What is "bathala"

In ancient Tagalog theology, Bathala (or Batala) was the supreme being and the omnipotent creator of the universe. Antonio de Morga, among others, thought that Bathala meant an omen bird ( Tigmamanukan), but the author of the Boxer Codex (1590 b, 379) was advised not to use it in this sense because they did not consider it God but only his messenger. It was after the arrival of the Spanish missionaries on the Philippines in the 16th century that Bathala came to be identified as the Christian God, thus its synonymy with Diyos ( God) or Dibino (Divine, e.g. Mabathalang Awa), according to J.V. Panganiban (Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles); in some Visayan languages Bathala also means God.

Bathala is a small Maldivian island in the Ari Atoll. The oval-shaped resort island is approximately 150 m long and 300 m wide.