Bathala and the Rainbow

Bathala and the rainbow story

In the beginning, there were no rainbows. The first rainbow was used by Bathala, who was king of the Gods and goddesses. He used the rainbow as abridge to join earth and sky.

In those days, Bathala and the Gods and goddesses
use to live on earth. They taught people how to hunt animals in the forest, how to grow vegetables and fruit, how to make war, and how to cure illnesses.

One day, Bathala decided to visit his kingdom in the sky. He got ready his strong fine horse which could jump over mountains and run as fast as the wind. He sat on a saddle made of soft leather with gold and silver decorations.

He rode on his horse to the end of the earth where there was a great ocean. Everyone had to cross this ocean to reach the sky. Yet it was very close to the sky and on a clear day you could hear the voice of the people living in the sky.

Bathala stopped his horse. He immediately called out to his servants in the sky and told them to build a bridge so that he could pass over it. Suddenly, a beautiful, many-coloured ribbon appeared joining the earth to the sky. Bathala rode over this bridge to reach heaven.

Since then, a rainbow has been called bahaghari in the Filipino language. It means “bridge of the king.”

Today, when people see a rainbow in the sky, they know that Bathala is once again riding on his horse crossing the bridge joining the earth to the sky