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London Stone

London Stone is a historic landmark housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12"), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood for many centuries on the south side of the street.

The name "London Stone" was first recorded around the year 1100. The date and original purpose of the Stone are unknown, although it is possibly of Roman origin. There has been interest and speculation about it since the medieval period, but modern claims that it was formerly an object of veneration, or has some occult significance, are unsubstantiated.

Description
The present London Stone is only the upper portion of a once much larger object. The surviving portion is a block of oolitic limestone approximately 53 cm wide, 43 cm high, and 30 cm front to back (21 × 17 × 12 inches). A study in the 1960s indicated that the stone is Clipsham limestone, a good-quality stone from Rutland transported to London for building purposes in both the Roman and medieval periods. More recently, Kevin Hayward has suggested that it may be Bath stone, the stone most used for monuments and sculpture in early Roman London and in Saxon times.

The Stone is located on the north side of Cannon Street, opposite Cannon Street station, in an aperture in the wall of 111 Cannon Street (EC4N 5AR), within a Portland stone casing.

History
When London Stone was erected and what its original function was are unknown, although there has been much speculation.

The Stone was originally located on the south side of medieval Candlewick Street (afterward widened to create modern Cannon Street) opposite the west end of St Swithin's Church, and is shown in this position on the "Copperplate" map of London, dating to the 1550s, and on the derivative "Woodcut" map of the 1560s. It was described by the London historian John Stow in his Survey of London (1598) as "a great stone called London stone", "pitched upright... fixed in the ground verie deep, fastned with bars of iron". Stow does not give the dimensions of this "great stone", but a French visitor to London in 1578 had recorded that the Stone was three feet high (above ground), two feet wide, and one foot thick (90 × 60 × 30 cm). Thus, although it was a local landmark, London Stone, at least that part of it standing above ground, was not particularly large.

Middle Ages
The earliest reference to the Stone is usually said to be that in a medieval document cited by Stow in 1598. He refers to an early list of properties in London belonging to Christ Church, Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral), and says that one piece of land was described as lying "neare unto London stone". In Stow's account, the list had been bound into the end of a Gospel Book given to the cathedral by "Ethelstane king of the west Saxons", usually identified as Æthelstan, king of England (924–39). However, it is impossible to confirm Stow's account, since the document he saw cannot now be identified with certainty. Nevertheless, the earliest extant list of Canterbury's London properties, which has been dated to between 1098 and 1108, does refer to a property given to the cathedral by a man named "Eadwaker æt lundene stane" ("Eadwaker at London Stone"). Although not bound into a Gospel Book (it is now bound into a volume of miscellaneous medieval texts with a Canterbury provenance (MS Cotton Faustina B. vi) in the British Library), it could be that it was this, or a similar text, that Stow saw.

Like Eadwaker, other medieval Londoners acquired or adopted the byname "at London Stone" or "of London Stone" because they lived nearby. One of these was "Ailwin of London Stone", the father of Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone, the first Mayor of the City of London, who took office at some time between 1189 and 1193, and governed the city until his death in 1212. The Fitz-Ailwin house stood away from Candlewick Street, on the north side of St Swithin's church.

London Stone was a well-known landmark in medieval London, and when in 1450 Jack Cade, leader of a rebellion against the corrupt government of Henry VI, entered the city with his men, he struck his sword on London Stone and claimed to be "Lord of this city". Contemporary accounts give no clue as to Cade's motivation, or how his followers or the Londoners would have interpreted his action. There is nothing to suggest he was carrying out a traditional ceremony or custom.

16th and 17th centuries
By the time of Queen Elizabeth I London Stone was not merely a landmark, shown and named on maps, but a visitor attraction in its own right. Tourists may have been told variously that it had stood there since before the city existed, or that it had been set up by order of King Lud, legendary rebuilder of London, or that it marked the centre of the city, or that it was "set [up] for the tendering and making of payment by debtors". It appears to have been routinely used in this period as a location for the posting and promulgation of a variety of bills, notices and advertisements. In 1608 it was listed in a poem by Samuel Rowlands as one of the "sights" of London (perhaps the first time the word was used in that sense) shown to "an honest Country foole" on a visit to town.

During the 17th century the Stone continued be used as an "address", to identify a locality. Thus, for example, Thomas Heywood's biography of Queen Elizabeth I, Englands Elizabeth (1631), was, according to its title page, "printed by Iohn Beale, for Phillip Waterhouse; and are to be sold at his shop at St. Pauls head, neere London stone"; and the English Short Title Catalogue lists over 30 books published between 1629 and the 1670s with similar references to London Stone in the imprint.

In 1671 the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers broke up a batch of substandard spectacles on London Stone: "two and twenty dozen [= 264] of English spectacles, all very badd both in the glasse and frames not fitt to be put on sale... were found badd and deceitful and by judgement of the Court condemned to be broken, defaced and spoyled both glasse and frame the which judgement was executed accordingly in Canning [Cannon] Street on the remayning parte of London Stone where the same were with a hammer broken in all pieces." The reference to "the remayning parte of London Stone" may suggest that it had been damaged and reduced in size, perhaps in the Great Fire of London five years earlier, which had destroyed St Swithin's church and the neighbouring buildings; it was later covered with a small stone cupola to protect it.

18th century to early 20th century
In 1598 John Stow had commented that "if carts do run against it through negligence, the wheels be broken, and the stone itself unshaken", and by 1742 it was considered an obstruction to traffic. The remaining part of the Stone was then moved, with its protective cupola, from the south side of the street to the north side, where it was first set beside the door of St Swithin's Church, which had been rebuilt by Christopher Wren after its destruction in the Great Fire. It was moved again in 1798 to the east end of the church's south wall, and finally in the 1820s set in an alcove in the centre of the wall within a solidly built stone frame set on a plinth, with a circular aperture through which the Stone itself could be seen. In 1869 the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society arranged for the installation of a protective iron grille and an explanatory inscription in Latin and English on the church wall above it.

During the 19th and 20th centuries London Stone was regularly referred to in popular London histories and guidebooks, and visited by tourists. During his stay in England in the 1850s the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne recorded a visit to London Stone in his journal, noting the indentations on the top "which are said to have been made by Jack Cade’s sword". In 1937 Arthur Mee, founder of The Children's Newspaper and author of The King's England series of guidebooks, described it as "a fragment of its old self [...] said by some to have been a stone set up in Stone Age days". The American archaeologist George Byron Gordon was more expansive (and fanciful) in the course of his Rambles in Old London, published in 1924. London Stone, he tells us, was "the very oldest object in London streets". "The Mediaeval Kings after their coronations used to strike London Stone with their swords in token of the City’s submission" (followed of course by a reference to Jack Cade). "It was an object of great antiquity when the Romans arrived and their predecessors the ancient Britons found it on their arrival more than two thousand years before. It was erected by the people of the New Stone Age [...]."

1940 to present
In 1940 St Swithin's church was burnt out by bombing in the Blitz. However, the outer walls remained standing for many years, with London Stone still in its place in the south wall. In 1962 the remains of the church were demolished, and replaced by an office building, 111 Cannon Street, which originally housed the Bank of China; London Stone was placed without ceremony in a specially constructed Portland stone alcove, glazed and with an iron grille, in the new building. Inside the building it was protected by a glass case. The stone and its surround, including the iron grille, were designated a Grade II* listed structure on 5 June 1972.

In the early 21st century the office building was scheduled for redevelopment, and in October 2011 the then landowners proposed to move the stone to a new location further to the west. Objections were raised by, among others, the Victorian Society and English Heritage, and the proposal was rejected by the City of London Corporation.

Until February 2016 the ground floor of the building was occupied by a branch of WHSmith newsagents. Inside the shop London Stone in its glass case was hidden behind a magazine rack and not usually accessible. In March 2016, planning permission was granted to allow the building to be demolished and replaced by a new one. The Stone was put on temporary display at the Museum of London while the building works were carried out. It was returned to Cannon Street in October 2018. The new premises publicly display London Stone on a plinth, within a Portland stone casing loosely inspired by its 19th-century predecessor, and behind glass. The plaque adjacent to the Stone reads:

"London Stone The remaining part of London Stone, which once stood in the middle of Cannon Street, slightly west of its present location. Its original purpose is unknown, although it may be Roman and related to Roman buildings that lay to the south. It was already called 'London Stone' in the 12th century and became an important city landmark. In 1450 Jack Cade, leader of the rebellion against the corrupt government of Henry VI, struck it with his sword and claimed to be Lord of London.

In 1742, London Stone was moved to the north side of the street and eventually set in an alcove in the wall of St. Swithin's church on this site.

The church was bombed in the Second World War and demolished in 1961–2, and London Stone was incorporated into a new office building on the site. Following redevelopment it was placed in its present location in 2018."

14th century
The Short English Metrical Chronicle, an anonymous history of England in verse composed in about the 1330s, which survives in several variant recensions (including one in the so-called Auchinleck manuscript), includes the statement that "Brut sett Londen ston" – that is to say, that Brutus of Troy, the legendary founder of London, set up London Stone. This claim suggests that interest in the Stone's origin and significance already existed. However, the story does not seem to have circulated widely elsewhere, and was not repeated in other chronicles.

