Ibabasag, Patroness of Pregnant Women
Bukidnon · deity · Bukidnon traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Ibabasag is the Bukidnon goddess who watches over women in pregnancy and childbirth. Documented in Cole's ethnography and in later surveys of the Bukidnon pantheon, she is reckoned an agent of the supreme creator Magbabaya, one of the specialized divinities to whom the highland people of Mindanao appeal for help in particular needs. Expectant mothers and their families invoke her, with the customary offerings, for protection through the dangers of pregnancy and for a safe delivery. She belongs to the class of beneficent, individually named divinities who serve under Magbabaya in the Bukidnon hierarchy of spirits.
Domains
- pregnancy and childbirth
Powers
- to protect women through pregnancy and childbirth
Epithets
- IbabasagFay-Cooper Cole, The Bukidnon of Mindanao, Fieldiana: Anthropology vol. 46 (Chicago: Chicago Natural History Museum / Field Museum, 1956). (secondary)
Relations
- subordinate to: Magbabaya, the One Who Wills All ThingsIbabasag is reckoned an agent of the supreme god Magbabaya, exercising her care for mothers under his overlordship within the hierarchy of Bukidnon spirits.Fay-Cooper Cole, The Bukidnon of Mindanao, Fieldiana: Anthropology vol. 46 (Chicago: Chicago Natural History Museum / Field Museum, 1956). (secondary)
Sources
- Ibabasag is the Bukidnon goddess and patroness of pregnant women, an agent of Magbabaya invoked for safety in pregnancy and childbirth.: Fay-Cooper Cole, The Bukidnon of Mindanao, Fieldiana: Anthropology vol. 46 (Chicago: Chicago Natural History Museum / Field Museum, 1956). (secondary); Vincent G. Cullen, S.J., 'The Spirit World of the Bukidnon,' Asian Folklore Studies (Folklore Studies) 27, no. 2 (1968). (secondary)