Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan

BURIGADANG PADA SINAKLANG BULAWAN
GODDESS OF GREED

Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan
as portrayed by Katrina Halili
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013
Photo Credit: Dencio Isungga

Wealth and greed go hand in hand, and both are under the special guidance of the "golden deity" of the Visayan pantheon, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan (her name usually means Coveted Gold, Desired/Precious Gold), the goddess of greed. Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan is more known to the masses as the wife of Humadapnon, one of the three heroic sons of Alunsina in the epic poem, Hinilawod. She is one of the "Three Great Beauties", a triad of sister-goddesses who descended from Maklium sa T'wan (in some oral traditions it was said that Maklium sa T'wan was grandfather, in some he is actually her mother when his female form seduced and mated with a human datu in a mining cave) She is portrayed in the stories, as a goddess who rose from the earth with beautiful golden tanned skin, a seductive body clothed in rich golden fabrics and precious minerals and gems and a face of perfection, and it was said that her aura was also "golden" that no man can resist her and her charms. She is the sister of Nagmalitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata, the goddess of lust and Lubay Lubyok Mahanginun si Mahuyokhuyokan goddess of the night breeze, her uncles are Panlinugon, the god of earthquakes and of Tungkung Langit, the Pillar of Heaven whose wife is Luyong Kabig, the goddess of snakes, who is also her aunt. 

PUNISHER OF THE GREEDY 

Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan
as portrayed by Katrina Halili
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013
Photo Credit: @joanneloya

She is both venerated and feared at the same time by the ancient Visayans, because this goddess holds power over precious metals and stones and also greed. It was said that she loves punishing the greedy, her mere breath can evoke emotions of greed and jealousy to a mortal and through this she was seen as an avenger goddess, who dispenses punishment to those who are greedy, especially thieves. In Hinilawod, she made her greedy suitors fight with each other to the death, and only did her curse stop when Humadapnon championed all of her suitors and carried her away. She is sometimes depicted to be in the company of dwendes(dwarves) in a house of gold outside human settlement, they are earth spirits who knows the secrets of the earth, and it was believed that the goddess' touch can turn anything to gold, thus that makes her an important deity to metalsmiths, miners, jewelmakers.

Her association with wealth and earthly abundance makes her a popular deity during weddings, in which the guests in attendance give toast and blessings to the groom and his bride, placing the newlyweds under the guidance of Burigadang Sinaklang Bulawan, that they may flourish also in material goods in their married life. Although she was not as heavily worshipped compared to other diwatas due to her title as the goddess of greed, she is venerated as a chief deity during wedding ceremonies, and the early laws against thievery were made with her in mind, and small trinkets of her image, made of gold or silver were made for travellers to carry with them to avoid being ambushed by robbers along the way, sure that Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan may curse the wrongdoers for the rest of their mortal lives.

Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan in GMA Network's Indio, 2013
Sketch artist: James/Squeegool
http://squeegool.deviantart.com/

EVOLUTION OF IMPORTANCE THROUGH SPANISH INFLUENCE

The veneration and fear of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan were dissuaded by the Spanish colonists and instead told the natives to believe in the Catholic faith, they also had the natives baptized by the Spanish priests and told them to destroy the shrines of their deities. However, fear is sometimes much more stronger than faith, and even if a lot of the natives started to turn to the Catholicism, they still believe that Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan walks among them, ready to dispense her own brand of justice to the greedy and evil-hearted.

Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan
as portrayed by Katrina Halili
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013
Photo Credit: Michelle Amog

RELATED STORIES

THE ORIGIN OF THE ANGGITAY (the Philippine Kentauride or the female centaur)
Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Angga (means " love" in visayan). She was a descendant of a datu who was punished by Lubay Lubyok ni Mahuyokhuyokan and turned into the first "taiho" or the Philippine Centaur. Angga was beautiful though very vain and selfish, such as she captured the fancy of the god Barangaw that wherever she goes, a rainbow appears. She also had a penchant for shiny things and loved jewels very much, that she isn't above stealing the jewels and precious things of others to adorn her milky white body. One day, she happened to pass by a sacred grove of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan and saw her servants, dwarves carrying gold on sacks, and followed them, asking them as to whom this bulawan belongs. The dwarves answered with "only to the fairest among the earth's children, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan". Angga got jealous and arrogant, and proclaimed herself being the fairest of earth's children. She then rushed home and told the villagers to build her a throne encrusted with jewels and gold and carry her back to the shrine of BPSB. Her arrogance and fury boiled over and shouted, "Nothing and no one is more fairer than me, only I deserve those earthly treasures!"

