Bathala

        The supreme god of being; creator of man and earth and addressed sometimes as Bathalang Maykapal. He is the grand conserver of the universe and is the caretaker of nature and the creatures of the earth. He dwells in Kaluwalhatian together with the lesser gods and goddesses. Aside from the lesser deities, he sends his “anitos” in order to assist the daily lives of every human.

      According to ancient myth, the Tagalog upperworld was called Kaluwalhatian, and was the home of specific deities who belonged to the court of Bathala, the Tagalog supreme deity. The middle world was the domain of mankind, other deities and various mythological races, while  the underworld was composed of two realms, namely, Maca (realm where the spirits of good mortals go to) and Kasanaan (realm where the spirits of sinful mortals go to). Deities also dwelt in the underworld, notably Sitan and his four agents. There was also Batala, a reappearing mountain realm located in the middle world and is filled with the sacred ‘’tigmamanukan’’ omen creatures. 

     In the beginning when the Earth was still young, the gods Bathala, Aman Sinaya, and Amihan were the only beings who existed. These three deities were the first caretakers of the offsprings of Malakas and Maganda who came from a bamboo reed.

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    Then, it finally came when the children were too numerous for Malakas and Maganda to control. One day, they were ordered to work in the fields, but instead, they did nothing. When the parents arrived home, they noticed that their instructions were not followed.

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     Asking for some guidance, they prayed to the great god, Bathala, and he came to them and said, “Let your anger be shown to everyone and it shall make them into what they are meant to be.” So out of their anger, they grabbed spoon ladles and began to give blows to everyone.

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     All the children started running away. Some hid under the bamboo tables and became slaves. A few of them went inside the burning cauldron and turned into the Aetas of the islands. Others climbed up the rooftop and became the datus of the villages. Some climbed on top of the trees and were believed to have become the commoners. Those who fled to the mountains turned into hunters and the ones who ran to the seashore turned into fishermen.This event started the class system of the Tagalogs. 

     Malakas and Maganda were finally able to make their offspring  obey them.  The prayer being  uttered  as "Bathala will take care of it" or as translated in the native language, "Kay Bathala na”  became the phrase “Bahala na. ”