Tala: The Tagalog Morning Star

In Tagalog today, tala simply means star. For the pre-colonial Tagalogs, Tala was the name of the bright morning star that rises just before dawn.

What the Records Say

Juan de Plasencia's 1589 account notes that the Tagalogs knew the morning star as Tala. Early Filipinos watched the sky closely: stars and constellations marked the seasons for planting and sailing.

Tala in Modern Retellings

Modern versions make Tala a goddess of the stars, a daughter of Bathala and sister of Mayari and Hanan. These stories appear in F. Landa Jocano's 20th-century work and in popular lists, and they have inspired art, books and names.

Fact, Legend and Modern Retellings

Plasencia records the name and the morning star, but not a family. Tala as Bathala's daughter comes from Jocano's synthesis, so we label it a modern retelling.

Explore More Tagalog Deities

• Bathala

• Mayari

• Lakapati

• Dian Masalanta

• Lakan Bakod

• Amanikable

New to Philippine mythology? Start with our guide, Filipino Mythology for Beginners.

Sources

• Juan de Plasencia, Customs of the Tagalogs (1589), in Blair & Robertson, The Philippine Islands, vol. 7

• F. Landa Jocano, Outline of Philippine Mythology (1969)

• William Henry Scott, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994)

• The Aswang Project (aswangproject.com), source comparisons for Philippine deities