Mariang Makiling

Mt. Makiling,Laguna, Philippines

Long ago,in Mount Makiling,there lived a beautiful goddess name Mariang Makiling.
She is beautiful,kindhearted and loving. She had a long shiny black hair and she often
wear black pearls and gold jewelry. She often shows off herself to people living at the
foot of the mountain as a human. Many times,people would climb up to the mountain
and pick some fruits but when they came down,fruits changed into gold. People
thanked her for it.

But one day,some people robbed her jewelry. Some hunters climb up the mountain
and hunted for wild animals,cut down trees and left the forest at the top of the
mountain denuded. At that time,one of those hunters is a mortal which Mariang
Makiling fell in love with. She discovered that that hunter already have a mortal as his
wife. After those things happened,Mariang Makiling was very angry that it thundered
and rained hard that night and her voice was heard by all people leaving at the foot
of the mountain saying "I have provided you food,treasures and shelter but it wasn't
enough for you!I have given you everything you want but still you aren't contented. I
loved you more than myself but still you searched for mortal love. Now,feel my anger!
And wait for my revenge! From now on,you shall stand on your own feet and you will
never see me again. I swear!" And she laughed so hard that it brought an earthquake.

After her large voice was heard, she never showed herself again to those mortals who
abused her kindness. Today,it is still believed that MAriang Makiling is still living
there.
The Mariang Sinukuan Legend
Mariang Sinukuan is the diwata, or mountain goddess, associated with Mount Arayat in Pampanga,
Philippines, and is a prominent example of the mountain-goddess motif in Philippine mythology,
other examples being Maria Makiling of Los Baños and Maria Cacao of Cebu.

Sinukuan is associated with the unusual bounty of the forests in Arayat, and with the profusion of
animals there. Watching over the needs of the people in the nearby town, she used to regularly
leave fruits and animals at the doorstep of locals who needed food during hard times. At one point,
though, a group of young men got greedy. They sought out where Sinukuan’s home was in the
mountains, and when they found it, they asked for more than what they actually needed. Sinukuan
did not object to this and allowed them to pick a great load of fruit. She warned them, however, not
to get any fruits from the forest without her permission.

On their way back home, they decided they would get more. Why not? They asked each other. “She
won’t know we took home fruits and animals. They’re so plentiful, she won’t know the difference.”
But she did. As soon as they had started picking more fruit, their packs began to feel heavier. They
soon discovered that all the fruit and meat they were carrying had turned into rocks. The young men
ran away, but before they managed to escape the forest, Sinukuan appeared before them. As
punishment, she said, she would turn them into swine. And so she did.

But the other people in the village were also getting greedy. More and more, they stole from
Sinukuan’s forests. Angered, Sinukuan stopped leaving food at their doorsteps. She made the fruit
trees and animals in the mountain to disappear. And she also never allowed the villagers to see her
again.

My sister screams as the thunder roared through the house. I don’t know why she keeps doing that,
it’s not like it won’t happen again. Our lives have always been like this, Lola says we are cursed and
things have to be this way to atone for what happened.

“AAAAAAIIIEEEEE!!”

She doesn’t let up, but the thunder is getting louder. I look outside the window and the downpour is
getting steadily worse, a few more hours and we may have to move to the second floor. I go and
check on the food, making sure we have enough to last through the storm.

I don’t remember a time when it wasn’t raining. We moved to Cebu when I was born because of
what happened with my mom, but it was raining even there. I always wondered why typhoons would
follow our family around, but you get used to the constant rain. Eventually, the sound becomes
soothing.

“I’m sorry.”

My mother passes by with candles. The power’s out and she always has to keep a steady supply.
She looks at me with tears in her eyes and repeats her words.

I tell her she has nothing to be sorry about, that we’re a family and we can go through this together,
but my words fall on deaf ears. She runs out the door and into the storm.

“I’M SORRY! ISN’T THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU?! LEAVE ME AND MY FAMILY ALONE!””
I go after her and drag her back to the house. When I look at her face I can’t tell the difference
between the tears and the raindrops.

“SHE’LL NEVER LEAVE US ALONE!”

Her sobs get stronger and I hug her tight. She retells the story of her girlhood. How she went up Mt.
Sinukuan and took something that belonged to Her, Mariang Sinukuan. Mom was pregnant with my
sister then and she moved as far away as possible to protect her family. But the storms came. The
storms always came.
Mom calmed down after an hour and she held my hand.

“Do you know what I stole?”

I never learned the whole story of what happened. Mom would never speak of it, not even when dad
died. I didn’t know what wounds this would bring up but curiosity took the better of me. I wanted to
know what was so important that I had to live my life under a constant stream of wind and rain. I
looked at mom and asked her what was taken.

“A mango.”

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Story inspired by “Mariang Sinukuan“ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
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ALSO READ: The DIWATA of Philippine Mythology | Forest Spirits & Goddesses