Apolaki is the sun-god and god of war in Philippine mythology: a mighty deity of the blazing sun and of warriors, the patron of the brave and the lord of the daylight, who in some traditions contended with his sister the moon-goddess [mayari] for dominion over the world. He is the fierce solar warrior of the Filipino pantheon.
The Sun and War God
Apolaki is the god of the sun — the blazing light of day — and of war and warriors, a powerful and martial deity. In the Tagalog tradition he is often counted as a son of the supreme creator [bathala] (or, in some accounts, of other primal deities), and he is the patron of soldiers and the brave, invoked for courage and victory in battle. As the lord of the sun, he governs the daylight, the warmth and power of the sun that rules the day.
The Battle for the Sky
Apolaki’s most famous myth is his contest with his sister Mayari, the goddess of the moon, for rulership of the world after the death of their father. When the great god died, both Apolaki and Mayari claimed the right to rule, and neither would yield; their dispute turned to a fierce battle. In the struggle, Apolaki struck Mayari with a blow (a bamboo cane) that cost her one of her eyes — and at this, seeing his sister’s blood and her diminished light, Apolaki relented, struck with remorse. The two agreed to share the rule: Apolaki to govern the day with his full sun-light, and Mayari, now one-eyed, to govern the night with her softer, dimmer moon-light. So the myth explains why the sun shines bright and full by day while the moon gives only a paler light by night.
The Lord of the Day
Apolaki, with his sister Mayari and (in fuller pantheons) their sister the star-goddess [tala], forms the celestial family of the sun, moon, and stars, the children of the great gods who divide the heavens between them. As the sun-god and war-god, Apolaki embodies the fierce, bright, martial power of the day — the patron of warriors and the lord of the blazing sun. In Apolaki, Filipino myth gave form to the sun and the valour of war — the mighty solar warrior who battled his sister for the world, won the rule of the day, and reigns as the god of the sun and the patron of the brave.