History Myth / PhilippineMythology

** The Anggitay of Philippine mythology are the SexyDimorphism of the Tikbalang; a counterpart to centaride (female centaurs) of Greek mythology. They have a female upper body with a horse lowered body. Some have a single horn growing from their forehead like {{unicorn}}s.
** Curiously, there is no evidence of horses (whether native or imported) and horse domestication in the Philippines before the arrival of the Spanish, and the earliest mentions of these creatures in Spanish colonial records emphasized them being shapeshifters and nature spirits. The part-horse image seems to have evolved later. Then again, before the Spanish or other Europeans came in contact with the archipelago, the people of the Philippines had contact with mainland Asian civilizations that also domesticated horses such as Ming Dynasty China, and some posit the image of a horse-headed humanoid figure may have been brought through Hindu influence as one of Vishnu's avatars looks like that.

* DarkIsNotEvil: In Filipino mythology monsters are usually AlwaysChaoticEvil, but there are exceptions; [[GuardianEntity The Kapre]], for example, is a sasquatch like creature that usually only reveals itself to people because it wants to be their friend ([[InterspeciesRomance or more]]) and will follow them throughout life afterward, implicitly protecting the people they like. [[TheTrickster The Alan]], meanwhile is a [[TheGrotesque deformed]], [[{{Troll}} mischievous]] [[WingedHumanoid bird-like]] creature with [[BodyHorror backward-facing hands and feet]], that steals drops of menstrual blood, miscarried fetuses, afterbirth and other reproductive waste...[[ParentalSubstitute and turns them into human babies that they raise lovingly as their own]].

* TopGod: Bathala is the supreme creator god in Tagalog mythology. He's the primordial male deity which made the whole universe. A fuller name for him is Bathalang Maykapal, meaning "Lord Creator". "Bathala" itself is from Sanskrit ''bhattara'' "lord", so some scholars have proposed that the actual native Tagalog name or rather title was "ang Maykapal", the Creator. Even today the Christian God may be addressed as Panginoong Maykapal (often shortened to Poong Maykapal), also meaning Lord Creator, in addition to Diyos (from Spanish ''Dios''... distantly but directly related to Sanskrit ''Deva'', because they're both in the Indo-European language family.)
* WeddingSmashers: In Manobo/Manuvu tale of ''Tuwaang attends a wedding'', the hero Tuwaang goes to a wedding of the Lady of Mo:nawon to the Young Man of Sakadna. Tuwaang unintentional showed up the groom who couldn't afford the last of the savakan (bride-wealth consisting of articles and wrapped food to be paid for by the groom’s kinsmen) by buying them for him and then further shamed the groom when the bride sat next to Tuwaang instead. [[CockFight The groom -the Young Man of Sakadna- decides to challenge Tuwaang]] and, with his 100-man entourage [[TakingTheFightOutside waits for him out in the yard]]. Before Tuwaang goes to fight, the bride -the Lady of Mo:nawon- fixed his [[IdiotHair cowlick]] while Tuwaang's gungutan bird killed 94 of the Young Man of Sakanda's entourage, leaving only six gallants. Tuwaang and his bird fought the six together until only Tuwaang and the Young Man of Sakadna remain. An epic battle ensues with KungShui such as a boulder turning to dust when Tuwaang was thrown hard against it and trees getting bent and toppled. The Young Man of Sakadna then slammed Tuwaang so hard onto the ground that he sank BeneathTheEarth all the way to {{the underworld}} where he met the god of the underworld Tuhawa who told Tuwaang how to be at his foe. Tuwaang surfaces and summons the golden flute in which the Young Man of Sakadna [[SoulJar keeps his life]]. Tuwaang asks his foe to become his vassal in exchange for his life. The groom prefers death. Tuwaang therefore destroys the golden flute, ending his life. Accompanied by the gungutan, Tuwaang takes the bride home to Kuaman, where he rules forever.

* DarkIsNotEvil: In Filipino mythology monsters are usually AlwaysChaoticEvil, but there are exceptions; [[GuardianEntity The Kapre]], for example, is a sasquatch like creature that usually only reveals itself to people because it wants to be their friend ([[InterspeciesRomance or more]]) and will follow them throughout life afterward, implicitly protecting the people they like. [[TheTrickster The Alan]], meanwhile is a [[TheGrotesque deformed]], [[{{Troll}} mischievous]] [[WingedHumanoid bird-like]] creature with [[BodyHorror backward-facing hands and feet]], that steals [[{{Squick}} drops of menstrual blood, miscarried fetuses, afterbirth and other reproductive waste]]...[[ParentalSubstitute and turns them into human babies that they raise lovingly as their own]].

* DragonsAreDivine: Recently rediscovered myths show a common motif where ''crocodiles'' are seen as Asian dragons, filling the roles of [[NatureSpirit powerful water-spirits,]] if not outright {{Physical God}}s like with East Asian mythology. Of course, being [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles,]] they're naturally more fearsome than most Asian dragons: They were held as minor gods because [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they protected mortals from the OTHER dangerous water-spirits]] lurking in the seas and rivers. It was often thought that being eaten by a crocodile sent someone directly to the positive "heaven-type" afterlife, without the arduous sea-journey needed after most other deaths, and some tribes thought that normal crocodiles needed a HumanSacrifice to turn INTO dragons, as they [[SoulEating needed to eat a human soul]].

* CreationMyth: The Tagalog, Igarot and the Visayan people have myths that gives the origin of the world. Most ore secondary creation stories which the deities/higher powers take what has already existed and use them to make something new.

** The Tagalogs have the giant serpent Laho (believe by some scholars that Rahu of Myth/HinduMythology is the etymological origin).