that on a fateful day, he met Bathala, the god of the Sky. Amazed, Ulilang Kaluluwa asked, “In this world of rocks, never have I seen any life until now. Tell me, what is your name?”
“Before you is the god of this universe,” Bathala answered. “My name is Bathala, welcome to my home.” He continued, delighted at the thought of having a companion.
Happy may Bathala be to see the serpent god, Ulilang Kaluluwa did not feel the same. He felt challenged and was immediately filled with anger. “You are not the ruler of this universe for I am who you claim to be.” The serpent god roared as he approached the other god. “Fight me or repent for your blasphemous words.”
As days passed, the earth shook while the two fought. Neither of the gods gave in to the display of strength the other showed. However, like in every battle, only one must claim victory for after three days and three nights, the serpent god died and Bathala claimed victory as he burned Ulilang Kaluluwa’s remains.
Years have passed since the fight between the two gods when Galang Kaluluwa traveled around the Earth. The winged god found himself in the kingdom of Bathala and in the presence of the god of the sky.
“Welcome, brother!” Bathala delightfully cheered. “I am Bathala, god of the sky and this universe.” Unlike Ulilang Kaluluwa, the winged god did not show any malice and was treated with kindness. The two gods became like brothers until an illness took the life of Galang Kaluluwa.
Before the winged god passed, he told Bathala of his final wish. “Bathala, my brother, when my body claims its eternal rest, bury it among the ashes of the serpent god you spoke of.” Galang Kaluluwa weakly spoke. “I know you wish to create creatures like you. Fulfill my wish and you will be satisfied.”
Deeply saddened, Bathala decided to fulfill Galang Kaluluwa’s final request. The lifeless body of Galang Kaluluwa was buried at the place where the serpent God was burned. Soon, a mysterious tree grew from the grave and ashes of the two gods. It grew leaves like wings that tower over its unattractive trunk. Its fruits reminded the god of the sky of his dead winged brother and were filled with meat and water.
From this, Bathala created mankind. He fed them with the fruit’s meat and water and sheltered them with the trunk and leaves of the mysterious tree. He watched from the sky as mankind grew and worshipped him as the supreme god and the mysterious tree as the tree of life.
However, in the western part of Luzon, a different god ruled over the mortals. They worshipped Malayari as their god and creator. The children in Zambales are taught that he is the master of life and death. There, the mortals preach about the ram that he sends to the land of his worshippers, good health to his followers, and bountiful harvest to those who are faithful.
Unlike Bathala, Malayari did not sire any mortal. In fact, the deity did not have any heir to his throne, rather he had assistants. Mortals of Zambales proudly worship all of these minor deities because none of them are tainted with the weakened blood of humans.
And in the northern part of Luzon, the mortals of Ifugao also worshipped a different god as the ruler of their world. To these mortals, Kabunian is the supreme god, who lived in the sky. From generation to generation, the story of Kabunian has been passed down within Ifugao. It was said that he was recognized by all the other deities as the highest of rank, which makes him the most worthy to rule the world. Many believed that Kabunian had once gone down to Luzon and sired three children from a mortal, whom he had to leave because of his duties as a deity.
As mortals from different places in Luzon traveled, they meet those who worship other gods. And as they travel, they boast about their deities to other mortals. This resulted in the absence of warm greetings when a mortal visits other places in Luzon.
The islands of Visayas are ruled by deities and spirits that reside in the three different regions that divide the land. The deities ruled over the islands from the sky or the Kahilwayan and the underworld or the Kasakitan, while spirits and other invisible beings roam the earth or the Kamariitan. The deities bow to Kaptan, the supreme deity of the Visayan mortals, who resides in Kahilwayan. Every Visayan knew his story.
Kaptan and Maguayan had married not too long ago and had a disagreement which led to an argument. “Leave! I do not wish to see your face in my kingdom!” Driven by his anger, Kaptan shouted, unshaken by the amount of hatred visible in his voice. The words tore through Maguayan’s heart, leaving it in pieces. “I wish you the best of luck and I hope you are happy with your decision.” With this, she vanished, leaving the god to himself.
Kaptan immediately felt lonely and regretted his decision. However, he could no longer find his wife. To help with his sorrow, the god created a mass of land and called it earth, where he planted different plants. He then created a mortal man and a mortal woman to take care of the plants and left to look for his wife.
While alone, the mortal man fell in love with the woman and asked her to marry him. However, the woman refused because she sees him as her brother. But because it was their duty to populate the earth, they eventually got married.
Mortals of Mindanao also quickly progressed as time passed by. Quickly developing important skills such as agriculture, hunting, fishery, crafts, and smithery. Like the mortals in Luzon and Visayas, however, the mortals of Mindanao also had their own deities. The god that rules above them all is Pamulak Manobo.
Once, all that Pamulak Manobo had was a bunch of soil he’d call earth. However, nothing interesting was to be found in just soil so he planted seeds into the soil and grew different types of grass. He brought rain and wind to earth to feed the plants. Seeing his work, he was happy.
The earth gathered the attention of other minor deities that soon grew interested. When Pamulak Manobo agreed to let the other deities assist him, the earth was filled with life. Spirits and animals lived in peace within the soils and waters of the earth. While some decided to live with Pamulak Manobo in the sky, some lived underground.
After some time, Pamulak Manobo felt that something was missing. At first, the deity tried to figure out what it was by playing with corn meals to create different shapes. He found himself creating a shape that was similar to him in shape and features so he decided to give it life and called them humans. Because he made humans by his image, he gave them the task of caring for the plants and animals on earth.