Before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines there was a rich pantheon of gods. Bulol was the "god of the mountains" or "the rice god". After 300 years of Spanish rule the word Bulol had been twisted to mean dumb, tongue-tied or mute. After the Spanish-American War the Americans occupied the country for 50 years (arguably still do). Today, Bulol is not omnipotent but is omnipresent in the form of $5.00 carved ashtrays.