Manama
Manobo · deity · Manobo traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Manama is the supreme creator deity of the Manuvu, the Manobo of the upper Pulangi headwaters. In their cosmogony he brings the world into being and fashions the first human beings, thereafter presiding over the ordered universe from the sky. Lesser diwata and guardian spirits mediate between Manama and living communities, and offerings ultimately ascend to him. The name recurs, with cognate forms, among neighbouring Mindanao peoples, where an analogous high creator governs the heavens.
Domains
- creation
- humankind
Powers
- shapes the first humankind
Sources
- Manama is the supreme creator deity of the Manuvu (upper Pulangi Manobo).: E. Arsenio Manuel, Manuvu' Social Organization (University of the Philippines, 1973). (secondary); F. Landa Jocano, Outline of Philippine Mythology (1969). (secondary)