The Legend of Lanao Lake

by Luisa Rose Nacion

(Ilaor Sur,Oas,Albay, Philippines)

In ancient Lanao, there once lived a giant called Umacaan. He was so enormous that when
he spread his arms side ward, they spread as far as thirty kilometers apart. Almost anything
was within easy reach, best of all, men whom he loved to eat. Men flee at the sight of him.
No one dared come out to the mountains for fear of losing their lives at the hands of the
man-eating giant.

In no time, news about Umacaan reached as far as the kingdom of Bumbaran and came to
the knowledge of its brave princes, Rajah Indarapatra and Rajah Soliman. They swore to kill
the monster. The next day, they both set out to slay the man-eater. However, they didn't
leave at the same time. Rajah Soliman went ahead and reached Lanao to fight. Umacaan
tricked Soliman into cutting him into several pieces, each piece becoming another giant
Umacaan. The prince simply proved to be no match to the creature.

Some time later, Rajah Indarapatra reached Lanao. As soon as he arrived, he was informed
by a spirit-queen of his brother's fate. Angrily, he swore to avenge his brother's death.
Before he went on his way the spirit-queen gifted him with a magic sword to enable him to
defeat the giant. Later that same day, the two combatants met near the shores of Lanao
Lake.

When the fight began, Umacaan pulled several trees and hurled them at Rajah Indarapatra
who was quick to dodge and got out safely. Next, the giant reached for some soft clay and
formed big round balls out of it and threw them successively at the prince. Once more the
quick Rajah Indarapatra made swift plunges to avoid getting hit by the round clay balls so
that some of them fell into the lake while the others landed on the plains and turned into
hills and mountains that surround the famous Lanao Lake. At any rate, when Rajah
Indarapatra had his turn, he help up the magic sword that could wound any opponent by
merely pointing at him. As he did, Umacaan yelled in pain until he fell down to his death.

Up to now, if one were to visit Lanao Lake, one will easily notice small floating islands all
around the lake. Some of the islands are big enough to accommodate a number of families,
while the others are too small for even a single nipa hut to stand on. These islands were
believed to have formed out of the clay balls Umacaan threw at Rajah Indarapatra that fell
into the lake, while the hills and mountains that surround the lake came from those clay
balls that landed on the plains and dried over time, as the legend had it.
 The Legend of the Pineapple
by Maria
(Venice, Italy)

Once upon a time, there was a woman who lived with her daughter Pina in a tiny hut in the
village. They were poor, and the mother worked day and night to make both ends meet.

No matter how hard she worked, though, she never got any help from her daughter. Pina
was a lazy, spoiled kid who liked to play in the backyard all day. Whenever her mother
asked for help around the house or tried to send her on an errand, she would always find an
excuse by saying she cant find the object that was needed to complete that task.

If her mother asked her to sweep the house, for example, she would say she cannot find
the broom, even if it was right there in front of her. Needless to say, her mother always
ended up doing the work herself.

One day, her mother became very ill. She called out to Pina, who as usual was playing in
the backyard.

Pina! Pina! Come over here, anak. I am very sick. Can you cook some porridge for me
please? I am too weak to get up.

Pina ignored her mother and continued to play.

Pina, come over here this very instant, or else! Pinas mother mustered all her strength
just to say this, but it worked. Pina grudgingly stopped playing and went inside the house.
She poked her head inside her mothers room.

What do you want, Nanay (mother)? You really expect me to cook for you? Thats too
hard, protested Pina, pouting and stomping her feet.

Pina, it is very simple. Just put some rice in a pot and add water. Once the water boils, let
it simmer for awhile. Stir it occasionally with a ladle. Everything you need should be right
there in the kitchen.

Pina reluctantly left and went to the kitchen. Her mother could hear her banging the
drawers and cabinets. Then her mother heard her open the back door and sneak out into
the backyard. Her mother waited and waited. Finally, she called out to Pina again.

Pina, did you cook like I told you to?

No, was the defiant response.

And why not? was her moms exasperated response.

Because I could not find the ladle, was her flippant reply.

Oh, you lazy child! You probably did not even bother to look for it! What am I going to do
with you? Here I am, sick, and I cannot even count on you!

Her mother wept bitterly. In her anger, she shouted, I wish you would grow a thousand
eyes all over your head! Then you can find what youre looking for. Maybe then you wont
have any more excuses.

As soon as she said this, there was complete silence. Her mother thought, She is trying to
be quiet so I will forget about asking her again. She sighed.

She waited a little bit to see if Pina would come back. Realizing the wait was futile, she
wearily got up to do the cooking herself. When she looked out into the backyard, Pina was
nowhere to be found. She sighed again and said to herself, That lazy kid probably went to
a friends house so she did not have to do any more errands for me.

Exhausted from the exertion, she soon went back to her room for a much-needed rest.
Weak as she was, she just tried to do everything by herself, having given up on any help
from Pina. Hours passed by, and then days. Still no sign of her wayward daughter. With a
heavy heart, she thought that Pina had ran away for sure.

When she finally recovered from her illness, the first thing she did was look for Pina. No one
had seen or heard from her. It was like she disappeared into thin air. Months passed and
still no sign of her. The mother felt bad for her angry outburst, and she feared that she
might probably never see her daughter again.

One day, she was sweeping the backyard where Pina used to play. For months now, she had
noticed this strange plant growing on the very spot where she last saw Pina. By this time,
the leaves of the plant had fully opened. Inside, she saw this strange yellow fruit that
resembled a childs head with a thousand eyes. A thousand eyes

She suddenly remembered the spiteful words she used that fateful day. With horror, she
realized that in the same way her mothers love had spoiled her daughter, so did her anger
unwittingly curse her. Somehow, her daughter had been turned into this plant.

To honor the memory of her beloved daughter, she named the fruit Pina. She took such
loving care of it like it was her own daughter. The fruit flourished so well that it bore more
and more fruits, and became popular among the village and the entire country. Its name
later evolved to pinya, or pineapple in English. Thats how the pineapple came to be,
according to folklore, named after a spoiled child who was cursed with a thousand eyes
 DENIALS
Emerald Canoy

I really wish it wasnt true

That I was still in love with you.
I really wish I didnt care
It took all my pride just to share.

And now Im really confused

With all my memory suppressed.
It makes me a little depressed
I can never really assess.

Im not sure what I did to myself,

When I hid the truth so deep within,
And made me do things Ive never been
All morals and values in a shelf.

So here is one of my regrets,

I wish I could have loved you less.
 OUR LADY OF ASSUMPTIONS
Jeffrey dela Cruz

Turning sides of the spinning coin

Guesses of mere uncertainties
Across pedestals, care to join?
Among people, intricacies?

Oh mirror, mirror on the wall,

Whos the fairest among them all?
Need such a shoulder to lean on,
Or grabbing peoples attention?

Living in vain and insecurity

Shooting blanks with accuracy
Brewing on concocted conspiracy
Isnt that they call insanity?

All assumptions, are you that lost,

Deep in the labyrinth of fear?
You will pay dearly of what it costs
And ending up shifting your gear.
 THE CHOICES WITH MAKE
Kim Patrice Nunez

Why do we choose the road we take?

Is it the craving for some speed,
Or to go for something that we need.

Why do we choose the things we do?

Is just to satisfy the ego,
Or reach a goal, change status quo.

Why do we choose the things we see?

To satisfy our eyes to some degree
Or find the answer on what can be.

Why do we choose the things we taste?

To fill our hunger with such haste,
Or know somehow whats stored by fate.

Why do we choose the things we say?

Is it to be just to carried away,
Or to take control, not easily swayed.

Why do we choose the things we love?

Just to answer the urgency of lust,
Or to cherish the people that we must.
 THINKING OF YOU
Olive Eloisa Guillermo

I saw you before walking slow in the aisle Evening skirt and so I dream caressing your skin
Clothed in peach and wearing a godlike smile Mercy oh mercy, I do not want to fall into sin
Your grace like the empress of Greece and Nile Yet, I long to embrace you tight in more than
dreams
Spelled by heaven to color this world drown in
vile Set free those lips of butter and cream
Thousand facets that rose to curl along the Then allow me to show some places unseen
coldest mile
Into a garden of bliss tinge not of mind green
Is now the Belle that sobered this wordless
Let the brown horse through, the waters and
guile?
swim.
Love swarms, love warmth roll in the aisle of
wile
Now, I ran out of words for the wind dashing
sways
I, a being thirsty to drink from your lips
Behind may I say you could leave a man in
Because sanity cascades in honest weep, thousand fray
Heart and soul have fallen fast and deep. A chance I dare ask for us so not to be dismayed
Good to cry, so I try yet still, sometime it creeps More time with you my ever longing say.
All I can do is to blow dreams of you as I sleep
Hoping in yonder you would stare through quite God makes the way when it seems theres no
steep way
Then lend me please to savor your Aphrodite And if Cupids arrow again miss the right pair
kiss.
May tomorrow bring me more courage than
today
Could my love be as real as your unsober grace?
And if eyes and hearts desire such tempting face
More so a name ruling the entire human race
God helps this dreamer, to the heaven I kneel
and gaze
I, a man who yearns nothing but heavens ways
Pardon me if these words draw like a maze
Yet, let me deliver for my heart is chase
 7-DAY CYCLE
Denysse Krizel B. Robles
Monday
Everybody hates you
7:00 AM class tortures
Late mentors rushing at the doors
Giving surprise quiz really irritates me
more.
Tuesday
Listening for one-and-a-half hours
To a teacher who knows vanity which is odd
Whose only concern is his attendance sheet
Then dismisses us with a pocketful of
nothing.
Wednesday
I was about to borrow a book
When sadly twas 3:00 already
I really forgot to make a time check
Sick to see a man in eyeglasses is yelling at
me.
Thursday
Lunch with friends at our fave place
Talking about the unfair exam
No words to say but saying
But the positive note is bawi na lang.
Friday
This is so unfair!
I remember last Friday, sleeveless are not
allowed
And its absurd to see those gals out there
with coverless arms
Having known that Its pwede na pala.
Kelan pa?
Saturday
Waking up at 7 AM doing the laundry
With second thoughts of going south to see
Nanay at Tatay
I miss them though its just a week long
Its 9:30, and Im so done but then there my
books, oh!
Sunday
Date with friends after praying
Its the best part of my seven-day cycle
I enjoyed the rest of the day flipping on my
petite bed.
Thinking of the bitter truth that tomorrow is
Monday!
 TRANSITIONS
Rafael Aaron M. Talavera
Welcome to the new age
Brand new chapter, the first page
Gone are the days of yore
Titanic constructs across the cement
floor
Transitioning the style
Natural to somewhat vile
The dirt is now dark smoke
Was once fresh air, today we choke
Im waking up, to ash and dust
From stone bricks to rust
The musky smell of the old tomes
And the metallic smell of new phones
The orchards are now factories
What were once fantasies, now
realities
Our sciences more broad
Enough to disapprove ancient frauds
And missed are the ancient intricacies
Traditions kept, most are tendencies
Some to honor
Others hidden for its sheer horror
Whispers of advice
Avoid mistakes, do not roll the dice
History does not need to repeat
Havoc and chaos ensue, freedom at
the back seat
The new generation comes forth
Hope to step forward, the good sort
If the elders transcended the norms
The youth cant just stay in dorms.
 SOWN SEED OF SATAN
Jomer A. Hernandez
Light vanished before the darkness.
Whole hell rejoices.
Thunder roars with the vampires to suck
blood.
Mother Earth gave birth
To dark creatures: seeds to propagate.
Dig and dig and dig.
Seed of poverty was planted first.
Watered by blood of criminality
Fertilized with graft and corruption
At last, the seed bears fruit.
The outgrowth scattered subsequent seed.
Covered with blood-spattered brain, war
exists.
Bombs howl and roar.
Seeds reached the peak and grew matured
armed with metals equipped to kill.
Seed of hunger was added with some potion.
Lodged on the unproductive squatter soil
Cultivated with harrow of selfishness
Firmly nurture in unemployment,
Millions of the population tremble.
In the paddy of hatred,
Dispersed the prostitute seed.
Sown with its mistress
More and more cast
Like fruit like seed.
Seed of inequality was budded with
discrimination.
White men overpowered black.
Eyes to eyes. Teeth to teeth.
In mud of slavery, they shouted
Freedom for all, unveil respect.
Frozen land of capital sins
Where Satans fist first landed
Envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and
wrath
Darkness stepped on Earths crust
Moon shines without any brilliance.
Darkness of the seeds vanished before the
light
Whole hell was dumped into mud
Heaven rejoices.
I heard the men on white say
That will take place on the right track
On the right day.
 BOX WITH STRINGS
Kimberly Laze H. Dalisay

