Angalo is a legendary creation giant from Ilocano mythology with pre-Hispanic origins in the

Ilocos Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

region of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Angalo was the first man, and son of the god of building. Angalo's head touched the sky and he could easily walk from the

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in one step. Through Angalo's actions, he shaped the hills and mountains of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, formed the oceans, and put up the

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

and

stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

. Pre-Hispanic Ilocano people attributed the sound of

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

as Angalo's voice, earthquakes as his movements, and

rainbows A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ca ...

his hanging G-string. Angalo was not alone, he had a giant wife named Aran and together they had three daughters whom the Ilocano,

Aeta The Aeta (Ayta ), Agta, or Dumagat, are collective terms for several Filipino indigenous peoples who live in various parts of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They are considered to be part of the Negrito ethnic groups and share common ...

, and

Igorot The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ar ...

people are descendants.

Landscape Mythology of Angalo

Throughout the

, Abra, and Benguet, many geological formations are attributed to Angalo and his family. Small valleys and gulches in the Cordillera Central mountain range are often noted as the giant footprints of Angalo such as found in Sudipen, La Union and

San Quintin, Abra San Quintin, officially the Municipality of San Quintin ( ilo, Ili ti San Quintin; tgl, Bayan ng San Quintin), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 5,705 people. ...

. In addition, large caves in the Ilocos Region and Abra are often described as being former shelters for Angalo's wife and his daughters. In Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, the large depressions and pools around Pinsal Falls are said to be created when Angalo knelt and drank from the falls.

Santa, Ilocos Sur Santa, officially the Municipality of Santa ( ilo, Ili ti Santa; fil, Bayan ng Santa), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,992 people. Due to Santa's nat ...

, the Banaoang Gap, a

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...

where the Abra River breaks the Ilocos mountain range, is said to be created by Angalo. Long ago, the Abra region east of the Ilocos mountain range was once a lake. One night, Angalo slept on the shore of the lake, and as he slept, he kicked the Ilocos range and in doing so unleashed the lake and created the Banaoang Gap. Abra River 1

Anecdotes of Angalo

Salt in the Sea

One day, Angalo asked his family to take bags with blocks of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

he harvested from distant lands to

. As they walked through the seas, which at the time were not salty, his daughters stumbled and their giant blocks of salt fell into the sea. The blocks of salt melted as they hit the water and created the saltiness of the sea.

Shallow Sea

On a very hot day, Angalo's daughters decided to swim in what is now the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

. The sea was deep at this time, and his daughters did not know how to swim well. When one of his daughters began to drown, Angalo dipped the flap of his baag or

loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or ...

into the sea and it absorbed so much water that his daughter was able to touch the sea floor again.

Hill of Suso Beach

One day, Angalo and his wife Aran were at the what is today called Suso Beach in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. While on the beach, Angalo piled up stones, shrubs, and sand to form a hill. When asked about his creation, he told his wife that he made the hill to resemble and honor her breasts. To this day, the hill on the southern side of Suso beach is said to be that hill.

References

{{authority control Ilocos Region Philippine mythology Fictional giants