The Serpent and the Silver Lantern: Bakunawa and Maritime Heritage

18th-century engraving of a karakoa warship with a Bakunawa design.

August 30, 2025 — Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

An Article by Genevie Vasallo

On nights when the skies are clear and the sea seems to hold its breath, our ancestors watched the calm horizon in fear, for at any moment, the Bakunawa, the mighty sea serpent, could rise from the dark depths and swallow the moon.

Long before modern ships crossed the Philippine seas, stories blending the mysteries of the ocean and the sky already traveled across coastal communities. Among these was the tale of the Bakunawa, a mythical sea serpent our ancestors associated with two celestial phenomena: the eclipse and the Milky Way. They believed this sea serpent could bring either fortune or misfortune.

Ages ago, our ancestors never anticipated the coming of an eclipse. Its arrival stirred unease, for they feared the loss of light. The ancient Tagalogs called it laho, meaning “disappearance,” because the moon seemed to vanish, believed to have been swallowed by the Bakunawa. Sailors and coastal dwellers imagined the great sea serpent rising from the depths, its massive coils stirring the waves, its mouth opening wide to claim the moon.

For our ancestors, the moon was more than a silver lantern in the sky, it was a compass, a clock, and a tidekeeper. Its glow guided boats through narrow channels, helped sailors judge direction, and signaled the rise and fall of the sea. So when the Bakunawa “swallowed” the moon during an eclipse, it was a mariner’s nightmare. Without the moonlight, the horizon vanished, reefs became invisible, and familiar waters turned into a dark unknown.

To save the moon, communities would gather along the shore, beating drums, clanging metal, and shouting into the night, hoping their noise would drive the Bakunawa back into the deep. When the moon returned, it was a sign that the seas were safe once more, and that the serpent had been defeated, at least for a time.

Today, remembering the Bakunawa is more than telling an old tale; it is a tribute to our maritime heritage. These waters, now crossed by modern ships, once carried the vessels of our ancestors who sailed by moonlight and read the stars. The sea is not only a route for commerce, it is a living archive, keeping the wisdom, fears, and imagination of generations who understood that the sky and ocean are forever bound.

References:

Ambrosio, Dante L. “Balatik: Etnoastronomiya, Kalangitan sa Kabihasnang

Pilipino.” Quezon City: The University of the Philippines Press, 2010.

Bicolano Myths. November 27, 2016. https://bicolanomythsofgodsandmonsters.blogspot.com/2016/11/bakunawa.html