A box with strings and a pick in my hand,

I stummed a rhythm that sounds like a psalm.

It was in the cafeteria that I came up in the tune,

Because you were there, the harmony came up soon.

But when you started to leave,

The strings plucked one by one.

All I can heed was silence,

The harmony was gone.

A box with strings and a pick in my hand,

Tuned into dewdrops then serenity began.

Alone in the kiosk not colorful but grey,

I felt wasted, shattered and astray.

I look for you in a distance,

Wishing you are my chanting hymn.

Looking for the dewdrops,

To turn into a box with strings.
 DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
Mickhail M. Baraquel

My mama kissed me goodbye

She packed my things and let me go with a sigh
She said theres a lot of gold in the city
That I can have if I learn a degree.
Though these things, I never understood
I went my way through the woods.
I saw a new world far from mine,
Down there I walked, fascinated by the things I saw
My eyes were glittery, I was struck in awe
People stared at me with their eyes full of scrutiny
But I smile big and wide
To show that I have nothing to hide
I felt like a celebrity and thought of vanity
For I was the only Mangyan in the city.
But the years passed by and I saw no gold
The thought of looking for it got lost in my mind
I worked for years and finished the purpse for which I was called
Then I went back home, to the place Ive always known
I showed Mama a piece of paper
That neatly marked my name with a shiny black ink
Her eyes watered as she tried to blink,
Son you made it through; you found the gold in you.
 TICKET TO ENCHANTED REALITY
Sherwin Jan A. Navarro
Ive seen the movies Ive heard the stories
Its all fictitious, the plot, the twist, the
happy ever after
Something so beautiful would not exist in
this reality
But still, I keep watching, I keep reading,
secretly hoping
To die from the sweetness lf an apple
Not from bullets, from bombs nor from each
others hands
To be given life with a kiss
A second chance without the crippling
health bills
To sleep soundly for eternity
Not with one eye open, not with a gun
Not to be abandoned with hollow pity
But for someone turn the light on when
nightmares run
To see beyond the face of beauty
Not to be a slave of tempting vanity
Judged by the deeds not by the eye
To be dignified as a person in life not when
we die
To be free from the clutches of hatred
From unequal hierarchy like societys glass
slippers
To reach the dreams even with a limited
curfew
When the clock strikes twelve life continues
Tangled by enchanted hair a wish to escape
the scaling tower
Guarded by dragons, by witches and
phantoms
Rescued by a knight in white steed is not the
only solution
Truth paves the way in self actualization
In tales we see that believing is without
price
Stand up to our own demons and arise
The ticket to the enchanted beginning is free
Now you can choose your reality.
 LEGEND OF ASWANG

Maria Labo is from the province of Capiz. Maria Labo have a happy family she
had a kind and loving husband and one son. Maria Labo was deciding working abroad in
England, for the sake of her family.

She had a good employer, who treated her well, but she did not know that here
employer was a vampire. In the months she was employed, Maria was a combination
maid and care giver to her employer. The employer of Maria would always provide her
with half-cooked liver to eat.

After months of working for him, Maria began to feel sick. She did not know that
she had ingested some blood of her vampire employer. Due to her unknown illness,
Maria decided to return home to the Philippines, to live with her family.

The husband of Maria was a police officer. One day, after the husband returned home
from work, Maria told her husband that she had already prepared dinner. Upon which
time the husband of Maria sat down to the table and asked Maria, Where is our son?.
To which Maria replied, Our son is right there! . The husband of Maria did not know
what she meant. He was unaware that the meat he had eaten that day was in fact their
son!

Upon opening the refrigerator box, he was shocked to see the head of their son in the
refrigerator. The husband of Maria was so angry; he picked up a big knife and slashed the
face of Maria. Maria had big scar on her face, which is why she was called Maria Labo.

From that day on, Maria would stalk or hunt in many different locations within the
Philippines, but her husband continued to hunt for Maria because he wanted to kill her.
Whenever Maria was known to be in any place within the Philippines, all or the people
tried to find and kill her, to save their own children. From those days till the present, the
Filipino people gave Maria the nickname of the Aswang, meaning Queen of the
Vampires.
 THE LEGEND OF THE ECLIPSE-DRAGON (BAKUNAWA)

When the world was yet new, there were seven moons. Bathala, creator of
land, sea, and sky, had made them to light the sky at night. These moons were a
sight to behold: gleaming like newly polished silver.
In the sea lived a dragon called Bakunawa. This dragon had a mouth as big
as a lake, a tongue red as blood, the whiskers and gills of a catfish, and two pairs of
wings: a larger pair gray as ash and a smaller pair found farther down its body. The
Bakunawa was so enchanted by the beauty of the moons that one night, he rose up
out of the sea and swallowed one moon whole. Inordinately proud of his feat, he
slunk back down to his watery domain. Unfortunately he soon realized the moon
inside him was melting away like candle wax.
Wanting to take a moon that would last, the Bakunawa rose into the sky the
next night and swallowed another moon. But this one too melted away. Night after
night he took another moon from the sky, and each time it melted away inside him.
By now only one moon was left in the sky, and Bathala was furious. Rather
than kill the Bakunawa, he punished the beast and commanded him not to devour
the last moon.
They say Bakunawa obeys Bathalas order most of the time. Every now
and then he tries, yes he tries to eat the last moon, and that is why it turns red. But
the people on earth raise a loud clamor of clanging and clashing metal, screaming
and wailing, all to startle him into spitting the moon out. Others take the gentler
approach, playing music to put him into a deep sleep so that the moon will roll out
of his mouth.
And thats the gist of the Filipino legend of the Bakunawa - a dragon
so terrifying its head is used on kampilan hilts to bestow upon the warriors its
fearsome presence and power.
 LEGEND OF KANLAON VOLCANO
Western Negros and Eastern Cebu

Long before the strange men came over the water from Spain, there lived in Negros, on
the mountain of Canlaon, an old man who had great power over all the things in the earth. He
was called Harisaboqued, King of the Mountain.
When he wished anything done he had but to tap the ground three times and instantly a
number of little men would spring from the earth to answer his call. They would obey his
slightest wish, but as he was a kind old man and never told his dwarfs to do anything wrong, the
people who lived near were not afraid. They planted tobacco on the mountain side and were
happy and prosperous. The fields stretched almost to the top of the mountain and the plants grew
well, for every night Harisaboqued would order his dwarfs to attend to them, and though the
tobacco was high up it grew faster and better than that planted in the valley below. The people
were very grateful to the old man and were willing to do anything for him; but he only asked
them not to plant above a line he had ordered his little men to draw around the mountain near the
top. He wished that place for himself and his dwarfs. All obeyed his wish and no one planted
over the line. It was a pretty sight to see the long rows of tobacco plants extending from the
towns below far up to the line on the mountain side.
One day Harisaboqued called the people together and told them that he was going away
for a long time. He asked them again not to plant over the line, and told them that if they
disregarded this wish he would carry all the tobacco away and permit no more to grow on the
mountain side until he had smoked what he had taken. The people promised faithfully to obey
him. Then he tapped on the ground, the earth opened, and he disappeared into the mountain.
Many years passed and Harisaboqued did not come back. All wondered why he did not
return and at last decided that he would never do so. The whole mountain side was covered with
tobacco and many of the people looked with greedy eyes at the bare ground above the line, but as
yet they were afraid to break their promise. At last one man planted in the forbidden ground, and,
as nothing happened, others did the same, until soon the mountain was entirely covered with the
waving plants. The people were very happy and soon forgot about Harisaboqued and their
promise to him.
But one day, while they were laughing and singing, the earth suddenly opened and
Harisaboqued sprang out before them. They were very much frightened and fled in terror down
the mountain side. When they reached the foot and looked back they saw a terrible sight. All the
tobacco had disappeared and, instead of the thousands of plants that they had tended so carefully,
nothing but the bare mountain could be seen. Then suddenly there was a fearful noise and the
whole mountain top flew high in the air, leaving an immense hole from which poured fire and
smoke. The people fled and did not stop until they were far away. Harisaboqued had kept his
word.
Many years have come and gone, but the mountain is bare and the smoke still rolls out of
the mountain top. Villages have sprung up along the sides, but no tobacco is grown on the
mountain. The people remember the tales of the former great crops and turn longing eyes to the
heights above them, but they will have to wait. Harisaboqued is still smoking his tobacco.
 LEGEND OF COCONUT

