LAON (aka Lalaon²)
The creator and the chief goddess living in Mount Kanlaon (an active stratovolcano, the highest mountain of Negros Island). They pray to her for good harvest or when pestilence occurs, like a plague of locusts.¹ She is also present in Capiznon and Aklanon mythology.⁶
MAKAAKO (alternative spelling: Maka-ako⁷)
Like Laon, he is also considered as the creator. Makaako is said to be the most powerful god in Ilonggo mythology.¹ He lives in the uppermost level of the cosmic universe's seven layers, according to the Karay-as.⁷
SIDAPA
They live in the sacred mountain of Madja-as (a massive dormant volcano, the highest peak of Panay Island). Sidapa is the one who keeps track of the person's death day by marking every person's lifespan on a tall tree that grows in her mountain home.¹
BULALAKAW (aka Bululakaw)
A malevolent illness-causing ⁶ deity in the form of a peacock-like bird with a flaming tail.³ who live in mount Madja-as, like Sidapa.¹ They also appear in Capiznon and Aklanon myths.⁶
PANDAQUE
He is the god who allows is the god who is given ritual offerings so that the soul of the dead will not be tormented in the afterlife.¹ If Pandaque is given a proper mag-anito ritual, he would allow the souls of the dead to enter Mount Madja-as, according to Karay-a mythology.¹
MAMA GUAYEN (aka Maguayen¹)
The god that carries the souls of the dead in a boat, and rows them towards the ends of the earth.⁴
SUMPOY
This god guides deceased souls towards a the high mountain where they would drop them off.¹
SISIBURANEN
They are the god who rules the mountain where Sumpoy drops off the souls of the dead.¹
BALANGAW
A god of war, together with Inagid and Makanduk. Balangaw is the rainbow.¹
INAGINID & MAKANDUK
There are three gods of war, one is Balangaw, and the other are these two, Inaginid and Makanduk.¹
KAPTAN
He is the god of the earth.¹
MAGYAWAN
They are the deity of the sea.¹
MANUNUBO
The good spirit of the sea.¹ They are one of the mediators of the gods in Capiznon mythology.⁶
SIMURAN & SIGINARUGAN
They are the gods of torment.¹
SITAHO
He is the god of the early Borneo migrants.⁵
CABUS-CABUS, DANGSE, and ESTRELLA BANGOTBANWA
They were mortal shamans who became deities (deified shaman).⁵
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SPIRITS
MANGALOS
These spirits eat the insides of children, and take away young lives.¹
HANGIN
These are the spirits of the death wind who takes away the life of the elderly.¹
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References:
1. Loarca, Miguel de. (1582) 1903. Relation of the Filipinas Islands. In Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands 5.
2. Mojares, R. B. (1974). Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society Vol. 2, No. 3: The Myth of the Sleeping Hero: Three Philippine Cases. University of San Carlos Publications.
3. de Castro, Lourdes. 1986. "Western Visayan Verbal Lore." Danyag 2 (Dec): 1–14.
4. Demetrio, F. R., Cordero-Fernando, G., & Zialcita, F. N. (1991). The Soul Book. Quezon City: GCF Books.
5. Fernandez, Doreen G. 1978. The Iloilo Zarzuela 1903–1930. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
6. Cruz-Lucero, R., Pototanon, R. M. (2018). Capiznon. With contributions by E. Arsenio Manuel. In Our Islands, Our People: The Histories and Cultures of the Filipino Nation, edited by Cruz-Lucero, R.
7. Magos, Alicia P. 1978. "The Ma-aram in a Kiniray-a Society." Master's thesis, University of the Philippines, Diliman.
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