Millenarian aspects of some Philippine Christianized rituals and beliefs

Francisco Demetrio wrote a study back in 1968 linking the great flood myth in the Philippines with the motif of the egg or something similar as a symbol of the rebirth of humanity and nature.

Concepts of rebirth and return are frequently found in Philippine myth and folklore.

At one basic level was the idea that the spirits of the dead, often known as nono or anito, would return as divine guests at a prescribed time. During the tibao festivals, special water jars and tables were prepared for the visit of these nonos.

Often small portable images of the nonos were made. When the Spanish came and Christianized the lowland people, these images became the santos especially the one known as Santo Niño "Holy Child."

The first Santo Niño was given as a gift by Magellan to Hara Amihan, the wife of Rajah Humabon, king of Cebu, to replace her idols or anitos. The Cebuanos eventually disavowed any allegiance with Spain and Christianity and killed Magellan. However, when the Spaniards returned 30 years later they found that the Santo Niño had been converted into an indigenous anito. Historian Zeus Salazar describes "the Christian image in Cebu (1521-1565) as the representation (likha) of an anito (divinity) connected with the sun, the sea and agriculture."


Patianak

According to the Filipino folklorist Isabelo de los Reyes, the Tagalogs once believed that dead fetuses were reborn as the "Lord Child" or Patianak.

The patianak is mostly described in modern literature as a type of goblin that often is said to devour children. However, the original idea seems to be related more to the concept of children or fetuses that have died prematurely, or to a type of wee folk that inhabits mounds. In many areas, the patianak is still looked upon with a type of reverence. When one approaches an ant-hill, for example, it is a custom in many areas to ask permission of the patianak to pass by. It is also worth noting that in some areas the patianak is known as nono, the name for the deified ancestral spirit! Apparently, afer religious conversion, the patianak was demonized to various extents in different areas of the country.

Another name for the patianak is the muntianak, which means simply "small child." The muntianak, and also sometimes the patianak, are associated also with rice fields and the soil. In Mindanao, for example, offerings were made in rice fields to the muntianak during planting and harvesting seasons.

In other regional millenarian belief systems, we find the idea of a special child as a savior or precursor to the savior. In Papua New Guinea there is the konor, a miraculous child who heralds the coming of Mansren, the messiah of the Golden Age. In medieval China, Qingtong "Azure Lad" was the intermediary of the Daoist savior Li Hong, and actually does most of the salvation work during the final tribulation period.

Aspects of millenarian beliefs also appear linked with the Santo Niño iconography and beliefs. Although orthodox Christianity prevented Santo Niño from becoming the Christ of the second coming, he nonetheless possesses all the necessary significations. For example, Santo Niño images are traditionally garbed with a royal crown and red clothing as a symbol of royal descent. In the left hand is placed a golden orb or globe that symbolizes the world, and thus the Santo Niño is a type of "rex mundi." When clothed in green, Santo Niño represents prosperity and abundance and this can be seen as a link with the golden age or the millenial kingdom.

The Santo Niño's connection with the wee folk might also be indicated by the presence of the Aeta or Ati costume and dance in many Santo Niño festivals, with the Aeta as the possible real model for the mystical "little people."


Other Santos

In Apalit, Pampanga, the fluvial Apung Iru festival features a santo of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. The statue is dressed in the regalia of the Pope, the sovereign of Vatican City, even though the Vatican did not exist in the time assigned to St. Peter.

The festival has all the markings of a royal fluvial procession as found in other parts of Southeast Asia.

Early in the last century, Luther Parker collected local legends of Pampanga that indicated the idea of recurring cosmic battles between the mountain gods. Some of these, of shorter duration, were linked with the courtship of the daughter of god of the Sambal mountains and the son of the god of Mt. Arayat. Others, that occured over periods of centuries and that were said to be signaled by special cloud formations , involved the chief deities themselves.

Apung Sinukuan, the god of Mt. Arayat, and Apung Mallari, the god of Mt. Pinatubo, were viewed respectively as the Sun and Moon, and thus as the rulers of the heavens. In Pampanga, the banua, a term that in other regional hydraulic societies refers to the kingdom associated with a central mountain, means here the sky or heavens, the kingdom of the Sun and Moon.