A young man is in love with a beautiful young woman who also live in the island where
he resides. Later on they became sweethearts. The young woman is pretty and kind-hearted and
he loves her with all his heart.
There's one problem though.
The mother doesn't like the young man for her daughter. And she's thinking, " my
daughter is one of the island's beauty and she should be finding someone better for her." And her
problem was, the two cannot be seperated no matter how she tries.
So she seek the help of a sorceress.
Days passed by and the young woman hasn't seen her beloved. She waited but he hadn't
shown up to visit her. Then a heavy rain came that resulted in a flood. With the flood water, an
earthworm appeared swimming towards her. It startled her to see that it seems to know its way.
"Don't be afraid. It is me," it says to her. And before she could speak he added, " I was
cursed. Your mother had seeked the helped of a sorceress. And the curse had turned me into
this." Teary-eyed, the young woman gently picked up the earthworm and set it in her hands and
said how sorry she was for what her mother did.
"Hurry and bury me into the soil," it said to her. "I want to keep watching over you even
when I'm gone, and for you to have something to remind you of me." And so she did buried the
earthworm into their yard.
Weeks passed, and she missed him so much. Then months went by.
And one morning to her surprised, she saw a strange plant sprouted exactly on where she
had buried her cursed sweetheart. In memory of him, she waited and took cared of the strange
plant.
It took some time but the sprout grew to be a tall tree without any branches. And it
flowered and had fruits. When one fall off the tree, she decided to see how the inside of the
round fruit looks like. And to her surprised, when husked, the shell seems like a head with two
eyes and a mouth!
She then thought of her young man and maybe it's his way of fulfilling his wish. And she
remembered when he said, "Hurry and bury me into the soil. I want to keep watching over you
even when I'm gone."
 LEGEND OF ILANG-ILANG

A long time ago, the goddesses are in charge of selecting which of the trees are worth
their blessing to bear flowers. Some of the lucky trees which they blessed are the calachuchi tree,
katuray or the scarlet wisteria, the mango tree, the adelfa and many others. But there's this one
tree which hadn't been blessed to bear flowers. That is the ylang-ylang tree.
This made ylang-ylang so sad as the tree also want to bear flowers. Ylang-ylang
overheard its fellow trees nearby proudly talking about their beautiful flowers to one another.
The neighboring trees became boastful as each one believes they are prettier than one another.
"Trees that doesn't flower should be cut down instead. That would be useful on home
building or for firewood," ylang-ylang overheard the other trees talking. This made the ylang-
ylang tree sorrowful. The poor tree cried at night as no one would be able to hear the sobs,
specially the boastful neighboring trees. It rained so hard one day. It looks as if a storm is
coming. All the flowering trees prepared for the storm they are all expecting to come that day.
The trees clang tightly on the ground and their flowers to the trunks so their precious flowers
won't get carried away by the strong wind and rain. On the other hand, the ylang-ylang is so
unconcerned as it doesn't have any flowers to worry about.
While the rain keep on pouring, there are two woolly worms at the distance looking for a
shelter from the furious weather. Both had already asked few of the trees if there's one which can
help them and give them shelter. But all the trees they had asked turned them down, specially
those with flowers. "You two would surely eat up our leaves, and not only our leaves, you
probably will eat our flowers too," said the flowering trees. The poor woolly worms left, with the
fear that anytime the rising water would surely carry them away.
The ylang-ylang heard the flowering trees drove the two worms away so the flowerless
tree called both out loud. "Hey, why don't you two stay in my trunks? Make yourself comfortable
and you're free to eat my leaves for as long as you want," ylang-ylang told the woolly worms.
The kind tree thought that the life of the two worms are more important than its leaves and the
flowerless trunks it got.
It took few days before the storm ceased. Every tree was excited and happy when the sun
showed up. Ylang-ylang was checking its trunks, looking for its new friends, the woolly worms.
But it saddened the tree as the woolly worms wasn't on the trunks anymore, they might got
carried way by the wind. Both are nowhere to be found. But the kind tree saw something else on
one of its trunks, something clings on the trunk that looks like flowers, two of those. Alas! It was
the ylang-ylang's friends. On the middle of the storm, the two woolly worms had transformed to
be beautiful butterflies! The goddesses had learned the good deed the ylang-ylang tree had done.
With a good news, they visited ylang-ylang. They are going to give the gracious tree a
reward for thinking about helping others first instead of itself. "Ylang-ylang, from now on you
will bear flowers just like the folded wings of the butterflies that you sheltered," said the
goddesses. But not only that, the flowers of the fortunate ylang-ylang tree has a sweet fragrant
that can be smelled on the entire woodland. This made ylang-ylang very happy. From then on,
the ylang-ylang is one of those fragrant flowers that is always admired and appreciated because
of its sweetly, fragrant flowers.
 LEGEND OF CORN

A long time ago in a village, there was a couple whose main source of income and food is
planting vegetables. They sell it on their neighbors or on the flea market. The couple has a lovely
young daughter they named Maita. Maita's hair was soft, and smooth that shines golden in color on
the sun's rays. At a young age, Maita is obsessed with her beautiful hair. She would spend a great
amount of time combing and fixing her soft hair, and she does it almost every minute, every day.
"Maita, stop combing your hair excessively," her father would tell her frequently. "Help on
the house chores." On the other hand, the young girl's mother found this rather amusing as her
daughter already knows how to make or keep herself beautiful at an early age so she choose to let her
be. "She's still young, she would eventually change and will help at house chores when she grow up,"
she thought to herself. But her mother was mistaken. When Maita became older, her amazement
about her appearance and her soft, smooth hair intensified. While before she consumes minutes
combing her hair, now she spends hours and sometimes a whole day!
One day her father got sick. Her mother needs to go to the market to sell vegetables they had
harvested so the family can have money to buy foods and a medicine for the sick father. Maita was
sternly instructed by her mother to do household chores as no one could do it other than her. "Cook
food as I surely would be home from town after dark. Keep an eye on your father and fed him so he
will gain strength," she said before leaving. "One more thing, water the vegetables at the yard as the
ground is too dry," her mother's last instruction. Irritated, Maita agreed to all what her mother told
her to do. Maita was about ready to start doing the chores when she came passed by a mirror and saw
her shiny, beautiful hair. She stop in a minute, reach for a comb and started combing her hair, "I will
fix my hair first before I start the chores, it is still early," she thought to herself.
She comb and comb her hair and she got hooked on it! She didn't noticed the time passing by.
She didn't even hear the soft voice of her father calling for her, asking for something to eat. She was
too occupied of combing her hair. The sun already sank and it is getting dark and her mother arrived
home. She wondered what has happened when she spotted the withered vegetables at their yard.
Looks like they hadn't been watered all day long. She look for her daughter and there she is! She
spotted her busy combing her hair in front of the mirror.
The mother got so mad. She scolded Maita as she hadn't done anything at all from all she
instructed her to do before she left that morning. And worst, her sick husband hadn't eaten anything!
"I wish your hair would get thinner so you don't have to spend so much time combing it," she said
emphatically. "Early morning tomorrow, I'm going to have your hair cut." Maita run out of the house
that night, crying. But her mother didn't followed her as she got herself busy preparing meal for her
sick husband who weakened more because of hunger. When she cooled off a bit, she went and search
for Maita outside the yard but she hadn't found her daughter. She asked the neighborhood if there's
anyone who had seen her daughter, but no one did. Nobody knows where Maita is.
One morning while sweeping the yard, the mother noticed a new plant that had sprouted
amongst the vegetables. It has long leaves and she watered it daily. After few weeks, the new plant
bears a fruit. And when they picked and peeled the strange fruit, the couple saw that the fruit has a
yellowish grains. It also has a thin, fine, golden hairs that is smooth and beautiful. The couple are
teary-eyed as in this instance, they remembered their missing daughter, Maita. Her smooth, soft
beautiful hair is just like this, with this strange plant.
 LEGEND OF TURTLE

A long time ago, there was this 'out of the ordinary guy' who lives in a far away northern
part of the Philippines. His name is Pago and he was different from the rest of the people. In
what way? Pago is only three and a half feet in height at the age of 30. Even his hands and feet
are small. And because of this, Pago was being bullied in his town, people makes fun of him
when they see him pass by on the river bank and even on the market place.

Pago has a nipa hut on the river bank and he lives there all by himself. Some rumor goes
that his parents left him there when they saw his condition. Then, a childless old lady took cared
of him. She had professed to Pago that Pago has an older sibling named Toro before she passed
away. "When you were newly born, your older sibling Toro was ordered to get woods from the
forest. And Toro didn't returned," said the old lady to Pago. Many believes that wild animals had
gotten up and ate Toro. Or that Toro might had sank to a quagmire." But Pago believes that he
will see his older sibling one day and that he is alive. He always go to the forest, hoping to find
his sibling, Toro.

Then one day, Pago saw a strange bird on his search in the forest. The bird was beautiful
with its very attractive, colorful feathers. Something strange about it though, the bird's chirping
sounds was more like asking for a help. Now he knows why, the feet of the bird got caught up on
the tallest branch of the tree. Feeling pity for the bird, Pago climbed the tree and helped the bird,
releasing its feet on the branch of the tree that had caught its feet. The bird changed its
appearance to Pago's surprised! A lovely lady, in a bright, white light standing in front of him.
"You're a fairy?" Pago asked in amazement. "I've been watching over you Pago for a long time,"
it says. "I know all the hardship you are going through in your life. And because of your good
heart, I'm giving this to you."

A big diamond appeared on the fairy's hand and she added, "This would be enough for
you to start over. If you are going to used this on starting a business, you will surely succeed."
Pago reached for the diamond and the fairy suddenly disappeared. He sold the diamond to a
foreigner and he used the significant amount of money he got for his business capital. He had
started different kinds of businesses and guess what? All businesses succeeded. But Pago got
known for his construction of stone houses. Pago got very rich and popular in his town, all the
people are looking up to him now.

Pago decided to leave his nipa hut. On a beautiful part of the town, he built a tall, big
house and he suddenly changed. The former Pago whose shy and gentle had now became unkind
and snobbish. He no longer knows how to share his wealth. "I am not going to be poor, ever
again! And I am not going to be maltreated again by anyone," Pago said to the people. Then one
day a big typhoon came. A lot of people evacuated the town. The houses that Pago built and sold
had gone carried away by the strong wind. The people also had learned that the materials that
was used to build their houses are all of poor quality. They have been deceived! And they were
mad to Pago for doing so.
One night, Pago was awakened by a continuous knocking on the door. And so he opened
it. "My brother, Pago," A man on the front door said to him. He is tall and looks so much like
Pago and his arms and feet are of normal size and length.

