![]() Pomegranate branches almost reached to the ground because of the many and big fruits they bore. Guavas bigger than their fists dangled from the guava trees. They reached the base of the mountain at sunrise. They started for the mountain early at dawn. They wanted to get more of Mariang Sinukuan’s fruits and animals. One day, some young men decided to go up Mt. There came a time when the people were no longer satisfied with what the enchanted lady left at their doorsteps. The people considered her home as a sacred place.īut such was not always the case. ![]() ![]() And to show their gratitude and respect they never tried to go to her hide-out in the mountain. How grateful the people were to be graced by the enchanted lady. They knew it was Mariang Sinukuan who left this foods while they were sleeping. Needy families often woke up on the morning to see at their doorsteps fruits and animals for their needs. These fruit trees and animals, Mariang Sinukuan used to distribute to the poor. The strange thing about this fruit trees and animals is that the fruit trees bore exceptionally big fruits all the year round and the animals was no other than Mariang Sinukuan. Aside from the fruit trees, it is said that animals of all kinds once roamed this mountain. Arayat abounded in all kinds of fruit trees. The meaning of the Semitic-rooted name is uncertain, but it may originally be an Egyptian name, probably derived from mry “beloved” or mr “love” (“eminent lady” or “beloved lady”).Īs for the word “Makiling“, it has been noted that the mountain rises from Laguna de Bay “to a rugged top and breaks into irregular hills southward, and thus appears to be leaning or uneven.” The Tagalog word for ‘leaning’ or ‘uneven’ is “Makiling.” This corresponds with the common belief that the profile of the mountain resembles that of a reclining woman, from certain angles. It became popular with the spread of Christianity as a Latinized form of the Hebrew name of Jesus’ mother Mary (Miriam in Hebrew or Maryam in Aramaic). During the Roman Empire, the name “Maria” was used as a feminine form of the Roman name Marius. The term is a hispanized evolution of an alternate name for the Diwata, “Dayang Makiling” – “dayang” being an austronesian word meaning “princess” or “noble lady”.Īlthough “Maria” was certainly given her “Christian name” during the Spanish occupation, the etymology of “Maria” is also very interesting. However, the name “Mariang Makiling” is the Tagalog contraction of “Maria ng Makiling” (Maria of Makiling). One might assume that this means these Diwatas are a fairly recent invention – and you’d be right about Maria Sinukuan and Maria Cacao, but not for the reasons you think. You’ll notice they all carry the same name of “Maria”. She is the most widely known diwata in Philippine Mythology, and was also invoked to stop deluge, storms and earthquakes Maria Makiling – a diwata or lambana (fairy or forest nymph) associated with Mount Makiling in Laguna, Philippines. ![]() Maria Cacao – the diwata or mountain goddess associated with Mount Lantoy in Argao, Cebu, Philippines. Maria Sinukuan – the diwata (or nature spirit) associated with Mount Arayat in Pampanga, Philippines. It’s worth noting, that some indigenous tribes in the Philippines still hold communion with diwata spirits before undertaking any tasks or events. Even in some groups in Mindanao, like the T’boli, the word used is “Demwata” which has the same meaning as the Visayan Diwata.” In the Visayas however, the word Diwata is understood as equivalent to the word Anito or ancestor spirit. Among the Tagalogs, Diwata is usually understood as a fairy. The term “diwata” has taken on various levels of meaning since its assimilation into the mythology of the pre-colonial Filipinos, but its origin is in the Devata beings from Hinduism and Buddhism.īy the time the Spanish came to the Philippines, the most commonly-used meaning of the term had been reduced from goddess to dryad-like spirit – considered benevolent or neutral.Īs Jose Rhommel Hernandez commented on our recent post about Tagalog Deities – “The word “Diwata” although used in Tagalog does not retain its Indian/Hindu meaning. In Philippine mythology, a diwata is a type of deity or spirit. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect. There are many kinds of devatas: vanadevatas (forest spirits, perhaps descendants of early nature-spirit cults), gramadevata (village gods), devata of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on. The term “devata” also means devas (deva in plural form or the gods). Deva is the Hindu term for deity devatas (Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay and Indonesian: dewata Philippine languages: diwata), are a kind of smaller more focused devas.
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