In a flash of golden light, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, appeared before the girl. The townspeople fled but they were all turned into yellow field mice in a flash, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan then stepped hard on the girls toes, and they turned into golden hooves, she then conked the girl in the forehead with her golden slipper and a big ivory horn grew, she then cursed the girl for her folly of declaring higher than any deity and made her the image of her ancestor, the lusty datu, into a half-woman, half horse and everyone would flee from her hideousness. Barangaw however felt pity on the girl and blessed her with her good looks back, even though she still has a horn and is half horse, and gave her the power to ride the rainbow, and take shelter at the end of the rainbow. Up to this day, natives believe, when you see a rainbow, make sure of it, an Anggitay is at large at the end of it, still looking for Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan's coffer of gold!

Additional note: Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan made a promise that the curse that turned the girl into the first anggitay would be broken if she is able to collect 7 sacks of gold. Barangaw promised to continue helping the girl, and they would hunt for it after the rain (Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan does not like getting wet), however Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan also blew some gold dust in Angga’s eyes, which makes her see mirages of golden forms from a distant, that way she is eternally bound to her monster form for she cannot finish her task.

BURIGADANG PADA SINAKLANG BULAWAN and the MAIDSERVANTS
A long time ago, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan had a bunch of female dwarves attending to her, and they were happy to be of service to her for she pays them with gold nuggets as much as their heart desires, and the reputation serving the beautiful deity has their merits too in the realm of elemental beings. One day however, the dwendinas were too lazy to search for rare Kachuchi leaves/or flowers for the goddess to smoke, and as everyone knows... deities are very particular when it comes to demands and tastes. The eldest of the group told her friends that they should start looking for it, lest they want to suffer a terrible fate, so they combed the forests and only after a short while, they got tired and frustrated, for they were a lazy group of dwarves. In haste they reasoned out with the eldest and pointed at a bunch of wild leaves growing on the forest floor as substitute. They also exclaimed that they will just tell the goddess it is a new discovery and worth trying. Little did they know that those leaves were the infamous sagai leaves, a plant that is sometimes linked to the family of toxic plants of either the poison sumac or ivy variety which grows in tropical conditions. They took the leaves to the diwata who was curious enough to try it. A few puffs and instantly the diwata knew something was wrong, her tongue itched and her mouth was on fire, her lips swelled twice the size in appearance, and made her face break out into rash. The diwata was furious at the disfigurement, and punished her lazy servants, turning the eldest into a toadstool mushroom (poisonous mushroom) and the rest into termite hills, vowing that any unlucky traveller who gets to taste of this innocent looking fungus will feel terrible pains, and that the mounds of soil and clay that we call now as termite hills would serve houses to terrible pests known to man, wrecking and eating their most prized possessions and homes.

Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan
as portrayed by Katrina Halili
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013
Photo Credit: @joanneloya

BURIGADANG PADA SINAKLANG BULAWAN & THE BEAUTY CONTEST

Once upon a time there was a very rich datu, Bulahon on Panay Island who finally won the hand of the woman of his dreams, a princess from the Sulu sea, and of course the entire town and every deity in the area was invited. Among the divine personages present was Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, Bai Suga the light fairy, and Lubay Lubyok Mahanginun si Mahuyokhuyokan. The wedding feast went on for a week, and wine was generously poured to the guests, and there was constant merriment and good cheer among the people. The drunk datu however suggested that the 3 divinities present should have a friendly competition on who is the fairest of them all.

Bai Suga was one vain fairy, and would not want to lose the contest. However, she knows that she has 2 beautiful goddesses to compete against… with Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan as her biggest competition, for the golden deity is the fairest in the land next only to Alunsina. Bai Suga decided to devise a way for the audience not to take note of her main competitor’s beauty. She told the diwata, who was inebriated with alcohol by that time, " Mahal na diwata, your beauty is incomparable, every man and woman notices you, we are nothing but grains of sand beneath you." The goddess took the compliment and was very pleased, " For that you have gained a favor from me. Ask and you shall have it." The sly fairy answered " I want only one simple thing, may I suggest the location for this competition? I want to lose gracefully." The goddess was delighted to hear such a small request and gave consent.

