PHILIPPINE MYTHICAL CREATURES: Bakunawa

BAKUNAWA

Description:  Is a mythical dragon often depicted as a giant sea serpent. Its mouth is the size of a lake, it’s got red tongue, gills, two pairs of wings and whiskers. It is believed that a Bakunawa trying to eat the moon is the cause of the eclipse.

Alias:  Bakunawa

Scheme:  In ancient times, Bathala created 7 moons to light up the sky.  Bakunawa was so attracted to the moons that at night, he would rise up from the sea to eat the moon whole.  The Bakunawa is also a human-eater which is why the people are afraid of him.  It was believed that the Bakunawa is able to eat 6 of the 7 moons which angers Bathala.  In a full moon, the Bakunawa would attempt to eat the last moon.  To stop the Bakunawa from doing this, Bathala told the people to make noise using pots and pans to scare it off.  Bakunawa’s attempt to eat the moon is believed to be the cause of eclipse.

Origin:  Unknown

Habitat:  Sea

Weakness:  Loud Noise

Secret identity:  N/A

Nemesis:  Bathala

ABOUT THE ARTWORK: The image is designed to be a downloadable card that can be collected and played with against friends.  The Artwork is a digital copy of the original piece created for the Philippine Mythical Creatures art exhibition at the Philippine Pavilion during the Pistang Pilipino 2016 sa Wellington.  Credits to Alex, Samantha and Xandrix for creating the art pieces.