Product Code Database
Laon (meaning "the ancient one"),From Visayan laon meaning "ancient" or "old." is a pre-colonial female supreme creator deity in the animist anito beliefs of the Visayan peoples in the Philippines. She is associated with creation, agriculture, the sky, and divine justice. Her domain is usually identified with the volcano KanlaonLiterally "place of Laon" of the island of Negros, the highest peak in the Visayas Islands. She is present in the pre-colonial beliefs of the Aklanon people, Capiznon people, Cebuano people, Hiligaynon, Karay-a people, Suludnon people, and Waray people, among others.Cruz-Lucero, R., Pototanon, R. M. (2018). "Capiznon". With contributions by E. Arsenio Manuel. In Our Islands, Our People: The Histories and Cultures of the Filipino Nation, edited by Cruz-Lucero, R. Her name is variously rendered as Lahon, Lalaon (or Lalahon), Lauon, Malaon, Raom, and Laonsina (or Alunsina) among the different Visayan groups.
Laon is usually mentioned in the various Visayan creation myths as the creator of the first creature (a bird, usually a Philippine eagle) who finds the first islands and indirectly causes the emergence of other creatures, including the first man and woman whom it finds inside either a bamboo or rattan stem. In ancient times, shamans ( babaylan) would climb up the volcano and do rituals every good harvest season or when there was a special ceremony. They would also offer gifts as a sign of respect.
She was first recorded as "Lalahon" or "Lahon" by the conquistador Miguel de Loarca in Relación de las Yslas Filipinas (1582). De Loarca specifically identifies her as female and records that Lalahon was an agricultural deity invoked by the natives for good harvests. When she was displeased, she would send to spoil the crops. De Loarca also specifically mentions that she dwells in the Kanlaon volcano.
Laon is sometimes erroneously identified as a goddess of fire, due to the English mistranslation of De Loarca's description in The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898 (Blair & Robertson, 1903). The book mistranslates the original Spanish ("...que heçha fuego") as " she hurls fire" instead of the correct "''the... which hurls fire".
In Relación de las Islas Filipinas (1604), the Jesuit priest Pedro Chirino records the name of the spirit as "Laon" and identifies it as a creator deity, equivalent to the Tagalog people Bathala. (2025). 9788461550449, Fundación Canaria Orotava. ISBN 9788461550449 In Historia natural del sitio, fertilidad y calidad de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas (1668), the Jesuit priest Francisco Ignacio Alcina records her name among the Waray people as "Malaon", a creator deity and the female aspect of the Malaon-Makapatag duality.
In the Hinilawod epic of the Suludnon people of Panay, she was known as "Laonsina" (also "Alunsina") and was regarded as the goddess of the sky. Along with Tungkung Langit, they were the first two primordial deities in Suludnon creation myths. The suffix "sina" means "foreigner" and is likely a reference to her origin as an introduced deity from the other Visayan neighbors of the Suludnon. Laonsina is also regarded as a sky goddess among the neighboring Karay-a people and Capiznon people. (2025). 9789715427593, University of the Philippines Press. ISBN 9789715427593
Among the Batak people of Sumatra, the oldest ancestor spirits are also known as silaon.
|
|
