The Kapampangan Naga
The old Kapampángan word naga was recorded in Fray Bergaño’s 1860 dictionary as “that figure that is placed on the prow”, likely referring to the naga (serpentine dragon) figureheads found in boats in other Asian cultures.
Nagas are semi-divine serpent creatures in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Their mortal enemy is the garuda (galúrâ in Kapampángan), a semi-divine bird-like deity.
The garuda is often portrayed in Hindu and Buddhist iconography as standing over a slain nagaraja or king of the nagas (serpents). In Kapampángan folk Catholicism, this has been syncretized as Saint Michael the Archangel slaying the serpent Lucifer, which is depicted in protective talismans called cabal.
The naga Lakandanum is the god of water in Kapampángan mythology whose return marks the arrival of the rainy season during the Kapampángan New Year of Báyung Danum (New Water).
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