"Toro? Is that you?" Pago said. "Yes, this is me my brother.What they told you that I was
already dead wasn't true. I tried my luck on the city, I worked in there but I wasn't as lucky as
you are. Your house is so big. Maybe you could let me stay in here with you my brother." Toro
was about to hug Pago but his younger brother avoided it. "I am sorry, but we're no longer
suitable to live together. Another reason, I am not used to having someone living with me," Pago
answered. "But brother, help me! The rain is pouring hard and I have nowhere else to go,"
pleaded Toro. But he hadn't changed Pago's mind so he just left his place feeling sorry. It keeps
on raining hard for few more days and the water are getting higher. Only Pago's house remained
visible and standing against the hard weather. The town people came asking Pago to let them
shelter into his house until the typhoon stop. But Pago remained deaf to his neighbors.

One night, Pago got awakened again from Toro's knocking. "Pago, my brother, open the
door. I need a shelter against the rain." Pago opened his window and look outside. He saw his
older brother whose soaking wet, the flood water all the way to his neck. And so is the town
people that's with him. "We're drowning! Help us Pago," they yelled. "I worked hard alone on
what I had reached in life. This house is all mine! Had you all forgotten how you all laughed and
maltreated me before?" All of a sudden, A strange light appeared on Toro's eyes. His appearance
changed too. And with it, a deafening thunder and a sharp lighting appeared. "I didn't knew that
you will change your character Pago. From now on, that house will always be with you! That
house is all yours!" the angry fairy said.

The town people witnessed how Pago's house slowly disappeared. "It got dissolved on
the flood water," the people exclaimed. The rain then started to cease and the fairy changed its
appearance to a dragonfly. A sign that the typhoon would end and the flood water would subside.
There's no trace left from Pago's properties as the fairy had recovered everything from him. And
on the river bank, on where Pago's nipa hut used to stand, the town people spotted a slow-
walking, odd animal. The animal would stop and hide his head every time it sees people, as if it
was shy.

Another odd thing they noticed abut the strange animal who suddenly showed up was that
shell as hard as a stone that seems to be a house attached to its body that the animal carries even
when it is walking. "What a shy little creature. And it's slow too," they murmured. And since the
animal has a lot of resemblance to Pago, they started calling the animal pagong, the Philippine
word for turtle.
 LEGEND OF CROW

Many years ago, there lives a happy couple who have a simple life in the province, and having
two beautiful daughters completed their happiness and they feel so blessed having their two angels. But
then, the father was left alone to raise his two lovely daughters as his wife passed away unexpectedly. The
difference between the two girls are noticeable as they grow up not only on their physical appearance but
also on their behavior. The first daughter has tan colors and beautiful, most importantly, she has a kind
heart, and helps her father and other people in her simple way. She helps their father whose raising them
all by himself by making the house chores, her name is Rhia. She keeps the house clean and cook
amongst other things that needs to be done. She even help her beloved father on their livelihood, and that
is fishing. On the other hand, the younger one has a lighter skin with a fine, and smooth hair. Of course
she was lovelier than her older sister. Her name is Uwa.
But there is a big difference between the two. The younger one was a complete opposite of the
first daughter as she was a snobbish and she doesn't help on any household chores that needs to be done.
All she does is spend time adoring herself and her hair, combing and braiding it. She let her sister do all
the work. But the younger daughter was blessed as she got her mother's beautiful voice. She got a natural
talent on singing. She have a heavenly voice and everyone who hears her singing thought it was a voice of
a goddess. People in the area loves her singing and her older sister loves her and is happy for all the
praises and admiration Uwa gets. Later on, their father died too from an illness. Now, the two don't have
anyone else except themselves and they have to work for their food. Rhia continued what their father does
for a living, fishing. Her younger sister should be helping her but she doesn't. The younger one just stays
home and does nothing at all. Not even cooking for her older sister. She spends her time the way she
wanted to spend it, she either sings or beautify herself. The older daughter always tries to talk to her
younger sister about helping her with the fishing, " Could you come and help me today? Fishing is a hard
work for a girl but I have to do it and I sure could used your help," she said. "No, I wouldn't go in there
with you. It is hot and as you said it is hard so I might just stay in here," said Uwa. The poor older
daughter, she's getting tired of the hard work all by herself. Her younger sister refused on helping and
since she has a beautiful voice, she thought of the idea that maybe her younger sister Uwa could sing in
exchange of food. But the thought of it got her younger sister angry.
"I am not going to sing for us to have something to eat. Not everyone deserves to hear my voice,"
she answered back. "And besides, as being the older one, it is your responsibility to work for us both, not
me." Then one day, a haggard old woman came to their house asking for food. The older daughter didn't
had a second thought, she invited the old woman immediately to come inside, gave her food and water to
drink. Uwa on the other hand, hated what her sister had done, she doesn't like the old haggard woman
being in there. "We can hardly provide foods for ourselves, and here you are feeding an old stranger," the
younger daughter scolded her older sister. And she drove away the old woman, she doesn't want to see
her. To the sisters surprised, the old, haggard woman showed her real form. She was a lovely fairy! The
younger daughter was so ashamed of how she had treated the old stranger. She asked for the fairy's
forgiveness but the fairy wouldn't forgive her. And it was too late for Uwa as the fairy had already seen
what character she has.
The first daughter? She had been rewarded for her kindness despite the haggard human form the
fairy took. She had a good life and she hadn't change a bit. She continued helping those in need. Uwa, the
younger daughter had her punishment. She had been transformed into a black bird. And her heavenly
voice? It's now gone, the fairy took it away and exchange it for an ugly voice. From then on, Uwa became
the first uwak or crow. She had learned an unforgettable lesson but she can't be transformed back to her
human form.
 LEGEND OF ROOSTER

Sidapa who was the God of War was always called by the rulers of different lands in the
country for their villages to remain in peace. Sidapa knows that the key for peace to every land is
each and every rulers friendship. If they all know how to get along, there would be no war but
peace. Many rulers would be in line to see Sidapa just before sunrise. They were there to see
Sidapa for his advice on how they would rule their lands so they would always be in peace.
There were times that these rulers couldn't come to see Sidapa as often as they want to, and
because of that, they get into arguments that later on becomes the reason for them to start war.
Sharp spears are usually the warriors weapon. And if anyone got wounded or dies, it makes
Sidapa very sad. But then, once he talks with the rulers to settle the misunderstanding, it makes
him happy when they reconcile. He wants the rulers to listen and talk to one another. For Sidapa,
if there's no love, there is war. And if there's love, there would be no war.
And because there was just a large number of people on each villages, and the rulers on
each of those, and add to it all the problems that needs to be solve with Sidapa's help, he needs to
be reminded of it. And he would need someone to wake him up at sunrise as a signal that rulers
were already lining outside to see him for advice. One of the soldiers volunteered to do the job.
And that's to wake up Sidapa, and to remind him of his meetings, to end discussions, see people
he needs to see, meal time, and the time to give decision to problems. And the hardest part of the
soldier's job is waking up just before dawn. The first week went well as he gets up early to wake
up Sidapa. The problem was this past days as hes been getting a little late into waking up Sidapa
every time he get involve into conversations with his fellow soldiers.
Sidapa always has the patience for the soldier. And he adds more silver into the soldier's
incentives along with foods and clothing for diligence. Of course this makes the soldier so happy
but it's just hard for him to be persistent enough into waking up too early in the morning for the
job to be done right. Every time his friends would ask him to come for a drink, he fells for it, and
not only 1 or 2 goblet but a large amount of wine that makes him drunk. Being drunk, he just
made a mistake of telling a secret to few soldiers of rival villages in war. Sidapa was so mad. A
lot of misunderstandings happened because the soldier didn't woke him up the following
morning.And when a bloody war happened between the two big villages, Sidapa called the
soldier. The soldier was so drunk when he meet Sidapa. "You are the reason of this bloody war
which should have been avoided." "I'm really sorry," said the drunk soldier. "I had forgiven you
many times! A lot had died because of your carelessness. You told the secrets about the wars and
peace talks that I had discussed with the rulers that should have been kept as a secret. Not only
that, you hadn't done your job of waking me up before sunrise. As your punishment, your going
to be turned into an animal who has nothing to do but to wake up the whole world just before
daylight," said the angry Sidapa to his soldier.
In a blink of an eye, the soldier transformed into an animal which has feathers. His hands
became the wings and his feet was so different. And when he tried to speak up, he couldn't, but
made a strange sound which now we call as cockadoodledoo. He ran out of Sidapa's residence
because of shame on what happened. And since then he was called a tandang (rooster) with his
animal form. And with the animal form he got, he's now doing the job he should have done with
Sidapa, the rooster crows early in the morning, the first one to wake up the world before the
alarm clocks we're created.
 LEGEND OF PAPAYA

There was once a couple whose always the topic of the gossiping neighbors. They are
Bantawan, the husband, and his wife Papay. The couple lives in the mountainous province of
Benguet. Harvesting rice is their source of living. Of the two, Papay the wife, is hard-working
while the husband Bantawan is sluggish. Papay could be seen on the rice field plowing and
harvesting rice while Bantawan was left at home.
Their way of living went like this for a good period of time. Then the day came that
Papay gave birth so she has to stop working. The couple ran out of rice and so she asked her
husband ifhe can do the work for the meantime. " Bantawan, we're out of rice. So I think you
should do the work for the meantime in the field," said Papay.
But instead, her husband just shrugged his shoulders and went back to sleep. Poor Papay,
she has no choice but to do the work herself so she got up, she left her little one at home with her
lazy husband and went out on the rice field. She worked hard all day.
The neighbors went crazy looking for Papay when she didn't came home that night. The
poor baby, they thought, she keeps on crying for her mother's milk and Papay wasn't home yet.
They looked for Papay everywhere, any place she had possibly went that day. They looked for
her from the foot to the top of the hill.
It's been getting late and there's one man in the group of the searching neighbors who had
fallen asleep from being worn out. And he had a dream. He dreamed of a tree in the middle of
the field that had spoken to him.
"I am the missing mother," the tree says. "Give my fruit to my beloved little one that I
had left. My baby would live if you let her eat my fruit," added the strange tree. When he woke
up the following day, he went back to the neighbors and told them about his dream. The
neighbors didn't wasted time, they headed for the site that was on the man's dream. And there it
was! Standing on the center of the field was a strange tree with broad leaves, heavy in fruits.
"True! This is Papay!" the neighbors exclaimed. They observed the fruits, it was oblong
in shape, some are green but there are few that are yellow in color. Those yellow ones are ripe
and ready to be eaten.
The people picked the ripe ones. Off they went to the house of the missing Papay and
they fed the baby with the fruit. The baby live! And she continuously relied on the fruit for food.
Since then, the unknown tree on the center of the field flourished and produced more
fruits. The people started eating the ripe fruits too. The fruit is delicious and sweet, no wonder
the baby ate it, they thought.
And because of the way the tree spoke to the man in his dream, the neighbors decided to
call the strange tree Papay.
As years went by, the tree named papay became papaya. From this very first papaya tree
came more papayas, the fruit we now enjoy with all those health benefits.
 MYTHOLOGY OF MINDANAO
Moro

