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According to the indigenous religious beliefs of the Tagalog people, Bathala (sometimes spelled Batala) is the all-mighty deity who created the universe.[1][2] A descriptive honorific is often attached to his name, describing him as the Bathalang Maylicha (Bathala the Creator; lit. "Actor of Creation") and as the Bathalang Maycapal (Bathala the Almighty; lit. "Actor of Power").[3][4]
It was after the arrival of the Spanish missionaries on the Philippines in the 16th century that Bathala came to be identified as the Christian God, thus its synonymy with Diyos (God) or Dibino (Divine, e.g. Mabathalang Awa), according to J.V. Panganiban (Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles); in some Visayan languages, Bathala also means God.
In early Philippine history, Bathala was strongly associated with the Tigmamanukan omen bird - so much so that early chronicler Antonio de Morga thought the Tagalogs saw the bird as their ultimate deity. The anonymous author of the Boxer Codex (1590 b, 379) also nearly made this mistake, but was advised by the Tagalogs not to equate the two, because the Tigmamanukan was not the creator god "but only his messenger."[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathala (Quote from Wikipedia)
I made this as a tribute/illustration thread to the Ancient Filipino God, Bathala. Since Philippine Mythology gets barely any love, (seriously, Filipinos are more interested in researching of Greek and Japanese mythology than their own) I decided to make this thread to post illustrations and myths about Bathala I can find.