Then the fairy told the datu to hold the competition in a very dark CAVE in the middle of the night, and whomever the people appreciates the most wins it all. After that, everyone went to the cave when midnight approached and the competition began, Lubay Lubyok Mahanginun si Mahuyokhuyokan went in first, and pleased the crowd with her sweet smelling night air, enticing their senses of smell and feeling since it was pitch-dark. Bai Suga went in second,and danced to her heart's content, everyone could see her due to her powers of light and appreciated every movement of the dance. Finally, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan then went inside the deep cave, only to realize that she was tricked and the people could not appreciate her golden beauty, and since it was pitch dark inside, even her golden glow is no match for the extreme darkness.She was humiliated but kept silent until the datu said " My lovely goddess it is no use, we cannot see you, it is too dark. I am afraid Bai Suga won this one." The deity went from embarrassed to furious, when Bai Suga came again inside the cave to claim her prize, the deity yelled and screamed at her, tearing all her clothes off and leaving her stark naked for everyone to see, humiliating the fairy since she was "glowing" that everyone could see her. Bai Suga screamed in pain and asked for forgiveness for the trickery but Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan would have none of it. The diwata however was not finished and continued to kick and stomp the fairy until she shrunk to the size of a pea. The people could no longer hear the screaming fairy but instead they saw a small glowing bug and they followed it till they reached the exit of the cave, and they knew that the goddess turned the fairy into this insect which is now called iput-iput (since her light is at the end of her buttocks and sometimes it flashes which reminded them of droppings).

Santonilyo

SANTONILYO
GOD OF BLESSINGS
 

Santonilyo as portrayed by Kyle Jimenez
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013
Photo Credit: Dencio Isungga

Santonilyo is both an old god and a new god to the visayans. He was worshipped as one of the anitos in community and when the spanish came, this anito evolved and took on the name derived from the Christian St.Nino. In pre-spanish times, each community had their very own anito of various names who is supposed to dispense blessings and abundance on a family or a society. These anitos or spirits is usually an old ancestor who was known to have lived a virtuous life when they were alive, and due to the fact that they were known in life, they were venerated after death. Each house in ancient visayas was supposed to carry a wooden "larawan" (wooden idols) with tusks whom the family pay honor and pag-anito (worship) daily to ensure a continuous flow of blessings upon them.

MAGELLAN 

When Magellan came to the Philippines and landed in Cebu in April 1521, he was received by Rajah Humabon and his wife Humamay (some sources say her name was Amihan) and requested them to pledge allegiance to Spain and to allow the catechists to do their work and spread the tenets of Christian faith. Within a week, the Rajah and the Queen were baptized and were given the Christian names Carlos(after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) and Juana(after Joane of Castile) and one of the Scribes, Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian Chronicler presented to the Queen an image of the St.Nino, to which she fell in love with immediately and said she was ready to renounce her animist ways and accept the Child Jesus, it was even reported that as she received the figure, she was overjoyed and wept, bathing the statue with her tears as she is hugging it, and after her baptism, 800 other Cebuanos were also baptized and were given an image of the Virgin Mary and Ecce Homo, a depiction of Jesus before Pontus Pilate and a crucifix.

Santonilyo in GMA Network's Indio, 2013
Sketch artist: James/Squeegool
http://squeegool.deviantart.com/

But the Spaniards underestimated the power of the animist faith, as it is deeply ingrained within the people, a few days later, Magellan was shocked to discover that Rajah Humabon still kept his idols and was astounded by the discovery that not only are animist shrines present in every homes but can also be found in fields and even in grave sites. It was thought that the Queen readily accepted the Sto. Nino because it looked more regal, refined, and decked out in foreign finery unlike her wooden larawans with tusks that looked old and grimy, coupled with the fact that the natives were in awe of their Spanish visitors. Nonetheless, sources say that Magellan became a champion of Rajah Humabon and requested all the other chiefs of Cebu to surrender, and he personally sailed to Mactan and unbeknownst to him, Lapu Lapu was ready and waiting to strike them. Magellan died in that encounter, the Spanish forces retreated back to Humabon, but were unaware that the repudiation of the newfound faith has already started among Humabon's people, abandoning the Catholic faith once more in favor of the old religion. On May 1, 1521, Humabon ordered the massacre of the Spanish Survivors during a banquet, and some of them (Pigafetta included), escaped back to Europe, and nothing was documented about what happened to the Sto. Nino image.

