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Ancient Tagalog - Blog Posts
LIFE AFTER DEATH | beliefs of the ancient tagalogs . . .
Back in the pre-colonial period, Tagalogs already believed in the final judgement of men— that is, the punishing of the evil and the rewarding of the good. The souls of good men were said to be taken to Maca, a village where they enjoyed eternal peace and happiness; a paradise.
However, those who deserved punishment were brought to Kasanaan, the village of grief and affliction where they were tortured forever. The souls that ended up in Kasanaan were kept by the leader of the ancient hell, Sitan.
It is said that all the wicked went to that place, and there dwelt the demons, Sitan and his four agents, who embodied evil and punishment.
Due to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, Roman Catholicism was forcefully introduced to the Tagalog. In Roman Catholicism, a good person is sent to Heaven while a bad person is sent to Hell to burn in scalding oil.
Source: In outline of Philippine Mythology by F. Landa Jocano; Juan de Plasencia’s in 1589 “Relation of the Worship of the Tagalogs, Their Gods, and Their Burials and Superstitions”