The Legend of the Firefly

1. A long time ago, in the valley of Pinak in Central Luzon, a large lake where
the people fished for food dried up. The people of Pinak prayed hard, “Dear Bathala, send
us rain, give us food to eat!” The good Bathala answered their prayers. Suddenly, a
beautiful chariot of gold was zooming through the sky. They heard a voice saying, “I am
Bula-hari, and I have come with my wife, Bitu-in. We are sent from the heavens to give you
good life!” From then on, the people of Pinak enjoyed a good life under their rulership.

2. Soon Bulan-hari and Bitu-in had a daughter. They named her Alitaptap for
on her forehead was a bright sparkling star. All the handsome young men of Pinak fell in
love with her. But alas! the heart of Alitaptap wasn’t human. She was the daughter of ulan-
hari and Bitu-in, who came down from the sky. She had a heart of stone. Alitaptap would
never know love.

3. One day, Balo-na, a wise old woman arrived at the palace. She delivered a
sad news to the king. Balo-na predicted, “The warriors of La-ut will come to conquer the
land and will destroy all of you, the only solution is for Alitaptap to marry one of the men,
so as to have an heir to win the war.”

4. Bulan-hari pleaded his daughter to get married but Alitaptap’s heart of

stone merely stood in silence. Bulan-hari gripped his sword in despair...“Alitaptap,you will
follow me, or you will lay dead this very minute!” But nothingcould stir the lovely young
woman’s heart. Bulan-hari blinded with anger and fear of the dark future finally drew his
sword. It hit the star on Alitaptap’s forehead! The star burst! A thousand chips of glittered
shattered pieces of the star on Alitaptap’s forehead lighted the great hall, flickering as
though they were stars with tiny wings. Alitaptap, the lovely daughter from the heavens lay
dead. And soon, Balo-na’s prediction had come true. Riding in wild horses, the warriors of
La-ut arrived. They killed the people of Pinak. They spread sorrow and destruction
everywhere.

5. When it all ended, the beautiful, peaceful valley of Pinak had turned into
an empty swamp. At night, there was nothing but darkness. But soon, tiny sparkles of light
would flicker and lend glimmers of brightness in the starless night. And so, the fireflies
came about. Once, a long time ago, they were fragments from the star on the forehead of
Bulan-hari’s daughter,the beautiful Alitaptap.

Source: https://www.aswangproject.com/legend-of-the-firefly/