The Kapampángan homeland, Indûng Kapampángan, is located in the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines, by the ethnic group known as Bangsâng Kapampángan (Kapampángan people). The Kapampángan language is often affectionately called by them as Amánung Sísuan ~ the ‘language suckled from the mother’s breast’. It is also written as Capampáñgan.
*Note on spelling the Kapampángan language using Roman characters:
The Kapampángan Language is filled with words that are spelled in the same way but pronounced differently. As a result, many Kapampángans now can not avoid making logical errors due to the ambiguous reading of a word that has a different meaning. This is avoided using diacritical marks in Romanized Kapampángan writing.
Based on the year 2000 Philippine census, there were about 2 million people that spoke Kapampángan as their native language.
The Spanish king granted Bangsâng Kapampángan (Nazión Pampanga in Spanish) autonomy and exemption from paying tribute indefinitely after they helped defeat the Dutch in a series of naval battles. This autonomy was lost when the United States took over the Philippines in 1899.
Around the Philippine archipelago there is the common motif of the sun/moon eater. This is a being that seeks to consume the sun or moon, causing solar or lunar eclipses. Among these are the famous Bakunawa in the Visayas, the Arimaonga of the Maranaos, the Tambanakano of the Manfayas, the Tambanakaua of the Manobos, the Laho of the Tagalogs, the Sawa of the Ati in Panay, Kedu of the Maguindanaons, Olimaw of the Ilocanos, Minokawa of the Bagobos, among others.
Laho Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen
Minokawa Illustration by Harv Heinrich
FB: Harvibore
Kedu Illustration by Yuriko Yoshida
IG: @yumiro45
FB: Yumiro45
Láwû is the Kapampángan version of the Sun/Moon Eater motif.
Láwû Illustration by Art of EDOY
Láwû is a giant creature that looks like a mixture of a serpent and a bird and some crocodilian aspects. He has claws and fangs and is birdlike with wings and a fierce face that is crocodilian. He has fearsome and sharp claws and fangs. His face is crocodilian.
Láwû is mostly referred to as male, but it can also be female.
Láwû swallows the sun or moon and Kapampángans believed that if the sun or the moon were able to fight their way out of Láwû ‘s stomach (Mitdas ya atian ing Láwus) or ‘partial eclipse’ would happen then there would be no famine and there would be a bountiful harvest. But if the Sun and the Moon comes out of the Láwû’s behind (Tiklá nó ning Láwû) /The Láwû defecates the sun & the moon, or Total Eclipse, then Lakandánup would come and there would be famine.
Lakandánup ‘Hunger/Famine’ is a goddess whose form is a serpent. If she eats your shadow you will never feel whole again and wither and die. She is the daughter of Ápung Sínukuan and Dápu.
Láwû ‘s story is connected to Dápu – The crocodile that holds the earth on her back. Dápu is a nunu – a goddess of the earth. She is mother ocean, counterpart to Batálâ the kingfisher, father sky.
There was a time when Batálâ (The Kingfisher) got so hungry because he couldn’t get food (Dápu devoured everything in her path). He saw Dápu with her mouth open and lodged in her teeth was leftover fish (Tínga). The moment he entered, Salaksak (Sacred) became his name. Dápu clamped her mouth and swallowed Batálâ /Salaksak. His body dissolved and his 2 souls came out and burst out of Dápu’s belly. The souls were in the form of two fiery birds – Aldó (White) and Búlan (Red)
Since Dápu had become physically weak when her stomach burst, she sends out her kaladdua or soul (in the form of Láwû) instead.
(Sending out one’s soul to hurt one’s enemies is a common Kapampángan belief)
There is a version of the story that Dápu died and the ghost became Láwû seeking revenge on the sun and the moon. But in most stories Dápu is still very much alive. The ghost (Láwû) is said to come every 25 years.
There are other stories where Láwû is a descendant of Dápu seeking revenge on those who hurt his mother.
=—————————————————————————=
A fictional Láwû tale by The Spirits of the Philippine Archipelago
The behemoth roared.
It had been eons since the incident, but her bones felt weak until now.
There had been rumblings on her back, there was something happening with the humans.
She summoned her soul with another roar.
It coalesced into a being of bird and serpent, ready to follow her will.
