1 The Creation of the Philippines Archipelago

In the beginning when the Earth was still young, the gods Bathala, Aman Sinaya, and Amihan were the only beings that existed. Bathala was god of the Sky (Langit) and

Aman Sinaya was goddess of the Sea (Linaw). The two had been fierce rivals for a long time. Every day, they would try to outdo each other; Bathala using his lighting bolts and thunder, and Aman Sinaya using her waves

and typhoons.

One day, Aman Sinaya decided to send him tempests into the Sky to cause a wild commotion. In order to stop her, Bathala threw giant boulders that came from atop of the mountains. It created thousands of islands onto the surface of the Sea

Amihan, the North Wind in the middle of the two realms, decided to stop the battle once and for all by taking the form of a bird. She then flew back and fourth between them. This made the Sky and the Sea closer than it was before. At the point where the two realms met, both gods agreed to end the fight and become friends.

As a sign of friendship, Bathala planted a seed underneath the ocean floor. It soon grew into a bamboo reed, sticking out of the edge of the Sea. Amihan had gazed upon it one day and heard voices, coming from inside the bamboo. "Oh, North Wind! North Wind! Please let us out.", the voices said. She pecked the reed once, then twice. When all of a sudden, the bamboo cracked and slit open. Inside were two human beings; one was a male and the other was a female. Amihan named the man, Malakas ("strong"), and the woman, Maganda ("beautiful"). She then flew them onto one of the islands where they settled, built a house, and had millions of offsprings that populated the Earth.

And this Island was later on named

The Philippines Archipelago.