THE MYTH OF MALAKAS AND MAGANDA

A long time ago, the house of God was a fathomless vast of emptiness.

He was saddened because he can’t see nor hear anything.

The sun rose, bright as a gold and the heavens were embellished with clear
blue skies. In a distance the full moon peeked amidst the darkness with
thousands of sparkling and twinkling stars.

God gracefully lifted His powerful hands and in just a snap, the earth was
created. Trees and grasses sprouted from the lands and fragrant flowers came
into bloom.

Oceans waved and surged; rivers outrageously flowed. Birds flew freely in the
skies and they rest to sing for a while. God then created the world. It was such
a beautiful and pleasure paradise to behold!

One day, the king of birds flew and explored the wild blue yonder. He proudly
spread his sturdy massive wings and flew to the forest.

From a distance, he saw a lofty bamboo bending from its waist as a gentle blow
of wind touched it. He hurried through the bamboo and stopped for a short
rest.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

He felt a resounding knock coming from the tall bamboo. He was sure he heard
a voice!

“Set me free, o, stalwart king of birds!”, was the plead. “Peck harder! I can’t
breathe. It’s a confinement!”

“It might be a trap!”, the bird thought. After a while, a lizard crawled up to the
bamboo. The starving bird tried to grab the crawling lizard.
He hardly pecked the bamboo in his attempt to catch the lizard.

All of a sudden, the tall bamboo broke. To the bird’s surprise, a handsome man
emerged from the bamboo.

“Thanks, O, great king of the birds! My name is Malakas. Please continue

pecking the bamboo. Release my partner with your grace and power!”

Once again, the bird pecked the bamboo.

A modest and beautiful woman came out from the bamboo. “She is my wife.
Her name is Maganda. You freed us, O, King of the birds! You must live with us
forever!”

“I can’t”, replied the bird. “I am but one bird and my home is the immense blue
skies. I travel with the wind. My wings were intended for flight. But, I would
always sing for you. Even if when I’m gone, my nestlings would also sing for
you. With their rhythmic voices, they would sing the song I sang for the both of
you!”

“Come! Ride in my massive wings. I would bring you to the Land of the
Morning. There you must live and stay!”

Malakas and Maganda reached the land of green islands. It shone with the
brightness of golden sun. The whole land was a vast of glistening pearls of the
east!

There, in the Land of the Morning, Malakas and Maganda lived together – the
first parents of the Filipino race.

Reflection: The Myth of Malakas and Maganda, it’s very hard to look for any
moral lesson that you can derive from the story. Maybe it’s in the part where
the great bird HELPED both MALAKAS and MAGANDA escape from inside the
large bamboo stem. So, you could say that it is always good to help other
people that are in need.
 THE LEGEND OF ROSE
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman named Rosa who lives in
Tarlac. Other than her beauty, Rosa was also known as a woman who will do
everything for the sake of true love. According to the story, Rosa is already
engaged with Mario when they found out that the later has a serious illness.
Despite of everything, Rosa chose to marry Mario so she can serve him until his
last breath. However, Mario did not agree with Rosa. The man said that Rosa's
affection is enough for him to take it afterlife.

Rosa took care of Mario. She never leaves Mario's side. Rosa's smile is the first
thing that Mario will see every time he opens his eyes. Her smile is also the last
thing that Mario will see before he sleeps.

Rosa's smile is the last thing that Mario had seen before he dies. Those smiles
did not fade after Mario was buried. Even though she visited Mario's grave and
cherished it. When she was asked why she still smile, she responded

"I know wherever Mario is, I am the only woman that he loved. I know he will
wait for me so we can be together and will not leave each other again".

