THE STORY OF TUNGKUNG LANGIT AND ALUNSINA

In the beginning everything was shapeless and formless. The earth, the
sky, the sea, and the air were almost mixed up. In a word, there was only
confusion. Then from the depth of this formless void there appeared the
god Tungkung Langit and the goddess Alunsina.

It was not known just where these two deities came from but it is related by
old Visayan folk that Tungkung Langit fell in love with Alunsina. After he
had courted her for many years, they married and made their home in the
highest part of heaven.

(Play: Wedding Music)

Tungkung Langit: My dear Alunsina, I will give you everything now that I
finalloy have you in my arms.

Alunsina: Your love is enough for me. I will stay by your side.

There the water was always warm and the breeze was forever cool. In this
place order and regularity began.

Tungkung Langit was a loving, hard-working god. He wanted to impose

order over the confused world. He decided to arrange the world so that the
heavenly bodies would move regularly. On the other hand, Alunsina was a
lazy, jealous, selfish goddess. She sat at the window all day doing nothing.

Sometimes she would leave her home, sit down by a pool near the door,
and comb her long, jet-black hair all day long.

Tungkung Langit: Alunsina, I will be away for a while.

Alunsina: But why? Why do you have to go?

Tungkung Langit: I need to arrange everything in the world and I need to

do it right now.

Alunsina: Arrange everything? Why don’t you arrange yourself and just
stay with me?

Tungkung Langit: This is differ---

Alunsina: (Sad Voice) Please, my love… stay here.

Tungkung Langit: Alunsina, I’ll be back. I’ll just arrange everything in the
world.

(Exit Tungkung Langit)

(Play: Sad Song)

When he was gone, Alunsina set the breeze to spy on Tungkung Langit.

Alunsina: (Mad Voice) Follow Tungkung Langit wherever he goes. He’s

probably hiding something from me!

But..

Tungkung Langit: (Mad Voice) Did you command the breeze to follow me
Alunsina?!

Alunsina: (Shocked) What? No! What are you talking about? Why are you
here so early? Aren’t you supposed---

Tungkung Langit: (Mad Voice) Alunsina, you commanded the breeze to

follow me. Am I right?

Alunsina: My love, maybe you’re just tired from working. You should---

Tungkung Langit: (Mad) Answer me!

Alunsina: (Crying)

(Play: Sad Song)

Alunsina: Yes! I commanded the breeze to follow you because I know

you’re hiding something from me! Maybe you have someone else and
maybe… maybe you don’t love me anymore!

Tungkung Langit: (Sad Voice) I only have you in this world, Alunsina. I
only love you, only you and no one else. I’m so disappointed in you,
Alunsina..
 In his anger, Tungkung Langit drove his wife away. No one knew where
she went. Several days later, Tungkung Langit felt very lonely. He realized
that he should not have lost his temper. But it was too late.

Tungkung Langit: (Sad) Alunsina, my love…maybe you can here my

voice longing for you. I want you back… please come back here.

Once vibrant with Alunsina’s sweet voice, his home became cold and
desolate. In the morning when he woke up, he would find himself alone. In
the afternoon when he came home, he would feel the same loneliness
creeping deep in his heart because there was no one to meet him at the
doorstep or soothe the aching muscles of his arms.

For months, Tungkung Langit was in utter desolation. He could not find
Alunsina, try hard as he would. And so, in desperation, he decided to do
something in order to forget his sorrows. For months and months he
thought, but his mind seemed pointless; his heart weary and sick. He
needed something to ease his lonely world.

One day, while he was sailing across the regions of the clouds, a thought
came to him. He would make the sea and the earth, and the earth and the
sea suddenly appeared. However, the sombre sight of the lonely sea and
the barren land irritated him. So he came down to earth and planted the
ground with trees and flowers.

Then he took his wife’s treasured jewels and scattered them in the sky,
hoping that when Alunsina would see them she might be induced to return
home. The goddess’s necklace became the stars, her comb the moon and
her crown the sun. However, despite Tungkung Langit’s efforts, Alunsina
did not come back.

Until now, some elders of Panay say Tungkung Langit lives alone in his
palace in the skies. Sometimes, he would cry out his pent-up emotion and
his tears would fall down upon the earth. When it thunders hard, it is
Tungkung Langit sobbing, calling for his beloved Alunsina to come back,
entreating her so hard that his voice reverberates across the fields and the
countryside.