A long, long time ago Mindanao was covered with water, and the sea extended over all
the lowlands so that nothing could be seen but mountains. Then there were many people living in
the country, and all the highlands were dotted with villages and settlements. For many years the
people prospered, living in peace and contentment. Suddenly there appeared in the land four
horrible monsters which, in a short time, had devoured every human being they could find.
Kurita, a terrible creature with many limbs, lived partly on land and partly in the sea, but its
favorite haunt was the mountain where the rattan grew; and here it brought utter destruction on
every living thing. The second monster, Tarabusaw, an ugly creature in the form of a man, lived
on Mt. Matutun, and far and wide from that place he devoured the people, laying waste the land.
The third, an enormous bird called Pah, 142 was so large that when on the wing it covered the
sun and brought darkness to the earth. Its egg was as large as a house. Mt. Bita was its haunt, and
there the only people who escaped its voracity were those who hid in caves in the mountains.
The fourth monster was a dreadful bird also, having seven heads and the power to see in all
directions at the same time. Mt. Gurayn was its home and like the others it wrought havoc in its
region.
So great was the death and destruction caused by these terrible animals that at length the
news spread even to the most distant lands, and all nations were grieved to hear of the sad fate of
Mindanao. Now far across the sea in the land of the golden sunset was a city so great that to look
at its many people would injure the eyes of man. When tidings of these great disasters reached
this distant city, the heart of the king Indarapatra 143 was filled with compassion, and he called
his brother, Sulayman, 144 begging him to save the land of Mindanao from the monsters.
Sulayman listened to the story, and as he heard he was moved with pity. "I will go," said he, zeal
and enthusiasm adding to his strength, "and the land shall be avenged." King Indarapatra, proud
of his brother's courage, gave him a ring and a sword as he wished him success and safety. Then
he placed a young sapling by his window 145 and said to Sulayman: "By this tree I shall know
your fate from the time you depart from here, for if you live, it will live; but if you die, it will die
also." So Sulayman departed for Mindanao, and he neither walked nor used a boat, but he went
through the air and landed on the mountain where the rattan grew. There he stood on the summit
and gazed about on all sides. He looked on the land and the villages, but he could see no living
thing. And he was very sorrowful and cried out: "Alas, how pitiful and dreadful is this
devastation!" No sooner had Sulayman uttered these words than the whole mountain began to
move, and then shook. Suddenly out of the ground came the horrible creature, Kurita. It sprang at
the man and sank its claws into his flesh. But Sulayman, knowing at once that this was the
scourge of the land, drew his sword and cut the Kurita to pieces.
Encouraged by his first success, Sulayman went on to Mt. Matutun where conditions
were even worse. As he stood on the heights viewing the great devastation there was a noise in
the forest and a movement in the trees. With a loud yell, forth leaped Tarabusaw. For a moment
they looked at each other, neither showing any fear. Then Tarabusaw threatened to devour the
man, and Sulayman declared that he would kill the monster. At that the animal broke large
branches off the trees and began striking at Sulayman who, in turn, fought back. For a long time
the battle continued until at last the monster fell exhausted to the ground and then Sulayman
killed him with his sword.

The next place visited by Sulayman was Mt. Bita. Here havoc was present everywhere,
and though he passed by many homes, not a single soul was left. As he walked along, growing
sadder at each moment, a sudden darkness which startled him fell over the land. As he looked
toward the sky he beheld a great bird descending upon him. Immediately he struck at it, cutting
off its wing with his sword, and the bird fell dead at his feet; but the wing fell on Sulayman, and
he was crushed. Now at this very time King Indarapatra was sitting at his window, and looking
out he saw the little tree wither and dry up. "Alas!" he cried, "my brother is dead"; and he wept
bitterly.
Then although he was very sad, he was filled with a desire for revenge, and putting on his
sword and belt he started for Mindanao in search of his brother. He, too, traveled through the air
with great speed until he came to the mountain where the rattan grew. There he looked about,
awed at the great destruction, and when he saw the bones of Kurita he knew that his brother had
been there and gone. He went on till he came to Matutun, and when he saw the bones of
Tarabusaw he knew that this, too, was the work of Sulayman. Still searching for his brother, he
arrived at Mt. Bita where the dead bird lay on the ground, and as he lifted the severed wing he
beheld the bones of Sulayman with his sword by his side. His grief now so overwhelmed
Indarapatra that he wept for some time. Upon looking up he beheld a small jar of water by his
side. This he knew had been sent from heaven, and he poured the water over the bones, and
Sulayman came to life again. They greeted each other and talked long together. Sulayman
declared that he had not been dead but asleep, and their hearts were full of joy. After some time
Sulayman returned to his distant home, but Indarapatra continued his journey to Mt. Gurayn
where he killed the dreadful bird with the seven heads. After these monsters had all been
destroyed and peace and safety had been restored to the land, Indarapatra began searching
everywhere to see if some of the people might not be hidden in the earth still alive.
One day during his search he caught sight of a beautiful woman at a distance. When he
hastened toward her she disappeared through a hole in the ground where she was standing.
Disappointed and tired, he sat down on a rock to rest, when, looking about, he saw near him a
pot of uncooked rice with a big fire on the ground in front of it. This revived him and he
proceeded to cook the rice. As he did so, however, he heard someone laugh near by, and turning
he beheld an old woman watching him. As he greeted her, she drew near and talked with him
while he ate the rice. Of all the people in the land, the old woman told him, only a very few were
still alive, and they hid in a cave in the ground from whence they never ventured. As for herself
and her old husband, she went on, they had hidden in a hollow tree, and this they had never dared
leave until after Sulayman killed the voracious bird, Pah. At Indarapatra's earnest request, the old
woman led him to the cave where he found the headman with his family and some of his people.
They all gathered about the stranger, asking many questions, for this was the first they had heard
about the death of the monsters. When they found what Indarapatra had done for them, they were
filled with gratitude, and to show their appreciation the headman gave his daughter to him in
marriage, and she proved to be the beautiful girl whom Indarapatra had seen at the mouth of the
cave. Then the people all came out of their hiding-place and returned to their homes where they
lived in peace and happiness. And the sea withdrew from the land and gave the lowlands to the
people.
 THE STORY OF BANTUGAN
Moro