16th century
In 1598 the London historian John Stow admitted that "The cause why this stone was set there, the time when, or other memory hereof, is none". However, his contemporary William Camden, in his Britannia of 1586, concluded that it was a Roman milliarium, a central stone from which all distances in Roman Britain were measured, and similar to the Milliarium Aureum of Rome. This identification remains popular, although there is no archaeological evidence to support it.

18th century
Alternatively, writers in the 18th century speculated that the Stone was prehistoric and had been an object of Druidic worship. Although this suggestion is now generally dismissed, it was revived in 1914 by Elizabeth Gordon in her unorthodox book on the archaeology of prehistoric London, Prehistoric London: Its Mounds and Circles, in which she envisaged London Stone as an ancient British "index stone" pointing to a great Druidic stone circle, similar to Stonehenge, that she claimed had once stood on the site of St Paul's Cathedral. As we have seen, in 1924 American archaeologist George Byron Gordon claimed a "New Stone Age" date for it, but such claims do not find favour with modern archaeologists.

19th century
By the early 19th century, a number of writers had suggested that London Stone was once regarded as London's "Palladium", a talismanic monument in which, like the original Palladium of Troy, the city's safety and wellbeing were embodied. This view seemed to be confirmed when a pseudonymous contributor to the journal Notes and Queries in 1862 quoted a supposedly ancient proverb about London Stone to the effect that "So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish". This verse, if it were genuine, would link London Stone to Brutus of Troy, as well as confirming its role as a Palladium.

However, the writer in Notes and Queries can be identified as the Revd Richard Williams Morgan, an eccentric Welsh clergyman who in an earlier book The British Kymry or Britons of Cambria (1857) had claimed that the legendary Brutus was a historical figure; London Stone, he wrote, had been the plinth on which the original Trojan Palladium had stood, and was brought to Britain by Brutus and set up as the altar stone of the Temple of Diana in his new capital city of Trinovantum or "New Troy" (London). This story, and the verse about the "Stone of Brutus", can be found nowhere any earlier than in Morgan's writings, and both are probably his own invention. Although London Stone had been associated with Brutus in the 14th century, that tradition had never reached print, and there is nothing to indicate that Morgan had encountered it. The spurious verse is still frequently quoted, but there is no evidence that London's safety has ever traditionally been linked to that of London Stone.

In 1881 Henry Charles Coote argued that London Stone's name and reputation arose simply because it was the last remaining fragment of the house of Henry Fitz-Ailwin of London Stone (ca. 1135–1212), the first Mayor, although London Stone was mentioned about 100 years before Henry's time, and the Fitz-Ailwin house was some distance from the Stone on the other side of St Swithin's church.

In 1890 the folklorist and London historian George Laurence Gomme proposed that London Stone was the city's original "fetish stone", erected when the first prehistoric settlement was founded on the site and treated as sacred ever after. Later, folklorist Lewis Spence combined this theory with Richard Williams Morgan's story of the "Stone of Brutus" to speculate about the pre-Roman origins of London in his book Legendary London (1937).

20th and 21st centuries
By the 1960s, archaeologists had noted that in its original location London Stone would have been aligned on the centre of a large Roman building, probably an administrative building, now known to have lain in the area of Cannon Street station. This has been tentatively identified as a praetorium, even the local "governor's palace". It has further been suggested – originally by the archaeologist Peter Marsden, who excavated there between 1961 and 1972 – that the Stone may have formed part of its main entrance or gate. This "praetorium gate theory", while impossible to prove, is the prevailing one among modern experts.

London Stone has been identified as a "mark-stone" on several ley lines passing through central London. It has also entered the psychogeographical writings of Iain Sinclair as an essential element in London's "sacred geometry".

There are two recent additions to the mythology surrounding London Stone. The first claims that Dr John Dee, astrologer, occultist and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, "was fascinated by the supposed powers of the London Stone and lived close to it for a while" and may have chipped pieces off it for alchemical experiments; the second that a legend identifies it as the stone from which King Arthur pulled the sword to reveal that he was rightful king. Both these "legends" seem first to be recorded on the website h2g2 in 2002. The first may have been inspired by the fictionalised John Dee of Peter Ackroyd's 1993 novel The House of Doctor Dee (see In literature below).

15th to 19th centuries
So familiar was London Stone to Londoners that from an early date it features in London literature and in stories set in London. Thus, in an often reprinted anonymous satirical poem of the early 15th century, "London Lickpenny" (sometimes attributed to John Lydgate), the protagonist, lost and bewildered, passes London Stone during his wanderings through the city streets: Then went I forth by London Stone Thrwgheout all Canywike Strete... In about 1522 a pamphlet was published by the London printer Wynkyn de Worde with the long title: A Treatyse of a Galaunt, with the Maryage of the Fayre Pusell the Bosse of Byllyngesgate Unto London Stone. It comprised two anonymous humorous poems, the second of which, The Maryage..., just two pages in length, purports to be an invitation to the forthcoming wedding between London Stone and the "Bosse of Billingsgate", a water fountain near Billingsgate erected or renovated in the 1420s under the terms of the will of the mayor Richard Whittington. Guests are invited to watch the couple dancing – "It wolde do you good to see them daunce and playe." The text, however, goes on to suggest that both London Stone and the Bosse were known for their steadfastness and reliability.

London Stone also features in a tract The Returne of the renowned Caualiero Pasquill of England... published in 1589. Otherwise known as Pasquill and Marforius it was one of three that were printed under the pseudonym of the Cavaliero Pasquill, and contributed to the Marprelate controversy, a war of words between the Church of England establishment and its critics. At the end of this short work, Pasquill declares his intention of posting a notice on London Stone, inviting all critics of his opponent, the similarly pseudonymous Martin Marprelate, to write out their complaints and stick them up on the Stone. Some writers have argued that this fictional episode proves that London Stone was a traditional place for making official proclamations,

The Jack Cade episode was dramatised in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2 (Act 4, Scene 6), first performed in 1591 or 1592. In Shakespeare's elaborated version of the event, Cade strikes London Stone with a staff rather than a sword, then seats himself upon the Stone as if on a throne, to issue decrees and dispense rough justice to a follower who displeases him.

In 1598, London Stone was again brought to the stage, in William Haughton's comedy Englishmen for My Money, when three foreigners, being led about on stage through the supposedly pitch-black night-time streets of London, blunder into it.

Later, London Stone was to play an important but not always consistent role in the visionary writings of William Blake. Thus in Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion, his long illustrated poem on engraved plates begun in 1804, London Stone is a Druidic altar, the site of bloody sacrifices. Alternatively in Jerusalem and in Milton a Poem it is the geographic centre of Golgonooza, Blake's mystical city of London; it is a place where justice is delivered, where Los sits to hear the voice of Jerusalem, and where Reuben sleeps.

20th and 21st centuries
Ray Nelson's science fiction novel Blake's Progress (1975), based on the writings of William Blake, featured an alternative history in which Cleopatra won the Battle of Actium and an Alexandrian Empire replaced the Roman Empire. In the alternate London, called Gogonooza, London Stone is still to be seen, standing in front of a Temple of Isis.

In the last years of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, the Stone has made an increasing number of appearances in novels of imagination and urban fantasy. In Peter Ackroyd's novel The House of Doctor Dee (1993), the character Dr Dee, broadly based upon the historical figure of the occultist John Dee, claims that London Stone is the last remnant above ground of a glorious antediluvian and now buried city of London that he is searching for. London Stone appears as an embodiment of evil in Charlie Fletcher's trilogy for children Stoneheart (2006–2008). It also features in The Midnight Mayor (2010), Kate Griffin's second Matthew Swift novel about urban magic in London, and in China Miéville's Kraken (2010), in which it is the beating heart of London and the sports shop that (at the time Miéville was writing) housed it hides the headquarters of the "Londonmancers" who may know the whereabouts of the Kraken stolen from the Natural History Museum. The third of a series of fantasy novels for children The Nowhere Chronicles by Sarah Pinborough, writing as Sarah Silverwood, is entitled The London Stone (2012): "The London Stone has been stolen and the Dark King rules the Nowhere..." And in Marie Brennan's Onyx Court series (2008–2011), the Stone is part of the magical bond between the mortal Prince of the Stone and the fairie court beneath London.

The Stone appears in several chapters of Edward Rutherfurd's novel, London (1997). In the second chapter we see it as the marker stone for all the roads in Roman Londinium, and also sitting beside the wall of the Governor's Palace as mentioned above as a hypothesis of its use or origin. It is seen again in the ninth chapter where the main family unit of the novel bring in the character of the foundling who is found propped up against it. It is one of the many central focus points in the novel that the author uses to tie the different time periods together.

The Stone is a central focus of DC Comics Vertigo storyline called The Knowledge (2008), featuring John Constantine's sidekick Chas Chandler. The Stone also appears many times in the Dark Fae FBI series (2017), by C. N. Crawford and Alex Rivers, in which it is the site of many ancient sacrifices and is used to channel memories and power.

The Stone is mentioned in Nicci French's crime novel Tuesday's Gone (2013).

