The Deities of the Philippines

Bathala's Daughters: The Demigods Mayari, Hanan & Tala

          I've been interested in Mayari since I've read about here somewhere. i think it was a story with Maria Makiling as main character. She collects treasure from people who comes to her shop in exchange for a wish...or something like that. Anyway, here's what I found about Mayari and her sisters. 

pic above: Mayari, Tala and Hanan by LittleKotone on DeviantArt

"The most beautiful divinity in the court of Bathala was Mayari, the goddess of the moon. Mayari had two charming sisters, Hana, goddess of the morning, and Tala, goddess of the stars. They were said to be the daughters of Bathala by a mortal wife who died after she had given birth to these three beautiful goddesses. Bathala took these three sisters to the sky and made them members of his celestial court." 

 Mayari, Goddess of the Moon

         Mayari (or Bulan in Bisayan) is the Goddess of the Moon in Tagalog mythology. She is known as the most beautiful of the goddesses and is the daughter of Bathala, the Supreme God, and a mortal woman. Mayari is the Goddess of Combat, War, Revolution, Hunt, Weaponry, Beauty, Strength, Moon and Night. She is known as the most beautiful deity in Bathala's court. 

          In some origin stories she is the sister of Tala, goddess of stars, and Hanan, goddess of the morning; in others she is the sister of Tala and Apolaki, god of the sun. In a Pampangan myth, Bathala died without leaving a will and Mayari fought with her brother Apolaki for the right to rule the Earth. During the fight, Apolaki hit Mayari in the face with a bamboo club, causing her to lose one of her eyes. He asked for her forgiveness and agreed that they should rule together, he during the day and she at night. However, her light is dimmer than her brother's due to the loss of her eye. In honor of Mayari, there is courtship tradition that takes place on the night of a full moon. Suitors give a corsage of sampaguita to the woman they are pursuing, and if she accepts him as her lover, she wears the corsage. On the night of a full moon, these new lovers pledge their love with the moon as witness. 

     

Hanan, Deity of the Dawn 

           Hanan is the sister of Mayari and Tala and one of the three daughters of Bathala by a mortal woman. The first prayer of the day is given to Bathala, Apolaki, and her as a sign of a new day. She is especially important during the entrance of a new age or a new phase in a person's life. People offer her bountiful harvests and prayers during the birth of a child, entering adulthood, death, entrance of the planting season, beginning of the harvest season, and the start of a new annual cycle. These prayers are only conducted at the break of dawn. In Tagalog animism, the rooster and the dawning sun was Hanan's emblem.

 Tala, Deity of the Evening Star

           Tala is the name of the goddess of the morning and evening star in Tagalog mythology. Her origins are varied depending on region.

           In one story, sun god Arao and the moon goddess Buan both had large families of stars, but Buan believed her stars could not survive the heat of Arao. They both agreed to destroy their stars. While Arao devoured his, Buan hid hers in the clouds, where they would occasionally emerge. Upon seeing this, Arao was filled with rage and is eternally in pursuit of Buan, trying to destroy her. Eclipses are explained by Arao getting close enough to bite her. At dawn, Buan hides the stars and brings them forth only when her eldest daughter, Tala (the evening and morning star) says the sun is too far away to pursue them.

           Derived from this myth are the Tagalog words tala, which means "bright star", araw (sun) and buwan (moon).

           This story has very close parallels to stories among non-Filipino cultures such as the Bihar, Semang, Savara and the Bhuiya tribes.

         In another myth, Tala is one of the three daughters of Bathala to a mortal woman. Her sisters include Mayari, the goddess of the moon and Hanan, the goddess of morning.

           In another myth, Tala is known to have supported the creation of the Tagalog traditional constellations. Tala used light spheres or orbs to ferry men to safety at night, however, when the Spaniards came, they demonized the light orbs and called it santelmos. The natives eventually regarded the santelmos as deadly beings that kill men or get humans to lose their way.

Source: https://www.aswangproject.com/bathalas-daughters-demigods-mayari-hanan-tala/