Before the Spaniards occupied the island of Mindanao, there lived in the valley of the Rio
Grande a very strong man, Bantugan, whose father was the brother of the earthquake and
thunder. Now the Sultan of the Island 147 had a beautiful daughter whom Bantugan wished to
marry, but the home of the Sultan was far off, and whoever went to carry Bantugan's proposal
would have a long and hazardous journey. All the head men consulted together regarding who
should be sent, and at last it was decided that Bantugan's own son, Balatama, was the one to go.
Balatama was young but he was strong and brave, and when the arms of his father were given
him to wear on the long journey his heart swelled with pride. More than once on the way,
however, his courage was tried, and only the thought of his brave father gave him strength to
proceed.
Once he came to a wooden fence which surrounded a stone in the form of a man, and as it
was directly in his path he drew his fighting knife to cut down the fence. Immediately the air
became as black as night and stones rained down as large as houses. This made Balatama cry,
but he protected himself with his father's shield and prayed, calling on the winds from the
homeland until they came and cleared the air again. Thereupon Balatama encountered a great
snake 148 in the road, and it inquired his errand. When told, the snake said: "You cannot go on,
for I am guard of this road and no one can pass." The animal made a move to seize him, but with
one stroke of his fighting knife the boy cut the snake into two pieces, one of which he threw into
the sea and the other into the mountains. After many days the weary lad came to a high rock in
the road, which glistened in the sunlight. From the top he could look down into the city for which
he was bound. It was a splendid place with ten harbors. Standing out from the other houses was
one of crystal and another of pure gold. Encouraged by this sight he went on, but though it
seemed but a short distance, it was some time before he at last stood at the gate of the town.
It was not long after this, however, before Balatama had made known his errand to the
Sultan, and that monarch, turning to his courtiers, said: "You, my friends, decide whether or not I
shall give the hand of my daughter to Bantugan in marriage." The courtiers slowly shook their
heads and began to offer objections. Said one, "I do not see how Bantugan can marry the Sultan's
daughter because the first gift must be a figure of a man or woman in pure gold." "Well," said the
son of Bantugan, "I am here to learn what you want and to say whether or not it can be given."
Then a second man spoke: "You must give a great yard with a floor of gold, which must be three
feet thick." "All this can be given," answered the boy. And the sister of the Princess said: "The
gifts must be as many as the blades of grass in our city." "It shall be granted," said Balatama.
"You must give a bridge built of stone to cross the great river," said one. And another: "A ship of
stone you must give, and you must change into gold all the cocoanuts and leaves in the Sultan's
grove."
"All this can be done," said Balatama. "My uncles will give all save the statue of gold,
and that I shall give myself. But first I must go to my father's town to secure it." At this they
were angry and declared that he had made sport of them and unless he produced the statue at
once they would kill him. "If I give you the statue now," said he, "there will come dreadful
storms, rain, and darkness." But they only laughed at him and insisted on having the statue, so he
reached in his helmet and drew it forth. Immediately the earth began to quake. A great storm
arose, and stones as large as houses rained until the Sultan called to Balatama to put back the
statue lest they all be killed. "You would not believe what I told you," said the boy; "and now I
am going to let the storm continue." But the Sultan begged him and promised that Bantugan
might marry his daughter with no other gifts at all save the statue of gold. Balatama put back the
statue into his helmet, and the air became calm again to the great relief of the Sultan and his
courtiers. Then Balatama prepared to return home, promising that Bantugan would come in three
months for the wedding.
All went well with the boy on the way home until he came to the fence surrounding the
stone in the form of a man, and there he was detained and compelled to remain four months.
Now about this time a Spanish general heard that Bantugan was preparing to marry the Sultan's
daughter, whom he determined to wed himself. A great expedition was prepared, and he with all
his brothers embarked on his large warship which was followed by ten thousand other ships.
They went to the Sultan's city, and their number was so great that they filled the harbor,
frightening the people greatly. Then the General's brother disembarked and came to the house of
the Sultan. He demanded the Princess for the General, saying that if the request were refused, the
fleet would destroy the city and all its people. The Sultan and his courtiers were so frightened
that they decided to give his daughter to the General, the next full moon being the date set for the
wedding.
In the meantime Bantugan had been preparing everything for the marriage which he
expected to take place at the appointed time. But as the days went by and Balatama did not
return, they became alarmed, fearing he was dead. After three months had passed, Bantugan
prepared a great expedition to go in search of his son, and the great warship was decorated with
flags of gold. As they came in sight of the Sultan's city, they saw the Spanish fleet in the harbor,
and one of his brothers advised Bantugan not to enter until the Spaniards left They then brought
their ship to anchor. But all were disappointed that they could not go farther, and one said, "Why
do we not go on? Even if the blades of grass turn into Spaniards we need not fear." Another said:
"Why do we fear? Even if the cannon-balls come like rain, we can always fight." Finally some
wanted to return to their homes and Bantugan said: "No, let us seek my son. Even though we
must enter the harbor where the Spaniards are, let us continue our search." So at his command
the anchors were lifted, and they sailed into the harbor where the Spanish fleet lay.
Now at this very time the Spanish general and his brother were with the Sultan, intending
to call upon the Princess. As the brother talked with one of the sisters of the Princess they moved
toward the window, and looking down they saw Bantugan's ships entering the harbor. They
could not tell whose flags the ships bore. Neither could the Sultan when he was called. Then he
sent his brother to bring his father who was a very old man, to see if he could tell. The father was
kept in a little dark room by himself that he might not get hurt, and the Sultan said to his brother:
"If he is so bent with age that he cannot see, talk, or walk, tickle him in the ribs and that will
make him young again; and, my Brother, carry him here yourself lest one of the slaves should let
him fall and he should hurt himself."
So the old man was brought, and when he looked out upon the ships he saw that the flags
were those of the father of Bantugan who had been a great friend of his in his youth. And he told
them that he and Bantugan's father years ago had made a contract that their children and
children's children should intermarry, and now since the Sultan had promised his daughter to two
people, he foresaw that great trouble would come to the land. Then the Sultan said to the
General: "Here are two claimants to my daughter's hand. Go aboard your ships and you and
Bantugan make war on each other, and the victor shall have my daughter."
So the Spaniards opened fire upon Bantugan, and for three days the earth was so covered
with smoke from the battle that neither could see his enemy. Then the Spanish general said: "I
cannot see Bantugan or the fleet anywhere, so let us go and claim the Princess." But the Sultan
said: "We must wait until the smoke rises to make sure that Bantugan is gone." When the smoke
rose, the ships of Bantugan were apparently unharmed and the Sultan said: "Bantugan has surely
won, for his fleet is uninjured while yours is badly damaged. You have lost." "No," said the
General, "we will fight it out on dry land."
So they both landed their troops and their cannon, and a great fight took place, and soon
the ground was covered with dead bodies. And the Sultan commanded them to stop, as the
women and children in the city were being killed by the cannon-balls, but the General said: "If
you give your daughter to Bantugan we shall fight forever or until we die." Then the Sultan sent
for Bantugan and said: "We must deceive the Spaniard in order to get him to go away. Let us tell
him that neither of you will marry my daughter, and then after he has gone, we shall have the
wedding." Bantugan agreed to this, and word was sent to the Spaniards that the fighting must
cease since many women and children were being killed. So it was agreed between the Spaniard
and Bantugan that neither of them should marry the Princess. Then they both sailed away to their
homes. Bantugan soon returned, however, and married the Princess, and on the way back to his
home they found his son and took him with them. For about a week the Spanish general sailed
toward his home and then he, too, turned about to go back, planning to take the Princess by
force. When he found that she had already been carried away by Bantugan, his wrath knew no
bounds. He destroyed the Sultan, his city, and all its people. And then he sailed away to prepare a
great expedition with which he should utterly destroy Bantugan and his country as well.
One morning Bantugan looked out and saw at the mouth of the Rio Grande the enormous
fleet of the Spaniards whose numbers were so great that in no direction could the horizon be
seen. His heart sank within him, for he knew that he and his country were doomed. Though he
could not hope to win in a fight against such great numbers, he called his headmen together and
said: "My Brothers, the Christian dogs have come to destroy the land. We cannot successfully
oppose them, but in the defense of the fatherland we can die." So the great warship was again
prepared, and all the soldiers of Islam embarked, and then with Bantugan standing at the bow
they sailed forth to meet their fate. The fighting was fast and furious, but soon the great warship
of Bantugan filled with water until at last it sank, drawing with it hundreds of the Spanish ships.
And then a strange thing happened. At the very spot where Bantugan's warship sank, there arose
from the sea a great island which you can see today not far from the mouth of the Rio Grande. It
is covered with bongo palms, and deep within its mountains live Bantugan and his warriors. A
Moro sailboat passing this island is always scanned by Bantugan's watchers, and if it contains
women such as he admires, they are snatched from their seats and carried deep into the heart of
the mountain. For this reason Moro women fear even to sail near the island of Bongos.
When the wife of Bantugan saw that her husband was no more and that his warship had
been destroyed, she gathered together the remaining warriors and set forth herself to avenge him.
In a few hours her ship was also sunk, and in the place where it sank there arose the mountain of
Timaco. On this thickly wooded island are found white monkeys, the servants of the Princess,
who still lives in the center of the mountain. On a quiet day high up on the mountain side one can
hear the chanting and singing of the waiting-girls of the wife of Bantugan.
 THE CREATION STORY
Tagalog

When the world first began there was no land, but only the stea and the sky, and between
them was a kite. 154 One day the bird which had nowhere to light grew tired of flying about, so
she stirred up the sea until it threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea,
showered upon it many islands until it could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky
ordered the kite to light on one of the islands to build her nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in
peace.

Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a child
which was a bamboo. One day when this bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the
feet of the kite which was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything should strike it, pecked at
the bamboo, and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman.

Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these
two, and it was decided that they should marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from
them came all the different races of people.

After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children
around, and they wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no place to send them to. Time went
on and the children became so numerous that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in
desperation, the father seized a stick and began beating them on all sides.

This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions, seeking hidden rooms
in the housesome concealed themselves in the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in the
fireplace, and several fled to the sea.

Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became
the chiefs of the Islands; and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those
who ran outside were free men; and those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those
who fled to the sea were gone many years, and when their children came back they were the
white people.
 THE BILAAN MINDANAO CREATION MYTHS

In the very beginning there lived a being so large that he can not be compared with any
known thing. His name was Melu, and when he sat on the clouds, which were his home, he
occupied all the space above. His teeth were pure gold, and because he was very cleanly and
continually rubbed himself with his hands, his skin became pure white. The dead skin which he
rubbed off his body was placed on one side in a pile, and by and by this pile became so large that
he was annoyed and set himself to consider what he could do with it.

Finally Melu decided to make the earth; so he worked very hard in putting the dead skin
into shape, and when it was finished he was so pleased with it that he determined to make two
beings like himself, though smaller, to live on it.

Taking the remnants of the material left after making the earth he fashioned two men but
just as they were all finished except their noses, Tau Tana from below the earth appeared and
wanted to help him.

Melu did not wish any assistance, and a great argument ensued. Tau Tana finally won his
point and made the noses which he placed on the people upside down. When all was finished,
Melu and Tau Tana whipped the forms until they moved. Then Melu went to his home above the
clouds, and Tau Tana returned to his place below the earth.

All went well until one day a great rain came, and the people on the earth nearly drowned
from the water which ran off their heads into their noses. Melu, from his place on the clouds, saw
their danger, and he came quickly to earth and saved their lives by turning their noses the other
side up.

The people were very grateful to him, and promised to do anything he should ask of
them. Before he left for the sky, they told him that they were very unhappy living on the great
earth all alone, so he told them to save all the hair from their heads and the dry skin from their
bodies and the next time he came he would make them some companions. And in this way there
came to be a great many people on the earth.
 APONIBOLINAYEN AND THE SUN
Tinguian

