Bakunawa
Sign in to saveThe Bakunawa, also called the Philippine moon-eating dragon, the Philippine moon dragon, moon dragon, or the moon-eating dragon, is a dragon-like serpent in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. 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 believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld.
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- Etymology
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- Cebuano mythology
- West Visayan mythology
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The Bakunawa, also called the Philippine moon-eating dragon, the Philippine moon dragon, moon dragon, or the moon-eating dragon, is a dragon-like serpent in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. 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 believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld.
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bakunawa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.