The Stone and its surrounding area is mentioned in Jodi Taylor's short story Christmas Pie (2023).

title: London Stone


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Bathala

In the indigenous religion of the ancient Tagalogs, Bathalà/Maykapál was the transcendent Supreme God, the originator and ruler of the universe. He is commonly known and referred to in the modern era as Bathalà, a term or title which, in earlier times, also applied to lesser beings such as personal tutelary spirits, omen birds, comets, and other heavenly bodies which the early Tagalog people believed predicted events. It was after the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in the Philippines in the 16th century that Bathalà /Maykapál came to be identified with the Christian God, hence its synonymy with Diyós. Over the course of the 19th century, the term Bathala was totally replaced by Panginoón (Lord) and Diyós (God). It was no longer used until it was popularized again by Filipinos who learned from chronicles that the Tagalogs' indigenous God was called Bathalà.

Etymology
Most scholars believed that Bathalà (Chirino 1595–1602), Badhala (Plasencia 1589), Batala (Loarca 1582), or Bachtala (Boxer Codex 1590) was derived from the Sanskrit word bhattara or bhattaraka (noble lord) which appeared as the sixteenth-century title batara in the southern Philippines and Borneo. In the Indonesian language, batara means "god"; its feminine counterpart is batari. In Malay, betara means "holy", and was applied to the greater Hindu gods in Java. Betara was also assumed by the ruler of Majapahit.

Dr. Pardo de Tavera, a linguist, states that bhattala could have come from avatara, avatar; that is, the descent of a god on earth in a visible form, such as the ten avatars of Vishnu. According to John Crawfurd, the Malay word Batara is derived from avatara both in "sense and orthography", and is a prefix to connote any deity.

According to Jose Rizal's former mentor Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J., who reprinted in 1900 the early work of his fellow Jesuit, Fr. Pedro Chirino, Labor Evangelica, which was first published in 1663 from an anonymous document dated April 20, 1572, the name of Bathala can be ascertained "by resolving the word into its primary elements, Batà and Ala = 'Son God, or Son of God.'" This is why the first missionaries did not deprive the natives of this name when they instructed them about the existence of God and the mysteries of the Trinity, the incarnation, and redemption, as states an anonymous but very circumstantial relation written in Manila, on April 20, 1572.

Other possible origins of the term Bathala or Batala are the Malay word Berhala ("idol") and the Arabic expression ‘Allah-ta’ala ("God, be exalted"), which is the origin of Bathala’s other name Anatala.

Mentions during Spanish colonial era
The name of the supreme being of the Tagalogs was given as Batala in "Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas" (1582) by Miguel de Loarca, Bathala mei capal in "Relación de las Islas Filipinas" (1595–1602) by Pedro Chirino, Badhala in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589) by Juan de Plasencia, Bachtala napal nanca calgna salahat (Bathalà na kumapál at nangangalagà sa lahát – God the creator and preserver of all things), Mulayri, Molaiari, Molayare, and Dioata in the Boxer Codex (1590), Anatala and Ang Maygawâ in "Carta sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros circunvecinos" (1686–1688) by Felipe Pardo, O.P., and Bathala mei Capal and Diuata in "The history of Sumatra: containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants, with a description of the natural productions, and a relation of the ancient political state of that island." (1784) by William Marsden. The true name of this deity, however, is actually unknown, and the ancient Tagalogs usually referred to and addressed him under several titles and epithets.

Jose Rizal, in his letter to his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt (17 April 1890), wrote that the word Bathala was an error of Chirino or some missionary older than or ahead of him who had been copied by subsequent historians, because, according to him, the majority of the historians of the Philippines were mere copyists. He believed that the phrase Bathalà/Maykapál that was adopted by other historians after Chirino was nothing more than the phrase Bahala ang Maykapal wrongly written; that is, equivalent to Alla or Alah of the Muslims or to the Malayan Tuan Alla punia Kraja. This is because Bahalà ang May Kapál means "God will take care", a meaning given also in a dictionary to the phrase Bathalà May Kapal. The fact that the phrase Bathalà May Kapál was so often encountered made Rizal presume that it may only have been a copy, and that another source where the word Bathala was used without the denomination May Kapál could not be found. Rizal believed that the Tagalogs never pronounced the name of their God, just as they did not pronounce the names of their parents, especially before strangers whom they considered their greatest enemies. He believed that they only called him Maykapál, a designation still used and understood by most Tagalogs today. He also pointed out that there was no trace at all of the name Bathalà among the Tagalogs in the local towns despite the fact that they used words such as Tikbalang, Asuang, Anito, Nunò, Tiyanak, etc. and retained many pagan usages, traditions, legends, and stories. He believed that the old missionaries did not take much interest in getting to know the religion of the Tagalogs. On account of their religious zeal, the missionaries considered the Tagalogs' religion unworthy and diabolical, and as a result, they never undertook a thorough investigation of it.

For Isabelo de los Reyes, the name of the Tagalog supreme god was Maykapal or Lumikhâ, and hence they called their sacred images likhâ and not Badhala, since the latter was not a specific name, but a common treatment of deities, ominous beings, and other fabulous beings that they feared. Thus, there was Badhala Maykapal (Lord Maker), Badhala Katutubo (Conborn Lord Anito), and Badhala Tigmamanok, or Blue Bird, which actually referred to the kásay-kásay (Kingfisher). Their names were Badhala, like comets, not because they were gods, but because they were ominous. The word was pronounced Badhala and not Bathalà, as an enlightened Tagalog elder told de los Reyes, and this was confirmed by Fr. Noceda in his old Dictionario Tagalog (1754). Also, according to Fr. Noceda, the term Bathalà, or Badhala, was only used among Tagalogs who had connections with Malay Hindus or Mohammedans, i.e. those from Manila to the South. Moreover, the Tagalogs did not remember the word Bathala, Batala, or Badhala until it was popularized again by Filipinos when they learned from lightly written chronicles that the indigenous Tagalog God was called Bathalà.

Other names, titles and epithets
1. Mulayari (Boxer Codex: Mulayri [42r], Molaiari [59r], Molayare [62r]) – In the transcription and translation of the Boxer Codex (1590) by George Bryan Souza and Jeffrey Scott Turley (2015), the word May-ari ("Owner" or "Owner of Property") is used instead of the original spelling Mulayri. The footnote explains: "Q&G, 419, gloss this Tagalog term as "an indirect appellation of God"". According to the author Jean-Paul G. Potet (Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs, 2018) "Its compounds are mula "origin" and yari "power", therefore it means "Source of Power". The absence of linker between the two components, as in Malay, points at the Bruneian period for the time when it was coined". The word yari also means "made, finished or complete, etc." Thus, the meaning of Mulayari is also similar to that of Mulajadi ("Beginning of Becoming"), which is the name of the creator deity of the Batak people of Indonesia. The Tagalog and Malay word mula is derived from Sanskrit mula, meaning "root", while the Malay word jadi and its Tagalog equivalent yari are descended from the Sanskrit word jati (birth), and both words can mean "finished" or completed regarding something made or created (becoming/being). Another possible origin of the name Mulayari is the Malayalam word mulayari which means "bamboo seed". The name Mulayari was not entered by Spanish lexicographers in the old Tagalog dictionaries.

2. Diwatà (Dioata, Diuata  ) - Derived from Sanskrit deva and devata, which mean “deity”. Like Mulayari, Spanish lexicographers did not enter this name in early Tagalog dictionaries. In Richard E. Elkin's Manobo-English Dictionary (1968), diwatà specifically refers to the highest supreme being. In Bla'an mythology, Diwatà is one of the four primordial beings. According to some Bla'ans, Diwatà and Melu (the Creator) were brothers, and because Diwatà was older than Melu, Christian Bible translators chose Diwatà to refer to the Christian God. Among the Tagbanwa people, Diwatà is another name for the supreme deity Mangindusa. In the Kaharingan religion of Borneo, the supreme god Hatala (represented as a hornbill Tingang) gave his reflection on the primeval waters the name Jata (represented as a watersnake Tambon). In unity, they were known as Jatatala which was considered a male deity as a whole. However, Jata represented the Underworld, the Earth, and the feminine aspect of God, while Hatala represented the Upperworld, the Sun, and the masculine aspect of God. The name "Jata" is derived from the Sanskrit deva and devata [Wilken (1912, vol. III)]. "Jata" as a collective designation refers to a category of spirits inhabiting the Underworld. With the ancient Visayans, diwata was the equivalent of the Tagalog anito (ancestral spirit). According to Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J., the interpretation of the word Bathala as 'Son of God' is confirmed by the Visayan word Diuata: "we always find here the same idea signified in the words Diwa and uata differing only in their transposition.... In closing, we may note that Dewa in Malay, Déwa in Javanese, Sunda, Makasar, and Day[ak?], Deva in Maguindanao, and Djebata in Bornean, signify 'the supreme God,’ or 'Divinity." In the Tagalog language, diwa means "spirit, thought, idea, central point, sense". According to Demetrio, Cordero-Fernando, and Nakpil Zialcita, the Tagalogs and Kapampangans of Luzon used the word "anito" instead of the word "diwata", which was more predominant in the Visayan regions. This indicated that those peoples of Luzon were less influenced by the Hindu and Buddhist beliefs of the Madjapahit empire than the Visayans were. In modern Tagalog, diwata means fairy or nymph. It refers particularly to feminine nature spirits of extraordinary beauty, like Maria Makiling.

