Sie sind auf Seite 1von 1

Bakunawa: The Moon-Swallower

Each civilization has its own beliefs regarding eclipses – a phenomenon when the
earth aligns perfectly with the sun and the moon, blocking the former or the latter from view.
Ancient Vikings believe that sky wolves, chasing the sun or the moon, would catch them
once in a while, resulting in an eclipse. Similar legends of demons or mythical creatures
stealing the sun or the moon also exist among Koreans, Africans and Hindus.
Ancient Filipinos also profess beliefs concerning the occurrence of eclipses. To them, it’s all
due to a mythical creature called Bakunawa (also spelled Bakonawa, Baconaua, or
Bakonaua), often represented as a gigantic sea serpent. Folklore describes the bakunawa as
a giant sea serpent with a mouth the size of a lake, a red tongue, whiskers, gills, small wires
at its sides, and two sets of wings – a large, ash-gray one and another smaller one, found
further down its body.
During ancient times, Filipinos believe that there are seven moons created by Bathala to light
up the sky. The Bakunawa, amazed by their beauty, would rise from the ocean and swallow
the moons whole, earning him the ire of Bathala.
To keep the moons from completely being swallowed, ancient Filipinos would go out of their
homes with pans and pots, and would make noise in order to scare the Bakunawa into
spitting out the moon back into the sky. Some of the people in the villages would play
soothing sounds with their musical instruments, in hopes that the dragon would fall into a
deep sleep. The brave men of the village hoped that they could slay the dragon after it
became hypnotized by the music the made. Although the dragon was known as a "moon
eater" it was also known as a "man eater".
Several tales have been recorded concerning the Bakunawa’s origins. One tale relates that
the monster’s sister – in the form of a sea turtle – would visit a certain island in the
Philippines in order to lay its eggs. However, locals soon discovered that every time the sea
turtle went to shore, the water seemed to follow her, thus reducing the island's size. Worried
that their island would eventually disappear, the locals killed the sea turtle.
When the sea serpent heard about the incident, it rose from the sea and ate the moon.
Frightened, the people prayed to Bathala to punish the creature. However, the deity refused,
telling them to bang some pots and pans in order to disturb the serpent. The serpent
regurgitated the moon and then disappeared, never to be seen again. Legend ascribes the
location of the islands to the present-day Turtle Islands, near the Sulu archipelago.
Other tales tell how the Bakunawa fell in love with a human girl in one of the native tribes.
The head of the tribe found out about their affair and had their house burned to ashes. The
Bakunawa, finding out about this, became immersed in anger and tried to take revenge by
eating all the seven moons. When the Bakunawa was about to eat the last one, Bathala took
action and punished the Bakunawa by banishing it from its home away from the sea. Thus,
folklore tells us, eclipses happen because the Bakunawa is trying to come back to its home
and deceased family.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen