Bakunawa and the Seven Moons

     Philippine mythology maintains Bathala, the supreme being, created seven moons – each to illuminate one night of the week. However, Bakunawa, the dragon ruler of the seas, became envious of the moons and proceeded to ingest them one-by-one over the course of a week. During the final night, humanity banged drums and pots in an effort to stop Bakunawa from consuming the final moon. The noise, in turn, awakened Bathala who, seeing six of his seven creations gone, forced Bakunawa to retreat to his cave and, to save the final moon, planted patches of bamboo on its surface to make it look spotted and unappetizing to Bakunawa.[1] Prior to the Spanish conquest of the Philippine islands during the sixteenth century, the Ifugao in the Cordilleras region of northern Luzon specialized in hand-carved wood masks which represented Bakunawa and were used in festivities celebrating his retreat and the last moon’s salvation.[2] In contemporary society, though, the Ifugao create these masks as souvenirs for tourists and, for many Igorot Filipino Americans, household decorations to showcase their heritage.[3]

Works Referenced

Deere, Kiki. Journey through the Philippines: An Unforgettable Journey from Manila to Mindanao and Beyond. Clarendon, VT: Tuttle, 2017.

Leo, Mark Sabas. “Igorot Home Decoration.” Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife. Eds. Jonathan H. X. Lee and Kathleen M. Nadeau. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2010. 379-380.

Yoshitani, Yoshi. Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2020.
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[1] Yoshitani, 127.
[2] Deere, 22.
[3] Leo, 380.