Myths About the Moon

Another tale tells that the Bakunawa has a sister in the form of a sea turtle. The sea turtle would visit an island in the Philippines to lay its eggs. However, locals soon discovered that every time the sea turtle went to shore, the water seemed to follow her, thus reducing the island's size. Worried their island would eventually disappear, the locals killed the sea turtle.

When the Bakunawa found out about this, it arose from the sea and ate the moon. The people were afraid so they prayed to Bathala to punish the creature. Bathala refused but instead told them to bang their pots and pans to disturb the dragon. The moon is then returned while the Bakunawa disappeared, never to be seen again.