3. Maykapál (Meicapal, Meycapal) – "Owner of what has been shaped". The title or epithet Maykapal is derived from the word kapal, the basic meaning of which is "to shape earth, clay, or wax into balls". Its doublet kipil expresses the same meaning about food: "to make rice balls and eat them". This title is related to Bathala's other title Maylupa, meaning "Owner of the Earth/Land".

4. Maygawâ (Meigaua, Meygawa) – "Owner of the Work".

5. Maylupà (Meilupa, Meylupa) – “Owner of the Earth/Land". Under this title, Bathala is symbolically represented by a crow/raven (uwák), one of the birds associated with the omen of death. Fr. Francisco Colin (1663) compared Maylupà with ancient European deities such as Ceres (an agricultural deity) and Pan (a pastoral deity), which indicates that devotees of Bathala under this title were farmers and herders.

6. Magpalaylay – "the One Fond of Incantations" (‘’laylay’’ meaning “incantation”). The word laylay can also mean reverence, hence the term kalaylayan (your reverence), which early Tagalog men with children used to address their fathers.

7. Lumikhâ – "Creator". In the Old Tagalog language, the word likhâ also referred to the statuettes of the anitos. In modern Tagalog, including Filipino, it mainly refers to and means "creation". The word likhâ was derived from the Sanskrit word lekha, which means "drawing, picture or writing". In the ancient Tagalogs’ creation myth, the first man and woman sprang forth from a bamboo, which was the most common writing material of pre-Hispanic Filipinos.

8. Anatala – A corruption of the Arabic expression ‘Allah-ta’ala which means "God, be exalted". It probably reached Tagalog through Malay or Maranao, where the Arabic expression is read "Alataala". Because the expression ended in "-a", Spanish inquisitors thought that it referred to a female deity of the Tagalogs, the superior goddess of all their deities, thus making this name a synonym of Bathala. The name of the Bornean deity Hatala, Mahatala, or Lahatala is also a corruption of the same Arabic expression [Wilken (1912, vol. III)]. However, according to Blumentritt, Mahatala or Mahatara is the contraction of Mahabatara, which means "the Great Lord". Pedro A. Paterno (1892) also referred to Anatala as Anak-Hala, which, according to him, means "Son of God".

9. Nunò (Nono) – "Grandparent" or "Ancient One", similar to Laon of the Visayans and Gugurang of the Bicolanos. This is the name used to refer to Bathala by the initiates (antiñgeros) of Anting-anting, a post-colonial esoteric belief system of the Tagalogs. The antiñgeros also refer to Nuno as Infinito Dios (Infinite God). The term nunò was also used by the ancient Tagalogs to refer to the spirits of their ancestors (i.e. anito), nature spirits (e.g. nunò sa punsô), and the crocodile/cayman/alligator (buwaya).

Ancient Tagalog idea of god
Excerpts from the Boxer Codex (1590):

"The Moors [i.e. the Tagalogs from Manila] of the Philippines have that the world, earth, and sky, and all other things that are in them, were created and made by only one god, whom they calls in their language Bachtala, napal nanca, calgna salahat, which means 'God, creator and preserver of all things', and by another name they call him Mulayri. They said that this god of theirs was in the atmosphere before there was heaven or earth or anything else, that he was ab eterno (from eternity) and not made or created by anybody from anything, and that he alone made and created all that we have mentioned simply by his own volition because he wanted to make something so beautiful as the heaven and earth, and that he made and created one man and one woman out of the earth, from whom have come and descended all the men and their generations that are in the world."

"these people feared and revered a god, maker of all things, who some call him Bathala, others Molaiari, others Dioata and, although they confess this god as the maker of all things, they do not even know nor do they know when or how he did or what for, and that his dwelling place is in heaven."

"Every time the chiefs eat, they put a little of everything they eat or drink in small plates on the table as an offering to the anitos and the Molayare or Batala, creator of all things."

Excerpt from Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca (1582):

"According to the religion formerly observed by these Moros, they worshiped a deity called among them Batala, which properly means 'God.' They said that they adored this Batala because he was the Lord of all, and had created human beings and villages. They said that this Batala had many agents under him, whom he sent to this world to produce, in behalf of men, what is yielded here. These beings were called anitos, and each anito had a special office. Some of them were for the fields, and some for those who journey by sea; some for those who went to war, and some for diseases."

Because there were many Bornean people in Manila when the Spaniards first arrived, the Spaniards called the people of Manila Moro, the Spanish name for the Muslims of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta. It was something that the friars who arrived later on repudiated, as the religion of the people of Manila was so different from what they recognized as Islamic that they could not possibly identify it as Islam, all the more so as pigs (often called "unclean animals" by Spanish chroniclers, possibly crypto-Jews) were listed among the chief holocausts to their deities, and, other than the rooster (manok na kalakyan), no other animal was listed. There was no feast without at least one pig being killed and roasted. This pig was always a holocaust, and consuming its flesh as a group was certainly regarded as a form of communion wth the deity to whom it had been sacrificed. The water buffalo (anwang), which is the greatest holocaust among Malays, was never used as such by the Tagalogs. Despite all of this, the Spaniards continued to call the people of Manila Moros for a very long time, as it served as a reason or justification for the Spaniards to seize and enslave them. The English translation of the Boxer Codex (1590) by Souza and Turley renders "Bachtala, napalnanca, calgna salahat" as "Bathala na may kapangyarihan sa lahat" which is translated into English as "God who has power over everything". The exact translation of "God, creator and preserver of all things" in Tagalog is "Bathala na kumapal at nangangalaga sa lahat".

Bathala and the Anitos
The chief deity of the Tagalas is called Bathala mei Capal, and also Diuata; and their principal idolatry consists in adoring those of their ancestors who signalised themselves for courage or abilities; calling them Humalagar, i.e. manes.
 * — William Marsden, The History of Sumatra (1784)

Anitería (literally meaning worship of anitos) was the term coined by some Spanish chroniclers to denote the Tagalogs' religion, as they observed that, despite the people's belief and respect to the omnipotent Bathala, they also offered sacrifices to ancestral spirits called anitos. Miguel de Loarca (Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas, 1582) asked Tagalogs why holocausts were offered to anitos and not to Bathala. The Tagalogs answered that Bathala was a great lord, and no one could speak to him directly because he lived in heaven (Kaluwálhatian), so he sent down the anitos to provide for them.

They placed their ancestors, the invocation of whom was the first thing in all their work and dangers, among these anitos.
 * — Francisco Colin, et al. [The Philippine Islands (1493-1898)]

The function of the anitos, therefore, was similar to that of liminal deities in polytheistic religions who serve as intermediaries between mortals and the divine, such as Agni (Hindu) and Janus (Roman) who hold the access to divine realms, hence the reason why they are invoked first and are the first to receive offerings, regardless of the deity that one wants to pray to. The anitos—just like the loa of Haitian Vodou —are not considered gods and goddesses but merely messengers, intermediaries, and advocates (abogado) of the people to the Supreme Being. This is similar in concept to Neoplatonism wherein spiritual beings called daimones carry divine things to mortals and mortal things to the Divine: requests and sacrifices from below and commandments and answers from above.

They are the assistants, the ministers of Batala, who sends them on earth to help men. These helpers are called: Anitos. The nature of the Anito is such that he comes on earth, deals with men and speaks in his behalf to Batala.
 * — Miguel de Loarca (1582)

Some chroniclers, such as the anonymous author of Boxer Codex, do not call these agents of Bathala anitos, but instead have referred to them as dioses, rendered in translation by Quirino and Garcia as "gods". The American-Filipino historian William Henry Scott supports the opinion of these chroniclers (some of whom might be Crypto-Jews ) that the ancient Tagalogs worshipped the anitos as gods and goddesses (aniteria), arguing that "in actual prayers, they were petitioned directly, not as intermediaries". Scott cites the example of a farmer's prayer to the anito named Lakapati, where a child would be held over a field, and the farmer would pray: "Lakapati, pakanin mo yaring alipin mo; huwag mong gutumin [Lakapati feed this thy slave; let him not hunger]". However, Scott—who himself was an appointed lay missionary in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America —may be using the Protestant definition or idea of intercession and worship in contrast to that of the Catholic explorers and missionaries, who described the role of the anitos as an advocate (abogado) or intercessor. Most chronicles (and isolated descriptions by explorers and missionaries) present one supreme deity analogous to the Christian God, evoking the impression that the Tagalog religion was monotheistic. Only a few sources include the names of other deities. Also, the missionaries who described the Tagalog religion in the early modern period did emphasize (with only a few exceptions) that the Tagalogs believed in one supreme god as the creator of all things. Their intention was mainly to find an equivalent for the Christian god in order to help them explain Catholic doctrines. Mostly, the titles of their chapters on the Tagalog religion suggest that they intended to portray the religion as a "false religion" or "superstition", despite their constant wondering whether or not the "new peoples" they claimed to have discovered already had some knowledge of the Gospel.