Santonilyo as portrayed by Kyle Jimenez
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013

According to Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin, a Filipino historian, as stated in his works in 1980… when the Spanish conquistadores came once more 44 years later, they discovered that there was a new god in the pantheon of the visayans. A native version of the Sto. Nino whom they call Santonilyo. The new god is in the form of a child and was said to have reached the islands when a fisherman caught a piece of Agipo (a stump or driftwood) and when he tried to burn it, the driftwood would not burn and instead started to form in the shape of the St. Nino or Santonilyo
and blessed the fisherman with abundance and a better life. Santonilyo was also worshipped as a rain god for 4 decades since the spanish first arrived, blessing the natives with rain to the land during times of drought, as shown by this passage and ritual:

During drought, the ancient Cebuanos would bathe the image in the sea, just as mentioned in the Sto. Niño’s gozos published in an 1888 novena:

Santonilyo as portrayed by Kyle Jimenez
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013

“Cun ulan ang pangayoon
Ug imong pagadugayon
Dadad-on ca sa baybayon
Ug sa dagat pasalomon,
Ug dayon nila macuha
Ang ulan nga guitinguha”

(If they seek rain
And you delay it
You’d be brought to the shore
And bathed in the sea,
And they then obtain
The rain they desire.
—Translation by author)

The image regained it's Christian significance when Juan de Camuz, a soldier in Legazpi's fleet found the image inside a wooden chest in one of the burnt houses. It's rediscovery was later construed as an auspicious sign by Legazpi to continue subjugating Cebu and the entire archipelago for the Spanish crown. However, Santonilyo's fame is already widespread among the other islands of the Visayas, reaching as far as Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Bohol, Siquijor, Samar and Leyte. And even if, the Sto. Nino's devotion as a Catholic figure flourished and thrived in the Philippine archipelago, Visayans who were untouched by the Spanish rule continue to offer pag-anito to their beloved Santonilyo even to this day.

Suklang Malayon

SUKLANG MALAYON
DEITY OF HOMES and PROTECTRESS OF HAPPINESS

Magayon, a character loosely based on Suklang Malayon
as portrayed by Rhian Ramos
GMA Network's INDIO, 2013

The ancient visayans also worship a goddess of the home and hearth in the form of Suklang Malayon, who is also the goddess of families and happiness. Suklang Malayon is known as the protective sister of Alunsina and is described as a fair lady surrounded by birds, which serves as her messengers. In the epic poem, Hinilawod, Suklang Malayon discovered the plan of Maklium sa T'wan of flooding the plains to drown Alunsina and Datu Paubari. She warned the couple of this impending danger and advised them to retreat to the mountains and hide there until the great deluge passed. The flood destroyed the plains and the couple's home and when all is safe and sound once more, Suklang Malayon ordered her winged friend (some say it's a maya bird and some say it was Suklang Malayon in the guise of the bird) to deliver the news to the couple that it is safe to return and build their house once more.

Magayon, a character loosely based
on Suklang Malayon in GMA Network's Indio, 2013
Sketch artist: James/Squeegool
http://squeegool.deviantart.com/

Suklang Malayon is honored by housewives, mothers, aunts, sisters, and the womenfolk. She symbolizes compassion and sympathy and is a constant reminder of the sisterly bonds women of the village share with each other, and women who look for help and compassion are in her care, and it was said that any woman who rejects their fellow woman in need in the care of this goddess is said to incur the anger of Suklang Malayon and would be punished by chaos and disasters at home as well as loss and unsatisfaction in life. Birds, especially the humble maya, is said to be messengers and friends of this benevolent goddess, since birds make homes themselves in the form of nests and usually near human settlements and sings happy melodies especially during mating season. It was believed to be good luck to find maya birds in a person's backyard or in makeshift kitches in which the visayan ancestors cook, because they believed that Suklang Malayon is visiting their homes and blesses them with happiness. It was also believed that Suklang Malayon hates noises, especially from pots, and banging a pot with a ladle drives her away and invites evil spirits instead, thus mothers always warn their children never to play with the kitchenware, in fear the goddess would leave their homes and therefore lose her patronage and protection. Important events of the household is a time of worship for Suklang Malayon, like cleaning the rice, cleaning the house, doing laundry and most especially, cooking and preparing the family meal. Women pray to her as they do their household duties, asking her to bless them and their cooking so that their husbands would always return to them and their children would grow up to be strong and healthy individuals.