One day Aponibolinayen and her sister-in-law went out to gather greens. They walked to
the woods to the place where the siksiklat grew, for the tender leaves of this vine are very good
to eat. Suddenly while searching about in the underbrush, Aponibolinayen cried out with joy, for
she had found the vine, and she started to pick the leaves. Pull as hard as she would, however,
the leaves did not come loose, and all at once the vine wound itself around her body and began
carrying her upward. Far up through the air she went until she reached the sky, and there the
vine set her down under a tree. Aponibolinayen was so surprised to find herself in the sky that
for some time she just sat and looked around, and then, hearing a rooster crow, she arose to see if
she could find it. Not far from where she had sat was a beautiful spring surrounded by tall betel-
nut trees whose tops were pure gold. Rare beads were the sands of the spring, and the place
where the women set their jars when they came to dip water was a large golden plate. As
Aponibolinayen stood admiring the beauties of this spring, she beheld a small house nearby, and
she was filled with fear lest the owner should find her there. She looked about for some means of
escape and finally climbed to the top of a betel-nut tree and hid.
Now the owner of this house was Ini-init, the Sun, but he was never at home in the
daylight, for it was his duty to shine in the sky and give light to all the world. At the close of the
day when the Big Star took his place in the sky to shine through the night, Ini-init returned to his
house, but early the next morning he was always off again. From her place in the top of the betel-
nut tree, Aponibolinayen saw the Sun when he came home at evening time, and again the next
morning she saw him leave. When she was sure that he was out of sight she climbed down and
entered his dwelling, for she was very hungry. She cooked rice, and into a pot of boiling water
she dropped a stick which immediately became fish, 3 so that she had all she wished to eat.
When she was no longer hungry, she lay down on the bed to sleep. Now late in the afternoon Ini-
init returned from his work and went to fish in the river near his house, and he caught a big fish.
While he sat on the bank cleaning his catch, he happened to look up toward his house and was
startled to see that it appeared to be on fire. 4 He hurried home, but when he reached the house
he saw that it was not burning at all, and he entered. On his bed he beheld what looked like a
flame of fire, but upon going closer he found that it was a beautiful woman fast asleep.
Ini-init stood for some time wondering what he should do, and then he decided to cook
some food and invite this lovely creature to eat with him. He put rice over the fire to boil and cut
into pieces the fish he had caught. The noise of this awakened Aponibolinayen, and she slipped
out of the house and back to the top of the betel-nut tree. The Sun did not see her leave, and
when the food was prepared he called her, but the bed was empty and he had to eat alone. That
night Ini-init could not sleep well, for all the time he wondered who the beautiful woman could
be. The next morning, however, he rose as usual and set forth to shine in the sky, for that was his
work. That day Aponibolinayen stole again to the house of the Sun and cooked food, and when
she returned to the betel-nut tree she left rice and fish ready for the Sun when he came home.
Late in the afternoon Ini-init went into his home, and when he found pots of hot rice and fish
over the fire he was greatly troubled. After he had eaten he walked a long time in the fresh air.
"Perhaps it is done by the lovely woman who looks like a flame of fire," he said. "If she comes
again I will try to catch her."
 The next day the Sun shone in the sky as before, and when the afternoon grew late he
called to the Big Star to hurry to take his place, for he was impatient to reach home. As he drew
near the house he saw that it again looked as if it was on fire. He crept quietly up the ladder, and
when he had reached the top he sprang in and shut the door behind him. Aponibolinayen, who
was cooking rice over the fire, was surprised and angry that she had been caught; but the Sun
gave her betel-nut 5 which was covered with gold, and they chewed together and told each other
their names. Then Aponibolinayen took up the rice and fish, and as they ate they talked together
and became acquainted. After some time Aponibolinayen and the Sun were married, and every
morning the Sun went to shine in the sky, and upon his return at night he found his supper ready
for him. He began to be troubled, however, to know where the food came from, for though he
brought home a fine fish every night, Aponibolinayen always refused to cook it. One night he
watched her prepare their meal, and he saw that, instead of using the nice fish he had brought,
she only dropped a stick into the pot of boiling water. "Why do you try to cook a stick?" asked
Ini-init in surprise. "So that we can have fish to eat," answered his wife. "If you cook that stick
for a month, it will not be soft," said Ini-init. "Take this fish that I caught in the net, for it will be
good." But Aponibolinayen only laughed at him, and when they were ready to eat she took the
cover off the pot and there was plenty of nice soft fish. The next night and the next,
Aponibolinayen cooked the stick, and Ini-init became greatly troubled for he saw that though the
stick always supplied them with fish, it never grew smaller.
Finally he asked Aponibolinayen again why it was that she cooked the stick instead of the
fish he brought, and she said: "Do you not know of the woman on earth who has magical power
and can change things?" "Yes," answered the Sun, "and now I know that you have great power."
"Well, then," said his wife, "do not ask again why I cook the stick." And they ate their supper of
rice and the fish which the stick made. One night not long after this Aponibolinayen told her
husband that she wanted to go with him the next day when he made light in the sky. "Oh, no, you
cannot," said the Sun, "for it is very hot up there, 6 and you cannot stand the heat." "We will
take many blankets and pillows," said the woman, "and when the heat becomes very great, I will
hide under them." Again and again Ini-init begged her not to go, but as often she insisted on
accompanying him, and early in the morning they set out, carrying with them many blankets and
pillows. First, they went to the East, and as soon as they arrived the Sun began to shine, and
Aponibolinayen was with him. They traveled toward the West, but when morning had passed
into noontime and they had reached the middle of the sky Aponibolinayen was so hot that she
melted and became oil. Then Ini-init put her into a bottle and wrapped her in the blankets and
pillows and dropped her down to earth.
Now one of the women of Aponibolinayen's town was at the spring dipping water when
she heard something fall near her. Turning to look, she beheld a bundle of beautiful blankets and
pillows which she began to unroll, and inside she found the most beautiful woman she had ever
seen. Frightened at her discovery, the woman ran as fast as she could to the town, where she
called the people together and told them to come at once to the spring. They all hastened to the
spot and there they found Aponibolinayen for whom they had been searching everywhere.
"Where have you been?" asked her father; "we have searched all over the world and we could
not find you.' "I have come from Pindayan," answered Aponibolinayen. "Enemies of our people
kept me there till I made my escape while they were asleep at night" All were filled with joy that
the lost one had returned, and they decided that at the next moon they would perform a ceremony
for the spirits 8 and invite all the relatives who were mourning for Aponibolinayen. So they
began to prepare for the ceremony, and while they were pounding rice, Aponibolinayen asked
her mother to prick her little finger where it itched, and as she did so a beautiful baby boy
popped out. The people were very much surprised at this, and they noticed that every time he
was bathed the baby grew very fast so that, in a short time, he was able to walk. Then they were
anxious to know who was the husband of Aponibolinayen, but she would not tell them, and they
decided to invite everyone in the world to the ceremony that they might not overlook him. They
sent for the betel-nuts that were covered with gold, 9 and when they had oiled them they
commanded them to go to all the towns and compel the people to come to the ceremony. "If
anyone refuses to come, grow on his knee," said the people, and the betel-nuts departed to do as
they were bidden.
As the guests began to arrive, the people watched carefully for one who might be the husband of
Aponibolinayen, but none appeared and they were greatly troubled. Finally they went to the old woman,
Alokotan, who was able to talk with the spirits, and begged her to find what town had not been visited by
the betel-nuts which had been sent to invite the people. After she had consulted the spirits the old woman
said: "You have invited all the people except Ini-init who lives up above. Now you must send a betel-nut
to summon him. It may be that he is the husband of Aponibolinayen, for the siksiklat vine carried her up
when she went to gather greens." So a betel-nut was called and bidden to summon Ini-init. The betel-nut
went up to the Sun, who was in his house, and said: "Good morning, Sun. I have come to summon you to
a ceremony which the father and mother of Aponibolinayen are making for the spirits. If you do not want
to go, I will grow on your head." "Grow on my head," said the Sun. "I do not wish to go." So the betel-nut
jumped upon his head and grew until it became so tall that the Sun was not able to carry it, and he was in
great pain. "Oh, grow on my pig," begged the Sun. So the betel-nut jumped upon the pig's head and grew,
but it was so heavy that the pig could not carry it and squealed all the time. At last the Sun saw that he
would have to obey the summons, and he said to the betel-nut:
"Get off my pig and I will go." So Ini-init came to the ceremony, and as soon as Aponibolinayen
and the baby saw him, they were very happy and ran to meet him. Then the people knew that this was the
husband of Aponibolinayen, and they waited eagerly for him to come up to them. As he drew near,
however, they saw that he did not walk, for he was round; and then they perceived that he was not a man
but a large stone. All her relatives were very angry to find that Aponibolinayen had married a stone; and
they compelled her to take off her beads and her good clothes, for, they said, she must now dress in old
clothes and go again to live with the stone. So Aponibolinayen put on the rags that they brought her and at
once set out with the stone for his home. No sooner had they arrived there, however, than he became a
handsome man, and they were very happy. "In one moon," said the Sun, "we will make a ceremony for
the spirits, and I will pay your father and mother the marriage price 12 for you." This pleased
Aponibolinayen very much, and they used magic so that they had many neighbors who came to pound
rice 13 for them and to build a large spirit house. Then they sent oiled betel-nuts to summon their
relatives to the ceremony. The father of Aponibolinayen did not want to go, but the betel-nut threatened to
grow on his knee if he did not. So he commanded all the people in the town to wash their hair and their
clothes, and when all was ready they set out.
When they reached the town they were greatly surprised to find that the stone had
become a man, and they chewed the magic betel-nuts to see who he might be. It was discovered
that he was the son of a couple in Aponibolinayen's own town, and the people all rejoiced that
this couple had found the son whom they had thought lost. They named him Aponitolau, and his
parents paid the marriage price for his wifethe spirit house nine times full of valuable jars.
After that all danced and made merry for one moon, and when the people departed for their
homes Ini-init and his wife went with them to live on the earth.
 HOW THE TINGUIAN LEARNED TO PLANT
Tinguian

In the very old times the Tinguian did not know how to plant and harvest as they now do. For
food they had only the things that grew in the forests and fish from the streams. Neither did they know
how to cure people who became ill or were injured by evil spirits, and many died who might otherwise
have lived.

Then Kadaklan, the Great Spirit who lives in the sky, saw that the people often were hungry and
sick, and he sent one of his servants, Kaboniyan, to the earth to teach them many things. And it happened
this way:

Dayapan, a woman who lived in Caalang, had been sick for seven years. One day when she went
to the spring to bathe, there entered her body a spirit who had rice and sugar-cane with him, and he said to
her:

"Dayapan, take these to your home and plant them in the ground, and after a while they will grow
large enough to reap. Then when they are ripe, build a granary to put the rice in until you shall need it,
and a sugar-press to crush the cane. And when these are finished, make the ceremony Sayung, and you
will be well."

Dayapan was filled with wonder at these strange things, but she took the rice and the sugar-cane
and went home as she was commanded. While she was trying to plant them in the ground the Spirit again
entered her body and showed her just what to do. Since then the Tinguian have planted crops every year,
and because they do as Kaboniyan 76 taught the woman they have plenty to eat.

When Dayapan had reaped the first rice and cane, she began to make the ceremony Sayung, and
the Spirit came again and directed her. And when it was finished and she was cured, he told her to take a
dog and a cock and go to bathe in the river as a sign that the ceremony was finished. So she went to the
river and tied the dog and the cock near the water, but while she was bathing the dog ate the cock.

Dayapan wept bitterly at this and waited a long time for Kaboniyan, and when at last he came, he
said:m"If the dog had not killed the cock, no person would die when you make this ceremony; but this is a
sign, and now some will die and some will get well."

Dayapan called all the people together, and told them the things that the spirit had taught her; and
they could see that she had been made well. After that, when people became ill they called Dayapan to
treat them. And it was as the Spirit had said; some died and others were made well.
 THE TALE OF TUNGKUNG LANGIT AND
ALUNSINA

In the beginning there was nothing and there was everything. The world is
made of mists, formless and shapeless things, and confusions everywhere. From
this confusion there grows two Gods, Tunkong Langit and Alunsina. These two
Gods marry and lived in the highest realm of ethereal space. Tungkung Langit took
the responsibility of writing everything in the world, his job is to restore order,
chaos and the confusion around him, so everyday he left to do his job, and leave
Alunsina in their home.

While Tungkung Langit is responsible, Alunsina is lazy, jealous, and selfish.

She likes to daydream or comb her hair all day long. And because she was a
jealous goddess, Alunsina always sends the sea breeze to spy on Tungkung Langit.
When the god found this out, he was not pleased. There was a quarrel. Tungkung
Langit says that it is ungodly of her to be jealous. Alunsina resented it. Tungkung
Langit lost his temper; he divested his wife of her powers and sends her away. No
one knew where she went, she just disappeared.

Several days after, Tungkung Langit became very lonely. But he doesn't
know where to find her or where to start looking for her. He missed Alunsina
terribly, especially whenever he comes home after his work and finds his house
empty.