Although Bathala can only be reached through the agency of the anitos, he is not a distant deity too mighty to be bothered with the concerns of mortal men. The early Tagalogs believed that, on the birth of every child, the god Bathala appointed a lesser spirit, whom they also called Bathala, as guardian or Bathala Catotobo (Katutubo), identified by Father Noceda as a guardian angel. The god Bathala also guided people through omens and prophetic dreams. The souls of those who perished by the sword, were devoured by crocodiles, or killed by lightning immediately would ascend to Kaluwálhatian (glory) by means of the rainbow (balangaw).

Rituals and ceremonies
Bathala is the subject of sacred songs such as Diona and Tulingdao, wherein performers invoke him to prevent flood, drought, and pests and to grant them plentiful harvest and a beautiful field. The people of Indang and Alfonso, Cavite conducted Sanghiyang rituals as an offering to Bathala for a bountiful harvest, healing, a recovery from illness, or deliverance from death. The ritual is believed to have started from Naic long before the arrival of the Spaniards and the friars led to the suppression of its observance. This ritual is always done in preparation for other rituals such as "Sayaw sa Apoy" (Fire Dancing), "Basang-Gilagid" (House Blessing), Ancestral Offering, or Mediumistic Healing. It is also performed before searching for a lost item, such as jewelry and other valuables. After it, the Magsasanghiyang dialogues with the Superpower through her Timbangan (pendulum).

Some believed that the term Sanghiyang is coined from two Tagalog words: isa (one), and hiyang (compatible), together meaning "compatible whole" ("nagkakaisang kabuuan"). It is more likely, however, that said ritual is related to the sacred Balinese dance ceremony Sanghyang, which is also the title for a deified spirit and means "The Revered One" or "Holiness". Hyang, or personified as Sang Hyang, (Kawi, Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese) is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Nusantara mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. In modern Nusantara, this term tends to be associated with gods, which are each known as a dewata or God. Currently, the term is widely associated with Indonesian Dharmism which developed in ancient Java and Bali more than a millennium ago. However, the term actually has an older origin: it has its root in indigenous animistic and dynamistic beliefs of the Austronesian people inhabiting the Nusantara archipelago. The Hyang concept is indigenously developed in the archipelago and is not considered to have originated from Indian dharmic religions.

Sacred animals and omens
The early Tagalogs believed that Bathala revealed his will through omens by sending the bird tigmamanukin (tigmamanuquin) to which they also attributed the name Bathala. Plasencia (1589), Chirino (1604), and Colin (1663) described this bird as blue in color and as large as a thrush or turtledove. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson identified this bird as the Philippine fairy-bluebird (Irena cyanogastra). Although the Boxer Codex described it as "reddish blue and black", Antonio de Morga spoke of the bird as "yellow colored", which was the color of beauty for the early Tagalogs and had religious significance to them. According to Morga, the bird tigmamanukin—as described by Chirino and Colin—could be either inexistent or extinct, since there is no known blue bird of the same size as a thrush; however, there is a similar yellow (though not completely so) bird called kuliawan (golden oriole). The name Bathala was also attributed to comets and other heavenly bodies which the Tagalog people believed predicted events.

Other animals that were observed for omens include the balatiti or balantikis, uwak (crow/raven), kuwago (owl), bahaw (mountain owl), butiki (lizard), malimakan snail, and the tigmamanok (white-collared kingfisher, also known as salaksak among the Ilocanos). These birds, crocodiles and lizards were so sacred to the ancient Tagalogs that killing one was considered taboo. When a crocodile died, they anointed it with sesame oil, enshrouded it in a mat and buried it. This is also reported about the tuko (gecko), a venomous lizard. San Buenaventura questioned the Tagalogs for tolerating monitor lizards (bayawak), saurians fond of eggs and chicken and therefore dangerous to poultry: "Ano’t di ninyo siluin itong bayawak?" (How is it that you haven't noosed this monitor lizard?) The while-collared kingfishers (tigmamanok) were considered very sacred because they were permitted to pick a crocodile's teeth without harm. According to Chirino (1595–1602) and Colin (1663), the ancient Tagalogs held the crocodiles in the greatest veneration, and when they saw one in the water, they cried out in all subjection "Nono" (Nuno), meaning "grandfather". They asked it pleasantly and tenderly not to harm them and, for that purpose, offered it a portion of the fish they carried in their boat by throwing it into the water. Also, the river of Manila (now called Pasig River) once had a large rock (Buayang Bato/Stone Crocodile) that served as an idol for many years. The ancient Tagalogs left offerings to it whenever they passed by until the fathers of St. Augustine broke it into small bits and set up a cross in its place. Soon, a small shrine or chapel, with an image of St. Nicolas of Tolentino, was constructed in that location.

Creation myth
From The History of Sumatra (1784) by William Marsden:

"Their notions of the creation of the world, and formation of mankind, had something ridiculously extravagant. They believed that the world at first consisted only of sky and water, and between these two, a glede; which, weary with flying about, and finding no place to rest, set the water at variance with the sky, which, in order to keep it in bounds, and that it should not get uppermost, loaded the water with a number of islands, in which the glede might settle and leave them at peace. Mankind they said, sprang out of a large cane with two joints, that, floating about in the water, was at length thrown by the waves against the feet of the glede, as it stood on shore, which opened it with its bill, and the man came out of one joint, and the woman out of the other. These were soon after married by consent of their god, Bathala Meycapal, which caused the first trembling of the earth; and from thence are descended the different nations of the world."

From Philippine Folktales (1916) by Mabel Cook Cole:

"When the world first began there was no land, but only the sea and the sky, and between them was a kite (a bird something like a hawk). One day the bird which had nowhere to light grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up the sea until it threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon it many islands until it could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite to light on one of the islands to build her nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in peace. Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a child which was a bamboo. One day when this bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the feet of the kite which was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything should strike it, pecked at the bamboo, and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman. Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these two, and it was decided that they should marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all the different races of people. After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children around, and they wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no place to send them to. Time went on and the children became so numerous that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick and began beating them on all sides. This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions, seeking hidden rooms in the house—some concealed themselves in the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace, and several fled to the sea. Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of the islands; and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those who ran outside were free men; and those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea were gone many years, and when their children came back they were the white people."

These creation myths refer to what is known by theologians as a "second creation". This conception presupposes a pre-existing matter or substratum out of which the Earth was made. In Philippine mythologies, struggle between two hostile forces is a common theme in the formation of the earth; hence, the existence of the Land Breeze. It is always subsequently followed by the creation or appearance of the first man and woman in contrast to the animals that precede them. According to Andres San Nicolas (1624), the Sambal people, an ethnic group closely related to the Tagalogs, particularly those in Tanay, Rizal, "did not doubt the fact of there having been in its time a creation of man, but they believed that the first one had emerged from a bamboo joint and his wife out of another, under very ridiculous and stupid circumstances." According to William Marsden (1784), the ancient Tagalogs believed that the first man and woman were produced from a bamboo pole which burst in the island of Sumatra, an they quarreled about their marriage. A paper by Catalina Villaruz, written in about 1920 and now in the H. Otley Beyer manuscript collection, reports that the Southern Luzon Tagalogs believed that the first man started his life inside a bamboo pole. He grew, the bamboo cracked, and out he came. The same story is told of the first woman, and once out of the cane they looked at each other, fell in love, and married. A Tagalog euphemism for a child born out of wedlock is "putok sa buho" ("one who burst out of a bamboo") – an evident carryover from the times when the myth was held as gospel of truth. According to Nick Joaquin [Alamanac for Manileño (1979)] "The man wooed the woman but the woman was shy, illusive, and stubbornly coy. Becoming impatient, God [i.e. Bathala] started violent earthquake, which flung the woman into the man’s arm. Only thus were they married and the earth populated".

Francisco Colin identified the "earthquake" in the creation myth as a god. Based on the version of the creation myth provided by William Marsden (1784), the ancient Tagalogs viewed the "earthquake" as a manifestation of Bathala Maykapal. However, Pedro Chirino in his writings did not speak of the "earthquake", nor did he believe that it was considered as God, as, according to the Tagalogs and the Mandayas of Mindanao who informed him, the "earthquake" was nothing more than the effect of the movement of a huge animal in the entrails of the earth. According to some, this animal was an alligator; to others, a boar which scratched his body against the trunk of the earth. This is also the belief of the mountain people of Palawan and Camarines. San Buenaventura (1663:76) threatened his congregation with the manunungab na buwaya sa impierno (the devouring crocodile of hell). Some documented curses in old Tagalog include Kainin ka nang buaya! (May a crocodile eat you!) and Lamunin ka nang lindol! (May the earthquake swallow you up!). The low-frequency vibrations produced by male crocodiles just before bellowing, which could vibrate the ground and result in water appearing to "dance", is more likely where the ancient Tagalogs got the idea of the origin of earthquakes. In modern Tagalog mythology, earthquakes are caused by a messianic figure named Bernardo Carpio, the King of the Tagalogs, who was trapped between the boulders in the mountains of Montalban. In contrast to the gigantic subterranean crocodile, the ancient Tagalogs also believed in the existence of a gigantic celestial bird which made its nest in the clouds. It is not clear, however, whether this bird is associated with the primordial kite/glede that initiated the series of events which led to the creation of the world and humankind. According to Colin, the Tagalogs believed that the first man and woman sprang from a bamboo pole pecked by a bird they called Tigmamanokin to which they applied the name of their god Bathala.

