BY: MABEL COOK COLE

In the very beginning there lived a being so large that he cannot 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.

**END**

Source:
http://levegilant.com/Bulfinch_Mythology/bulfinch.englishatheist.org/creatio
n/Bilaan-Creation.html
Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and
Company, 1916), pp. 139-140.
 BY: STEPHEN INOCENCIO

A long time ago, a famine gripped Bohol. The people begged Sappia, the
goddess of mercy, to give them food. Sappia took pity on them and came
down to earth.

All the land was brown and dried up. A long drought left the land parched.
Only the hardiest weeds survived the long, rainless months, and already
people were dying for hunger.

Her heart swelling with pity. Sappia bared her bosom and squeezed a drop
of milk into each barren ear of weeds. She emptied one breast, and then
other, but alas! There were a few more weeds with empty ears. She implored
heaven to give more milk, but when she pressed her breast again, blood and
not milk dropped into the remaining fruitless ears. Having given all her blood,
she bent low and whispered, “Oh, plants, bear thou in abundance, and feed
my hungry people.”

Therefore, saying, Sappia vanished from Earth. She returned to heaven

where every day she watched the use less weeds grow heavy with grain.
She watched as hungry people gathered the ripened stalks.

When people pounded the harvest, most of the grains were milky white.
These came from the ears which Sappia filled with her milk. Some grains
were red, and these came from those which filled with her blood. However,
red or white, the people cooked the grains and found them good to eat. Best
of all, these nourished them back to strength. They saved some of the seeds
which they planted when the rains came soon after. The seeds gave a
bountiful harvest. From her heavenly home, Sappia rejoiced with the people.
This life-giving grain, which was her gift to the famine-stricken people of
Bohol, is what we know as rice.

**END**

Source:
https://www.slideshare.net>phil.myth.com
 For me the story of DARAGANG MAGAYON is half truthful though
unrealistic. It is due to the fact that some scenes in the story can be
associated with some happenings in our daily lives while some are
unbelievable. One of which is that in reality a girl can't be in love with a man
who became her knight in shining armor in just a day. Maybe a girl would
just admire a man because of his courage in saving her. When we talk about
DARAGANG MAGAYON's character we can already conclude that no one
is perfect because even though she has all the wealth, beauty and other
good character which make all the men adore and love her, she also misses
one great gift of GOD which is her mother. This can be observed in our
everyday real life situation.

The moral that can be captured from the story is to follow rules, respect
authorities and respect others’ feelings so that we can maintain a
harmonious relationship to other people and to the entire community.

The story of MALAKAS AT MAGANDA provides a Filipino take on the

creation of everything we know and see today. It explained how all the lands
were created. In the story, the world’s first couple emerged from a large
bamboo culm with the help of a great bird. That event may remind readers
of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.
The man was named Malakas, or “Strong One”; the woman Maganda,
or the “Beautiful One”. Two traits which make the Filipino unique among
others. Their strength and resiliency despite a lot of adversity and trials which
come their way and their beauty which is reflected in their surroundings. THE
LEGEND OF MALAKAS AT MAGANDA is probably one way of explaining
the intricacies of race, class and everything else that makes up our society.
 The story talks about Melu, the most powerful of the spirits and the one
to whom the people resort in times of danger. Melu is a gigantic being, he
lived on the clouds. One day Melu scratched his hand and he saw his dead
skin that time he then created a great being like him named Tau Tana.
Tau Tana created a people. All the body parts of a human being was
on the Tau Tana’s invension but the thing is she made that nose upside
down. Then ther comes a day when the weather is not fine the rain pour
down and drowned all the people by filling up their noses with water for the
people whose nose are not correct so she fixed it and the people thank Tau
Tana for saving them.
I learned from the story that we should always be thankful for what we
have because someone out there is wishing also that they could have at
least half of what we have.

The story tells of a goddess who, moved by compassion for the poor,
selects what used to be an insignificant weed, and squeezes both her
breasts upon it for milk until even blood comes out in order to make rice
grains. This goddess is explored as a Christ-figure by bringing out
Christological themes from her story, such as compassion for the poor,
sacrifice and creativity.
The image of a sacrificing mother that emerges from the myth may
lead to further enslavement for women. However, instead of “giving until it
hurts”, the goddess of mercy show that sharing can be done by everyone
creatively.
KATIPUNAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Katipunan, Silago, Southern Leyte

Submitted By:
Edrian E. Casicas

Submitted To:
Mrs. Jennie Fortaliza Dadap