Kadaklan

Kadaklan ('the greatest') is the great male sky-spirit of the Tinguian (Itneg) of northwestern Luzon, recorded by Fay-Cooper Cole. He lives in the sky and, in Cole's account, created the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars; he is a friendly being who taught the people to pray, to harvest, to drive off evil spirits, and to overcome omens and sickness. His wife is Agemem and his dog is Kimat, the lightning, which bites a house, tree, or field when Kadaklan wishes a ceremony performed. In the thunderbolt traditions of Lagangilang and Abang the thunderbolt itself is identified with Kadaklan, who 'eats the ground and releases his wife Agemem.' (Some later, post-Cole syntheses instead rank the celestial director Bagatulayan as supreme over Kadaklan; Cole's own text presents Kadaklan as the greatest of the spirits.)

Domains

• sky
• creation
• thunder

Powers

• Creates the earth, sun, moon, and stars
• Looses the lightning (through his dog Kimat) to summon ceremonies
• makes thunder by beating his great drum in the sky
• sends his servant Kaboniyan to earth to teach mankind

Relations

• spouse: Agemem
• companion: Kimat

Sources

• Fay-Cooper Cole, The Tinguian: Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe (Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Series, Vol. XIV, No. 2, 1922)
• Fay-Cooper Cole, Traditions of the Tinguian: A Study in Philippine Folk-Lore (Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Series, Vol. XIV, No. 1, 1915)