Connection to Dian Masalanta
According to Father San Agustin, the Tirurays worshipped Linog, meaning "earthquake", who, as the god of marriage, advised the first man and woman to mate and populate the earth. Bathala Meycapal, therefore, is identified with the Tiruray's god of marriage, linking him to another Tagalog deity named Dian Masalanta. Dian Masalanta is an idol who was mentioned by Juan de Plasencia in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589) as the patron of lovers and procreation. Dian Masalanta is also correlated by some scholars to an unnamed Tagalog deity, referred to by the contemporary of Plasencia as Alpriapo. This deity is often misidentified as the goddess of childbirth by modern writers, despite the fact that Plasencia used the masculine patron instead of the feminine patrona (patroness). The true anito of childbirth is actually La Campinay (Lakang Pinay or Lakampinay) [Pardo inquisition report (1686–1688)], who is said to be "the first midwife in the world" [Boxer Codex (1590)].

The meaning of the name Dian Masalanta is not provided, but according to Jean-Paul G. Potet (Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs, 2018), the meaning could be "the blind deity" [dian "deity", ma – "adj. prefic" + salanta "blindness"]. However, the name could also mean "the blinding light" (Sun?) assuming that the original spelling of the name in Tagalog was Diyang Masalanta, from Sanskrit Dia or Diya meaning "lamp or light"/ In the Malay language, Dian means candle. Dia is also the name of the supreme god of the early Visayans according to Blumentritt, which some scholars believed was derived from Sanskrit Dyu "bright shining sky", one of the first names ever given to god, which developed into the Dewas and Diwatas of all the Malayan nations. Masalanta (devastating) comes from the root word salanta, which is listeded in the "Noceda and Sanlucar Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala (1754)" and the "San Buenaventura dictionary (1613)" as meaning "poor, needy, crippled, and blind". Generally, the words magsalanta and nasalanta, which mean "is destroyed/devastated", are used to refer to a calamity, such as a typhoon, flood, or earthquake.

Professor of Anthropology Fay-Cooper Cole identified the Mandayan supreme gods—the father and son Mansilatan (The Creator) and Batla/Badla (The Preserver/Protector)—with the Tagalog deities Dian Masalanta and Bathala/Badhala, respectively. He also noted that Todlai, the god of marriage of the Bagobo people, is sometimes addressed as Maniládan. Mansilatan, the father of Batla, is the source of the omnipotent virtue called Busao, which takes possession of the Baylans (Priestesses) and the Baganis (Warriors) while they are in a trance, making them strong and valiant above other men. In other ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines, the term Busao refers to demons, monsters, and/or the spirit or god of calamity. In the Mandayan language, the prefix man indicates paternity, being or dominion, while the word silatan means 'east', the direction of the rising sun.

Among the ancient Tagalogs, there existed a doctrine—which, according to Chirino (1601–1604), was sown by the Devil—that a woman who did not have a lover, whether married or single, could not be saved. They said that this man, in the other world, would hasten to offer the woman his hand at the passage of a very perilous stream which had no other bridge than a very narrow beam, which was traversed to reach the repose that they call Kaluwálhatian i.e. Bathala's abode. Hence, virginity was not recognized or esteemed among them; rather, they considered it a misfortune and a humiliation. This doctrine explains why most religious ministers (catalonas) among the ancient Tagalogs were women. Some minority tribes in the Philippines who still have some priestesses serving them, such as the Mandayas, offer an explanation. They assert that, as opposed to men, women are more appealing and persuasive toward gods and evil spirits, who are mostly males. Other places in the afterlife besides Kaluwálhatian include Maca or "kasanáan ng tuwa" ("a thousand joys"), where good souls temporarily stay pending reincarnation, and "kasanáan ng hírap" ("a thousand pains"), where bad souls go. Whether or not Dian Masalanta is identified with Bathala Meycapal is impossible to know, as the former has only been mentioned—and rather briefly—in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589) by Juan de Plasencia.

Whether or not Bathala is a solar deity
Another possible name for Bathala, although unconfirmed, is Hari, which is the old Tagalog name for the sun ('king’ in modern Tagalog), hence the Tagalog words tanghali (noon) and halimaw (lion or tiger, an animal associated with the sun in Vedic religion). The ancient Tagalogs believed that the rainbow (balangaw) was either Bathala's bridge (balaghari) or loincloth (bahaghari). The rainbow was regarded as a divine sign, and it was considered blasphemy to point one's finger at it. The Tagalogs today still use the expression harinawa, which means "God willing" or "may God wills it". In an article written by Lorenz Lasco in Dalumat Ejournal, he cited that, in Philippine mythologies, the sky-world's own anito (deity) is the Sun which is symbolized by a bird. However, there is no evidence or documentations directly referring to or describing Bathala as a solar deity. The Hiligaynon anthropologist F. Landa Jocano mentioned Apolaki as the solar and war god of the ancient Tagalogs, who is actually the supreme god of the ancient Pangasinans, alternatively addressed by them as Anagaoley or Ama-Gaoley (Supreme Father). According to Jean-Paul G. Potet (Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs, 2018), no sun deity allegedly worshipped or venerated by the ancient Tagalogs was mentioned in Spanish chronicles.

Christianity
The ancient Indian [Indio i.e. the Tagalogs] name for God was Bathala, to whom they attributed the creation of the world. Remnants of the old idolatry remain among the people, and the names of some of the idols are preserved. A few phrases are still retained, especially in the remoter parts, as for example, "Magpabathala ca" (Let the will of Bathala be done), and the priest have been generally willing to recognize the name as not objectionable in substitution for Dios. The Tagal word adopted for Idolatry is Pagaanito, but to the worship of images they give the term Anito.
 * — Sir John Bowring, A Visit to the Philippine Islands in 1858, 1859

During the conversion of the Tagalogs to Christianity, the katalonan (shamans) were condemned by Spaniard missionaries as witches and were forced to convert. Ancestral and nature spirits were demonised, sometimes conflated with Biblical demons. The dictionary of Fray Domingo de los Santos gives Bathala as the Tagalog name for God the Creator in contrast with idols, to which the dictionary gives the collective names anito and lic-ha, or statues. The friars believed that the anitos were demons who led the Tagalogs away from the worship of God, but Bathala was the exception to this as he was similar to the Christian concept of the Creator. The people learned to incorporate Catholic elements into some of their traditional rituals such as the Sanghiyang wherein the majority of the spirits invoked are presumed Christian saints. As noted by Alejandro Roces, "In Alfonso, Cavite, there is a Barrio called Marahan where there lives an exclusive sect that perform a cultic ritual known as Sanghiyang. This ritual used to be a pagan rite of ancestral worship but was later imbued with Christian connotations and biblical justification". Presently, Sanghiyang is being practiced not only as a form of ancestral worship but also as preparation for mediumistic healing and as a preliminary rite for a more colorful ritual called "Sayaw sa Apoy" (Dance on Fire). In the course of the 19th century, the term Bathala fell out of use, as it was replaced by Panginoon (Lord) and Diyos (God).

but now they never say: Bathalang Maykapal, Bathalang San Jose; if not Panginoong Diyos, Panginoong San Jose, and the Panginoon means "Lord", like Apo.
 * — De los Reyes' study (1909:113)

Bathalismo
Bathalismo is a religious movement in the Philippines whose mythology is partly borrowed from Christianity. Bathala is a name in this movement, hence its case markers in Tagalog are si, ni, and kay. In classical Tagalog, Bathala, being a title, not a name, has the markers of common nouns – ang/ng/sa – e.g. ngunit ang Bathala’y dapat nating sundin (but God we must obey). The same rule applies to Diyos – ang Diyos/ng Diyos/sa Diyos. Regarding the word “Bathala” in Baybayin, with the characters written from top to bottom, Pedro Paterno (1915 in Pambid 2000:108) considers that the “ba” character stands for ‘’babae’’ (woman/female), the “la” character for lalaki (man/male), and the “ha” character for the rays of spiritual light beaming from heaven, or the Holy Spirit of God. According to him, this was the concept of the Holy Trinity before the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines. Paterno was a self-styled renaissance man. He was educated in philosophy and theology, and he held a doctorate in law. He also wrote several books on Filipino ethnology, including La antigua civilización tagalog, the book in which he first imagined the Bathala-baybayin connection which some people today misconstrue as a proven part of ancient Filipino spirituality. Jose Rizal, no less, wrote the following in a letter to his friend, the ethnologist Ferdinand Blumentritt:

"In regard to the work of my countryman P.A. Paterno on Bathalà, I tell you, pay no attention to it; P.A. Paterno is like this: [here Rizal drew a line with a series of loops]. I can find no word for it, but only a sign like this: [more loops]."

Anting-anting
In Anting-anting—the post-colonial esoteric belief system and traditional occult practices of the Tagalogs—Bathala, also known as the Infinito Dios or Nuno, is identified with the magical power (bertud or galing) that resides in amulets and talismans.