Pinatubo and Arayat as the mountains homes of the Moon and Sun respectively thus represent the central axis, the link between Heaven and Earth.

The terrestrial "king of the mountain" is thus the lord of all under heaven -- the terrestrial copy of the heavenly banua -- a concept commonly found in other Southeast Asian royal systems.


Batalla Festival

Robby Tantingco of Holy Angel University has investigated the festivals of southern Pampanga were he found the little-known Batalla celebration still practiced.

A santo is involved in these festivities although it can vary from place to place. The timing is also linked to the local annual floods, which varies depending on location in Lower Pampanga. The event that Tantingco witnessed took place when the area was covered with flood water during high tide.

In Masantol, the Batalla fest takes place in honor of San Miguel, the patron saint of the town. San Miguel, or St. Michael, is the Prince of the Heavenly Host who leads the angels in the final battle of Heaven.

Now, "batalla" is the Spanish word for "battle." According to one analysis, the festival commemorates the battle between local Moros and the Spanish Christians. However, it could also represent the battle in Heaven involving San Miguel and the angels, or for that matter, the indigenous battle of Apung Mallari and Apung Sinukuan.

As a fiesta that takes place in the remote rural areas, it is not surprising that the Batalla fest is apparently not documented. However, Tantingco reports that the oldest people in the area report that the Batalla was practiced by the oldest people that they knew while growing up. The festival is recorded as taking place in most of the districts of Macabebe and also in the towns of Masantol and San Simon.

Celebration of the Batalla involves rowdy men transporting a palaquin carrying a santo along a specific path to the local church. Noteworthy is the fact that young children follow in the train of the procession.

During the march, the santo is rocked back and forth often violently while everyone begins dancing and the men shove and push each other, while yelling "Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy!"

Upon reaching the church, the men begin to run around wildly and a ritual tug-of-war ensues at the conclusion of which everyone calms down and the santo is brought into the church.


Santo before it is carried into church from Karlo Samson.



Japanese echoes

The Batalla festival resembles quite closely the matsuri festivals of Japan in a number of ways.

During the masturi, a kami -- a deity or spirit -- is carried in a palaquin known as mikoshi. The mikoshi is taken along a zigzag path and pushed up and down -- a practice said to amuse the kami. There is no actual idol present in this case, the kami is present in spirit only.

In many cases, upon reaching the destination the mikoshi is then taken on a procession at sea. Again, in many areas a ritual tug-of-war takes place. Generally the teams involved in the tug-of-war represent polar opposites. For example, at the Agata Matsuri, one team represents the sea, while the other represents land. At Lake Hiruga, the tug-of-war takes place in waist-deep water. When Tantingco witnessed the Batalla fest, the water was said to be "knee-deep." Indeed in many areas of Japan the mikoshi procession involves the men either plunging into the sea or getting splashed with water. In Japan too, the event is characterized by much yelling and shouting.

Matsuri festivals are also linked with the "divine visitors" known as Marebito who are said to come in spirit from across the sea. The Marebito would be the Japanese type resembling the anito or nono of the Philippines. In this sense, we can note that the santos in the Philippines are also often immersed in water or the sea during festival time.

Millenarian aspects of the matsuri are also found in the Miroko dances honoring the savior deity who shall come one day with a ship of cargo to usher in the Golden Age.

Now, one could possible explain all these similarities by coincidence but that probably would not be the best choice. Most likely there is a connection but it would be difficult to say more on how the link occurred at this time.

"Battle" aspects of matsuri are found in the kenka-matsuri or "fighting matsuri." These involve not only the tug-of-war but also sumo matches and other competition. The sumo wrestling might link up with the pushing and shoving that accompanies the Batalla in southern Pampanga. In some areas, mikoshi teams engage in duels by smashing the palanquins together.

Kenka-mikoshi (www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/jzinefestivals.htm)

Without much reservation, it can be suggested here that the "battle" represented in both the Japanese and Kapampangan rituals would likely represent the conflict and decay that almost invariably precedes the start of a new age of prosperity and abundance.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Demetrio, Francisco. "The Flood Motif and the Symbolism of Rebirth in Filipino Mythology", in Dundes, Alan (ed.) The Flood Myth, University of California Press, Berkeley and London, 1988.