Rosa became an inspiration for showing her undying love for Mario. Before she
died, Rosa wished to place her grave beside Mario. Later on, a plant grew on
Rosa's grave and its flowers were beautiful. They called it "Rosas" to remember
the woman who is a symbol of true love.
THE LEGEND OF BITTER GOURD (AMPALAYA)
Once upon a time, There was a town named "Sariwa". All kind of vegetables
with their own characteristics live there.
The Kalabasa has sweetness, Kamatis is sour and has a silky skin, Luya is spicy,
Labanos has white skin, Talong is purple, Mustasa has green cheeks,
Singkamas has its own crunchiness, Sibuyas has thin skin and Patola has
attractive rough skin.
But there is one vegetables that is peculiar. It is Ampalaya, with pale skin and
unusual taste. Every single day, Ampalaya did nothing but to compare and envy
at other vegetables. Thus, Ampalaya thought of something bad against them.
On evening, Ampalaya took and wore the characteristics of all vegetables. The
pale-skinned vegetable is overjoyed when it realized that the unpopular
Ampalaya is now beautiful and envied by other vegetables. But there is no
secret that cannot be revealed. The other vegetables that were robbed come
together.
They decided to follow the strange but beautiful vegetable. The beautiful
vegetable wear off every characteristics that it stole. It surprised the other
vegetables when they found out that it was the pale-skinned Ampalaya. The
vegetables around Ampalaya were angered and complained to the Fairy of
Land.
The Fairy punished Ampalaya by transferring all the characteristics of all
vegetables on town of Sariwa. Ampalaya is delighted on the outcome. But later
on, Ampalaya's skin started to darken and corrugate. Other than that, the taste
of all vegetables jumbled inside Ampalaya's body and thereafter, it resulted to
unpleasant taste.
And that is the origin of bitter taste Ampalaya.
 The Legend of the Pineapple
Once upon a time, there was a mother and daughter who lived in a remote
area. The daughter named Pinang. Her mother Rosa did everything for her
beloved Pinang. Pinang grew up as a spoiled child. There were times that Rosa
wants her daughter learn some house chores but Pinang always refuse. Pinang
says she already know what to do. Since then, her mother let Pinang do what
she wants.
One day, Aling Rosa got sick, barely able to get up. Pinang's mother asked her
to do the house chores. The poor mother also begged Pinang to cook food for
her. The stubborn daughter lodged the cooking pot and went outside to play.
The cooking pot was left for few hours and nearly burned their house. Aling
Rosa feel sorry for what happened. Somehow, her daughter served her.
Aling Rosa's condition got worse and forced Pinang to do the house chores.
One day, Aling Rosa told Pinang to cook but the later told her mother that she
did not see the matches. On the other day, Pinang asked her mother where the
ladle is. The cycle happen every day, Pinang keeps asking her mother about the
particular things she needs. Aling Rosa was annoyed at Pinang for her attitude
and suddenly uttered "Oh Pinang, I hope you had numerous eyes to see
everything you ask!". Knowing that her mother is angry, Pinang went outside
of their house. On evening, Pinang never came back and her mother worried.
Aling Rosa was forced to cook food for herself. After few days, Aling Rosa
recovers from her sickness and the poor mother asked their neighbor if they
had seen Pinang but to no avail.
One morning, Aling Rosa noticed a plant on their backyard. She had no idea
what it is. The plant has so many "eyes". Thereafter, Aling Rosa remembered
what she had said to her daughter. The mother wept quietly and she took care
of the plant. She named it after her daughter Pinang.
And later on... it became, "Pinya"
 SARIMANOK
Sarimanok is a Muslim myth telling the origin of a super bird in the Philippines
that looks like a chicken with a super rainbow tail. Sari is the traditional
colorful attire of the Muslims of the Philippines and you may also know it from
India, while a Manok is a chicken. The Sarimanok is portmanteau of these two
things.
The myth is a strange one, in that there isn’t much of a story to it and it’s pretty
nonsensical, but legend has it that the Sultan of Lanao had a beautiful daughter
named Sari. One day, they had a fiesta to celebrate her birthday, but as they
were eating and having fun a super bird with colorful feathers like a rainbow
swooped in, turned into a super handsome prince, and then he said some
creepy thing like, “Sari, I’ve been watching you since you were born. Now
you’re all grown up and I will marry you!” Then he snatches her up, turns into
a bird, and flies away never to be seen again.
Then the Sultan, struck with grief, remembers her by commissioning statues of
the Bird (and not her daughter), hence why there are lots of Sarimanok statues
in the Philippines.
One of the more obscure myths that tickles my fancy is the Myth of Creation
Bathala Style. This is a story from the Tagalogs who came to be the largest
ethnic group in the Philippines.
It tells the story of three super gods, Bathala (caretaker of the Earth), Ulilang
Kaluluwa (the Orphaned Spirit) - a great serpent from the depths, and Galang
Kaluluwa (Wandering Spirit), the winged god who loves to travel around
aimlessly.
Bathala oversaw the barren earth, and wanted to create mortals to share his
kingdom. But he couldn’t because he was afraid that they would not survive
the in the barren wasteland.
One day he met with Ulilang Kaluluwa by chance or destiny, and the serpent
didn’t like that he had a rival. So he fought Bathala, and Bathala killed him after
three days of struggle. He buried the serpent’s body in the earth.
 Hudhud ni Aliguyon (The Tales of Aliguyon)
In the mountainous hinterlands of Northern Luzon, a young boy named
Aliguyon was raised well by his father and he grew up to become a smart and
intelligent leader. He also had the skills and prowess of a brave and stalwart
warrior that children of the villages often looked up to him as a role model.
Now their tribe had a long standing feud over territorial boundaries, with
another tribe in another mountain. To settle it once and for all, Aliguyon
challenged the leader of the other tribe to a duel. However, the leader did not
accept the challenge personally but his son, Pumbakhayon did, since he was an
exact match to Aliguyon’s capabilities.
Thus, the two warriors faced each other in a battle they were not prepared for.
