Mayari

Not to be confused with Mayarí.

Mayari/Malayari
Lunar deity
Symbol	Moon
Gender	Female (Kapampangan and Tagalog), Male (Sambal)
Region	Pampanga, Southern Tagalog, Zambales
Genealogy
Parents	Bathala
Siblings	Apolaki (Kapampangan), Tala, and Hanan (Tagalog)

Mayari is one of the many moon deities in Philippine mythology. The Philippines has multiple moon deities because of its diverse ethnolinguistic groups and rich pre-colonial unified belief systems. ^{[1] [2]} In Kapampangan mythology, Mayari is the goddess of the moon and ruler of the world during nighttime. ^[3] Mayari is also a goddess of beauty, war, revolution, strength, weaponry and the hunt. ^[4]

In Kapampangan mythology

In Kampampangan mythology, Bathala, the creator of the world, died without leaving a will. His children Apolaki and Mayari had a quarrel, for each wanted to rule the world alone. The two fought out the conflict with bamboo clubs (Zabbors), back and forth they fought until at last Apolaki struck Mayari in the face and she became blind in one eye. When he saw his sister stricken, Apolaki took pity on her and agreed to rule the earth together but at different times. However, her light is dimmer than her brother's due to the loss of her eye. ^[5]

In Sambal mythology

In Sambal mythology, Malayari is chief god of the Sambals, who predominantly live in Zambales. He is the creator of all things, and the omnipotent ruler over life and death. Malayari is a compassionate and loving god, sending rain, health, wealth and abundance to those who deserve it, but punishing those who ignore his commandments. ¶

Appearance

Mayari is a beautiful woman often wearing intricately designed clothes and is adorned with beads, jewelry and historical accessories. She is also often depicted carrying weapons such as the baston, yantok and fighting sticks. The fighting sticks she uses is the ones used on Filipino martial art Arnis. Her one eye glows brighter than the other one which is scarred and sightless. In modern depictions, she is often shown with celestial designs and has tatoos and warrior marks. ^[6]

See also

• Deities of Philippine mythology
• List of lunar deities

References

1. Daniélou, Alain (1991). The myths and gods of India: the classic work on Hindu polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen series. Rochester, Vt. : [s.l.]: Inner Traditions International ; Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. by American International Distribution Corp. ISBN   978-0-89281-354-4.
2. Ramos, Maximo (1990). Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales. Ancient Cosmology – University of Oregon Lectures.
3. Ramos, Maximo (1990). Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales. Ancient Cosmology – University of Oregon Lectures.
4. Nair, Nitten (2022-08-31). "Mayari: The Divine Goddess of Philippine Mythology". Mythlok. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
5. Ramos, Maximo D. (1990). Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.; reprint 1998.
6. Nair, Nitten (2022-08-31). "Mayari: The Divine Goddess of Philippine Mythology". Mythlok. Retrieved 2025-09-14.