Curatorial Note

As students of CIIT who have experienced Agwikasan, we obviously know the gods “Hanan, Mayari, Apolaki, and Tala,” but the most popular god of them all would be their father, Bathala. Then when it comes to enchanting beings, we always hear stories of “Diwata’s” living on our mountains like Maria Makiling or Maria Sinukuan. And finally, the myths that are most well-known, even abroad, would have to be the Filipino monsters like the aswang, tikbalang, manananggal, kapre, bakunawa, etc. Myths are something that existed for a very long time and having no exact date when they came to be. The Myths in the Philippines come from different indigenous religions, these religions have their own identities when it comes to presenting their own Myths and some having similar events happen in their Myths with the characters and settings being referred to with different names. There are also Myths that exist in order to explain supernatural events or beings and those myths are used by adults to use as a sort of scare to kids or serve as warnings to those who travel in the Philippines. Philippine Mythology often includes supernatural beings in our culture, used to explain natural phenomena and give comfort by making sense of order and meaning in a disordered society providing a philosophy for our culture’s practices to reflect how people relate with one another their in everyday lives.

This gives us context in our world’s literature and beliefs and ethics to the way we act in our lives and enriches the cultural identities of various indigenous Philippines folk religions. In our exhibition, we would like to represent the traditions and the myths that have been passed down throughout generations and to showcase the boldness and the diversity of our culture through our interpretational artworks about mythology. Our exhibition is not only to differentiate us from the rest, but to also show our independence, to spread awareness, and remind Filipinos of their own culture that helps define the Philippines as a whole and as its own unique identity. Philippine myths are an interesting part of our culture that needs to be explored more as it does give more context to our identities in various aspects. There are many instances where there are similar ideas to the myths of other countries and ours but not all mythological figures are the same. Filipino Mythology centers around the idea and emphasis of relationship with our gods, goddesses and deities to mortals. Other mythology may center around the wonders of their gods and goddesses, since other mythologies may believe in a singular name to praise, Filipino mythology originates from different regions, religions and ethnic faith which leads to different mythologies from different regions. Filipino myths can range from pre-colonial deities and enchanting beings to fearless heroes and horrifying monsters. The artworks about to be presented in this exhibition is a way to visualize the details and give more context to the culture of Philippine myths.