It can be said that the Infinito Dios or Nuno (native Bathala of the Tagalogs) is the genius or galing of Filipinos who entered the stone or anting-anting, that even though they were not able to blossom and won because of poverty and lack of power
 * — Nenita Pambid, "Anting-Anting: O Kung Bakit Nagtatago sa Loob ng Bato si Bathala"

In this belief system, the Nuno or Infinito Dios is the highest God and the oldest being, from whom everything else has emanated. One such emanation is the Santisima Trinidad (Holy Trinity), to whom the Infinito Dios gave the authority to create the world and its inhabitants. Maria (who should not be confused with the Virgin Mary) or the Infinita Dios (i.e. the female aspect of the Divine) is said to be the first emanation of the Infinito Dios, who sprang forth from his mind (Holy Wisdom/Divine Logos?). The sum of all these powers are the Cinco Vocales, i.e. the five vowels of the Filipino alphabet: AEIOU. 'A' for the Infinito Dios/Nuno, 'E' for the Infinita Dios/Maria, 'I' for God the Father, 'O' for God the Son, and 'U' for God the Holy Spirit. The Cinco Vocales, also known as the fragmentation (basag) of the supreme deity, are said to be the secret names of God who gives power. The antiñgeros (initiates of anting-anting) have simplified the complexity of one god in five personas. For them, the Cinco Vocales rank as the highest deity because they are the complete composition of the five highest gods (Kadeusan). The Infinito Dios/Nuno, the Infinita Dios/Maria, and the Santisima Trinidad all share in the equality of their divinity. No one of them is more or less than any of the others. The Infinito Dios is also referred to as Animasola (Lonely Soul), Waksim (his name as a water deity), and Atardar (reflecting his warrior or protective aspect). On the other hand, the Infinita Dios is also referred to as Gumamela Celis (Flower of Heaven), Rosa Mundi (Flower of the World), and Dios Ina (God the Mother); she is also identified with the concept of Inang Pilipinas (Mother Philippines) or Inang Bayan (Motherland) celebrated in the writings of the revolutionary Andres Bonifacio (Tapunan ng Lingap; Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas). Although it is widely believed that this esoteric belief system preceded Spanish colonization and Catholicism, the Tagalog term antíng-antíng (talisman) was not recorded by lexicographers until the second half of the 19th century. The same can be said of its synonyms: agímat, búti, dúpil, and galíng (Laktaw 1914:236: dúpil).

The theogony of the Infinito Dios
In the beginning, there was a bright light that covered the entire universe. This light was called the Infinito Dios. There is considered to be no God other than the Infinito Dios. He was the Animasola (Lonely Soul), a winged eye wrapped in a shawl, forever changing his form while floating in space. Soon, the Infinito Dios decided to create the world. He pulled away the light in order to give way to the darkness. His light receded until it became a small ball of light. The ball of light suddenly had a gash on its lower portion that became a mouth. On top of the mouth, a line appeared that became a nose. On top of the nose emerged two holes that became eyes. From these eyes came forth bursts of flame. Parallel to the eyes, on the sides of the ball of light, two holes appeared that became ears. In short, the Infinito Dios, once a ball of light, became a figure resembling a man's head.

Before the Infinito Dios created the universe, he decided to have someone help him in his task of creation. While thinking, five shining letters sprang forth from his mind that became the five petals of a beautiful flower (mayuming bulaklak). This flower was called the Gumamela Celis (Flower of Heaven) or Rosa Mundi (Flower of the Earth). The five letters were none other than the beautiful name M-A-R-I-A, which in the Syrian language is Miriam, which means the highest. The original name of Maria before God created the universe was Bulaklak (Flower).

The Infinito Dios decided to create other beings to assist him in his task of creation. While thinking, the Infinito Dios suddenly began perspirating on his right side. When he wiped off the perspiration, the droplets became sixteen spirits. Two of these spirits became Uph Madac and Abo Natac, the two elders who would reside in the two corners of the Earth and would become the guardians of the Sun and the Moon. The next six spirits became the beings who would reside outside the Earth. They did not want to receive any blessings from the Infinito Dios. They were named Elim, Borim, Morim, Bicairim, Persalutim, and Mitim. The next seven spirits became the unbaptized Archangels named Amaley, Alpacor, Amacor, Apalco, Alco, Araco, and Azarague. The last spirit was called Luxbel, a spirit whose name means light of heaven. He was named Becca, the being who would later rebel against the Infinito Dios. His other name was Lucifer.

Meanwhile, the Infinito Dios decided to create even more beings. While thinking, he suddenly began perspiring on his left side. Wiping the perspiration off, the droplets became eight spirit beings. Five of them became beings who would go to Jesus Christ while he was nailed to the cross to ask for his blessing; however, Jesus would expire before he could give his blessing to these five spirits. The five spirits never received their blessings and therefore retained their original names of Istac, Inatac, Islalao, Tartaraw, and Sarapao. The last three spirit beings became known as the Tres Personas, or the Santisima Trinidad. The Infinito Dios gave them the task to create the world and its inhabitants. On each of the eyes of the Tres Personas could be seen the letter M, the initial of each of their names: Magub, Mariagub, and Magugab.

The Infinito Dios and Bulaklak
Before the name Maria was used, God only called the first fruit of his thought Bulaklak (Flower). The first thing God prepared for the beginning of his creation was Impierno (Hell) or Averni, which was below and in the abyss. He said to Bulaklak: "I will leave you for a while—guard my Ark of the Covenant and do not dare to open it. If you do not obey my command, you will go down to the land that I will create and will suffer to gather the scattered and lost virtudes.' Once God had said that, he went down to the abyss to prepare a sad home for his chosen Archangels, who would be created and rebel against him. When God left, Bulaklak opened the said Ark of the Covenant in the desire to know the truth and fulfillment of God's words. When the Ark was opened, three letters "B" with wings suddenly appeared and flew away. The three letters mentioned were BAM, BAU, and BIM also known as the Tres Virtudes, which were very miraculous and wonderful. Bulaklak immediately closed the box, but the three "B"'s had been released already, and she could not find them. When God returned from the abyss, he said to Bulaklak: "Now, what I said to you will be fulfilled—that you will descend to the earth and will suffer."

God had already made a plan for and the forms of his works and creations: water, fire, earth, heaven, trees and plants, Sun, Moon, stars, and, above all, the holy spirits that would help him in his works and creations. God showed them to his consultant Bulaklak. She said that the spiritual creations were perfect, but the material things should be changed. This was because, in God's plan, the huge and tall trees were to bear large fruits, and the small and low trees were to bear tiny fruits. Bulaklak said that if those trees were to be placed on the ground, people and animals would seek shelter under the huge and tall trees when exposed to the heat of the sun, and if the large fruits of the trees were ripe and could no longer cling to the stalk and withstand the fall, they may cause injury or death to said people and animals.

God changed his plan in accordance with Bulaklak’s advice. The huge and tall trees would be the ones to bear tiny fruits, while the small and low trees would be the ones to bear large fruits. When everything was ready, God thought to create his helpers, but he was suddenly sweaty, and when he shed the sweat away on his right and left sides, the sixteen droplets of sweat on his right side became sixteen spirits, while the eight droplets of sweat on his left side became eight other spirits. From these twenty-four, he drew three to carry out his plan of creation. These were the so-called three powerful Avelator, Avetemet, and Avetillo. These were the Tres Personas, or the Santisima Trinidad, who would speak from the beginning of creation.

The Nuno and the Santisima Trinidad
The Nuno or Infinito Dios, the first and most powerful deity of all, created twenty-four holy spirits, and among them he chose three who would come to be known under the names Tres Persona Solo Dios, the Sagrada Familia, and the Santisima Trinidad. The Three were the helpers and executioners of the creative plans made by the Nuno and by Maria, or Gumamela Celis. When the Tres Persona – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – talked about the things they created, suddenly the Nuno joined in and hid from the Three. The Three thought that they were the first and had the right to plan creations. They were not aware that everything was planned before they were created. The Tres Persona were deeply confused by the mysterious voice they heard and what they saw: a winged eye, a light, and an old man. As the Three chased the mysterious voice, they exchanged oraciones or words of power until they reached Heaven's gate. In this phase, the Tres Persona would be called the Sagrada Familia.

The Tres Persona did not know that they came from one God, the Nuno, that God the Father was the son of the Nuno, and that God the Son was the Nuno's grandchild. Because they did not know this, they desired to seize and baptize whom they thought was the god of the heathens in order to be saved. The chase ended when the Nuno entered the mount Bood. After a battle and an exchange of oraciones, with persuasion the Nuno agreed to be baptized, but would do so by his own power. The Nuno took out his finger from the rock of the mount Bood to be baptized, as depicted in the anting-anting of the Infinito Dios. However, it is said that, for some mysterious reason, the Nuno was not really baptized.

The twenty-four Ancianos
The twenty-four Ancianos are the holy spirits created by the Infinito Dios (from his sweat) as helpers in his works; they are identified by the antiñgeros with the Twenty-Four Elders mentioned in Revelation 11:16. The twenty-four Ancianos have been given by the Infinito Dios roles and names which wield magical powers. One of the duties of the twenty-four Ancianos is to keep track of the hours of each day: the first of them is to keep track of the time at 1 o’clock in the morning and so on in succession until the end of exactly 24 hours according to their respective numbers. They are also the observers of everything that people do or work on earth, be it right or wrong, so man's sins are not safe from the Lord because of it.