To Aliguyon’s surprise, his adversary was as skilled and adept as he was.
Accordingly, there was only one spear used because Aliguyon’s initial attempt
to slay Pumbakhayon with a single but powerful thrust of his spear was not
successful. Pumbakhayon was able to catch the spear and used the same
weapon by throwing it to Aliguyon with an equally forceful might. The latter
had no other course of action but to catch his spear and hurl it once more to his
opponent.
This duel lasted for three days with nothing transpiring but the swift
exchanges of hurls using only a single spear. On the third day, the two young
men decided to stop the senseless exercise and agreed to talk things over. It
became obvious to both of them that they were equals in every aspect despite
belonging to a different tribe. They have come to respect each other’s skills and
intelligence, thus realizing they are capable of settling their issues wisely.
Therefore, the duel ended in a treaty and the two young men became close
friends.
Their tribes and the people all lived harmoniously and peacefully. They
emulated their leaders as they settled their differences by recognizing that
each tribal member deserves to be accorded with respect regardless of tribe or
stature.
 Why Does the Philippines Have 7,000 Islands?
At a time when there was only a single great mass of landbetween the great
sky and an equally great water, a large prehistoric bird got bored of circling
around the same area for millions of years. It had made several attempts to fly
as far as it could, to discover what lies beyond the far horizons. However, the
big bird was always forced to go back, because there was no other land on
where he could rest his tired wings.
One day, the bird came up with a clever idea. The scheming bird told the water
that the sky was irritated by the way the water keeps on copying the sky’s hue.
If it decides to don a blue color, then water also becomes blue, if the sky is clear
and white, the water becomes clear and neutral too. The sky hates it the most
that the water imitates even the former’s dark mood, because the water also
turns gray and somewhat murky. Water of course became indignant upon
hearing this; and it heaved a deep breath to which great amounts of water rose
up in the form of gigantic waves, high enough to reach the sky and fill its clouds
with water.
The sky was puzzled at the water’s behavior because it seemed that it was
intentionally pelting the sky. The scheming bird approached the sky and told
the latter that the water was resenting the fact that the sky often made the
decisions on what color they had to have. Even if water wants to try other
colors, the sky keeps on reflecting itself on the water’s surface.
Sky, of course, was furious upon hearing this that it let out loud roars of
thunder and flashes of lightning that hit not only water but also the large mass
of land. It drained out all the waters carried in its clouds while water continued
to pelt huge waves against the sky. All these affected the great mass of land
because it slowly softened and weakened as sky and water fought against each
other’s might.
Soon enough, the great mass of land started to break into little pieces much to
the delight of the big bird. Sky and water saw what had happened, and as a
result stopped fighting and tried with all their might to bring back the pieces of
land together. It was too late because there were about 7,000 pieces of land
that were too far away from the main land. The bird of course finally fulfilled
his wish of travelling far and wide, beyond the horizons.
 The Story of Maria Makiling
Travelers coming from Manila going to Southern Luzon will notice a
mountainous mound of thick rainforests looming up ahead. The shape of the
mountain takes the form of a woman lying peacefully on her back. Every home-
bred Filipino can easily recognize this as Mount Makiling and the sleeping form
of the woman is that of the mountain’s goddess Maria Makiling.
The mountain is actually an extinct volcano and it has relatively remained
unharmed through its years of existence. Thanks to Maria Makiling’s vigilance
in protecting the mountain’s ecosystem. Those who trek to the mountain are
told and forewarned that Maria’s spirit often roams the woods and is capable
of doing harm to those who harm any of the living creatures that live on her
mountain. To the locals, she is known as a “diwata" or goddess of nature. She
rewards those who heed her warnings but will severely punish those who
ignore her.
A hunter tells of his experience while in pursuit of a wild boar who had tried to
attack him in the deep forest of Mt. Makiling. As he was about to strike the
cornered boar, a beautiful lady with golden-brown skin and long flowing black
hair appeared and admonished him not to kill the wild pig. She patiently
explained with a kind voice that the attack launched by the boar, was only to
protect the mountain against intruders, who may one day take away all the
trees in its forest.
The beautiful lady invited him to have supper with her and a place to rest for
the night. The hunter felt humbled that despite being caught red-handed by
Maria, she still found it in her heart to be gracious. Nevertheless, the hunter
made a vow to Maria that he will no longer hunt any of the living creatures in
Mt. Makiling ever again, nor take down trees from its forest.
Pleased at what she heard, Maria gave the hunter a “salakot" or buri hat filled
with ginger, to take home as present for his wife. Upon reaching home, he
immediately opened his back pack, to unload the heavy burden off his back.
The “salakot" fell off with a heavy thud and revealed golden nuggets instead of
ginger.
However, there are stories about hunters losing their way in the forest and
unable to find their way back home. Others, however, were fortunate to be
chanced upon by mountain climbers and hikers; albeit incoherent and unable
to remember their names or where they live. The only thing they can
remember is a beautiful lady who gave them food and shelter for the night.
Filipino literature is rich with myths, folklores, legends of the Philippines and
the origins of the many things that can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted.
There are also tales of heroism, love, compassion and promises that were
fulfilled even after life. Although some stories like the legend of Maria Makiling
tend to scare, they had at least, served the purpose of keeping the rainforest
well-preserved with its ecology still intact.