Munsad Buralakaw and Suklang Malayon watching over a family
from the Children's Artbook of Marla Yotoko Chorengel
Illustrated by Bernadette C. Solina

EVOLUTION OF IMPORTANCE THROUGH SPANISH INFLUENCE

The worship of Suklang Malayon may have ceased to most visayans when the spanish inquisition flourished in the islands, however, local customs and household superstitions regarding her continued, examples of these are the prohibition of banging the pots and pans with a ladle during cooking, never cry or argue while cooking or you will lose a loved one, never clean the house during dusk and at night, and never eat the rice out of the pot directly unless you want to have your fortunes reversed to bad luck and risk your family being poor for the rest of their lives. Superstitions revolving around the goddess of the homes are numerous and practiced by many Visayans until now, and it is through these that the memory of this benevolent deity is well and alive in the hearts of present-day Visayans.

Munsad Buralakaw

MUNSAD BURALAKAW
DEITY OF HUMAN AFFAIRS & POLITICS

Munsad Buralakaw as portrayed by Raul Dillo
GMA Network's AMAYA, 2011

He is the diwata in charge of human affairs and politics, an important deity of the Visayan ancestors whom they both praise and honor as a protector of their communities and also in charge of their fates and the state of the nation. He is described as a refined god who loves order and peace, yet at the same time admires the bravado of heroes, chieftains and their armies. It is said that he is present in every community council, observing and lending a hand of inspiration to the datus, babaylans and other important figures of ancient Visayan society. He has the power to inspire great leaders, guide and bless heroes on their quests, give blessings and good fortune to a community, yet also has the power to take it all away in one fell swoop of his hand. Munsad Buralakaw also is believed to be one of the deities who loves to make his presence known to the early people, either in dreams or in real life situations by disguising himself either as a lone traveller or a poor beggar, observing and judging community life and testing it's inhabitants when it comes to their hospitality, generosity and kindness. It was also said that communities who drove him away from the village in his guise as a dirty vagabond or a beggar were punished severely for their selfishness and evil ways by allowing them to be captured by the enemy and civil unrest, while he bestowed glory and fame to the inhabitants of communities who treated him with kindness.

PATRON OF DATUS, HEROES 

Munsad Buralakaw is said to be the patron of datus, heroes, war leaders, the chief babaylan, doctors and young adults due to his power of affecting a person's fate, either good or bad. Offerings were made to him during important community events like rites of passage, crowning or election of community leaders and datus, weddings, births, even during judgement of prisoners of war and wrongdoers, in which the datu and the chief babaylan ask his guidance that they may give the correct sentence and punishment to the wicked and determine and save the innocent and wrongly accused. In a sense, one can say that Munsad Buralakaw is one of the most important deities in ancient Visayan Society due to his central role in them.

Munsad Buralakaw and Suklang Malayon watching over a family
from the Children's Artbook of Marla Yotoko Chorengel
Illustrated by Bernadette C. Solina

EVOLUTION OF IMPORTANCE THROUGH SPANISH INFLUENCE

 When the Spanish conquistadores came and introduced Christianity, Munsad Buralakaw's worship weakened and was replaced by the worship of Christ. The belief of Munsad Buralakaw's central role in the lives of the people were discredited by the Spanish lawmakers and friars, telling the Visayans that worshipping him and the other diwatas were wrong and in his stead, the teachings of Catholicism and faith in the Catholic Christian's God was planted in the hearts and minds of the people. Now, only a few ethnic Visayan groups believe in Munsad Buralakaw, and through them and their descendants, he remains as one of the most important gods of their daily lives.