Heiter, Celeste. Hadaka Matsuri: Getting Naked...In Japan...In January, http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2119.

Plutschow, Herbert E. and Patrick Geoffrey O'Neill. Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan, Routledge, 1996.

Tantingco, Robby. Tantingco: The batalla of Macabebe, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2007/04/24/oped/robby.tantingco.peanut.gallery.html.

Glossary: Crocodile

Sea crocodiles from the Philippines

The crocodile has long been an object of human fear and veneration. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the crocodile, for example.

The dragon of China may have originated from ancient crocodile worship. An early Shang image of a dragon has many crocodile-like features. Richard Irving of the University of Hong Kong thinks that crocodile worship came to South China from Southeast Asia, where such beliefs are widespread.

From there, during the Neolithic period, crocodile worship moved into northern China where it merged with local beliefs. Irving studied dragon boat heads in various parts of southern China and found many crocodile features such as the long snout, protruding teeth, nostrils and eyes on the top of the head. After time, the crocodile contributed to the composite dragon image which included other features such as hawk claws and deer horns.

Crocodile worship from Southeast Asia tends to focus on the saltwater crocodile and it is worth noting that the dragon of China is strongly aquatic in character. The dragon, for instance, is said to rest coiled at the bottom of the sea. The four Dragon Kings (??; pinyin: Lóng Wáng) of Chinese mythology are portrayed as regents of the sea with special powers to create rain and storms. When angered they often brought about devastating floods.

In the early Philippines, crocodile worship was widely described by Spanish colonizers. The people left offerings to crocodiles on the banks of rivers and indigenous priests were quite fond of tamed crocodiles which they raised. The two great oaths by which the people in this region swore were "May the Sun cleave me in two, if..." and "May the crocodile devour me, if..."

If a crocodile devoured someone who had not made an oath though, it was often seen as a sign that the person's soul directly entered the highest heaven.

Diego Bergano records that into the late 18th century offerings were still made to crocodiles by the river communities of Pampanga. Father Zuniga describes early Pampangan settlements "along the river bank inhabited by a far greater and denser population than the region around Manila Bay and its environs in Central Luzon, Bulacan and Bataan."

In the Pampangan town of Apalit, named after a great sacred narra (Pterocarpus indicus) tree that resided there, offerings along the river continued even after the crocodile had disappeared in the 20th century. These sacrifices of chickens, ducks, goats and pigs were made to Apung Iru the adopted name of St. Peter during the Bayung Danum (New Water) festival.

Originally Apung Iru was the name of a great cosmic crocodile. The theory that Apung Iru is a pet name for St. Peter does not hold water. First it's highly unlikely the Kapampangan converts known for their reverential faith would use anything but the saint's regular name in the vernacular, Pedru.

Iru although easier to pronounce is not even shorter than Pedru with both consisting of two syllables. Iru is more likely derived from ilug the Kapampangan word for river. Examples of similar transformations in which the liquid "r" becomes "l" when coupled with a final or penultimate stop still exist in the language. Some examples are:

dulut -- offering, gift
duru -- dowry

dumalaga - young chicken
dumara -- wild duck

dilig -- to water
dulung - go into the water
dura -- saliva, spit

dalaga -- young woman, virgin
dara -- aunt, stepmother

bulug -- flavor a dish
buluk -- rotten smell
buru -- condiment made of fermented rice and fish

balut -- wrap
baru -- clothing

bulag -- blind
bura -- erase

kulul -- color
kuru-kuru -- opinion

Apung Iru means then Lord River or Lord of the River. The origin of the Apung Iru water festival like water processions all over Southeast Asia is connected with local indigenous royalty. Similar royal aquatic parades are found in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. In Java, a royal water procession takes place along the seashore in honor of the goddess of the South Seas. The title of Apung Iru, linking the sovereign, with the great underworld cosmic crocodile, was, after Christianization, transferred by the residents of Apalit to St. Peter, the captain of the Roman church.