In normal times she would have sent him to the heavens, to battle with the celestial orbs and usher in famine if it won.
But these were not normal times.
In fact, this was not the time at all. The soul-self knew there was a certain… cadence to his summoning. It would be around two decades, give or take, in the space between his being called.
Her soul-self heeded the orders and went to the realm of humans.
———————————————————————–=
It was a tsunami that swept everything in its path.
Today Janika had to be the one to turn people away, some of them already showing advanced symptoms, all of them scared.
But there was nothing she and the hospital could do for them. The facilities were so stretched that there were those who should have been in intensive care had breathing tubes attached to them just to keep them alive.
In med school one of her professors told her class that they shouldn’t be afraid of seeing death, that it was a part of the profession and that they should treat it as a companion. She nodded and calmly accepted that it had to be.
Then her friends started getting sick. Nurses, technicians and fellow doctors who she had exchanged smiles with were now fighting for their lives attached to the same tubes that had held their patients. Even other, exceptional doctors in the top of their fields, succumbed to the disease, people Janika had idolized since she took her first steps into the medical profession.
She looked at the clock and it was the end of her shift. She took off her protective equipment, said goodbye to her friends and boarded the shuttle that would take her near to the dorm she was staying in.
As she sat down, Janika closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind on other things.
But all she kept seeing was
The beds.
The scared faces.
The tears.
The tubes.
She walked from the shuttle and staggered towards her room.
She crumpled on her bed and looked outside her window.
The moon was out and bright that night.
And Janika was thankful at that small hint that the universe might care.
And she slept.
And let the tiredness take her.
=—————————————-=
The soul-self soared through the skies, peeking through the minds of humans and watching the scenario that unfolded below him.
He had always assumed that should a situation like this arise, the humans would tear themselves apart.
The world was full of surprises.
As he prepared to return back to the mother-crocodile, he spied the moon, shining brighter than usual.
Instinct took over the soul-self, how dare its enemy shine its light on him!?
He expanded to titanic proportions and let loose his gaping maw, swallowing the brilliant orb, and preparing for battle.
In normal times it would be a brawl to see where the sphere would exit. If the wretched moon proved victorious and escaped through his mouth then a bountiful harvest would take place. If it lost, the soul-self would rejoice in the total eclipse, waiting for famine to take her place.
The thrill of the fight electrified the soul-self.
But it would be sorely disappointed.
He had never felt such resistance in ages past. In an instant the moon burst from its jaws and took its place back in the night sky.
He stared in disbelief at his would-be quarry.
This would not stand.
Again and again he tried to consume the moon.
And again and again, he would fail.
The celestial sphere stayed, unmoving, as if letting the soul-self know that at least tonight of all nights, he would never win.
His pride ruined, he retreated back to the primordial waters.
=——————————————————————=
She faced her soul as soon as he returned, in an instant they melded together and she was complete.
Through his eyes she experienced the journey to the human realm and all the suffering he had witnessed.
And she thought about the humans.
And the moon.
These were strange times indeed.
=—————————————————————————-=
The alarm jolted Janika awake. It was time for her next shift.
She prepared her things and walked to the shuttle.
She knew there were more deaths to come.
But it would eventually end.
And she would go home.
To the people she loved.
That were waiting.
She would not forget.
That no matter how terrible things were.
She would remember to love.
=—————————————————————————–=
Follow The Spirits of the Philippine Archipelago on Facebook
Sources:
Pangilinan (2014) An Introduction to the Kapampángan Language
https://aboutphilippines.org/files/Pangilinan__TUFS__-_Kapampangan-libre.pdf
Pangilinan The Importance of Diacritical Marks in Romanized Kapampángan
https://sil-philippines-languages.org/ical/papers/pangilinan-Diacritical%20Marks.pdf
Interview with Mike Pangilinan of the Sínúpan Singsing: Center for Kapampángan Cultural Heritage
ALSO READ: BAKUNAWA: The Moon Eating Dragon of Philippine Mythology
Speculative fiction writer. Philippine folklore and heritage researcher.
Author of The Spirits of the Philippine Archipelago.
Currently in the middle of fixing up an encyclopedia of Philippine Mythical creatures.
