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SURF the Internet or browse through books in the library, and you will encounter images of a serpent or dragon with a ball between its fangs or caught in its mouth. The names for this creature are legion, but we commonly call it the Bakunawa. In some narratives, the Bakunawa is a moongobbling serpent that causes lunar eclipses. When the moon starts to disappear, people would line up along the street of the town or at the beach. They have pots and pans that they beat with sticks and stones, so as to distract the Bakunawa and compel it to spit out the moon. The old men and women would shout at the sky and implore the monster to give them back the moon.
The Bakunawa, however, is not just into moons. In many tales the Bakunawa could threaten to end the earth's existence, because it can swallow our planet, our only home. In other islands in the Philippines, the Bakunawa is identified with the Tandayag, a serpentlike creature that outgrows its lair, leaves it and swims into the depths of the sea.
The strongest noise is the only way for the serpent/monster to disgorge the moon or earth. In other illustrations, one can also see another creature, called NÃ"Âga. More virulent and...