Yna Guinid (the goddess of war and poisons); Barangaw (the god of rainbow and symbol of hope); and Makanduk (god of war and plunder) | Photo courtesy of Art of EDOY Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines–A Cebuano artist brought the Visayan Gods of War to life with his illustrations.
Alfred Ismael Galaroza from Minglanilla, Cebu, shared on his Facebook account his illustration the Visayas War Gods, composed of Yna Guinid (the goddess of war and poisons); Barangaw (the god of rainbow and symbol of hope); and Makanduk (god of war and plunder).
In an interview with CDN Digital, Galoroza narrated why he chose to feature the Visayan War Gods in his work.
“Actually, naay nag commission nako and this is a great challenge for me to draw, since I’m focusing more on the Philippine Mythology monsters, like the Moon/Sun Eaters and the monsters of Indarapatra and Sulayman. Then I thought, ‘how about featuring those three?’ Those three Visayan War Gods have awesome descriptions,” the 26-year-old artist said.
(Actually, someone commissioned me to do this and this is a great challenge for me to draw, since I am focusing more on the Philippine Mythology like the Moon/Sun Eaters and the monsters of Indarapatra and Sulayman. Then I thought, ‘how about featuring those three?’ Those three Visayan War Gods have awesome descriptions.)
Galoroza, a full-time illustrator in a private outsourcing company based in Mandaue City, said that he got the idea of the Visayan war Gods from the “Aswang Project,” an educational website that shares the rich and diverse culture of the Philippines.
Galoroza added that he looked up his father, who was also an artist like him.
“My father was an artist. When I was young, he inspired me to draw, but for the Philippine mythology. When I was in high school, there was a Filipino subject and the story was Indarapatra and Sulayman. When I read it, I got inspired, and this is time where I started having an interest in the Philippine Mythology,” he said.
Visayan superstitious beliefs, “Kalag nga natakluban sa kaldero” and “Gahum sa muta sa lubos itom nga iring”
Aside from the the Visayan Gods, Galoroza also visualised Visayan superstitious beliefs in his works such as “Kalag nga natakluban sa kaldero” and “Gahum sa muta sa lubos itom nga iring.” /bmjo