Bakunawa

Bakunawa
Bakunawa pommels from Visayan tenegre swords
GroupingDragon
Similar entitiesSea serpent
Phaya Naga
Nāga
Dragon (Asian)
RegionVisayas and Bicol regions of the Philippines

The Bakunawa is a serpent-like dragon in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind.[1] The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system for ancient Filipinos and were part of the rituals of the babaylan priestess. It is usually depicted with a characteristic looped tail and a single horn on the nose. It was generally believed to be a sea serpent,[2] but is also variously believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld.[3]

Due to increasing trade contacts with South Asia and the Indianization of Southeast Asia, the Bakunawa later became syncretized with the Nāga, Rahu, and Ketu of Hindu-Buddhist mythology.[2][4]

  1. ^ Tito, Genova (January 1, 2015). "A serpent, this earth and the end of the year". Business Mirror. ProQuest 1644507809.
  2. ^ a b Cabrera, John Ray (2012). "Eclipse: The story behind the Bakunawa myth" (PDF). Philippine Journal of Astronomy. 5 (1): 12–13.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference mccoy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "BAKUNAWA: The Moon Eating Dragon of Philippine Mythology". The Aswang Project. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2019.

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