One day, he thought of an idea, he made the sea, the earth, and filled the
ground with trees and flowers. He made the earth and sea beautiful, so that when
Alunsina would see it, she would come home. But she didn't. So he took Alunsina's
jewels and put it in the sky, and still Alunsina did not came back. Up to this time,
Tungkung Langit still lives alone in his palace in the sky. When it rains, it is said to
be Tungkung Langit"s tears, still longing for the return of his beloved Alunsina.
 IFUGAO MYTHOLOGY
Lourdes S. Dulawan

Wigan of the Skyworld looked down on earth and saw the fertile valley of kay-ang. what a pity that
such land is unpopulated! he exclaimed. Wigan then thought out a plan to populate the earth. That night he
made a house, filled it with palay, hanged several coops filled with chickens. He carried his sleeping children,
Kabbigat and Bugan, and brought them inside the house. Then he dropped the house down to the riverside in
Kay-ang. In the morning when Kabbigat and Bugan woke up they saw that they were in a strange place. They
believed that their father had grown tired of them and so had gotten rid of them. They could not go back to the
Skyworld and had to live where their father had dropped them. They were brother and sister and so it was
taboo for them to sleep under the same roof. At night Bugan slept inside the house while Kabbigat slept under
the house. Everyday Kabbigat went out hunting while Bugan tended the pigs and the chickens and cooked their
meals.
One morning as Kabbigat was feeding the chickens he saw a rooster mating with its siblings. It
dawned on him if chickens could multiply this way, then he and his sister bugan could also multiply that
way. So that night, Kabbigat stealthily entered the house and slept with Bugan. He never spoke a word
and One night she put lime on her navel. True enough, the man came again and lay with her. Then that
morning as they sat opposite each other having breakfast, Bugan saw the tell- tale mark. There was lime on
Kabbigats navel and her suspicion was confirmed. She then said, come on, let us not pretend. Let us live
together and have children. So Kabbigat and Bugan lived together but because they were gods, they first went
to Lagud East to be with the gods. There they begot three children, all gods. They were Ampuwal who
fathered all gods of evil; Ngilin who fathered the jealous gods; and Ambumabbakal (Fighter) who sired all
the matungulan gods who must always be appeased as if men are indebted to them. After a time, Kabbigat and
Bugan returned to Kay-ang. Wigan looked down and smiled. He sent Ambumabbakal of the Skyworld to tell
Kabbigat and Bugan that they should not feel guilty for living together even if they were siblingsneither did
Bugan. It was very dark and Bugan could not see his face. It happened that way every night. Soon Bugan
could not suppress her curiosity although she suspected it was her brother sleeping with her..
Ambumabbakal also taught them the konong rituals where they offered sacrifices and invoked all the
gods so they would approve this marriage of Kabbigat and Bugan. They had five children, all mortals:
Ballituk, Bugan, Aliguyon, Magappid and Naohha. Eventually, Ballituk married Bugan, Aliguyon
married Magappid, but poor Naohha had no one. She was so disgusted that she vowed revenge on men.
She went to the East and married Muntalug, a maknongan. From this union came the gods of deception
(mana- haut). Soon Ballituk and Bugan had many children: so with Aliguyon and Magappid. Their
children married each other; their children and childrens children intermarried and thus people
multiplied. Soon the earth was overpopulated. Wigan of the Skyworld again had to do something. He
said, The earth is overpopulated. So he sent heavy rains that flooded the earth. Everyone was drowned
except two who were saved because they were washed out on the top of Mt. Amuyao. These two were
Ballituk, son of Wigan who was the son of Ma- ingit of the skyworld, and bugan, the daughter of Amtalao who
was the son of Kabbigat of Kiyyangan. As soon as the water receded, the two went down from the mountain
top. Ballituk and Bugan went to Kay-ang where the first Ifugao ancestors, Kabbigat and Bugan, were dropped
by their father, Wigan of the Skyworld. They got married and begot five children: two boys, Tadona and
Patiwan; and three girls, in-uke, Indungdung and Bihakon. As in the beginning, brothers married sisters. Tad-
ona married In-uke and became the first parents of the people of Kiyyangan. The tribe called Tuwali. Patiwan
married Bihakon, and Indungdung went towards Antipolo.
Time passed. One day, Liddum of the skyworld came down to earth and taught Ballituk and Bugan
and their children how to cultivate rice properly and how to raise pigs and chickens for food and for sacrifice
to the gods. He also taught them all the rituals for man and for rice culture in due time these rites and rituals or
baki became established as they were handed down from generation to generation. As time went on and people
increased and spread out, there developed a social system or structure based on kinship. Villages or settlements
sprang up, usually composed of those belonging to a clan or clans grouped together for mutual protection.
 THE DIVIDED CHILD
Ifugao

Bgan was the only child of the god Hinumban and his wife Dakue. They lived in
Luktn, the highest level of the Sky World. Bgans parents wanted her to get married, but she
wasnt interested in any of the available bachelors in Luktn. So her parents sent her down to a
lower sky region, but there was no one there she wanted to marry, either. Then they sent her
down to the lowest sky region, Kabnian, which is the level just above the earth, and tried to set
her up with Baglat, the god of lightning. Nothing doing, said Bgan. That Baglat, hes always
running all over the Sky World, from the north to the south, from the east to the west, sending
lightning bolts down to earth and destroying the plants and the trees. Why would I want to marry
him? In that case, said Baglats father, maybe you should just go back home, to Luktn.
But Bgan didnt want to go home. Instead she went down to earth, to a place called
Pangagauan, where she saw a young Ifugao man named Kinggauan, digging pits to catch deer
and other game in. He was a poor man, so poor that hed worn out his only clout [loincloth] and
had to go about naked. He must have been handsome, too, because when Bgan saw him, she
was filled with pity and decided that she wanted to marry him. She went home to ask permission
from her parents, which they gave ,and so she went down to earth with a pot of cooked rice, and
a brand new clout (bahg). But when she approached Kinggauans hut, he was too embarrassed
to come meet her, because he was naked.

Dont be embarrassed, she said. I have a clout for you. And she tossed the clout into
the open doorway. He put it on, but he still didnt want to let her in. Its bad luck to meet a
woman when one is hunting, he said.Dont worry, she said. Youll have good luck. Lets eat
the rice that I brought, and spend the night in your hut, and tomorrow well go out and see how
lucky you are in the hunt. And that was that. The next day, the two went out to the game pits,
and discovered that they were full. Kinggauan spent the rest of the day slaughtering the game
(except two little piglets, a male and a female, which he gave to Bgan) and hauling the meat
back to the hut. On the following day, Bgan asked Kinggauan why he lived in such a tiny hut,
in such a remote place. Kinggauan told her that his parents were miserly, and wouldnt help to
support him. Well see, said Bgan. Lets go back to Kiangan [the oldest town in the province
of Ifugao]. And so they did. They went to the house where Kinggauans parents lived and sat
themselves down, much to his parents surprise. Who is this woman? asked Kinggauans
mother. Bgan explained who she was, and that she had seen Kinggauan when looking down on
earth from the Sky World, and out of pity came down to visit him and bring him game.
Kinggauans parents didnt fully believe her, but Bgan sent them to their sons hut, where they
saw the abundance of meat that Kinggauan had recovered from his pits. After that, there wasnt
much that his parents could say. And so Kinggauan and Bgan lived as man and wife, in
Kiangan. Eventually, Bgan gave birth to a healthy son; the couple named him Balitk. The two
little piglets grew up, and bred, and soon the couple had a large herd. Kinggauans luck with the
hunt continued, and the family were happy and prosperous. But their prosperity made the other
townspeople jealous, and they disliked this strange woman, with her strange habits. Sky people
dont eat like Earth people do; Bgan ate only rice, fowl, and flesh; she wouldnt touch fish or
vegetables. So the townspeople, to drive her away, began to surround the familys house with
fish, and vegetables, and garden crops. The smell of the food made Bgan ill, with a fever and a
rash. And so she moved out of the family house, to another hut. But the townspeople continued
to harass her, surrounding her new home with all the foods that they knew would make her sick.

Finally, Bgan got tired of this, and decided to go home, to the Sky World. She wanted to
take her family with her, and she tried to carry Kinggauan up to the sky in a hammock, but he
was too frightened to go up with her. What to do? He couldnt go to the Sky World, and she
couldnt stay on Earth. So Bgan took a knife, and cut their son in two, just above the waist. She
gave the top half to her husband because the top half would be easier to bring back to life
and kept the bottom half for herself. The entrails and organs she divided evenly between the two
halves of the body. Then Bgan went up to the Sky World and made her half of Balitk whole
again, and brought him back to life. And of course, poor Kinggauan didnt know how to
reanimate his half of his son. The corpse rotted, and eventually, the stench made it up to the Sky
World, and to Bgan. Crying with grief, Bgan came back down to earth. She took her sons
head, and turned it into an owl. She threw the ears into the forest, where they became tree fungi.
She turned the nose into another type of tree fungus, one that looks shells. From the entrails she
made the bill of the do bird [a sparrow-like bird with a long tail]. The tongue had begun to rot,
so from it she made an illness that causes peoples tongues to swell. From the ribs she made
poisonous snakes. From the heart she made the rainbow, and from the hair, maggots. From the
intestines she created rodents, and from the bones of the arms she made the rotten branches that
fall from trees upon passers-by. And then Bgan went back to the sky.
 FIRE AND FLOOD
Igorot

Once upon a time, the world was flat, and had no mountains. One day the two sons of
Lumawig, the Great Spirit, wanted to go hunting for wild pig and deer. In order to drive the prey
into their traps, the older brother had the idea to cover the earth with water. This would cause the
mountains to rise up, driving the deer and the boar to the highlands, where they would be easier
to catch.
So the brothers caused the water to flow all over the earth, and after it was covered they
used their head-basket [supposedly where headhunters keep the heads of their victims; also used
as a traveling basket] to set a trap for their prey. They succeeded not only in catching many wild
pigs and deer, but people, too.
Meanwhile, Lumawig looked down from the sky and saw that all the earth had been
covered in water, and almost all the people had drowned. Only one spot on earth had been left
dry Mount Polis and on that dry spot were the last two people on earth: a man named
Fatanga and his sister Fukan.
Lumawig called out to them, asking if they were okay.
Were still alive, said Fatanga. But we are very cold.
So Lumawig sent his dog and his deer to fetch fire for the two stranded people. The two
animals swam quickly away. They took the fire and began to swim to Polis, but the floodwater
put out the fire. In the meantime, Fatanga and Fukan grew colder.
Lumawig flew like a bird to find his dog and his deer. When he found them, he urged
them to try again; each of them took a brand of flame and plunged back into the water. But after
theyd swam a little way, the deers fire went out, and the dogs fire almost did, too. Luckily
Lumawig was above them, and snatched the dogs brand away before it went out.
Then Lumawig flew back to Polis and built a great fire to warm Fatanga and Fukan. The
fire was so hot that it evaporated the water, and the world was dry like before.
But now Fatanga and Fukan were now the only two people in the world, so Lumawig told
them that they must marry and have children, so they could repopulate the world. At first, the
two were hesitant (they were siblings, after all), but they obeyed. They married and moved to the
Bontoc region, and there they became the ancestors of the Bontoc people.