The first two elders (nuno) reside in the two corners of the Earth and are the guardians of the Sun and the Moon:

1. Uph Madac – The first spirit of the twenty-four Ancianos, responsible for guarding the first hour after midnight. She designed the Sun in accordance with a task given to her by the Infinito Dios. She made many designs and presented them to her companions and to the Lord, and they all agreed on the shape and appearance of the sun that would give light to the world from then until now and into the future.

2. Abo Natac – The second spirit, who designed the Moon, which gives us light during the night. He did so many times, and these designs were presented to his companions and to the Infinito Dios, and they agreed on the shape of the moon that is present today.

The following six spirits do not have any other office. What they do is just wander out into the world and be God's watchmen:

3. Elim – The watchman from 3:00 AM to 3:59 AM

4. Borim – The watchman from 4:00 AM to 4:59 AM

5. Morim – The watchman from 5:00 AM to 5:59 AM

6. Bicairim – The watchman from 6:00 AM to 6:59 AM

7. Persalutim – The watchman from 7:00 AM to 7:59 AM

8. Mitim – The watchman from 8:00 AM to 8:59 AM

The Siete Arkanghelis:

9. Amaley – The president and first minister of the archangel warriors. He is San Miguel Arkanghel; on his shoulders rests the fight against the wicked to have security on Earth and in heaven. San Miguel is assigned as the watchman from 9:00 AM to 9:59 AM each day; he is also the watchman on the first day of each week, which is Sunday, so he is called upon on this day to prevent any disastrous events that may occur. He is also the spirit messenger and messenger of the Infinito Dios throughout the heavens.

10. Alpacor – Made secretary of the whole universe by the Siete Arkanghelis, he is San Gabriel, who is the recorder of all the hidden wonders in the galaxy and the whole universe. San Gabriel is the watchman from 10:00 AM to 10:59 AM each day. He is also the watchman every Monday; therefore, people call upon him on this day to be saved from disasters.

11. Amacor – The prince of angelic justice and the giver of heavenly grace, for which he is also the Butler of the Infinite God. This angel is well known by the name San Rafael. He is the watchman from 11:00 AM to 11:59 AM each day and each Tuesday. He is the one to be called upon on Tuesdays for salvation from calamities.

12. Apalco – The angel who was made Justicia mayor in heaven. Chief Ruler of heavenly things and recommender to God of punishments to be inflicted, he is also the giver of wisdom to be used by the soul and earthly body of man. This angel is identified as San Uriel, who is assigned to watch at 12:00 noon, and he is also the watchman on Wednesdays, so he must be called on this day to be saved from a disaster.

13. Alco – The spirit that offers or prays to God for every good work of man, he is also the receiver and informer of human needs regarding God. This angel is San Seatiel, who is the watchman on Thursdays and at the time of the first hour of the afternoon of each day, so he is to be called upon at these times.

14. Araco – The spirit who was made the keeper of treasures and graces. He holds the key to giving the riches and glory of God. This angel is San Judiel, the benefactor and giver of God's mercy. He is also the assigned watchman on Fridays and from 2:00 PM to 2:59 PM each day, so he is to be called upon at these times.

15. Azarague – The guardian spirit of heaven and Earth and the helper and protector of all spirits under the Infinito Dios. He is San Baraquiel, the watchman at 3:00 PM of each day, and is also assigned as the watchman every Saturday, so he is the one to be called on this day. San Baraquiel is the last of the Seven Archangels, who are known as the seven warriors of God the Father.

The Rebel:

16. Luxbel – The youngest (bunso) of the 16 spirits first created by the Infinito Dios. His name means "Light of Heaven" because he is considered the closest to God. When God began his creation, he was baptized with the name Becca, but he disobeyed the Infinito Dios, so God renamed him Luxquer or Lucifer. The history of Luxbel can be found in a book entitled Diez Mundos (Ten Planets). In this book exist various types of illicit wisdom, such as hexes (kulam), glamour (malik mata), philters (gayuma) and much more. All are discouraged from having a copy of this book because it is considered the cause of the unforgivable sin against the Lord.

The following five spirits were not baptized and did not accept the Infinito Dios's calling. When the Lord Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross, they came to be baptized, but it did not turn out because at that time, the Lord Jesus breathed his last. They are:

17. Istac – The watchman from 5:00 PM to 5:59 PM.

18. Inatac – The watchman from 6:00 PM to 6:59 PM.

19. Islalao – The watchman from 7:00 PM to 7:59 PM.

20. Tartarao – The watchman from 8:00 PM to 8:59 PM.

21. Sarapao – The watchman from 9:00 PM to 9:59 PM.

The last three spirits are the Santisima Trinidad:

22. Magugab – Presents himself as Dios Ama (God the Father), who some say is the first person of the Santisima Trinidad. But as Dios Ama, he is not the Infinito Dios, but only given the right and duty to identify himself as God the Father. He was given the design of the world and all its contents, such as the various types of flying creatures in the air and those crawling on the ground, including man. He is the watchman from 9:00 PM to 9:59 PM.

23. Mariagub – The second person of the Santisima Trinidad, he has the fullness of Dios Anak (God the Son) and the power to fulfill all the mysteries wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the spirit who incarnates in order to save those who receive him and believe in him. This spirit, in every age, enters the bodies of the people commanded by God, who, in this context, is called the "Lamb of God". He is the watchman from 10:00 PM to 10:59 PM.

24. Magub – The third person of the Santisima Trinidad, as the Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit), he acts to accomplish whatever must happen in the present. Through his power, the promises of the Infinito Dios to the people are formed and fulfilled. He is the watchman from 11:00 PM to 12:00 midnight.

The term "Bathala" in other cultures
In ancient Bicol, bathala was a minor divinity, represented by a small image which Bicolanos always carried for good luck; according to the Bicol grammar of Mark of Lisbon (1628, 61), "they say it was an anito that brought good luck to one it accompanied". Thus, if a man was never hit by objects thrown at him, he was said to be batalaan. According to Ferdinand Blumentritt, the ancient Bicolano bathala was a kind of guardian angel. Its counterpart in the Tagalog culture, according to Isabelo de los Reyes, was the badhala katutubo.

According to Andrés de San Nicolás (1664, 420), Bathala mey kapal was also among the deities of the Sambal people, whose false genealogies and fabulous deeds they celebrated in certain tunes and verses like hymns, which William Henry Scott wrote may have been due to the influence of the Tagalogs on the Sambal's culture and beliefs.

Diccionario Pampango del P. Beiv gaño, 1860 defines batala as "a bird to whom the Pampangos have their omens".

According to Ferdinand Blumentritt (1895), the term "bathala" among the ancient Visayans referred to the images of diwatas (gods).

Ancient Visayan invocation to Bathala
 1. Bathala, origin of the first creatures,  Lives in the high mountains;  In your two hands Resides the generator- ''Maniliw, who is a witch.  Tall like the trunk'' Of the coconut;  Solid like rock;  Voracious like fire;  ''Fierce, more than the mad perverse dog.  From your breast'' The generator Lulid ''Went forth. ''

It is he Who does what he likes;  Who darkens More than the night- Like the stalk of the Palay;  And Sometimes As if by means of rays of light,  ''Shoots the witches like an arrow.  Your living among the pygmies.  Destroy, oh, those bad characters'' ''Of the generator Kamakala. ''

2. ''Bathala, thou art, oh, little bird, Adarna!  Oh thou, who art nestled in that encumbered home-'' The abode of hawks and eagles,  Descend, we pray thee, to earth,  With all thy multicolored feathers And thy silken, feathery tail- ''Descend! Descend!-to earth.  Oh, thou bright-winged, little bird!  Celestial gift arth thou, prepared for the earth-'' ''Our life's source, our mother devoted.  Verily, thou hast suffered pains in those confines'' Of mountains craggy and precipitous- ''Searching for lakes of emerald, now vanished.  Ferocious animals'' Art thine, mother Oh, venerable Mount Kanlaon- The ruler of the people of the mountain.

Note: The bird Adarna is the eponymous character of a 16th-century Filipino tale in verse, "Corrido and Life Lived by the Three Princes, children of King Fernando and Queen Valeriana in the Kingdom of Berbania", which is believed by some researchers to have been based on similar European stories. The tale is also known as "The Adarna Bird".

Original Visayan invocation

Bathala, pinunuan sang mga una nga mga inanak,  Dito mag estar sa mga layog Sa anang alima na tagsa Si amay Maniliw nga tamaw nga,  Malayog anay sang puno ka niug,  Mabakod angay sa bantiling,  Kag masupong angay sa kalayo,  Mabangis labi a madal nga ''Bany-aga nga ayam.  Sa amang kilid lumsit.  Si ama Lulid Amo; '' Siya ang mag sumunod Kon tunay sa boot niya,  Nga mag bulit labing Kagab-ihon mapilong…

Tagalog translation

Bathalang pinagmulan ng mga unang nilikha,  Nakatira ka sa mga bundok Sa kamay mo nakalagay Si Maniliw, na mangkukulam Matayog kang parang puno ng niyog;  Matigas na parang bato,  Masiklab na parang apoy,  Mabangis na higit sa ''Asong nahihibang.  Sa dibdib mo lumabas'' Ang manlilikhang Lulid Amo;  Siya ang nakagagawa At nagbibigay dilim Na higit sa gabi…

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title: Bathala