In the Philippines, is the Caribou(like water buffalo) a god, and what significance does it have?
It is the Filipino’s word for waterbufallo. It is not considered to be a god. However, it has very high status in provencial Filipinos lives. It is the “John Deere” of Filipino farming. It is vitally essential. It is also a crime to kill one for its meat and eat it. I wish I had a camera when I saw this little girl of about 3 years old leading a caribao to a mud hole on a rope tied to a ring in its nose. Here was this huge animal being dociley lead by a tiny Filipina girl. It was a priceless image. It was in provencial Mindanao … Sultan Kudarat.
In Tagalog it’s kalabaw, in Philippine English it’s called a Carabao. It’s not a god. Carabaos’ are not the Philippine’s answer to Indian cows 🙂 It is however the Philippine national animal. They’ve been used for centuries to help farm and stuff. There’s a Filipino legend that has to do with carabaos. Something about why its hide is the way it is. Oh and BTW to abbyrox I’m half-Filipino and I know what a carabao/caribou is and that the Philippines wasn’t and isn’t purely Christian/Islamic. Indigenous religions and tribes still exist.
