In Philippine mythology, the Tigmamanukan was believed by the Tagalog people to be an omen or augural bird. Although the behaviors of numerous birds and lizards were said to be omens, particular attention was paid to the tigmamanukan. Before Christianisation, the Tagalogs believed that the tigmamanukan was sent by Bathala to give hints to mankind whether they needed to proceed on a journey or not. In some Philippine creation myths, the tigmamanukan bird was sent by Bathala to crack open the primordial bamboo whence the first man and woman came out. Etymology The root word of the word tigmamanukan is "manók" (descended from Proto-Austronesian *manuk) which in modern Filipino is exclusively used for the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). Before Christianisation, as documented by Spanish accounts early into the colonisation, the word tigmamanukan was attributed widely for "any bird, lizard or snake that crossed one's path as an omen". Such encounters were called salúbong ("meeting", "encounter"). The term most likely evolved from the practice of augury i. e. foretelling omens using the ritual sacrifice of chickens (although sometimes other animals as well like pigs). Ancient Filipino priestesses or shamans would butcher a chicken, dissect it and read its entrails for omens, thus the practice of augury and divination of events was linked to the word for chicken. The word manok (initially written as manuc, etc.) were translated in several early Spanish-Tagalog dictionaries (e.g. De los Santos, 1703) as a term for shamans who practiced divination or augury (i.e. augurs; Sp. aguero). Omen According to San Buenaventura's 1613 Dictionary of the Tagalog Language (one of the few primary written sources for Philippine precolonial culture), the Tagalogs believed that the direction of a tigmamanukan flying across one's path at the beginning a journey indicated the undertaking's result. If it flew to the right, the expedition would be a success. This sign was called "labay", a term still present in some Filipino languages with the meaning "proceed". If the bird flew to the left, the travelers would surely never return. It was also said that if a hunter caught a tigmamanukan in a trap, they would cut its beak and release it, saying "Kita ay iwawala, kung ako'y mey kakaunan, lalabay ka." ("You are free, so when I set forth, sing on the right.") In mythology In at least one telling of the Filipino creation myth, the Tigmamanukan was responsible for opening the bamboo