2012, September 28. Amihan - Goddess of Monsoon Weather
(Philippine Folklores and Legends)
Litho Offset.
Amstar Company, Inc. Perf 13 1/2
Singles, Sheets of 100 (10 x 10)
7p
Amihan
- Singles
(2,750,000)
Designer: Nemi R. Miranda, Jr. (NCAA)
Layout Artist: Victorino Z. Serevo
First Day Covers: Manila
AMIHAN - Goddess of Monsoon Weather
(Philippine Folklores and
Legends)
According to Tagalog folklore, Amihan is the first creature to
inhabit the universe, along with the gods called Bathala and Aman
Sinaya. Amihan is a personification of the Northeast Wind. She is
often represented as a beautiful, long-haired woman who brings cool
breezes and safety to fishermen and seafarers, as long as they
please her with their good hearts.
Amihan plays an important role in story of creation. The two gods
Aman Sinaya and Bathala were rivals. They would pit their powers
against each other, until it became a catastrophic war. Aman Sinaya
sent tempests into the sky and Bathala retaliated by hurling giant
boulders from the mountaintops. These boulders would create the
Philippine archipelago.
Amihan, being caught in the middle of the two warring gods, decided
to put a stop to the conflict by taking the form of a bird. Flying
back and forth between the two deities’ realms, she finally
succeeded in bringing them together.
Amihan is also a word used to describe monsoon weather which occurs
early in the year in the Philippines.