In Eden in the East, Stephen Oppenheimer notes that the dragon found in numerous mythologies was very frequently linked with sea, or secondarily aquatic, flooding.

In the Old Testament, we hear the tales of the great dragons Leviathan and Rahab, who are compared to crocodiles that live in the sea.

On that day the Lord will punish
With his sword, that is hard great and strong,
Leviathan, the fleeing serpent,
And he will slay the crocodile (tannin) that is in the sea.
(Isaiah 27:1)

Thou didst divide the sea by thy power;
Thou didst crush the heads of the crocodiles (tanninim) by the waters.
Thou didst shatter the head of Leviathan...
(Psalms 74:13-14)

Oppenheimer notes however that saltwater crocodiles did not exist in any ocean regions around ancient Israel. He believes the ideas of sea crocodiles and dragons may be associated with the great sea floods of Sundaland that brought with them increased dangers from marine crocodiles. Because of the great danger posed by these reptiles to villagers with rising sea levels, they became the personification of catastrophic flooding. Saltwater crocodiles (C. palustris and C. porusus) range from India throughout Southeast Asia to the western Pacific sometimes spotted as far as Fiji.

Dragons also sometimes find favorable image in Near Eastern myth. While the Babylonian Tiamat, a dragon associated with salt water, symbolized negative forces, Apsu, the dragon of the underground sweet waters was altogether favorable.

The Sumerian goddess Nammu the first being and known as "the mother who gave birth to heaven and earth" is also portrayed as a great dragon.

A report of crocodile worship still practiced among Muslims in the southern Philippines

The crocodile contributes to the idea of a composite creature also in India. The mythological creature known as makara appears originally to have been a crocodile or crocodile-like creature.

In modern vernaculars, the words for crocodile are often derived from makara like magar in Hindi. According to art historian, Ananda Coomaraswamy, the earliest images of makara in India had crocodile-like heads.

With time though, the makara became a very composite beast. The long snout of the crocodile apparently became linked with the elephant's trunk. It wasn't long before the makara had such a trunk added to a shortened snout.

The body also became more goat or bovine-like and the monkey eyes were added. The makara though never loses its strong associations with the sea and water.

It may be the crocodile's amphibious nature living both on land and in the water were helpful in developing its hybrid qualities. The makara was grouped with the fishes in Hindu thought and was said to stand out among the fishes as the Ganga stands out among rivers i.e., it held the highest place in the group hierarchy.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Apung Iru

The deity Apung Iru was often visualized as a gigantic crocodile that supported the earth on its back. The crocodile was located under the great World River.

If angry, Apung Iru caused all the rivers to flood, so at Bayung Danum the "New Water," the beginning of the year and the flood season, a fluvial procession was celebrated to propitiate the deity. This festival occured in June like the ancient Egyptian new year which also marked the beginning of the inundation.

Today, the Bayung Danum is celebrated either as a fluvial parade for St. Peter on the Pampanga River or as a time when everyone sprinkles each other with water.


Libad (fluvial procession) of Apung Iru during the Full Moon nearest to the summer solstice

In Sumer, Enki, often portrayed as a part-dragon creature in latter cultures, was known as the Lord of the Abzu and the Illu. The word illu refers to the flood or deep waters i.e., the Lord of the Flood. The flood could also refer to a river or the sea. Thus, when the Hebrews were said to have come from the 'other side of the flood' it probably refers to the rivers of Mesopotamia.

In ancient Egypt, the start of the year and the flood season began with the heliacal rising of the dog star Sirius. This season again was called Akhet, which also was the name of the twin-peaked "Mountain of Light." And, as you may remember, the great eruptions we propose here also would have occured during the month of June near the time of a Venus transit/conjunction and the heliacal rising of Sirius.

It was during a period of flooding and misery when the people cried for help that the sun god Apung Sinukuan sent Tala, the Morning Star, to rescue the world. This motif of a god sending a savior or coming to save in person during times of crisis recurs quite often in Austronesian mythology.

In the great clan war, the king with the title Apung Iru must come to save the day at a time of great decay and despair. This is part of the great cycle. His role is like that of Tala at the start of the cycle.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento