P H IL IPP IN E

F O L K TA L E S

CO MPILE D AND
A NN OT AT E D

M AB E L CO O K C O LE

IL L US T O
R A TI N S FR OM
PH O TO G R APH S BY

F AY -
COOPER C OLE

C H IC AG O
A C
. . Mc C L U R G 8: C O .

19 16
 C p y rig t
o h
C . Mc Cl u r g Co .

1 9 16

P u b li s h e d N o v e m b er , 19 16

C opy rig te d i n
h G reat B rita in
 P REF ACE

RO M time to time since the Ame rican occu p ation

F o f the I slands Philippine folk tales have appea red
,
-

in scienti fi c p ublications but neve r so fa r a s the write r

, ,

i s awa re ha s th ere bee n a n a ttempt to oe r to the

,

gene ral public a comp rehensive popula r collection o f

thi s m ate ri al It i s my e a rnest hop e that thi s col l e c
.

tion o f ta le s will give those who a re inte reste d o p p o r

tunity to le a rn something o f the m agic supe rstitions , ,

a nd wei rd cu stom s o f the Filipinos and to feel the ,

cha rm o f the i r wonde r wo rl d a s it i s p ictu red by thes e

-

da rk s k inne d inhabitants o f ou r I sland p ossessions

-
.

In company with my hu sband who wa s enga ge d in

,

ethnological wor k fo r the Field M useum o f N a tu ral

H istory it wa s m y good fo rtune to sp end fou r ye a rs
,

among the wild tribes o f the Phili pp ine s Du rin g thi s .

tim e we frequently hea rd these sto ries e ithe r related ,

by the p eople in thei r homes and a round th e cam p fi re s

o r chanted by the pa gan p ri ests i n communion with
the spi rits T h e tales a re now published in thi s li ttle
.

volume with the addition o f a few folk legends that

,
-

have appea red in the ! o u r na l of Am e r ica n F ol k L or e -

and i n scienti fi c publica tions he re retold with some a d

,

d itions made by native sto r y telle rs -

.

I have endeavo red to select typi cal tale s from tribes

widely sepa rated and va rying in cu l ture from savage ry
to a rat h e r h ig h degre e o f develo p ment T h e sto rie s .

[ ]
V

36 5544
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K Td L E S

a re there f o re divided into five groups a s follows ,

Tinguian Igo rot th e Wild T ribes o f M indanao

, , ,

M o ro and Christian
, .

T h e fi rst two groups T in guian and Igorot a re , ,

from natives who inha b it th e rugged mountain region

o f no rthwe stern L uzon From time im m emo rial they
.

have been zealou s head hunte rs and the sto ries teem -
,

with re ferences to customs and sup erstitions connected

with thei r savage p ractices By fa r the la rgest num .

be r b elong to the T ingui an group I n o rde r to a p p r e .

ci ate these tales to the fullest ex tent we must unde r ,

stand the point o f view o f the T ingui an T o him they .

“
embody all the known traditions o f the fi rst times
o f the people who inhabited the ea rth b e fo re the
p resent race appe a red o f the a ncient he roes and thei r
,

powe rs and achievements In them he finds an e x .

planation o f and re ason fo r many o f his p resent laws

and custom s .

A ca re ful study o f the whole body o f T ingui a n

mythology points to the conclusion that the chie f cha r
a cte r s o f these tales a re not celesti al beings but typical ,

gene ralize d he roes o f fo rme r ages whose deeds have ,

been magnifie d in the telling by many gene rations o f

thei r descendants T hese people o f the fi rst times
.
!

p racticed magic T hey talked with j a rs created h u

.
,

m a n beings out o f betel nuts raised th e dead and h a d

-
, ,

the powe r o f changing themselves into othe r forms .

T his howeve r doe s not seem strange o r impossibl e

, ,

to the T ingu ian o f today fo r even now they talk with ,

j a rs p erform ce rta in rites to bring sickness and

,

death to thei r foes and a re wa rned by omens receive d

,

[ vi ]
 PH I LI PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

through the medium o f b i rds thunde r and lightning , ,

o r th e condition o f the live r o f a slaughte red a nimal .

T hey still conve rse freely with certain sp i rits who du r

ing religiou s ce remonies a re believed to use the bodie s
o f men o r women a s m edium s fo r the pu rpose o f
a dvising and instructing the people .

Seve ral o f the cha racte rs app ea r in sto ry a fte r sto ry .

Sometimes they go unde r di ff e rent names but i n the ,

m inds o f the sto ry telle rs thei r p e rsonali ty and rela

-

tio nsh ip s a re defi nitel y established T hus I ni init o f .

-

the fi rst tale b ecom es Ka d ay a d aw a n i n the s econd ,

Ap o nito l a u in the thi rd fou rth fi fth and sixth and

, , , ,

L igi in the seventh . Kanag the son o f Ap o nitol au

,

and Ap o nib ol in ay e n in the fi fth tale i s called D u

,

m alawi .

T hese he roe s ha d most unu su al relations with th e

heavenl y bodi es all o f which seem to have been r e
,

ga rded a s anim ate beings In the fou rth tale Aponi

.

tolau m a rri es G ay gay om a the sta r m a iden who i s th e

,

daughte r o f the big sta r and the moon In th e fi rst .

sto ry the sam e cha racte r unde r the name o f Ini init -

“ ”
seems to b e a sun god : we a re told that he i s the sun
-
,
“ ”
and aga in a round stone which rolls T he reupon we .

might conclude that he i s a true sola r being ; yet in the

othe r tales o f this collection and in m any mo re k nown
to the T ingui an he reveals no celesti al qualities Even .

in th e fi rst sto ry he abandons his place in the s ky and

goe s to live on e a rth .

In the fi rst e ight sto ri es we rea d o f many custom s

“ ”
o f the fi rst tim es which di ff e r radically from those
o f the p resent But a ca re ful analysi s o f all the known
.

[ vi i ]
 P H I L IPP I N E F OL K TAL E S

lo re o f thi s people points to the belie f that m any o f

th ese accounts dep ict a p eriod when s im ila r cu stoms
di d e x i st among th e people o r else we re p racticed by
,

em igrants who generations ago became am algamated

with the T ingui an and whose strange cu stom s finally
b ecame attributed to the p eople o f the tales T h e .

sto ri es numbered nine to sixte en a re o f a somewhat

d i ff e rent type and in them th e T in gui an finds a n ex
,

planation o f m any things such a s how the people

, ,

lea rned to plant and to cure di seases whe re they se

, ,

cu red the valu able j a rs and h e a d s and why the moon

,

h a s spots on its face All these stories a re fully b e

.

lie v e d the b eads and j a rs a re conside red p recious and

, ,

the p laces mentioned a re definitely known While the .

a ccounts seem to be o f fa i rly recent o rigin th ey confl ict

neithe r with the fundamental idea s and traditions o f
“ ”
the fi rst tim es no r with the b elie fs o f today .

Sto ri es seventeen to twenty th ree a re rega rded a s

-

fables and a re told to amuse the children o r to while

away the m idday hou rs when the people seek shaded
spots to lounge o r stop on the tra il to rest M ost .

o f them a re k nown to the Christianized tribes through

out the I slands and show great sim ila rity to the tale s
found in the islands to the south and in some case s
, ,

i n Eu rope In m any o f them the chi e f incidents a re

.

identical with those found elsewhe re but the sto ry

,

telle rs by introducing old cu stom s and b elie fs have

, ,

m oulded and colored them until they reflect the com

mon idea s o f the T inguian .

T h e thi rd group includes sto ries from seve ral wild

t ribe s who dwell i n the la rge i sland o f M indanao .

[ vii i 1
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

H ere a re people who wor k in brass and steel build ,

good dwellings a nd wea r hem p clo thing elabo rately

,

deco rated with bea ds shell disks a nd emb roidery but

, , ,

who still p ra ctice m any sava ge customs including ,

s lave ry and hum an sacrifice .

T h e fou rth division gives two tale s from the M o ro

ha rdy M alaya n wa rrio rs whose ancesto rs e a rly b
'

( e

cam e converts to the fa ith o f M ohammed ) T hei r .

t ea che rs we re the Arab ia n trade rs who about 1 4 0 0 , ,

su cceeded in conve rting man y o f the M alay I slander s

to the faith o f the p rophet .

T h e la st group contains the sto rie s o f the Ch ri sti an

iz e d natives —
those who accepted the rule o f Spa in
a nd with it th e Catholic religion T hei r tales while .
,

full o f local colo r neve rtheless show the influence o f

,

the Eu rope an tuto rs T hey fu rnish an e x cellent o p

.

p o r tu n ity to contrast the lite ratu re o f the s avage h ea d

hunte rs wi th that o f the M o ro and Ch risti an tribe s
a nd to obse rve how va riou s recent influence s h ave m od
ifie d the belie fs o f p eople who not m an y centurie s ago
we re doubtless o f a uni fo rm grade o f cultu re I t i s .

interesting too to note that Eu rope an tal es b rought

, ,

into the Islands by M ohammeda n and Ch risti an rule rs

a nd trade rs have been wo rked ove r until a t fi rst ,

gl ance they now appea r indigenou s

, .

Owing to local colo ring these tales have va riou s

,

fo rm s Still we find m any incidents which a re held

.

i n common by all the tribes o f th e Archipelago and

even b y the p eople o f B o rneo Java Sumatra and , , ,

India Som e o f these sim ila rities and p a ralleli sm s a re

.

indicated in the foot notes throughout the boo k

-
.

[ ht ]
 C O N T EN T S

GR O U P 1 : I
T N G U AN I
p a om

Ap onibol inay e n a nd th e Su n
Ap onibol inay e n
G aw igaw e n o f A d ase n
T h e S tory of G ay gay om a Wh o L ives up Above
T he S t o ry o f D u m a l aw i

T h e S tory o f K a na g
T h e S t ory o f T ik gi
T h e S t ory o f S a y e n
T h e Su n an d th e M oon
H ow th e T in gu i a n Le a r n e d to Pl a nt
M agsaw i
T he T r e e w i th th e Ag at e B e a ds
T h e S t r ip e d B l a nke t
T he Al a n an d th e H u n te rs
T he M an and t he Ala n
Sogsogot
T he M ista k e n G if ts
T h e B oy Wh o B e c a m e a S tone
T h e T u r t l e an d th e Liz a r d .

T he Man w i th th e Coco a nu t s
T he Ca r a bao and th e Sh e ll

T he A ll i gator s F ru it
’

D oge dog

GR O U P II I : GOR OT

! Th e C r eat ion
The Fl ood S t ory

[ xi ]
 CO N T EN T S

Lu m aw ig on E ar t h
H ow th e Fi rst H e a d Was T a k en
T h e Se r p e n t E a g l e
Th e T a t t oo e d M en
T il in th e R ice B i r d
,

GRO U P III ! TH E W I I
LD TR B E S O F M I N DA N A O

B u k id n o n

H ow th e M oon an d S ta r s Ca m e to Be
T h e Fl oo d S t o r y
hd agba nga l
H ow C h il d re n B e ca m e M o n k e ys
B u l anaw an an d Agu io

B a go b o

B ilaa n

T h e Sto ry o f th e C rea t ion

In th e B e g in n in g

M a nd a y a
T he C h il d re n o f th e L im ok on
T he Su n an d t h e M oon

S u ba n u n

T he Wid ow s
’
Son
 CO N T EN T S

GR OU P IV 2 M OR O

M y th ology o f -
M i nd a n a o
The S tory of B a ntu g a n

GROU P V : I I I I
T H E C H R S T A N Z ED TR B E S

Il o ca n o

T he Monk ey a nd th e T u rt le
T he P oor F ish e r m a n a nd H is Wif e
T h e P r e sid e n t e Wh o H a d H o r ns
T h e S t ory o f a M onk e y
T h e Wh it e S q u ash

Ta ga l o g

The C re ation S tory

T h e S t o ry o f B e n i t o
Th e A dve ntu re s o f ! u a n
! u an G a th e rs G u av a s

Vis ay a n

Th e Su n and th e Moon
T h e F i rs t M onke y
T h e V i rtu e o f th e Cocoan u t
M ansu m and ig
Wh y D ogs W ag Th e ir T a ils
T he H aw k an d th e He n
Th e S p id e r and t h e Fl y
T h e B a ttl e o f th e C r a b s

P ronunci ati on o f Ph ili p p ine N a m es

[ xi ii
 I LL U ST R AT IO N S

A T i ngu i an g entl em an
T in gu ia n h u nte r s
R e t u rn ing f rom th e h u nt
H u n t i ng w i th th e b low gu n
S u g a r cane p re ss
V at s f or bo il ing su g a r cane j u ice
G rind ing corn

M a ki n g a h a r row
E le vate d l ivi n g roo m s re ca h e d by l a d de rs
Cocoanu t v
t re es tow e r abo e th e h om es
Se cti on o f a T i ng u ia n vi l l a ge

A se t tl em e nt in th e m ou nta ins
T h e t a l k i n g j a rs
P l a yi n g th e nose flu te
T in gu i an p otte rs a t w ork
S ee d i ng and com bi ng cotton
B a m boo r a f ts
H a u l ing bam boo
Ri ce a
te r r ce s in th e m ou n tai ns
A ri ce fi el d
Typ e o f M a nd a y a t re e h ou se
Sw in g ing b r id ge ove r P a d a d a r ive r
A ne t m ak e r
B r i n g i ng w ate r f rom th e s tre am
B agobos , D avao, M ind anao
A ri ce g ranary
Me th ods of t ra nsp or t ation
A store in a Ch ri sti ani z e d vil l a ge
[ ! V ]
 PH I LI PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

m ore reluctant to plunge into the dark swiftly flowing ,

wate r And ou r pati ence wa s nea rly exhausted when

.

we at last caught sight o f dim lights in the valley b e

low H alf a n hou r late r we rode into M anabo
. .

I shall never fo rget that fi rst pictu re It was a wei rd .

sp ectacle Coming out o f the da rkness we we re al

.
,

most convinced that we ha d ente red a new wo rld .

Aga inst the blackness o f th e night gra ss roofed houses ,

-

stood outlined in the dim light o f a bonfi re ; and squat

ting a round that fi re unclad save fo r gay blankets
,

wrapped about thei r shoulders were b rown skinned ,

-

m e n smoking long pip es while women bedecked with

,

bright beads we re spinning cotton As they worked .

in th e fl ickering light they stretched thei r d ista fl s at

,

a rm s length into the a i r like witches waving thei r

’

wands ; and with that the elfland pictu re wa s complete .

I n the stillness o f the night a single voice could be

hea rd reciting som e tale in a singsong tone which wa s ,

inte rrupted only when peals o f laught er bu rst fo rth

from th e listene rs o r when a scrawny dog rose to
,

b a rk at an imagina ry noise until the shouts o f the men

quieted him and he retu rned to his bed in the wa rm
a shes L ate r we le a rned that these we re the regula r
.

social gathe rings o f the T ingui an and eve ry night du r ,

ing the dry season one o r m o re o f these bonfi res we re

to b e seen in the village .

Afte r we had attained to the footing o f welcom e

guests in these ci rcles we found that a good sto ry
,

telle r wa s always p resent and while the men smoked , , ,

th e women spun and the dogs slept he entertained u s

, ,

with tales o f he roes who knew the m agi c o f the b etel

[4]
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

nut o r with stories o f s p i rits and thei r p owe r ove r the

,

live s o f men.

T h e following a re some o f the tale s hea rd fi rst

a round th e camp fi re o f the distant mounta in village .

[ 5]
 AP ON IB OL IN AY E N AN D TH E SU N

Ti ngu ia n

NEday Ap o nib olina y e n and he r siste r in l a w went

O
- -

out to gathe r greens T hey walked to the woods

.

to the place whe re the s ik s ikl a t grew fo r the tende r ,

leaves o f this vine a re very good to eat Suddenly .

while se a rching about in the unde rb rush Ap o nib oli ,

n a y e n cried out with j oy fo r she had found the vine

, ,

and she sta rted to p ick the leaves P ull a s ha rd a s .

she would howeve r the leaves di d not come loose

, , ,

and all at once the vine wound itself a round he r body

and began ca rrying he r upwa rd .
1

Fa r up through the a i r she went until she reached

the s ky and the re the vine set he r down unde r a tree
, .

Ap onib o lin ay e n wa s so su rp ri sed to find he rsel f in the

sky that fo r som e tim e she j ust sat and looked a round ,

and then hea ring a rooste r crow she a rose to see i f

, ,

she could find it N o t fa r from whe re she ha d sat

.

wa s a beauti ful sp ring su rrounded by tall betel nut -

tree s whose tops we re pure gold R a re b eads we re .

the sands o f the sp ring and the place where the women
,

set thei r j a rs when they came to dip wate r was a la rge

golden plate As Ap onib ol inay e n stood admi ring the
.

1 This incident is stri k ingly simila r to the story in N orth A merican

fol k lore of the maiden captured and carried upward by a vine S
-
. ev

eral other points of li k eness appear in th e lore of M al aysia P olynesia , ,

and America .

6l
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

b eauti e s o f thi s sp ring she beheld a sm all house nea r ,

by and she wa s filled wi th fea r lest the owne r should

,

find he r the re She looked about fo r som e means .

o f escape a nd finally climbe d to the top o f a betel nut -

tre e and hid .

N o w the owne r o f this house wa s Ini init the Sun -

,
1
,

but he wa s neve r a t home in the daylight fo r it wa s ,

hi s duty to shine in the s ky and give light to all the

wo rld At th e close o f the day when the B ig Sta r
.

t oo k hi s p lace in the sky to shine th rough the night ,

Ini init retu rne d to hi s house but ea rly the ne x t mo rn

-
,

ing he wa s always o ff aga in .

From he r place in the top o f the betel nut tree -

,

Ap o nib o l inay e n saw the Sun when he came home a t

evening tim e and again the ne x t mo rning she s aw him
,

le ave When she wa s su re that he wa s out o f sight

.

she climbed down and entered hi s dwelling fo r she ,

wa s ve ry hungry She cooked rice a nd into a pot o f .

,

boiling wate r she dropped a stick which immediately

became fi sh so that she had all she wished to e at
,
2
.

When she wa s no longe r hungry she l ay down o n ,

the bed to sleep .

N o w late in the a fte rnoon Ini init re turned from -

his wo r k and went to fish in the rive r nea r hi s house ,

and he caught a bi g fi sh While he sat on th e bank .

cleaning his catch h e happened to loo k up t owa rd hi s ,

‘
Se e P reface p , . vi i .

7
This incident is unique far as A merican or E u ropean fol k lore
so -

i concerned yet it is common in T inguian tales whil e simil a r stories

s , ,

are found among the neighboring I locano and I gorot tribes of the
P hilippines well as in Borneo ! ava and I ndia
,
as , ,
.

[7]
 PH IL I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

house and wa s sta rtled to see that it appea red to be

on fi r e H e hu rri ed home but when he reached the
.
1
,

hou se h e saw that it wa s not burning a t all and he ,

entered On his bed he beheld what looked like a

.

fl ame o f fi re but upon goi ng close r h e found that it

,

w a s a beauti ful wom an fast a sleep .

Ini init stood fo r some time wonde ring what he

-

should do and then he decided to cook som e food and

,

invite this lovely creatu re to e at with him H e put .

rice ove r the fi re to boil and cut into pieces the fish
h e ha d caught Th e noi se o f this awakened Aponi
.

b ol ina y e n and she slipped out o f the house and bac k

,

to the top o f the betel nut tree T h e Sun di d not se e -

.

he r le ave and when the food wa s p repa red he called

,

he r but the bed wa s empty a nd he had to e a t alone

, .

T hat night Ini init could not sleep well fo r all the
-
,

time he wonde red who the beauti ful woma n could be .

T h e nex t mo rning howeve r he rose a s u su al and set, ,

fo rth to shin e in the sky fo r that wa s his work , .

T h at day Ap onib o l ina y e n stole agai n to the house

o f th e Sun and cooked food and when she re turned ,

to th e b etel nut tree she le ft rice and fish ready fo r th e

-

Sun when he came hom e L ate in the a fte rnoon Ini .

init went into hi s home and when he found pots o f ,

hot rice and fi sh ove r the fi re he wa s greatly troubled .

A fte r he had eaten he walked a long time in th e fresh

“
air . P e rhap s it is done by the lovely woma n who

‘
T e b el ief that beauty is cap ab le of radiating great light i not
h s

pecul iar to T inguian tales for it is also found in the M alay l egends
,

and in those of I ndia I t is not impossible that they had a omm on

. c

origin .
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

looks like a fl ame o f fi re he s a id I f she comes , .

again I will try to catch he r .

T h e next day the Sun shone in the s ky a s b e fo re a nd ,

when th e a fte rnoon grew late he calle d to the B ig Sta r

to hu rry to take his place fo r h e wa s impatient to rea ch ,

hom e As he drew nea r the house h e saw that it a gain

.

looked a s i f it wa s on fi re H e crept quietl y up the .

la dde r and when he ha d reached the top he s p rang

,

in and shut the doo r b ehind him .

Ap o nib o l in ay e n who wa s coo k ing rice ove r th e fi re

, ,

wa s su rp ri se d and a ngry that she ha d bee n caught

but the Sun gave h e r betel nut which wa s covered -
1

with gold a nd they chewed togethe r a nd told each

,

othe r thei r names T hen Ap o nib o l inay e n too k up the

.

ri ce a nd fish and a s they ate they talked togethe r and

,

b ecam e a cquainted .

Afte r some time Ap o nib o linay e n and the Sun we re

m a rried and eve ry mo rn ing the Sun went to shine i n
,

the s ky and upon hi s retu rn at night he found his sup

,

pe r ready fo r him H e began to be troubled how .

,

eve r to kn ow whe re the food cam e from fo r though

, ,

‘
The betel nut is the nut of the a reca palm I t i prepare d for
-
. s

chewing by being cut into qua rters each piece being wrapped in betel ,

l eaf spread with l ime I t produces a blood red spittle which greatly
.
-

discolors the teeth and lips and it i s used ex tensively throughout the
,

P hilippines While it appears to have been in common use among

.

the T inguian at the time these stories originated it has now been dis ,

placed by tobacco e xcept at ceremonies when it is prepared for chew

,

ing ; it i also placed on the animals offered for sacri fi ce to the spirits
s .

T hroughout the tales great signi fi cance is gi v en to t e chewing of h

betel nuts before names are told or introductions gi v en whil e from
-
,

the quids and spittl e it appears to ha v e been possibl e to foretell ev ents

and establish rel ationships .

[9]
 PH I L I P P I N E F O L K TAL E S

he b rought home a fine fish eve r y night Ap onib o l i ,

mayen always re fused to cook it .

One night he watched he r prepa re thei r meal and ,

he saw that instead o f using the nice fi sh he had

,

b rought she only dropped a stick into the pot o f boil

,

ing wate r .

”
Why do you try to cook a stick ? a sked Ini init in -

su rp rise .

“
So that we can have fish to ea t answe red his ,

wi fe .

“
I f you cook that stick fo r a month it will not b e ,
“
so ft sai d Ini init
, T ake this fish that I caught in
-

”
the net fo r it will be good
, .

But Ap o nib o l inay e n only laughed at him and when ,

they we re ready to eat she took the cove r o fl the pot

and the re was plenty o f nice so ft fish T h e next night .

a nd the n ext Ap o nib ol in ay e n cooked the stick and

, ,

Ini init became greatly troubled fo r he saw that though

-

the stick always supplied them with fish it neve r grew ,

smalle r .

Finally h e a sked Ap o nib o l in ay e n a gain why it wa s

that she cooked the stick instead o f the fish he brought ,

a nd she said :
Do you not know o f the woman on ea rth who h as
”
magical powe r and ca n change things ?
“ “
Yes answe red the Sun and now I know that
, ,
”
you have great powe r .

“
Well then sa id hi s wi fe do not a sk again why
, , ,
”
I cook the stick .

An d they ate thei r suppe r o f rice and the fi sh which

the stick m ade .

[ IO ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

the spot and the re they found Ap o nib ol ina y e n fo r

whom they ha d been sea rching eve rywhe re .

“ ”
Whe re have you b een ? a sked he r fathe r ; we
have sea rched all ove r the wo rld and we could not
”
find you .

I have come from P ind ay a n answered Aponi ,

“
b o l in ay e n Enemi es o f ou r people kep t me the re till
.

”
I m ade my escape while they we re a sleep at night .

Al l we re filled with j oy that the lost one had r e

tu rned and they decided that at the next moon they
,
1

would pe rform a ceremony fo r the spi rits and invite 2

all the relatives who we re mou rning fo r Aponi

b o l inay e n .

So they b egan to p rep a re fo r the ce remony and ,

while the y we re pounding rice Ap o n ib olina y e n a sked

,

he r m othe r to p rick he r little finge r whe re it itched ,

and a s she di d so a beauti ful baby boy popped out .

T h e people we re ve ry much su rp rised at this and they ,

noticed that eve ry time he wa s bathed the b aby grew

very fast so th at in a sho rt time he wa s able to walk
, , .

T hen they were a nx ious to know who wa s the husband

o f Ap o nib ol in ay e n but she would not tell them and
, ,

they decided to invite eve ryone in the wo rld to the cere

m ony that they m ight not ove rlook him .

The T inguian have no cal endar but re k on time by th e recurrence

‘
,
c

of th e moon .

It is the present custom of the T ingui an to ma k e numerous cere

n

monies for the spirits T hese vary in l ength from a few hours to
.

seventeen days During this period animals are sl aughtered small

.
,

houses a re built mediums deliver messages from the S pirits and there
, ,

i much feasting and dancing

s .

I2 I
 P H I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

T hey sent fo r the betel nuts that were cove red with -

gold and when they ha d o iled them they comm anded

,
1

th em to go to all the towns and comp el the p eople to

com e to the ce remony .

“
I f anyone re fuses to come grow o n his k ne e , ,

s ai d the p eople and the betel nuts dep a rted to do a s

,
-

they we re b idden .

As the guests began to a rrive the p eople watched ,

ca refully fo r one who m ight be the husband o f Aponi

b o l ina y e n but none appea re d and they we re gre atly
,

troubled Finally they went to the old wom an Alo

.
,

kotan who wa s able to talk with the spi rits and

, ,

b egged he r to fi nd what town h ad not b een visited by

the betel nuts which had been sent to invite the people
-
.

Afte r she had consulted the sp i rits the old woman sa id

“
You have invited all the people except Ini init who -

lives up above N ow you must send a betel nut to .

-

summon him It m ay be that he i s the husb and o f

.

Ap o nib ol inay e n fo r the s ik s ikl a t vine ca rried he r up

,
”
when she went to gathe r greens .

So a betel nut wa s called and h id d e n to summon

-

Ini init
-
.

Th e b etel nut went up to the Sun who wa s in hi s

-
,

hou se and said ,

“
Good mo rning Sun I have come to summon you , .

to a ce remon y which the fathe r and mothe r o f Aponi

‘
When ripe the betel nut is covered with a golden husk and it is
,
-
,

possibly because of this that th ey were said to be covered with gold .

The present day T inguian in place of sending the betel nut sends a
-
,
-
,

smal l piece of gold to any rel ative or fri end whom he specially wishes
to induce to attend a ceremony .

[ 1 3 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

b o lina y e n a re m aking for the sp i rits I f you do not .

want to go I will grow on you r head

,
.

“ ”
Grow on my head said the Sun I do not wish
, .

”
to go .

So the betel nut j umped upon hi s he ad and grew

-

until it became so tall that the Sun wa s not able to

ca rry it and he wa s in gre a t p ain
, .

“ ”
Oh grow on my pig begged the Sun So the
, , .

betel nut jumped upon the pig s head and grew but it
-
’
,

was so heavy that the pig could not ca rry it and squealed
all the time At l ast the Sun saw that he would h ave
.

to obey the summons and h e sa i d to the betel nut :

,
-

“ ”
Get o ff my pig and I will go .

So Ini init cam e to the ce remony and a s soon a s

-
,

Ap o n ib o lin a y e n and the b aby saw him they we re ve ry ,

happy and ran to m eet him T hen the p eople knew .

that thi s wa s the hu sband o f Ap o nib o l inay e n and they ,

waite d e age rly fo r him to com e up to them As he .

drew nea r howeve r they saw that he did not wal k

, , ,

fo r he wa s round ; and th en they pe rceived that he

wa s not a m an but a la rge stone All he r relative s .

we re ve ry angry to find that Ap o nib ol inay en had ma r

ried a stone ; and they compelled he r to take o ff he r
beads and he r good clothes fo r they said she must
2
, , ,

now dress in old clothes and go again to live with the

stone .

So Ap o nib ol inay e n put on the rags that they b rought

he r and at once set out with the stone fo r his home .

1
This seems to b e p eculiar to T in gu i an f ol k lore -
.

2
Except when she is in mou rning a T inguian woman s a rms are ’

always covered with beads placed strand above strand .

[ I4 ]
 P H IL IP PIN E F OL K TAL E S

No soone r ha d the y a rrive d the re howeve r tha n he , ,

became a handsome man and th ey we re ve ry h appy , .

“ ” “
In one m oon s a i d the Sun we wi ll m ake a ce re
, ,

mony fo r the sp i rits and I will pay you r fathe r and

,

mothe r the ma rriage p rice fo r you 1

.

T hi s plea sed Ap o n ib o l in ay e n ve ry much and they ,

u sed m agi c so th at they h ad m any ne ighbo rs who cam e

to pound rice fo r them and to build a la rge spi rit
2

house .
8

T hen they sent o iled betel nuts to summon the i r rela -

t iv e s to the ce remony T h e fathe r o f Ap o nib o l inay e n

.

did not want to go but the betel nut th re atened to grow

,
-

on hi s knee i f he did not So he commande d all the .

people in the town to wa sh thei r ha i r and the i r cloth es ,

and when al l wa s ready they set out .

When the y re ache d the town they we re gre atly su r

p rised to find th at the stone ha d become a m an and ,

they chewed the m agi c betel nuts to se e who he m ight -

be It wa s di scove red that he was the son o f a couple

.

in Ap o nib ol inay e n s own town and the people all r e

’
,

j o ic e d that this couple had found the son whom they

had thought lost T hey named him Ap o nito l au and
.
,

1
The parents of a b oy choose is bride when the children are v ery
h
young A great celebration is th en held and relatives and friends of
.
,

both pa rties decide on the price to be paid for the girl P arti al pay .

ment i made at once and the remainder goes over until the marriage
s ,

p roper ta k es place when the boy and girl a re about twelve or four
,

teen years f age I n this instance I ni init ma k es the customary pay

o .
-

ment for his bride though the ma rriage had al ready ta k en place
,
.

’
T he friends and retainers pound rice and prepare food for al l
the guests who attend the ceremony .

A spirit house is one of th e smal l houses built during a ceremony

‘
.

[ 1 5]
 P HI L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

h is p a rents pa id th e ma rri age p rice fo r his wi fe the —

sp i rit house nine times full o f valu able j a rs .

1

A fte r th at all dance d and ma de merry fo r one moon ,

and when the people depa rted fo r th ei r homes I ni init -

and his wi fe went with them to live on th e ea rt h .

‘
The reference is pro b a b ly to an ci ent C h inese j r
a s.
 AP ON IB O L IN AY E N

Ti ngu ia n

H E most beauti ful gi rl in all the wo rld wa s

T o f N a lp a nga n
Ap o nib o lin ay e n M any young .

m en had come to he r b rothe r Ap o nib al a ge n to ask , ,

fo r he r hand in m a rriage but he ha d re fuse d them,

all fo r he awa ited one who possesse d great powe r

,
.

T hen it happened that the fame o f he r be auty sp rea d

ove r all the wo rld till it reached even to Ada sen ; and
in that place the re lived a m an o f great powe r named
G a w iga w e n .

N ow Ga w iga w e n,
who wa s a h andsome ma n h ad ,

sought among all the p retty gi rls but neve r until he ,

hea rd o f the great beauty o f Ap o nib o l inay e n had he ,

found one whom he wished to wed T hen b e dete r .

mine d that she should be hi s wi fe ; and he begged his

mothe r to help him win he r So D in a w a ge n the .
,

mothe r o f Gaw igaw e n too k he r h at which looked li k e

,

a sunbe am and set out at once fo r N a l p a nga n ; and

when she a rrived the re she wa s greeted by Ebang the ,

mothe r o f th e lovely m a iden who p resently began to ,

p rep a re food fo r them .

1

1
custom whic still e x ists to a certain d egree w as to offer food
Th e . h ,

to a gu est before any matter was discussed I n ancient times this was .

considered very n ecessa ry it still is among the A payao who live

,
as

north of the T inguian With them to refuse food i to refuse friend

. s

ship .

I 7
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

She put th e pot ove r the fi re and when the wate r ,

boile d she b roke up a stick and threw the p iec es into

the pot and immediately they became fi sh T hen she
, .

b rought b asi in a la rge j a r and D ina w a ge n counting

1
, ,

the notches in the rim pe rceive d that th e j a r ha d been

,
2

h ande d down through nine generations Th ey ate a nd .

drank togethe r and a fte r they had finished th e m eal

, ,

D in aw a ge n told Ap o nib a l a ge n o f he r son s wishes

’
,

and a ske d i f he wa s willing that h is si ste r should

m a rry Gaw igaw e n Ap o nib a l a ge n who h a d he a rd o f
.
,

the powe r o f the suito r a t once gave his consent And , .

D in a w a ge n depa rted fo r hom e leaving a gold cup a s ,

an engagement p resent .
3

Ga w iga w e n wa s watching at th e doo r o f his house

fo r hi s mothe r s retu rn a nd when she told him o f he r
’
,

success he wa s so happy that he a sked all the people

,

in the town to go with him the next day to N a lp a ngan

to a rrange the amount he must p ay fo r his b ride ‘
.

N ow the people o f N a lp a nga n wanted a great p rice

fo r this gi rl who wa s so b eauti ful and th e men o f the ,

two towns debate d fo r a long time be fo re they could

come to a n a greement Finally howeve r it wa s .
, ,

decided that Gaw igaw e n should fill the spi rit house
eighteen times with valuable things ; and when he ha d
done this they we re all s atisfied and went to th e ya rd
,

1
Adrin k ma d e of f ermente d sugar cane - .

T he old j ars possessed by the T inguian today ha v e notches bro k en

3

in th e rim one for each generation through whose hands it has passed
,
.

‘
When the first negoti ati ons are made the boy s parents off er some ’

gift nowadays usually a smal l bead I f this is accepted it signi fi e s

, .

the willingness of the girl s parents to consider the match

’
.

‘
S note p 5
ee 1 ,
. 1 .
 PH I L I P P I N E F O L K TA L E S

G aw iga w e n to b ring an old m an fo r I want to make ,

”
a sp ring fo r Ap o nib ol inay e n .

So a n old m an was b rought a nd Ap onib a l a ge n cut

o ff his he ad a nd put it in the ground a nd sp a rkling ,

wate r bubbled u p T h e body he m ade into a tree to

.
1

s ha de his siste r when sh e cam e to dip wate r and th e ,

d rops o f blood a s they touched the ground we re

changed into valuable beads Even the path from the .

sp ring to the house wa s cove red with big plates and ,

e ve rything wa s m ade be auti ful fo r Ap o nib o l ina y e n .

N ow du ring all this time Ap o nib o l inay e n ha d kept

h e r face cove re d so that she had neve r seen he r hus
b and fo r although he was a handsome m an one o f
, ,

the p retty gi rls who was j ealou s o f the b ride had told
he r that he ha d th ree noses and she wa s a fraid to ,

look at him .

A fte r h e r p eople had all retu rned to the i r homes ,

she grew ve ry unhappy and when he r mothe r in law ,

- -

commanded he r to coo k she ha d to feel he r way

a round fo r she would not uncove r he r face Finally
, .

s h e became so sad that she dete rm ined to run away .

One night when all we re a sleep she used m agical ,

powe r and changed herself into oil T hen she slid .

2

1
interesting p arall el to this is found in the Daya k legen d of
An
L imbang where a tree S prings from th e head of a dead giant ; its
,

fl owers a re beads ; its l eaves cloth ; and the fruit j ars S R oth , ,
. ee ,

T h N ti : f S
e w k
a d B i ti h N th B n
ve o V l I p 37 2
ara a an r s or or e o, o .
,
. .

T hroughout the T inguian tal es the characters are freq uently de

2

scribed as changing themselves into oil centipedes birds and other , , ,

forms T his power is also found among the heroes of Daya k and
.

M al ay tal es S R oth p ci t V l I p 3 2 ; P erham !

. ee ,
l S t a it
o . .
, o .
,
. 1 ,
ou r n a r :

B h R A i ti S i ty N 1 6 8 8 6 ; Wil k inson M l y B l i f pp
r a nc .
, s a c oc e , o. , 1 ,
a a e e s, .

3 2 59 ( London
, ,

[ 2 0 ]
 P H IL IPP IN E F OL K TAL E S

through the bamboo fl oo r and ma de he r escap e with

out anyone see ing he r .

On and on she went u ntil she came to the m iddle

o f the j ungle and then she met a wild rooste r who
,

a sked he r whe re she wa s going .

“
I am running away from my husb and replied ,

Ap o n ib o lin a y e n fo r he ha s three no ses and I do not

,

want to live with him .

“
Oh sa id the rooste r some cra zy p e rson must
, ,

have told you that Do not believe it Ga w iga w e n . .

i s a handsome m an fo r I have o ften se en him when ,

”
he comes he re to sna re chickens .
1

But Ap o nib o lina y e n p aid no heed to th e rooste r and ,

she went on until she re ached a b ig tree where pe rched

a mon k ey and he also a sked whe re she wa s going
, .

“ ”
I am running away from my husb and a nswe re d ,
“
the gi rl fo r he has th ree noses and I do not want to
,

live with him .

“
Oh do not b elieve that sa i d the m onk ey
, Some , .

one who t old you that must have wante d to m a rry

”
him hersel f fo r he is a handsome m an
, .

Still Ap on ib olinay e n went on until she came to the

ocean and then a s she could go no fa rthe r she sat
, , ,

down to rest As she sat the re ponde ring what she

.

should do a ca rabao came along and th inking that

,
2
,

Th e Tingui an pl ace a tame rooster in an open S pot in the forest

1

and surround him with a line to which sl ip nooses are attached The .

crowing of this bird attracts wild ones which come to fight him and
are caught in the nooses .

‘
The water buffalo now used as the beast of burden throughout the
P hil ippine s .

I
I l
2
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

she would ride a while she climbed up on its back .

N o soone r ha d she done so than the animal plunged

into the wate r and swam with he r until they reached
th e othe r side o f the great ocean .

T he re they came to a la rge o range tree a nd the ,

ca raba o told he r to e at some o f the lusciou s fruit while

he fed on the gra ss nea rby As soon a s he had le ft he r .
,

howeve r he ran stra ight to hi s ma ste r Ka d ay a d aw a n

, , ,

and told him o f the be auti ful gi rl .

Ka d ay a d a w a n wa s ve ry much inte rested and qui ckly

com b ed hi s ha i r and oiled it put on hi s striped co at ,
1

and belt and went with the ca rabao to the o range tre e
, .

Ap o n ib o l in a y e n looking down from he r place in the ,

tree wa s su rp rised to se e a ma n coming with he r friend

, ,

the ca raba o but a s they drew ne a r she began talking

, ,

with him and soon they became a cqua inted B e fore

, .

long Ka d ay a d aw a n ha d pe rsu aded the gi rl to become

,

hi s wi fe and h e took he r to hi s hom e From that

, .

tim e eve ry night hi s house looked a s i f it wa s on fi re ,

because o f th e beauty o f his b ri d e .

A fte r they had been ma rried fo r some time Kada ,

y a d a w a n and Ap o nib o l inay e n decided to m ake a cere

mony fo r the spi rits so they called the magi c
2
,

betel nuts and oiled them and sai d to them

-
3
,
“
Go to all the towns and invite ou r relatives to com e
to the ce remony which we shall make I f th ey do not .

1
T e ordinary dress of the Tingu ian man
h a clout and a striped is
belt in which he ca rries his tobacco and smal l a rticl es S ome of them
,
.

also possess striped cotton coats which they wear on sp ecial occasion s,
.

2
S note 2 p 2
ee ,
. 1 .

S e note p 3
‘
e 1, . 1 .

[ 2 2 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F O L K TAL E S

want to c om e then grow on thei r k nees until they a re

,
”
willing to attend .

So the betel nuts sta rte d in di ffe rent di rections a nd

-

one went to Ap o nib a l a ge n in N a l p a nga n and s a id ,

“
Ka d a y a d a w a n i s m aking a ce remony fo r the sp i rits ,

and I have come to summon you to attend

”
We cannot go sa i d Ap onib al a ge n fo r we a re , ,
”
sea rching fo r my siste r who is lost .

“ ”
You must com e repli ed the b etel nut o r I shall ,
-
,

grow on you r k ne e .

“
Grow on my p ig answered Ap o nib al a ge n ; so the ,

betel nut went on to the p ig s b ack and grew into a tall

-
’

tree and it b ecame so heavy that the p i g could not

,
”
ca rry it but squeale d all the time
, .

T hen Ap o n ib a l a ge n see ing that h e must obey s a id , ,

to the betel nut -

,
“
Get o ff my pig and we will go , .

T h e betel nut got o ff the p ig s b ack and th e p eo p le

-
’
,

sta rted fo r th e ce remony When they re ached th e .

rive r Ga w igaw e n wa s the re waiting to cross fo r the

, ,

magi c nuts had fo rce d him to go also T hen Kada .

y a d a w a n seeing them
, sent mo re betel nuts to the ,
-

rive r and the people we re ca rried ac ross by the nuts

, .

As soon a s they re ached th e town the dancing began ,

and while Ga w iga w e n wa s dancing with Ap o nib ol in ay e n

he se ized he r and put he r in hi s belt Ka d ay a d aw a n .
1
,

who saw this wa s so a ngry that he threw his spe a r and

,

k illed G aw igaw e n T hen Ap o nib ol inay e n escaped a nd.

This p ecu l iar i d ea w ic fre q u ently appears in T ingu i an ta l e s

‘
,
hh ,

i also foun d in ! avanese literature

s S e e B ezmer V lhrd i ch tung a n: .
,
o

Ind one i e n p 4 7 ( H aag 1 9o4 )

r , .
, .

[ 2 3 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F O L K TAL E S

ran into the house and he r husb and b rought hi s victim

,

b ack to li fe and a sked him why he ha d sei zed th e

,

wi fe o f his ho st G a w igaw e n e x pla ined that she was

.

his wi fe who ha d been lost and the p eople were ve ry

,

much su rp rised fo r they had not reco gni zed he r at fi rst

, .

T hen all the people discussed what should be done

to b ring peace b etween the two men a nd it was finally ,

decided that Ka d ay a d aw a n must pay bo th Ap o nib al a

gen and Ga w iga w e n the p ri ce that was fi rst demanded
fo r the be auti ful gi rl .

Afte r this wa s done all were happy ; and the

gu a rdian spi rit o f Ka d ay a d aw a n gave them a golden
house in which to live .

[ 2 4 ]
 GA WIGAWE N OF AD AS E N
Ti nguia n

P O N IB O L IN AY E Nwa s sick with a headache ,

and she lay on a mat alone in he r house Sud .

d e nly she remembe red some fruit that she had he a rd

o f but had neve r seen and she sa id to he rsel f Oh I , , ,

wi sh I ha d some o f th e o ranges o f G a w rgaw e n o f

Adasen .

N ow Ap o nib o linay e n did not reali ze that she h a d

spo k en aloud but Ap o nito l au he r hu sb and lying in
, , ,

the spi rit hous e outside he a rd he r talking and a sked

1
,

what it wa s she said Fe a ring to tell him the truth le st

.

he should ri sk his li fe in trying to get the o ranges fo r

“ ”
he r she sa id : I wi sh I had som e h iw ( a fruit )
, .

Ap o nito l a u at once got up and taking a sack went , , ,

out to find some o f the fru it fo r hi s wi fe When he .

retu rned with the sack full she sa id ,

“
Pu t it on the bamboo hange r above the fi re and ,
”
when my head i s b ette r I will eat it .

So Ap o n ito l au put the fruit on the hange r and

retu rned to the spi rit house but when Ap o n ib o l inay e n ,

tried to eat the frui t m ade he r sick and she th re w it

,

away .

“ ”
What i s th e matte r ? called Ap o nitol au a s he hea rd
he r drop the fruit .

1
See note 3, p . 1 5
.

[ 2 5]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

I me rely dropped one she replied and retu rned

, ,

to he r mat .

A fte r a while Ap o n ib ol inay e n again sa id

“
Oh I wi sh I ha d some o f the o ranges o f Ga w iga w e n
,
”
o f Adasen and Ap onitol au who he a rd he r from the
, ,

spi rit house inqui red,

“
What i s that you say
I wish I had som e fi sh e ggs answe red h is wi fe ;
,

fo r she did not want him to know the truth .

T hen Ap o n ito l a u took his net a nd went to the

rive r dete rmined to plea se his wi fe i f possible When
, .

he ha d caught a nice fi sh he opened it with his kni fe

and took out the eggs T hen he spat on the place
.

he h ad cut and i t wa s he aled and the fi sh swam

,

away .
1

P lea se d that he wa s able to grati fy hi s wi fe s wi shes

’
,

he h astened home with the eggs ; a nd while hi s wi fe

wa s roa sting them ove r the fi re he retu rned to th e ,

spi ri t house She tried to eat but the eggs did not
.
,

ta ste good to he r and she th rew them down unde r the

,

house to the dogs .

“
What is the m atte r ? called Ap o nitol au Why .

”
a re the dogs b a rking ?
“
I dropped som e o f the eggs replied his wi fe and
, ,

she w ent ba ck to he r m at .

By and by she a ga in said

“
I wi sh I ha d som e o f the o ranges o f G aw igaw e n
o f Adasen .

The powerfu l deeds of these heroes often resembl e the mi rac lou
‘
u s

achievements of biblical and ancient times .

[ 2 6]
H UN T N G
I WI TH TH E B LOWG UN
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

But when he r husb and a sked what she wished she ,

repli ed
“ ’
I want a dee r s live r to e at .

So Ap o nitol au took hi s dogs to the mounta ins whe re ,

they hunted until they caught a dee r and when he ha d ,

cut out its live r h e spat on the wound and it wa s healed ,

so that the dee r ran away .

But Ap o nib olinay e n could not eat the live r any mo re

than she could the fruit o r the fi sh eggs ; and when
Ap o nito l au hea rd th e dogs b a rking he kne wthat she ,

had th rown it away T hen he grew su spi ciou s a nd

.
,

changing himself into a centipede h id i n a crack i n the ,

1

fl oo r And when his wi fe a gain wished fo r som e o f

.

the o ranges he ove rhea rd he r

, .

“
Why did you not tell m e the truth Ap onib olina ,
”
yen ? he asked .

“ ”
B ecause she replied no one who ha s gone to
, ,

Adasen ha s eve r com e b ack and I di d not want y ou to ,

”
risk you r li fe .

N eve rtheless Ap o nito l au determined to go fo r the

o ranges and he comm anded hi s wi fe to b ring h im ri ce
,

straw Afte r he h a d bu rned i t he put th e a she s in the

.

wate r with which he wa shed hi s ha i r T hen sh e .

2

b rought cocoanut o il and rubbed hi s ha ir and fetche d ,

a da rk clout a fancy belt and a head band and she

, ,
-
,

ba k ed ca k es fo r him to take on the j ourney Aponi .

1
note 2 p 2
Se e , . 0 .

!
The T inguian of today do not possess soap but in its place they ,

use the ashes from rice straw or not infrequently they soa k the bar k
,

from a certain tree in the water in which they are to wash their hai r .

[ 2 7 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

tolau cut a vine which he planted by the stove and 1

,
2

told hi s wi fe that i f the leaves wilted she would know

that he wa s dead T hen he took hi s spea r and head ax .
-
3

and sta rted on the long j ou rney .

When Ap on ito l au a rrived at the well o f a giantess ,

all the betel nut trees bowed -

T hen the gi antess .

”
shouted and all the wo rld trembled “
H ow strange .
,
“
thought Ap o nito l au that all the world sha k es when ,

that woman shouts But he continued on his way .

without stopping .

As he p a ssed the place o f the old wom an Al ok o tan , ,

she sent out he r littl e dog a nd it bit hi s leg .

“ ”
Do not p roceed sa id the old woman fo r ill luck , ,

awa its you I f you go on you will never retu rn to

.
,

you r home .

1
T he l awed v ine I n ancient E gypt and in I ndia it was a common
.

beli ef that friends or relatives coul d tel l from the condition of a cer
tain tree or vine whether th e absent one was well or dead if the :

v ine thrived they k new that all was well but if it wilted they mou rned
, ,

for him as dead I t is interesting to find the identical bel ief in the
.

northern P hilippines .

“
The T inguian stove consists of a bed of ashes in which three stones
are sun k and on these th pots a re placed
, e .

It appears that these people of ancient times possessed the same

8

weapons as those of today T he T inguian ordinarily wears a head .

-
ax

thrust into his belt and when at wor k this is his hand tool When on
,
.

a hunt or during warfare he also carries a wooden shield and a steel

pointed spear from eight to ten feet in length F attack s at a dis . or

tance h e depends on the spear but in a close encounter he uses his ,

head and shield the latter being oblong in shape and having two
-
ax ,

prongs at one end and three at the other The two prongs a re to .

be slipped about the neck of th e victim while the head does its -
ax

wor k or th e three prongs may be slippe d about the l egs in the same
,

way .

[ 2 8 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

But Ap o nito l a u pa id no attention to the old

woman and by and by he came to the home o f the
,

lightning .

”
Whe re a re you going ? a sked the lightning .

“
I am going to get some o ranges o f Gawigaw e n o f
”
Adasen , replie d Ap o nito l au .

“
Go stand on that high rock that I m ay see what
y ou r sign is comm anded the lightning
,
.

So he stood on the high rock but when the lightning ,

fl a she d Ap o nito l au dodged .

“ ”
Do not go sa id the lightning fo r you have a
, ,
”
ba d sign and you will neve r come back
,
.

Still Ap o nito l au did not heed .

Soon h e a rrived at the place o f S il it ( loud thunde r )

who also a sked him :
“
Where a re you going Ap o nitol a u ,

I am going to get o ranges o f G aw igaw e n o f

”
Ada sen , he replied .

T hen the thunde r comm anded

“
Stand on that high stone so that I can se e i f y ou
h ave a good sign .

H e stood on the high stone and when the thunde r ,

made a loud noise he j umped Whe reupon S il it also .

a dvised him not to go on .

In spite o f all the wa rnings Ap o n ito l au continued ,

hi s j ou rney and upon com ing to the ocea n he used

,

1
rom this and other incidents it is evident that these peopl e tal k ed
F
with the l ightning and thunder T hey still have great regard for the
.

omens derived from these forces ; but it is now believed that thunder
is the dog of K ada k l an the greatest of al l the spirits and t at by the
, ,
h
bar k ing of this dog the god ma k es k nown h i desires
,
s .

[ 2 9 ]
 P H IL I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

m agical powe r so that when he stepped on hi s head ax

,
-

it sa ile d away ca rrying him fa r a cross the sea to the

,

o the r side T hen a fte r a sho rt walk he came to a

.

sp ring whe re women were dipping wate r and he aske d ,

what sp ring it was .

“
Th is i s the sp ring o f Gaw igaw e n o f Adasen ,
“
replied the women And who a re you that you da re
.

”
come he re ?
Without replying h e went on towa rd the to w n but ,

he found that he could not go inside fo r it wa s su r ,

rounded by a bank which re a ched almost to the sky .

While he stood with bowed hea d ponde ring what

he should do the chi e f o f the spide rs came u p and a s k ed
,

why he wa s so so rrowful .

“ ”
I am sad answered Ap onitol au b ecause I cannot
, ,
”
climb up thi s bank .

T hen the spide r went to the top and spun a thread ,

1

and upon this Ap o nito l au climbed up into town .

N ow Gaw iga w e n wa s a sleep i n hi s sp irit house a nd ,

when he awoke and saw Ap o nitol au sitting nea r h e ,

wa s surp ri sed and ran towa rd hi s hou se to get hi s

spea r and head ax but Ap o nito l a u called to him s aying
-
, ,
“
Good mo rning Cousin G aw igaw e n Do not b e , .

angry ; I only came to buy some o f you r o ranges fo r

”
my wi fe .

T hen Gaw igaw e n too k him to the house and b rought

a whole ca rab ao fo r him to eat and he sa id
2
,

1
tories in which animals come to t e assistance of human beings
S h
are found in many lands O ne of those best k nown to E uropeans is
.

where the ants sort the grain for C inderel la .

S e note 2 p 2
“
e ,
. 1 .

[3 ]
0
 P H I L I P PI N E F OL K TAL E S

I f you cannot e at all the ca rab ao y ou cannot have ,

”
the o ranges fo r you r wi fe .

Ap oni tol au grew ve ry so rrowful fo r he k new that ,

he could not e at all the meat but j ust a t th at moment ,

the chi e f o f the ants and fl ie s came to him and inqui re d

wh at wa s th e trouble As soon a s he wa s told the
.
,

chie f called all the ants and fl ies and the y ate the whole
ca rabao Ap o nitol a u gre atly reli eved went then to
.
, ,

Gaw iga w e n and sa id

“
I have finishe d eating the foo d which y ou gave
me .

G aw igaw e n wa s gre atl y su rp ri sed at this a nd le ad , ,

ing the way to the place whe re the o ranges grew ,

he told Ap o nito l au to climb th e tre e a nd get all he

wanted .

As he wa s about to a scend th e tree Ap o nito l au

noticed th at the b ranche s we re sha rp k nives so he went ,

a s ca re fully a s he could N evertheless when he had

.
,

secu red two o ranges he step p ed o n one o f the knive s

,

and wa s cu t H e quickly fa stened the frui t to hi s spe a r

.
,

and immediately it fl ew away straight to his town a nd

into hi s house .

Ap o nib o linay e n wa s ju st going down the b ambo o

ladde r out o f th e hous e and h ea ring som ething drop
,

on the fl oo r she went b ack to loo k a nd found the

o range s from Adasen She eage rly ate the fru it
.
,

rej oici ng that he r husband had been able to rea ch the

place whe re they grew T hen she thought to loo k at
.

the vine whose le aves we re wilted and she k new that

, ,

he r husb and wa s dea d .

Soon a fte r this a son wa s bo rn to Ap onib ol inay e n ,

[ 3 I ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F O L K .
TAL E S

and she called his nam e Kanag H e grew rapidly .

,

becoming a strong lad and he wa s th e b ravest o f all ,

hi s comp anions One day while Kanag wa s playing

.

out in the ya rd he spun hi s top and it struck the ga r

,

b age p ot o f an old wom an who became ve ry ang ry ,

and cri ed
I f you we re a b rave bo y y ou would get y ou r fathe r ,
”
whom G aw iga w e n k illed .

Kanag ran to the hou se cry ing and a s k ed hi s mothe r ,

what the old w om an m eant fo r he h ad neve r hea rd ,

the sto ry o f h is fathe r s death As soon a s he lea rned

’
.

what had happened th e boy dete rm ine d to sea rch fo r

,

hi s fathe r and try a s she would his moth er could not

, , ,

dissuade him .

As he wa s dep a rting th rough the gate o f the town

with his spea r and head ax Kanag struck his shield -
,

a nd it sounded like a thous and wa rriors .

H o w b rave that boy i s ! sa i d the su rp rise d p eople

”
.

H e i s b rave r even than hi s fathe r ”

.

Wh en h e re ached the sp ring o f the gi antess he a ga in ,

struck his shi eld and shouted so that the whole wo rld
trembled T hen the gi antess said
.

“
I believe t h at someone is going to fight a nd he ,
”
will have succ ess .

As soon a s Kanag re ache d the place whe re the old

woman Al ok ota n lived she sent he r dog a fte r him
, , , ,

but with one blow o f his head ax he cut o ff the dog s -

’

head T hen Al o k ota n as k ed whe re h e was going and

.
,

when he had told he r she sa id : ,

“
You r fathe r i s dea d but I believe th at you will find
,
”
h im fo r you have a good sign
, .

[ 3 2 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

town he j umped like a fl itting b ird up the b ank into

,

the town and went stra ight to the spi rit house o f
Gaw iga w e n H e noticed that the roo fs o f both the
.

dwelling and the spi rit houses we re o f hai r a nd that ,

a round the town we re m any heads a nd he ponde red ,

1

“
T hi s i s why my fathe r did not retu rn Gaw iga w e n .

”
i s a b rave m an but I will kill him
, .

As soon a s Ga w iga w e n saw him in the ya rd he sa i d

“
H ow b rave you a re little boy ; why did you come
,
”
he re ?
“
I came to get my fathe r answe red Kanag ; fo r ,

y o u kept him when h e cam e to get o ranges fo r my

”
m othe r I f you do not give him to m e I wi ll kill you
.
, .

Ga w igaw e n laughed at thi s b rave speech and sa id

“
Why one o f my finge rs will fight you You shall
, .

neve r go ba ck to you r town but you shall stay he re and ,

”
b e like you r fathe r .

”
We shall see sa id Kanag , B ring you r a rm s a nd .

”
let u s fight he re in the ya rd .

Ga w igaw e n wa s beside himself with rage a t th i s bold

speech and he b rought his spea r and hi s head ax which
,
-

wa s a s b ig a s hal f the sky Kanag would not th row .

fi rst fo r h e wanted to p rove him sel f b rave so G aw iga

, ,

wen took a im and threw hi s head ax at the boy N ow -

.

Kanag u sed m agical powe r so that he became an ant ,

I t was the ancient custom to place the heads of sl a in enemies at

‘

the gate or around the town and th is p ractice still prevails with some
,

of the surrounding tribes M ore recently it was the cust m to ex pose

. o

the head at the gate of the town for three days after which fol lowed ,

a great celebration when the s k ull s were bro k en and pi eces were given
to the guest s.

[ 34 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

and wa s not h it by the weapon Gaw igaw e n laughe d .

loudly when he looke d a round a nd could not see the

boy fo r he thought that h e ha d b ee n k ille d Soon
,
.
,

howeve r Kana g reappe a red standing on the he a d ax

, ,
-
,

and Ga w igaw e n mo re fu riou s than eve r th rew hi s

, ,

spe a r Aga in Kana g disappea red and Gaw igaw en wa s

.
,

filled with su rp ri se .

T hen it wa s Ka n a g s tu rn and hi s spea r went

’

di rectly th rough the body o f the gi ant H e ran .

quick ly and cu t o ff five o f the he ads but the sixth he ,

1

sp a red until G a w iga w e n should have shown him hi s

fathe r .

As they went about the town togethe r Kanag found ,

that th e skin o f his fathe r ha d been u sed fo r a drum

hea d H is h ai r deco rated the house a nd hi s hea d wa s
.
,

at the gate o f the town while hi s body was put beneath ,

the house Afte r he ha d gathe red all the p a rts o f the

.

body togethe r Kana g u sed m agi cal powe r and h is

, ,

fathe r cam e to li fe .

“
Who a re you a sked Ap onito l au ; how long have
”
I slept ?
“
I am you r son said Kana g You we re not , .

a sleep but dead and he re i s Gaw igaw e n who kept you

, .

T ake my hea d ax and cut o ff his rema ining he ad

-
.

So Ap o nito l a u took the he ad ax but when he struc k -

,

Gaw igaw e n it did not inju re him .

“ ”
What i s the m atte r Fathe r ? a sked Kanag ; and ,

’
their beliefs of today the T ingu ian recogn ze many giants
In i ,

s ome with more than one head I n a part of th e ritu al of one cere .

m ony we read A man opens the door to l earn the cause of the bar k
,
“

i ng and he ee a man fat and tall with nine head

s s
, , s .
”

[ 35 ]
 PH IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

taking th e weapon h e cut o ff the sixth hea d o f

G a w iga w e n .

T hen Kanag a nd hi s fathe r u sed m agic so that the

spea rs a nd he ad a x es fl ew about killing all the people
-
,

in the town and the he ads and valuable things went

,

to the i r home .

When Ap onib o l in ay e n saw all these com e into he r

house she ran to look at the vine by the stove and it
, ,

wa s green and looked like a jungle T hen she knew .

that he r son wa s alive and she was happy And when

, .

the fathe r and son retu rned all the relatives came to
,

thei r house fo r a great fe a st and all we re so happ y

,

that the whole wo rld smiled .

[ 3 6 ]
THE S T ORY OF GAY GAY O MA WH O L I VES
U P ABO VE
Ti ngu ia n

day while Ap onitol au s at we aving a b asket

NE
O ,

unde r hi s house he began to feel ve ry hungry

,

and longed fo r something sweet to chew T hen he .

remembe red that his field wa s still unplanted H e .

called to his wi fe who wa s in the room above and s aid ,

“
Come Ap o nib ol ina y e n let u s go to th e field and plant
, ,
”
some suga r cane -
.

So Ap o nib o l inay e n came down out o f the house with

a bamboo tub e f and while sh e went to the sp ring to
l

fill it with wate r Ap o n itol au m ade som e cuttings a nd

, ,

they went togethe r to the field which wa s some di stance ,

from the house .

Ap o n ito l a u loosened th e ea rth with his long stick 2

and set out the cuttings he had b rought while hi s wi fe ,

sp rinkled them with wate r from the bamboo tub e And .

when they ha d filled the field they re tu rned home , ,

happy to thin k o f the splendid cane they should have .

Afte r seven days Ap o nito l au went b ack to the field

1
Alarge bamboo pole with all but the end section cut out serves
, ,

for a water buck et .

2 A long bamboo pole in one end of which a hard wood point is

,
-

inserted This is thrust into the ground and in the hol e thus made
.
,

the grain or cuttings a re planted T his ol d method is still in use in

.

some sections of the mountains but on the lowl ands a primitive plow
,

is used to brea k the soil .

[ 37 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

to see i f the plants had lived and he found that the ,

leave s were alrea dy long and pointed T his delighted .

him and while he stoo d looking at it he grew imp a

,

ti ent and dete rm ined to use his magical powe r so that

the cane would grow ve ry fast In five days he a ga in .

visited the field a nd found that the stalks we re tall and

rea dy to chew H e hu rrie d home to tell Ap o nib o l i
.

n ay e n how fa st thei r plants lzad grown and she wa s ,

p roud o f he r powe rful husband .

N o w about thi s time G ay gay om a who wa s the ,

daughte r o f B a gb a gak a big sta r and S ina g the moon

, , , ,

looked down from he r home i n the sky and when she ,

saw the tall suga r cane growing below she wa s seized

-
,

with a desi re to chew it She calle d to he r fathe r

.
,

B a gb a gak and sa id
,
“
Oh Fathe r plea se send the sta rs down to the ea rth
, ,

to get so me o f the suga r cane that I see fo r I must -

,
”
have it to chew .

So B a gb a gak sent the sta rs down and when they ,

reache d the bamboo fence that wa s a round the field

they sp rang ove r it and each b roke a stalk o f the cane
,

and pulle d som e beans which Ap onib o l inay e n ha d

planted and the stem s o f th ese beans we re o f gold
, .

Ga y gay o m a wa s delighted with the things that the sta rs

b rought he r She cooked the b eans with the golden
.

stems and spent long hou rs chewing the sweet cane .

When all that the sta rs b rought wa s gone howeve r she , ,

grew restless and called to he r f a the r the b ig sta r ,

“
Com e Fathe r and go with me to the place where
, ,
”
the suga r cane grows fo r I want to see it now
-
, .

B a gb a gak called m any sta rs to a ccomp any him and ,

[ 38 ]
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

they all followed Gay gay om a down to the place whe re

the suga r cane grew Som e sa t on the b amboo fence
-
.
,

while othe rs went to th e m iddle o f th e fi e ld and all ,

ate a s mu ch a s they wi shed .

T h e day following this Ap o n ito l a u sai d to hi s wi fe

,
“
Ap o nib o lina y e n I am go ing to the fi eld to see i f
,

the bamboo fence i s strong fo r the ca rab ao will try

,
”
to get in to e at ou r suga r cane -
.

So he set out and when he reached the field and

,

be ga n looking along the fence to see i f it wa s strong ,

he kept finding the stal k s that the sta rs h ad chewed ,

a nd he k new tha t someone had b een the re H e went .

into the m iddle o f th e field a nd the re o n the ground

,

wa s a piece o f gold and he sa i d to himsel f

,
“
H o w strange thi s i s ! I believe some be auti ful gi rl
must h ave ch ewed my cane I will watch tonight an d
.
,
”
m ayb e she will retu rn fo r mo re .

As da rk ness came on h e ha d no thought o f retu rning

hom e but h e m ade his me al o f the suga r cane and
,
-
,

then hid in the tall gra ss nea r the field to wa it By .

and by da zzling lights blinded hi s eyes and when he ,

could see a gain he wa s sta rtled to find m any sta rs fall

ing from the sky and soon he he a rd someone b reaki ng
,

the cane Suddenly a sta r so la rge that it looked like

.

a fl am e o f fi re fell into the fi eld and then a beauti ful ,

obj ect nea r the fence too k o ff he r dress whi ch l ooked

li k e a sta r and sh e appe a red like the hal f o f the
,

ra inbow .

N eve r ha d Ap o nito l a u seen such sights ; a nd fo r a

while he l ay shaki ng with fea r .

“ ”
What shall I do ? he s aid to him sel f I f I do .

[ 39 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

not frighten these comp anions o f the beauti ful gi rl ,

”
they may eat me .

With a gre at e ff o rt he jumped up and frightened the

sta rs till they all fl ew up and when the p retty girl ,

came looking fo r her dress she found Ap o nito l au sit

” “
ting o n it You must fo rgive us she sa id fo r you r
.
1
, ,
”
suga r cane i s ve ry sweet and we wante d some to chew
-
, .

“ ”
You a re welcome to the suga r cane a nswe red -
,
“
Ap o n ito l au But now we must tell ou r names accord
.

ing to ou r custom fo r it i s b a d fo r us to talk until we ,

.

”
know each othe r s names ’
.

T hen he gave he r some betel nut and they chewed -

togethe r and he sa id ,
2

“
N ow it i s ou r cu stom to tell ou r names .

” “ ”
Yes said she ; but you tell fi rst
, .

My nam e i s Ap o nito la u and I am the husb and of

Ap o nib o l in a y e n .

“
I am Gay gay om a the daughte r o f B a gb a gak and ,
” “
S ina g up in the a i r sa id the gi rl An d now Aponi , .
,

tolau even though you have a wi fe I am going to take

, ,

you up to the sky fo r I wish to m a rry you I f you a re , .

not willing to go I shall call my companion sta rs to ,

”
eat y o u .

Ap o nito l au shook wi th fea r fo r he kn ew now that ,

the woman was a sp i rit ; and a s he da red not refuse ,

he p romised to go with he r Soon a fte r th at the sta rs .

1
In E u ropean ,
A siatic , African ,
and M alaysi an lore we fi nd stories
of beings with star dresses : when they wear the dresses they are
stars ; when they t k th m ff th ey are human S C An I nta e ‘
e o . ee ox , ro

d ti n t F l k l e p
uc o o 2 ( London
o or , . 1 1 ,
2
S note p 9
ee 1 , . .

[ 40 ]
 G R i Nm N c C O R N

M AK TNG A H A R OW
R
 P H I LI PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

droppe d a basket that Gay gay om a ha d o rdered them

to m ake and Ap o nitol au stepped in with the lovely sta r
,

and wa s drawn qu ickly through the a i r up to the sky .

T hey we re met on the i r a rrival by a giant sta r whom

G a y gay o m a introduced a s he r fathe r and h e told ,

Ap o n ito l a u that he ha d acted wisely in com ing fo r had ,

he obj ected the othe r sta rs would have eaten him

,
.

Afte r Ap o n ito l a u had lived with the sta rs fo r som e

time Gay gay om a asked him to p rick between he r la st
,

two finge rs and a s he di d so a be auti ful b aby boy

,

p opped out T hey named him T a k y ay e n and he grew

.
,

ve ry fa st and wa s strong .

Al l thi s time Ap o nito l au ha d neve r fo rgotten Aponi

b o l in a y e n who he knew wa s sea rching fo r him on the , ,

e a rth but he ha d been a frai d to mention he r to the

,

sta rs When th e boy wa s th ree months old howeve r

.
, ,

he ventu red to tell Gay gay om a o f hi s wi sh to retu rn to

the ea rth .

At fi rst sh e would not listen to h im but he ple aded so ,

ha rd that at la st she consented to let h im go fo r one

m oon I f he did not retu rn a t the end o f that time
.
l
,

she sa id she would send the sta rs to eat him T h en

, .

she calle d fo r the ba sket a gain a nd they we re lowered ,

to the e a rth T he re Ap o n ito l a u got out but G ay ga

.
,

y oma and the baby retu rne d to the sky .

Ap o n ib o l in ay e n wa s filled with j oy at the sight o f

he r husband once mo re fo r she ha d b elieved him ,

dead and she wa s ve ry thin from not eating while h e

,

wa s away N eve r did she ti re o f listening to hi s

.

1
Se e note 1 ,
p . 12 .

[ 41 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

sto ries o f his life among the sta rs and so happy wa s ,

she to h ave h im again that when the time came fo r

him to leave she re fuse d to let him go .

T hat night m any sta rs cam e to the house Some .

stood in the windows while others stayed outside by

,

the walls ; a nd they we re so b right that the house

appea red to be on fi re .

Ap o n ito l au wa s greatly frightened and he cried out ,

to hi s wi fe
You have done wrong to keep m e when I should
have gone I fea red that the sta rs would eat me i f I
.

did not obey thei r comm and and now they have come
, .

”
H ide me o r they will get m e
,
.

But be fo re Ap o nib o linay e n could answe r B a gb a gak ,

himself called out

“
D o not hide from us Ap o nito l au fo r we know
, ,

that you a re in the corne r o f the house Come out o r .

”
we shall eat you .

T rembling with fea r Ap o nitol a u appea red and

, ,

when the sta rs a sked him i f he wa s willing to go with

them he da red not re fuse .

N ow G ay gay om a had grown ve ry fond o f Ap onito

lau and she ha d commanded the sta rs not to ha rm him
,

i f he wa s willing to retu rn to he r So when he gave.

his consent they put him in the basket and fl e w awa y

,

with h im leaving Ap o nib o l inay e n ve ry sa d and lonely

, .

A fte r that Ap o n itol au m ade m any trips to the e a rth ,

but at Gay gay om a s command he always retu rned to

’

the sky to spend pa rt of the time with he r .

One day when T ak y ay e n wa s a li ttle boy Ap onitol au ,

too k him down to the e a rth to see hi s half b rothe r -

,

[ 4 2 ]
 PH I L I P PI N E F OL K TAL E S

Kanag T h e wo rld wa s full o f wonde rs to the boy

.

from th e sky and he wanted to stay the re always But

, .

a fte r som e tim e while he and Ka nag we re playing out

in th e ya rd big drop s o f wate r began to fall on them
,
.

Kana g ran to hi s m othe r a nd cried :

“
Oh M oth e r it i s raining and the sun i s shining
, , ,

b rightly !
But Ap onito l au loo k ing out sa id N o they a re
, , , ,

the te a rs o f G ay gay om a fo r she sees he r son down

,
”
below and she weep s fo r him
, .

T hen he too k T a k y ay e n bac k to hi s moth e r i n the

s k y a nd she wa s happ y a ga in
, .

A fte r that T ak y ay e n wa s always gla d when he wa s

a llowed to vi sit the ea rth but ea ch tim e when his
,
’
mothe r s te a rs began to fall he retu rned to he r When
, .

he wa s old enough Ap o nitol a u selected a wi f e fo r him

'

, ,

and a fte r that T ak y ay e n always lived on the e a rth ,

but G ay gay om a stayed in the sky .

[ 43 ]
 TH E S T O RY O F D U MAL AWI

Tingu ia n

and Ap onib ol inay e n h ad a son

PO N IT O L AU
A whose name was D um a l aw i When the son had .
1

b ecome a young m an his fathe r one day wa s ve ry ,

angry with him and tried to think o f some way in which

,

to destroy him T h e next morning he sa id to

.

D um al aw i
“
Son sha rpen you r kni fe and we will go to the fo r
, ,
”
est to cut some bam b oo .

So D um a l aw i sha rpened his kni fe and went with hi s

fathe r to the place whe re the bam b oo grew and they ,

cut m any sticks and sha rpened them like spea rs at

the end .

D um a l aw i wonde red why they m ade them thus but ,

when they ha d finished Ap o nitol au said ,

“
N o w Son you th row them at me so that we can
, , ,
”
see which i s the b rave r .

“
N o Fathe r, answered D um alaw i , You throw .

fi rst i f you want to kill m e

, .

So Ap on ito l au threw the b amboo sticks one b y one

at hi s son but he could not h it him T hen it wa s the
, .

’
son s turn to throw but he said ,
“
N o I cannot
, You a re my fathe r and I do not
.
,
”
want to kill you .

1
Se e P reface p , . vn .

[ 44 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

So they went home But D um a l aw i wa s ve ry so r .

row f u l fo r he knew now that hi s fathe r wante d to

,

destroy him When his mo the r calle d him to dinne r

.

he could not e at .

Although he had b een unsuccess ful in his fi rst

attempt Ap onitol au did not give up the idea o f getting
,

rid o f his son and the ne x t day he sa id ,

Come D u m a l aw i we will go to ou r little house in

, ,

the fi e l d and repa i r it so that it will be a p rotection

1
,
”
when the ra iny season sets in .

T h e fathe r and son went togethe r to the field and ,

when they rea ched the little house Ap o nitol au po int , ,

ing to a ce rta in spot in the ground sa id ,

:

D ig the re and you will find a j a r o f ba si which

,
2

I bu ried when I wa s a boy It will b e ve ry good to .

drink now .

D um a l aw i dug up the j a r and they ta sted the wine ,

and i t wa s so plea sing to them that they drank th ree

cocoanut shells full and D um al a w i b ecam e drun k , .

While hi s son lay asleep on the ground Ap onitol au ,

decide d that thi s wa s a good time to destroy him so ,

he u sed hi s m agical powe r and the re a rose a gre at ,

sto rm which pi cked up Du m al aw i in hi s sle ep and ca r

ried him fa r away And the fathe r went hom e a lone . .

’
is the custom to h ave a smal l bamboo house built from fifteen
It
to twenty feet from the ground n ear the rice fields and in this some ,

one watches every day du ring the growing season to see that nothing
bre k s in to destroy the grain O ften flappers a re placed in di fferent
a .

parts of the field and a connecting string leads from these to the littl e
house so that th e watcher by pulling this string may frighten the bird s
,

away from the grain .

2
S note p 8
ee 1 ,
. 1 .

[ 45 ]
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

N ow when D u m a l aw i awoke he wa s in th e m iddle ,

o f a field so wide th at whicheve r way he looked he ,

could not see the end T he re we re neithe r tree s no r

.

houses in the field and no living thing e x cept himsel f .

An d he felt a gre at loneline ss .

By and by h e u sed his m agical powe r and m any ,

betel nuts grew in th e field and when they bore fru it

-
,

it wa s cove re d with gold .

“
T hi s i s good sai d D um al aw i fo r I will scatte r
, ,

these betel nuts a nd they shall become people who

-
,
‘

will b e my neighbors .

So in th e m iddle o f the night he cu t the gold cove red -

b etel nuts into m an y sm all p ieces which he scatte red i n

-

all di re ctions And in the e a rly mo rning when he

.
,

awoke h e h ea rd m an y p eo p le talking a round the hou se

, ,

and m an y roosters crowed Th en D u m a l aw i knew .

that he ha d comp anions and upon goi ng out he walk e d ,

about whe re the p eople we re wa rm ing themselve s by 2

fi res i n thei r y a rds and h e visited them all

, .

I n one ya rd wa s a be auti ful ma iden D ap il isan a nd , ,

a fte r Dum a l aw i had talke d with he r and he r p a rents ,

h e went o n to th e othe r y a rds but s h e wa s eve r in hi s ,

thoughts As soon a s he had vi sited all the people

.
,

he retu rned to the house o f D ap ilis an and asked he r

p a rents i f h e m ight m a rry he r T he y we re unwilling .

at fi rst fo r the y fe a red that the p a rents o f D um al aw i

,

m ight not like it ; but a fte r h e h a d expla ined that hi s

1
S ee P reface p v i
, . .

2
T he nights in the mountains are col d and itnot at all u nc m ,
is o

mon in the early morning to groups of people with bl an k et

see s

wrapped tightly about them sq uatti ng around mall fire s in the ya rd

,
s s.

[ 46 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TA L E S

boy followed but he looked like a cra zy m a n

, ,
.

When the people re ached the rive r nea r the town ,

D um al aw i sent alligato rs to take them across but ,

when Ap onito l au got on the alligator s b ack it dived ’

,

and h e was th rown b ack upon the ban k o f the rive r .

Al l the others we re ca rried sa fely ove r and Ap o nitol au , ,

who wa s le ft on the bank alone shouted a s i f cra zy ,

until D um a l aw i sent anothe r alligato r to ca rry him

a cross .

T hen D u m a l aw i h a l food b rought and D a p ilis a n 1

p assed b a si in a little j a r that looked like a fi st and ,

2

though each guest drank a cup ful o f the sweet wine the
little j a r wa s still a third full A fte r they had eaten .

and drunk Ap o n ib o l in ay e n spoke and telling all the

, , ,

p eople that she wa s gla d to have D ap ilis a n fo r a

daughte r in law added : - -
,
“
N o w we a re going to pay the m a rri age p rice 3

a ccording to ou r custom We shall fill the spi rit house .

‘

”
nine times with di ff e rent k inds o f j a rs .

“
T hen she called You sp i rits who live i n di ff e rent,
5

1
note p 7
See 1 ,
. 1 .

C ompare with the biblical story of the loa v es and fi sh e s

2
Fo . r

similar incidents among the I gorot of the P hilippines in Borneo and , ,

i n I ndia ! en k s T h B t
,
see Ig t p 2 ; S eidenadel
, e Th on oc or o , . 02 , e

Lan g g f
ua th B et Iog t pp 49 e4 ff ( C hicago
on oc 9 9 ) R oth
or o , . 1 , 1 .
, 1 0 ,

T h N ti :
e f S
a w k
ve nd B i ti h N
o th B a rac V l I p 3 9;
a a r s or or n e o, o .
,
. 1

T awney K th S it S g
,
a V l II p 3 ( C alcutta
a ar 88 )
a B me
ara, o .
,
.
,
1 0 eze r,

V lk d i ht g a
o s c I nd un i n p 4 9 ( Haag
n: on e s e , .
,
2’
S note p 5
ee 1, . 1 .

4
S note 3 p 5
ee ,
. 1 .

“
There appear to ha v e been two cl asses of spirits one for whom ,

the peopl e had the utmost respect and rev erence and another whom ,

they look ed upon as being of service to mortals .

 T —

P h o to b y P h ih ppw e B ureau o f S ci e n ce
T E YP or MA N A A T R E E H O U S E
D Y
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

sp rings get the j a rs which D u m al aw i must p ay a s a

,
”
m a rriage p rice fo r D ap ilis a n .

T h e sp i rits did a s they we re commanded and when ,

the y b rought the j a rs and had fille d the spi rit house
n ine times Ap o nib ol in ay e n sa id to the p a rents o f
,

D ap il is a n
“
I thin k that now we h ave p a id th e p rice fo r you r
d aughte r .

But D al o n a ga n the mothe r o f D a p il is a n wa s not

, ,

s atisfied and sa id,

“
N o the re i s still mo re to p ay
, .

”
Ve ry well replied Ap o n ib o l in ay e n
, T ell u s what .

it i s and we will p ay it .

T hen D a l o na ga n c alled a p et spide r and sa id

“
You bi g spi de r go all a round the town and a s , ,

you go spi n a threa d o n which Ap o nib o l in ay e n mu st 1

string golden beads So th e spide r spun the th rea d.

a nd Ap o nib ol inay e n a ga in called to the sp i rits o f the

S p rings and they b rought golden beads whi ch they
,

strung on the th read T hen D a l o na gan hung on the .

thread a nd when i t di d not b reak she decla re d that

,

th e debt wa s all p a id .

Afte r th is the people fe asted and m ade m e rry and ,

when at la st they depa rted fo r home D u m a l a w i re fuse d

to go with hi s p a rents but remained with his wi fe in ,

the town he had cre ated .

‘
Se e note 1 , p .
30 .

[ 49 ]
 TH E S T O RY OF KAN AG
Tingu ia n

W HE N the rice had grown tall a nd it wa s near

1

the time fo r it to ripen Ap o nitol au and Aponi ,

b o l in ay e n grew fe a rful lest the wild p igs should b reak

in and destroy all thei r crop so they sent thei r son , ,

Kanag to the field to gua rd the grain Kanag will

,
.

ingl y went to the place but when he found that the ,

fences we re all strong so that the pigs could not get

in and he wa s le ft with nothing to do li fe in the little
, ,

watch house grew lonely and the boy b ecame very

-
2
,

unhappy .

Ea ch day Ap o n ito la u ca rried cooked rice and meat

to hi s son in the field but Kanag could not eat and ,

always bade his fathe r hang it in the watch house until -

he should want it Each time Ap onito l au found the.

food o f the day be fo re still untouched and he began to ,

suspect that the boy wa s unhappy a t having to gua rd

the grain But he said nothing o f his fea rs to
.

Ap o n ib o l inay e n .

1
The word used in t e original is l hmeaning mountain rice a ngp a d a n, .

This va riety requires no irrigation and is pl anted to some extent at

the present day but the great bul k of the grain now used i s grown
,

in wonderfully terraced fields on the mountain sides where water ,

for i rrigating is brought from distant streams through a system of

flume and bamboo tubes T he fact that only th e mountain rice i men
. s

ti n d in the tales reflects a v ery ancient life before i rrigated fields

o e

were k nown .

2
S note p 4 5
ee 1 ,
. .

[ 50 ]
 P H I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

One day a fte r hi s fathe r ha d retu rne d home Kanag ,

wa s so lonely that he used h is m agical powe r a nd

became a little b i rd and fl ew up into the top o f a tree .

Th e next day when Ap o nito l a u came to the field he

looked eve rywhe re fo r hi s son and when he could not ,

find him he called and from the top o f a b amboo tre e

,

a little b i rd answe re d h im Re alizing what h a d ha p .

pened the fathe r wa s ve ry sad and begged h i s son to

,

come b ack and b e a boy again but Kanag onl y ,

answe red
“
I would rathe r be a bi rd a nd ca rry the message s 1

o f th e spi rits to the people .

At last the fathe r went home alone a nd he and the ,

’
boy s mothe r we re filled with grie f th at the y ha d lost
the i r son .

Som e time a fte r this Ap onitol au p re p a red to go out

,

to fight H e took hi s spea r and shield and hea d ax

.
-

and sta rted ea rly one mo rning but whe n h e re a ched ,

the gate o f the town Kanag fl ew ove r him giving him

, ,

a bad sign so he tu rned b ack T h e ne x t m o rning he

, .

sta rted again and this time th e little b i rd gave him a

,

good S ign a nd k nowing that nothing would inj u re h im

, ,

he went on .

Afte r a long j ou rne y he rea ched a hostile town

whe re the people sa id they we re glad to see him and ,

added that because he wa s the fi rst o f hi s people who

ha d da red to ente r the i r town the y intended to k eep
him there .

1
the omen bird and i b el ie v ed to b e t e d irect
T h e l a b e ug i s s h m es
senger of K ada k lan the great spirit to t e peopl e
, ,
h .

[ 5 1 ]
 P H IL I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

Oh sa id Ap o nito l a u i f you say that I cannot

, ,

retu rn home call all you r people togethe r and we will

,
”
fight
You a re very b rave answe re d hi s enemi es i f , ,
”
y ou wish to fight u s all .

An d when the p eople had gathe red togethe r they

“
laughed at him and sa id Why one o f ou r finge rs , ,
”
would fight you .

N eve rtheless Ap onitol au p rep a re d to fight and

, ,

when the bravest o f the enemy th rew hi s spe a r and

he ad ax at him he j umped and escaped T hey noticed
-
.

that he j umpe d ve ry high so they all ran at him , ,

th rowing thei r spe a rs and try ing to kill him .

But Ap o nitol au caught all thei r weapons and then ,

while they we re una rm ed he threw hi s own spea r and ,

i t fl ew about among them until it had killed them all .

T hen he sent hi s head ax and it cut o ff all the heads

-
,

o f the enemy ; and he u sed m agical powe r so that these

heads went to hi s home in Ka d a l ay a p a n .

Afte r that Ap o n ito l a u sat down by the gate o f th e

town to rest and the little b i rd flying ove r his head
, , ,

called down :
“
T h e si gn that I gave you wa s good Fathe r a nd , ,
”
you h ave killed all you r enemi es .

“ ”
Yes sai d the m an and a s he sta rted on the home
, ,

wa rd j ou rney the little bi rd always fl ew ne a r him .

When he reached home h e stuck the heads a round ,

the town and comm anded the people to go out all

,
1

ove r the wo rld and invite eve ryone and especiall y the

1
S ee note 1 , p .
34 .

[ 5 2 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

to come and see he r At fi rst he would not listen to

.

them but a fte r a while he fl ew into th e top o f a betel

,

nut tree nea r by and when he c aught sight o f he r he

, ,

fl ew into the tree above he r head .

“ ”
But said he to the se rvants what can I do i f I
, ,

become a man now fo r I have no clothes and no

,

head band
-

“
Do not wo rry ab out that s a id the spi rit se rvants
, ,
”
fo r we have eve rything he re fo r you .

So Kanag became a m an and put on the clothes and

head b and and he went to spe ak to the gi rl H e gave
-
,
.

he r betel nut and they chewe d togethe r and he said :

-
, ,
“
M y name i s Kanag and I am th e son o f Ap onitol a u
”
and Ap o nib olin ay e n .

T hen the gi rl s aid : My name i s D ap il is a n a nd

”
I am the daughte r o f B angan and D al on a ga n .

When D ap ilisa n went hom e Kanag followed he r ,

and h e told he r p a rents hi s name and how he ha d

changed into a little bi rd And when he had finishe d .

he a sked i f he m ight ma rry thei r daughte r B angan .

and his wi fe we re greatly plea sed that Kana g wanted

D a p il isa n fo r hi s wi fe but they we re a frai d that hi s
,

pa rents m ight obj ect so they sent a m essenge r to

,

invite Ap onitol au and Ap onib olinay e n to come to visit

them .

As soon a s Ka na g s p a rents hea rd that thei r son had

’

become a m an they we re ve ry happy and sta rted at

once to go to him ca rrying m any fine p resents B e fo re
, .

a rrangeme nts fo r the wedding could be m ade it wa s ,

necessa ry to decide on the p rice to be p a id fo r the gi rl .

A long discussion t oo k place B angan and D al o na gan

.

[ 54 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

finally said that the sp i rit house must be fil le d nine

times with di ff e rent kinds o f j a rs .

When this wa s done D al ona ga n ra ised he r eyeb rows ,

and hal f o f the j a rs disapp ea red Ap o nib o l inay e n

.

u sed he r magi c al powe r and the spi rit house wa s fille d

again and then D a l o n a ga n sa id to he r :
,
“
N o w the web o f the spide r shall be put a round the
town and you mu st put gold be ads on it I f it doe s .

”
not b re ak Kanag may m a rry D a p il is an
, .

When Ap o nib ol inay e n had put the gold be ads on

the th read D a lon a gan hung on it to se e i f it would
,

hold As it did not b rea k she decla red that the sign
.
,

wa s good ; and Kana g and D a p ilis a n we re m a rried .

T hen the p eople played on the coppe r gongs danced , ,

and m ade m e rry fo r a long tim e and when they,

retu rne d to thei r homes Kanag and hi s b ride went with

Ap onito l au and Ap o n ib ol inay e n
.

[ 55 ]
 THE S T ORY O F T H E T IKGI

Ti ngu ia n

IKGI, tik gi, tik gi, we will come to work fo r you

T
.

”
L e t us cut you r ri ce .

L igi had gone to the field to look at his growing

1

ri ce but when he hea rd thi s sound h e looked up and

,

wa s su rp ri sed to see som e bi rds ci rcling above and

calling to him .

“
Why you cannot cut rice said L i gi
, You a re , .

”
bi rds and know only how to fly .

But the bi rds insisted that they knew how to cut rice
so finally he told them to come again when the grain
wa s ripe and they fl ew away
, .

N o soone r had the b i rds gone than L i gi was filled

with a great desi re to se e them aga in As he went .

home he wi shed ove r and ove r th at hi s rice were ready

to cut As soon a s L igi le ft the field th e tik gi bi rds
.

began using m agic so that the rice grew rapidly ,

and five days late r when he retu rned he found the

b i rds the re ready to cut the ripened gra in L igi .

showed them where to begin cutting and then he left ,

them .

When he wa s out o f sight the tik gi sai d to the rice ,

cutte rs :
“
Rice cutte rs you cut the rice alone
, And to the .

1
Se e P reface p ,
. vn.

[ 5 6 ]
E L EvAT En L1VI NG R OO MS R EA CH ED BY L ADDERS

C OC O A N U T T R EE S TOWE R A B OV E
-
TH E HO M E S
 T ON
S EC I T I NC U IAN Vi L LAoE

S E T TL E M E N T M O UN A N S
T I
 P H IL IP PIN E F OL K TAL E S

bands which we re lying ne a rby they sa id : B ands ,

you ti e into bundles th e rice which the cutte rs

Cu t
.

And the rice cutte rs and the b ands wo rk ed alone ,

doing a s they we re told .

When L igi went aga in to the field in the a fte rnoon ,

the tik gi sa id
“
Com e L igi and see what we have done fo r we
, , ,
”
want to go hom e now .

L igi wa s ama zed fo r he saw five hundred bundle s

,

o f rice cut And he said .

“
Oh T ik gi take all the rice y ou wish in p aym ent
, , ,
”
fo r I am ve ry grate ful to you .

T hen the tik gi ea ch took one hea d o f rice s aying i t ,

wa s all they could ca rry and they fl ew away , .

T h e ne x t mo rning when L i gi reached the field he ,

found the bi rds al ready the re and h e sa id

“
N o w T ik gi cut the rice a s fast a s you can fo r
, , ,

when it is finished I will m a k e a ce remony fo r the

”
spi rits and you must come
, .

“ ”
Yes replied th e tik gi and now we shall b egin
, ,
”
th e wo rk but you do not need to stay he re
, .

So L igi went home a nd built a rice grana ry to hold

hi s grain and when h e re tu rne d to th e field the rice
,

“
was all cut T hen the tik gi said
. We have cut all
you r rice L igi so give u s ou r pay and when you go
, , ,
”
home the rice will all be in you r grana ry .

L igi wonde red at thi s and when he reached home ,

and saw that hi s grana r y wa s full o f rice he doubte d ,

i f the tik gi could b e real bi rds .

N ot long a fte r this L igi invite d all his relatives from

[ 57 ]
 P H I L I P PI N E F OL K TAL E S

th e di ff e rent towns to help him make the ceremony fo r

the sp i rits As soon a s the people a rrived the tik gi
.
1
,

came also ; and they fl ew ove r the people s heads and ’

m ade them drink ba si until they we re drun k T he n .

they sai d to L igi

“
We a re going home now ; it is not good fo r u s to
”
stay he re fo r we cannot sit among the p eople
, .

When they sta rted home L igi followed them unti l

they came to the b ana a si tree and h ere he saw them -
,

take o ff thei r fe athe rs and put them in the rice gra n

a ry . T hen suddenly they becam e one beauti ful
m aiden .

“ ”
Ar e you not the tik gi who cam e to cut my rice ?
“
a sked L igi You look to m e like a be auti ful
.

m aiden .

“
Yes she replied ; I became tik gi and cut rice fo r
,
”
you fo r othe rwi se you would not have found me
, .

L igi took he r b ack to his house whe re the people were

making the ce remony and a s soon a s they saw he r they
,

began chewing the m agi c betel nuts to find who she -

might be .

T h e quid o f Ebang and he r husb and and that o f

2

the tik gi went togethe r so they kn ew that she wa s thei r

,

daughte r who had disappe a red from thei r house one

day long ago while they we re in the fields In answe r .

to thei r m any questions she told them th at she ha d ,

1
Before the bundles of ripened rice can be put into the grana ry a cere
mony is made for the S pirits T he blood of a pig is mi x ed with coo k ed
.

rice and put in the granary as an offering for the S pirit who multiplies
the grain otherwise the crop would run out in a S hort time
, .

2
S note p 9
ee 1 ,
. .
 THE S T ORY O F S AYE N 1

Ti nguia n

Nthe depths o f a da rk fo rest where people seldom

I went lived a wizened old Al an T h e ski n on he r
,
.
2

wrinkled face was a s tou gh a s a ca rabao hide a nd he r ,

long a rm s with fingers pointing back from the wrist

we re ho rrible to look at N ow thi s frightful creatu re
.

had a son whose nam e wa s Sayen and he wa s a s hand ,

some a s his m othe r wa s ugly H e wa s a b rave m an .

,

also and o ften went fa r away alone to fight

, .

On these j ou rneys Sayen sometim es met beauti ful

gi rls and though he wanted to m a rry he could not
, ,

decide upon one H ea ring that one D a ne p a n wa s mo re

.

beauti ful than any othe r he dete rm ined to go and a sk

,

he r to be his wi fe .

N ow D a ne p a n wa s ve ry shy and when she hea rd ,

th at Sayen wa s coming to he r house she hi d behind the

doo r and sent he r se rvant L a e y out to meet him , , .

An d so it happened that Sayen not seeing D a ne p a n , ,

m a rri ed L a cy thinking that she was he r beauti ful m is

,

tress H e took he r away to a house he h a d built at

.

the edge o f the fo rest fo r though he wished to be nea r

,

1
This story i s considered by th e T inguian to be of rather recent
origin Th ey bel ieve that S ayen lived not so very long ago yet the
.
,

stories woven around him are very simil ar to the ancient ones .

2
S eeT he A lan and the Hunters
“
.
”

[ 60 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

his old home h e da red not allow hi s b ride to s et eyes

,

on his ugly moth e r .

Fo r some time they lived happily togethe r he re and ,

then one day when Sayen wa s m aking a plow unde r

his house he hea rd L a cy singing so ftly to thei r b aby
,

in the room above and this i s what she sang

,
“
Sayen th inks I am D an e p a n but L a e y I am Sayen , .

”
th in k s I am D a ne p a n but L a cy I am , .

When Sayen hea rd th is he knew that he h ad be en

deceived and he ponde re d long what he should do
, .

T h e next mo rning he went to the fi eld to plow fo r ,

it was ne a r the rice planting tim e B e fore he le ft the

-
.

house he called to hi s wi fe
“
When the sun i s stra ight above you and the b aby ,

b ring food to m e fo r I shall be busy in the field

, .

B e fo re he bega n to plow howeve r he cut th e b am

, ,

boo suppo rt s o f the b ridge which led to th e fi eld so ,

that when L a cy and the baby cam e with his food they ,

had no soone r stepp ed on the b ridge than it went down

with th em and they we re drowned S ayen wa s aga in .

free H e too k hi s spe a r a nd hi s shield a nd head ax

.
-

and went at once to the town o f D a ne p an a nd the re ,

he began k illing the people on all sides .

T erro r sp read th rough the town N o one could .

stop h is te rrible wo r k o f destruction until D a n e p an

cam e down out o f he r house and begged him to sp a re ,

p a rt o f the people that she m ight h ave some from whom

to bo rrow fi r e H e r great b eauty ama zed him and
.
1

The Tingu ian now use fl int and steel for ma k ing a fl ame b ut it
‘
,

is not at all uncommon for them to go to a neighbor s house to borrow ’

a b urning ember to sta rt thei r own fire .

[ 61 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

he ceased killing and asked her to p rep a re some betel

,

nut fo r him to chew a s he was ve ry ti red She di d so

, .
,

and when he ha d chewe d th e nut h e sp at on the people

he ha d killed and they came to li fe aga in T hen he .

m a rried D a n e p a n and took he r to hi s home .

N o w it happened about this ti m e that the people o f

M a go s a ng we re in great trouble At the end o f a suc .

ce ss f u l hunt while they we re dividing the meat among

,

themselves the Kom o w a mu rde rous spi rit that looks

, ,
l

like a m an would come to them and as k how many they

,
“
h ad caught I f they answered T w o then he would
.
, ,

say that he had caught two also ; and when they went
home they would find two people in the town dead
, .

As o ften a s they went to hunt the Kom ow di d this and ,

m any o f the people o f M a go sa ng were dead and those

living we re in gre at fea r Finally they hea rd o f the .

b rave m an Sayen and they b egged him to help them

, , .

Sayen l istened to all they told and then sa id : ,

“
I will go with you to hunt and while you a re divi d ,

ing the me at I will hide behind the trees Wh en the

, .

Ko m o w come s to a s k how m any dee r you h ave he ,

will smell me but you must s ay that you do not know

,
”
whe re I am .

So the people went to hunt and when they ha d ,

k illed two de e r they singed them ove r a fi re and began

,

to divi de them Just then th e Kom ow a rrived and

.

sai d :
“
H ow many h ave y ou ? ”

1
The neigh b oring I locano a C r istiani ed tri b e k now the
,
h z , K om ow
as a fabulous bird which is invisible yet steals people and their , p os
sessions .

[ 62
 PH I L I P PI N E F OL K TAL E S

We have two replied the p eople , .

”
I have two also sa i d the Kom ow , , but I smell
S ay e nfi
’

“
We do not know where Sayen is answe re d the ,

p eople ; and j ust then he sp rang out and k illed the

Ko m o w and the people were greatly reli eved
,
.

N o w when Kab o n iy a n fl a great S pi rit hea rd what l

,

Sayen had done he went to him a nd sa id ,

“
Sayen you a re a b rave man because you have k illed
the Kom ow T o morrow I will fight with you You
. .

must remain on the low ground b y the rive r a nd I will ,

”
go to the hill above .

So the following day Sa y en went to the low ground

by the rive r H e ha d not wa ited long be fo re he he a rd
.

a great sound like a sto rm and h e knew that Kab o niy a n ,

wa s com ing H e looke d up and the re stood the gre at

.
,

wa rrio r poi sing h is s p ea r which wa s a s l a rge a s a big

,

tree .

“
Ar e y ou b rave Sayen calle d he in a vo ice li k e
,

thunde r a s he threw the weapon .

“ ”
Yes answe red Sayen and he caught the spea r
, , .

T his su rp rised Kab o n iy a n and he th rew hi s hea d ax ,

-

which was a s la rge a s the roo f o f a house and Sayen ,

caught that also T hen Kab o niy an saw that this wa s

.

indeed a b rave m an and he went down to Sayen and ,

they fought face to face until both we re ti re d but ,

neithe r could ove rcom e the oth e r .

When Kab oniy a n saw that in Sayen he ha d found one

a s strong and b rave even a s himsel f he p roposed that ,

1
S ee note 1 ,
p .
59 .

[ 63 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

they go togethe r to fight the people o f di ff e rent towns .

And th ey sta rted out at once M any people we re killed

.

by thi s strong p a i r a nd why they themselves could

,

neve r b e cap ture d was a great myste ry Fo r it wa s .

not known that one wa s t h e sp irit Kab oniy an and th e ,

othe r the son o f an Ala n .

I f he wa s su rrounded in a rive r Sayen would b e come

,

a fi sh and hide so that people could not find him And

1
.

i f he wa s entrapped in a town he would become a

,

chicken and go unde r th e house in a chick en coo p I n -

.

th i s way he escaped m any times .

Finally one night a fte r he had k illed m any i n one

town the p eople decided to watch him and they s aw
, ,

him go to roost with the chi ckens T h e next da y they

.

placed a fish trap unde r the house nea r the chicken

coop and th at night when Sayen went under the house
,

he wa s caught i n the tra p and killed .

‘
Se e note 2 , p .
 T H E SU N AN D T H E M OON

Tinguia n

N CE the Sun and the M oon qua rrele d with e ach

o the r and the Sun said :
,

You a re only the M oon and a re not much good .

I f I did not give y ou light y ou would be no goo d at

,

all
.

But th e M oon answe red

“
You a re only the Sun and you a re ve ry hot T h e
, .

wom en li k e m e bette r fo r when I shine at night the y

, ,

go out doo rs and spin .

T hese wo rds o f the M oon m ade th e Sun so a ngr y

that he threw sand in h e r face and you can still see
,

the da rk spots on the face o f the M oon .

H OW T H E T I N G U I AN LEAR NED T O P L ANT

Ti nguia n

Nthe ve ry old times t h e Tingui an did not know how

I to plant and ha rvest as they now do Fo r food they .

ha d only the things that grew in the fo rests and fish

from the streams N e ithe r did they know how to cu re
.

people who became ill o r we re inj u re d by evil sp i rits ,

and many died who m ight othe rwise have lived .

1

T hen Kadaklan the Great Sp i rit who live s in the

,

s ky saw that the people o ften we re hungry and sick

, ,

and he sent one o f his se rvants Kab o niy a n to the ea rth , ,

to teach them m any things And it happened thi s way : .

D ayapan a woman who live d in C a al a ng had been

, ,

si ck fo r seven ye a rs One day when she went to the

.

sp ring to b athe the re ente red he r body a sp i rit who ha d

,

rice and su ga r ca ne with him and he sa id to he r

r
,
“
D ayapan ta k e these to you r home and plant them
,

in the ground and a fte r a while they will grow la rge

,

enough to reap T h en when they a re ripe build a

.
,

grana ry to put the rice in until you shall need it and ,

a suga r p ress to crush the cane And when these a re

-
.

finished m a k e the ce remony Sa yung and you will b e

, ,
”
well .

1
T his tal e is of special import ance to t e Tinguian s i nce
ex p l a ins
h it
how th ey learned two of the most important things of thei r present
l ife to pl ant and to cu re the sic k I t also shows how death c me into
—
. a

the world .

[ 66 ]
 MAGSAWI
Tinguia n

A GREAT m any yea rs a go some T ingui an le ft thei r

little village i n the valley e a rly one mo rning and
m a de thei r way towa rd the mounta ins T hey were o ff .

on a dee r hunt and e ach ca rri ed hi s spe a r a nd ,

1

he ad ax while one held in lea sh a string o f lean dogs

-
,

e age r fo r the cha se .

P a rt way up the mounta inside the dogs we re freed ,

and the m en sepa rated going di ff e rent ways in sea rch ,

o f gam e But e re long the sha rp b a rking o f a dog

.

called all i n hi s di rection fo r they believed that he ,

had a dee r at bay As they app roache d the spot how .

,

eve r the obj ect did not look like a dee r a nd a s they
, ,

drew nea re r the y we re surp rised to find that it was a

la rge j a r .
2

1
Itis a common sight in a Tinguian village early in the morning
during the dry season to a number of men a rmed with S pears and
se e

head a x es leaving for th e mountains T hey usually ta k e with them

-
.
,

to assist in the chase a string of half sta rved dogs O ften a net is
,
-
.

stretched across th e runway of game and then whil e some of the , ,

hunters conceal themselves near by others see k to drive the game ,

i nto th e net where it is speared to death

,
.

2 A ncient Chinese j ars a re found throughout the interior of the

P hilippines and are very closely associated with the fol k lore of th e -

Tinguian Some of the j a rs date bac k to the th centu ry while many

. 10 ,

a re from the ath and 4 th centuries and evidently entered the

1 1 ,

I sl ands through pre S panish trade They a re hel d in great valu e and
-
.

a re generally used in pa rt payment for a bride and for the settl ement
of feuds F more details see C ol e Ch i
. or P tt y i n th P h ilip ,
ne s e o er e

pin P ub F ield M useum of N t His t V l ! II N

e s, . a .
,
o .
,
o . 1 .

[ 68 ]
 T H E T Ai Nc ! A RS
( M a gs a w i on th e left )

P L AY i Nc TH E NosE FL UTE
 fi NC U IAN P O TT E RS A T WO RK

S E Eni N c C O MB I NG C OT TO N
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

Filled with cu riosity they p ressed on but the j a r ,

evade d them Fa ste r and faste r they ran but the

.
,

obj ec t disappea ring at times and then coming into

,

vi ew a ga in always e scaped them On and on they

, .

went until a t last ti red out t h ey sat down on a wooded

, ,

hill to rest a nd to re fresh themselves with betel nut -

whi ch th ey too k from b ra ss boxe s attached to the i r

belts .

As they slowly cut the nuts and wrapped them in the

lime and lea f ready fo r chewing they talke d o f nothing ,

but the wonde rful j a r and the myste rious powe r it

possessed T hen ju st a s the y we re about to put the
.

tempting mo rsels into thei r mouths they stopped sta r ,

tle d by a strange so ft vo ice which seemed to b e nea r

them T hey tu rne d and listened but could see no
.
,

pe rson .

“
F ind a p ig which ha s no young sa id th e voice , ,

and take its blood fo r then you will b e able to catch ,

”
the j a r which you r dog pu rsued .

T h e m en k new then that the myste riou s j a r belonged

to a spi rit so they hastened to do a s the voice com
,

m a nd e d and when they ha d secu red the blood the

,

dog again b rought the j a r to b ay T h e hunte rs t ried .

to sei ze it but it ente red a hole in the ground and

,

disappea red T hey followed and found them selve s in

.
,

a da r k cave where it wa s e asy to catch the j a r fo r

1
,

the re wa s no outlet save by the hole th rough which

they had ente red .

1
This cave is S ituated in the mountains midway between P ato k and
S anta R osa I n this vicinity a re numerous l imestone ca v es each of
. ,

which h it traditions
as s .

[ 9]
6
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

T hough
that wa s many yea rs a go the j a r still lives
, ,

and its name i s M a gsa w i Even now it talks ; but

.

some yea rs ago a crack appea red in its side and since ,

then its language ha s not been understood by the

T ingu ian .
1

Sometimes M a gs a w i goes on long j ou rneys alone

when h e vi sits his wi fe a j a r in Ilocos N o rte o r hi s
, ,

child a small j a r in S an Q uintin ; but he always retu rns

,

to D om ay co on the hillside nea r the cave .

’
abildo of D m y c the en v ied owner of this j
C o a o, as refused
ar, h
great sums o ff ered for its pu rchase and though men from other tribes
,

co m e bringing ten carabao at one time they cannot tempt him to sell
,
.

[ 7 0 ]
 T H E T REE WI T H T H E AG AT E BEADS
Ti nguia n

M O RE than a hundred seasons ago a T ingui a n

went one day to the mounta ins to hunt Accom
,

p a n ie d by his fa ith ful dog he m ade h i s way

, ste adil y
up the mounta in side only halting whe re it wa s n e ce s
,

s a ry to cut a p ath th rough the jungle And the dog .

ran he re and the re sea rching in the thic k unde rb rush .

On and on he went without seeing any ga m e and ,

th en when he was almost at the top o f the highest

,

pea k the dog gave a sha rp yelp and out o f the b rush
, ,

leape d a fine dee r Z ip ! went the m an s spe a r and it

.
’
,

pi erce d the anim al s side Fo r a n instant he wa ited

’
.
,

but the dee r di d not fall On it ran with unslackened

.

speed and a moment late r it plunged into a hole in

,

t h e ground with the m a n and dog i n close pu rsu it .

A sho rt distance from the entrance the cave opened

out into la rge sp acious rooms and be fo re he reali zed
, ,

it th e m an wa s hopele ssly lost I n the distance he .

could hea r the baying o f the dog and with no othe r ,

gu ide he hu rried on through the da rkness .

Following the sound he went fo r a long tim e from

,

one un familia r roo m to anothe r stum b ling i n the ,

da rkness and striking a ga inst the stone walls and the n ,

suddenly h i s outstretched hands grasped a small tre e

on which b erri es grew .

Astonished at finding anything growing in thi s da r k

[7 ] I
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

p lace h e b ro k e o ff a b ranch a nd a s he did so the

, ,

s h rub began to talk in a strange langu age T e rrified .

,

the m a n ran i n the di rection he h ad last hea rd the

dog and a moment late r he found h imsel f in the open
,

a i r on the b anks o f the Ab ra R ive r with the dead dee r ,

a t h i s feet .

When he e x amined the twig which he still held in

h i s hand he saw to his great su rp ri se that the b erries
,

we re agate beads o f great value And p acking the .

1

dee r on h is b ack h e h a stened home whe re he told h i s

,

wonderful sto ry .

T h e sight o f the be auti ful beads convinced the peo

p le that he told the truth and a numbe r o f men a t once
,

r etu rned with h im to secu re the tree .

T hei r quest howeve r wa s unsuccess ful fo r e re they

, , ,

r e ach ed the spot the evil spi rit had taken the tree

away and on the walls o f the cave it had m ade strange

ca rvings w h ich even to this day ca n b e seen .

1These beautiful agate beads a re still worn by the T inguian women ,

who p rize them very highly They are rarely sold and each i worth
. s

m ore than a carabao .

[ 7 2 ]
 T H E AL AN AN D T H E H U N T ERS

Tingu ia n

WO men once went to hunt wild pig in the m oun

T ta ins and a fte r so m e time they spea red and killed
,

one but they had no fire ove r which to singe it

, .

One m a n clim b ed a tree to see i f the re wa s a fi re

nea r by and discove ring smoke at some distance he
, ,

sta rted towa rd it When he reached the place he

.
,

found that the fi re wa s in the house o f an A l a n and ,

1

he wa s ve ry much a fra id ; but creeping up into the

house he found that the Alan and her baby we re fa st
,

a sleep .

H e stepped on tip toe but neve rtheless the Alan

-
,

wa s awakened and called out :

“
E p o go w what do you want ?
,
2

I should like to get some fi re said the man fo r , ,

”
we have kille d a wild pig .

T h e Alan gave him the fi re and then taking he r ,

b a sket she went with him to the place wh ere the pi g

wa s .

A fte r they had singed the anim al the Alan cut it ,

up with he r long na ils and handed the live r to the

1 The lan are supposed to be deformed spirits who live in the

A
forests They are as l a rge as peopl e but have wings and can fly
.
,
.

T heir toes are at the bac k of their feet and their fingers point back
,

wa rd from thei r wrists .

2T e name by whic S pirits call human beings

h h .
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

man telling h im to take it to he r house to feed the

,

b aby .

Th e m an sta rted and on the way he ate the live r

, .

When he reached the Alan s house h e did not k now ’

what to do Fo r som e tim e he looke d a round and

.
,

then seeing a la rge caldron o f hot wate r on the fi re ,

h e th rew the b aby into it and went b ack .

“ ”
D id the b aby eat well ? a sked the Alan .

”
Ve ry well sa i d the m an
, .

T hen she put most o f th e me at into he r b asket and

sta rted home As soon a s she ha d gone the m an told
.
,

hi s comp anion wha t h e had done a nd the y we re so ,

frightened that they ran to hide .

When th e Alan rea ched home and found the b aby

de a d in the hot wate r she wa s ve ry angry and sta rted
,

back imm edi ately to find the m en who in th e m ean , ,

tim e had climb ed a high tree that stoo d ne a r the wate r

, .

T h e Alan looked down into the wate r and seeing ,

the refl ection o f the men she re ached in he r long hand

,

with the finge rs that pointed b ackwa rd but when she ,

could not touch them she looked up and s aw them i n

,

the tall tre e .

”
“
H o w did you get up the re ? she cried angrily .

”
We climb e d up feet fi rst called down the m en,
.

Th e Alan dete rm ined to get them caught hold o f

, ,

a vine and sta rted up the tree feet fi rst but b e fo re she ,

quite re ached them they cut the vine and she fell to
,

the ground and wa s killed .

1

1
This treatment of the A lan is typical of that accorded to the l ess
powerful of th e S pirits by th e T inguian today At the ceremonies .

they often ma k e fun of them and cheat them in the sacrifices .

[ 75 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

T hen the men came down a nd went to the Alan s’

house whe re they found a j a r full o f beads and a n

,

othe r o f gold and these they b rought with them when

,

the y returned home .

[ 7 ]
6
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

the man re fused to do thi s they were angry and tu rned

,
“
away crying T hen we a re going to b u rn you r house
, , ,
”
fo r you a re a b ad m an .

T he reupon the m an went home a s fa st as he could

go but very soon a fte r that his house burned fo r the
, ,

Alan kept thei r word .

[ 7 8 ]
 S O GSOGO T
Ti ngu ia n

NE
O
day a long time a go some men went to the
, ,

mount a ins to hunt dee r and wild pig a nd among ,

them wa s one named So gs o go t .

T hey all went into the thi ck fo rest to loo k fo r

game but a fte r a while So gs o go t called hi s dog and
,

withdrew to a n O pen spot ne a r by where he wa ited ,

fo r the dee r to come out .

While he stood there ea ge rly watching a b ig b ird ,

1

swooped down caught him in its claws and ca rri ed

, ,

him away Fa r o ff ove r the m ounta ins th e bi rd so a red

.
,

until finally it ca m e to a b ig tre e whe re it ha d its nest ,

and he re it le ft th e m an and fl ew away .

So gso go t s fi rst thought wa s to make hi s escape but

’
,

he found that the tree wa s so tall that he could not

get down and a fte r a time he cea se d hi s atte m pts to
,

get away and began to look ove r his comp anions in

the nest two young b i rds and th ree little pigs
—
.

By and by he became hungry so he cut up the three ,

little pigs and a fte r h e had e aten all he wished he fe d

,

the two b i rds When this m eat wa s gone the mothe r

.

b i rd b rought mo re pigs and dee r and the m an h ad all ,

he could eat T hen he fed the little b i rds which grew

.
,

1 nown to the T inguian as B anog This bird occupies much the

K .

same place with the T inguian as does the garuda in E ast I ndian fol k
lo e
r .

[ 79 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

ve ry fa st and soon we re able to fly One day when .

they we re standing on the edge o f the nest So gs o go t

caught hold o f the b i rds legs and they flutte red down
’
,

and ca rried him sa fely to the ground .

H e hastened hom e a s fast a s h e could go and told

the people o f his wonde rful trip T hey ma de a ce re .

m ony fo r the sp i rits and all the p eople rej oiced that
'

the lost m an had retu rned .

Som e tim e a fte r thi s So gso go t went to a hostile

town to fight a nd while he wa s gone hi s wi fe died
, .

On the way back to hi s town he met the sp i rit o f h is

wi fe driving a cow and two p igs a nd not knowing that ,

she wa s a spi rit he a sked he r whe re she wa s going .

“ ”
I am not a pe rson any mo re she a nswe re d him ; ,
”
I am dead And when he wanted to touch he r
.

hand she gave him only he r S ho rtest finge r H e begged

, .

“
to go with he r so she said Go fi rst to ou r home a nd
,
.

get a white chicken ; then follow the footma rks o f the

”
cow and p igs .

H e did a s she comm anded him and a fte r a while ,

he cam e to a place where she wa s b athing in the rive r .

She sa i d to h im :
“
N o w you m ay come with m e to ou r spi rit town I .
1

shall hide you in the ric eb in and shall b ring food to

-

you every day But at night the people in the town

.

will want to e at you and when they come to the bin

,

you must take some o f the fe athe rs o f the white chicken

”
and throw at them .

1
This tal e gi v es to t e Tinguian is i d ea of t e f utu re world
h h h .

S g g t is supposed to have lived only a S hort time ago and h i

o so o ,
s

ex p eriences a re wel l k nown to al l th e people .

[ 80 ]
 THE M IS T AKE N GI FT S
Tingu ia n

W HE N Si agon wa s about e ight yea rs old hi s

pa rents bega n looking fo r a gi rl who would
m a k e a su itable wi fe At la st when they had decided
.

on a beauti ful ma iden who lived some distance from

,

them they sent a m an to he r p a rents to a sk i f the y

,

would like Si agon fo r a son in law - -

.

N o w when the m an a rrived at the gi rl s house the

’

people we re all sitting on the floo r eating pe riwinkle ,

and a s they sucked the m eat out o f the shell they ,

nodded thei r heads T h e m an looking in at the doo r

.
, ,

s a w them nod and he thought they we re nodding at

,

him So he did not tell them his e rrand but retu rne d
.
,

quickly to the b oy s pa rents and told them that all

’

th e people at the gi rl s house we re favo rable to the

’

union .

Sia gon s pa rents we re ve ry much plea sed that the i r

’

p roposal had b een so kindly received and immediately ,

p rep a red to go to the gi rl s house to a rrange fo r th e

’

wedding .

Finally all wa s ready and they sta rted fo r he r

house ca rrying with them a s p resents fo r he r p a rents
,

two ca rab ao two ho rses two cows fou r i ron kettles

, , , ,

S ix teen j a rs o f basi two blankets and two little

, ,

p igs
.

T h e su rp rise o f th e gi rl s people knew no bounds

’

[ 82 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

when they s aw all this coming to thei r house fo r they ,

ha d not even thought o f Siagon m a rrying th ei r

daughte r .
1

1
note p 5 P ractically this same tal e is tol d by th e neigh
Se e 1 ,
. 1 .

b ring I locano from whom it may have been borrowed ; but here th e
o ,

T ingu ian custom of paying a marriage price is introduced .

[ 83 ]
 THE BOY WH O BEC AME A S T O NE
Ti ngu ia n

NE
O
day a little boy named E l o ne n sat out in the
ya rd m aking a bi rd sna re and a s he wo rked a , ,
“ ”
little bi rd called to him T ik tik lo den ( come and
!
- - -

catch me ) .

“
I am making a sna re fo r you s a id the boy ; ,

but the bi rd continued to call until the sna re wa s

finished .

T h en E l o ne n ran and th rew the sna re ove r the bi rd

a nd caught it and he put it i n a j a r in his house while
,

h e went with the othe r boys to swim .

While he wa s away hi s grandmothe r grew hungry

, ,

so she ate the bi rd and when E lo ne n re tu rned and

,

found that his bi rd wa s gone he wa s so sad that he,

wished he m ight go away and neve r come back H e .

went out into the fo rest and walked a long distance ,

“
until finally he came to a b ig stone and sa id : Stone ,
”
open you r mouth and e at me And th e stone opened
.

its mouth a nd swallowed the boy .

Wh en hi s grandmothe r m issed the boy she went out ,

and looked eve rywhe re hoping to find him Finally

,
.

“
she p asse d nea r the stone and it cri ed out H e re he i s , .

T h en the old wom an tried to open the stone but she

could not so she called th e ho rses to come and help
,

he r T hey came and k ick ed it but it would not b rea k

.
,

T hen she called the ca rab ao and they hooked it but ,

[ 84 ]
 T H E T U R T LE AN D T H E L I Z AR D

Ti nguia n

A
T U R T LE and a big li z a rd once went to the field
o f Go tgo ta p a to ste al ginge r When they re ached
.
’l

the place the tu rtle sa id to the liza rd :

“
We mu st b e ve ry still o r the m an will hea r u s and
”
co m e out .

But a s soon a s the liza rd tasted the ginge r he wa s

so pleased that h e sa id
“
Th e ginge r o f Go tgo ta p a i s ve ry good .

”
B e still s ai d the tu rtl e ; but the liza rd pa id no
,

atten tion to the wa rning and c alled loude r than eve r

,
:

“ ”
T h e g i nge r o f Go tgo ta p a i s ve ry good .

Again and a gain he cri ed out until finally the m a n

,

hea rd h im and came out o f the house to catch the

robb e rs.

T h e tu rtle coul d not run fast so he lay ve ry still

, ,

and the m an di d not see him But the li za rd ran and

.

the m an cha sed him When they we re out o f sight

.
,

the tu rtle went into th e house and hi d unde r a cocoanut

shell upon which the ma n u sed to sit .
2

Th e m an ran a fte r the li za rd fo r a long di stance ,

1This type of story i s also found farther to th south where th e ,

e

cleverness of the smal l animal causes him to triumph over the strong .

2The T inguian house contains neither tables nor chairs T he people .

usually squat on the floor sitting on their heels ; if anything is used

,
as

a seat it i a bit of cocoanut shell or a smal l bloc k of wood

s .

[ 86 ]
 PH I L I P PI N E F OL K TAL E S

but he could not catch him Afte r a while he came b ack

.

to th e house a nd sat down on the shell .

“
By a nd by the tu rtle called Kook
, T h e m an
, .

jump ed up and looked all a round U nable to tell whe re .

th e noi se cam e from h e sat down aga in

, .

A second time the tu rtl e c alled and thi s tim e th e ,

m an loo k ed eve rywhe re in the house except unde r th e

shell but could noi: find the tu rtle Agai n a nd aga in
, .

the tu rtle called and finally the m an reali zing that a ll

, ,

his attempts we re unsuccess ful grew so e x cite d th at

,

he died .

T hen th e tu rtle ran out o f the hous e a nd he ha d ,

not gone f a r be fo re he m et the li za rd a gain T hey .

walked along togethe r until they saw som e honey in a

t ree and the tu rtle sa i d :
,
“
I will go fi rst and get som e o f the honey .

T h e liza rd would not wa it but ra n ahead a nd whe n

, ,

h e seized the honey the b ees came out and s tung him
, .

So he ra n back to the tu rtle fo r help .

Afte r a while they came to a bi rd sna re and th e ,

tu rtle sa id
“
T hat i s th e s ilve r wi re that my grandfathe r wo re
”
about his neck .

T hen the liza rd ran fa st to get it fi rst but h e wa s ,

caught in the sna re and wa s held until the m an cam e

and killed him Then the wise tu rtle went on alone
. .

[ 87 ]
 THE MAN WI T H THE COCOAN U T S
Tingu ia n

NE day a man who ha d been to gathe r his coco a

O nuts loaded hi s ho rse he avily with the fru it On .

th e way hom e he m et a boy whom he a sked how long

it would take to reach the house .

“
I f you go slowly said the boy looking at th e lo ad
, ,
“
on the ho rse you will a rrive ve ry soon ; but i f you
,
”
go fa st it will take you all day
, .

T h e m an could not believe this strange speech so ,

he hu rried his ho rse But the cocoanuts fell o ff and he

.

h a d to stop to pi ck them up T hen h e hu rried his

.

ho rse all the mo re to make up fo r lost time but th e ,

cocoanuts fell o ff a gain M any times he did this and

.
,

it wa s night when he reached hom e .

1

1 Here we have a proverbial tale one in which the T inguian

,

presses the idea Haste ma k es waste

,
“
.
”

[ 88 ]
 T H E ALL I G AT OR S FR U I T
’

Ti nguia n

WO women went to gathe r some wild fru it from

a vine which b elonged to the alligato r .

You must b e ca re ful not to throw the rind with

y ou r teeth m a rks on it whe re the alli gato r can see it ,

s a id one o f the women to the othe r a s they sat e ating

the fruit.

But the othe r wom an pai d no a ttention and threw

the rind showing teeth m a rks into the rive r whe re the ,

a lligato r saw it .

T hus h e knew at once who had taken hi s fruit and ,

he wa s ve ry angry H e went to the house o f the

.

woma n and called to the people

“
B ring out the woman that I m ay e at her fo r sh e ,
”
ha s eaten my fru it .

“ ”
Ve ry well ,answered the p eopl e But sit down .

”
a nd wa it a little while .

T hen they put the i ron soil tu rne r into the fi re and-
,

when it wa s red hot they took it to the doo r and sa id

,

to the alligato r :
“
H e re eat thi s fi rst
, .

H e opened his mouth a nd they pushed the red hot

i

i ron down his th roat and he died ,

.

[ 9 0 ]
 B A MB OO R AF l ‘
S

HAU Li Nc B A MB OO
R I C E TE RR A C E S 1 N TH E MOU NT ATNS

A R I C E Frau )

( S howing bird fl a p p e rs )
 P H IL IP P I N E F OL K TAL E S

N ow I have you l cried the m a n when he found the

”
cat ; and I shall kill you fo r stealing my rice .

“ ” “
Oh do not kill m e pleaded the cat and I will
, , ,
”
be o f som e u se to you .

So D o ge d o g decided to sp a re the cat s li fe and he ’

,

took it home and tied it nea r the doo r to gua rd the

house .

Som e time late r when he went to look at it he wa s ,

ve ry much surp rised to find that it had become a cock .

N o w I can go to the cock fi gh t at M agsingal

“
-
,

cried the man And he wa s ve ry happy fo r he had

.
,

much rathe r do that than work .

T hinking no mo re o f getting wood fo r his floo r he ,

sta rted out at once fo r M agsingal with the cock unde r

hi s a rm As he wa s crossing a rive r he m et an alligato r
.

which called out to him

“ ”
Wh ere a re you going D o ge d o g ? ,

T o the cock fi gh t at M agsingal

”
-
replied the m an ,

a s he fondly stroked the rooste r .

“
Wa it and I will go with you said the alligato r ;
, ,

a nd he drew himself out o f the wate r .

T h e two walking along togethe r soon ente red a fo r

e st whe re they met a dee r and it a sked
“
Whe re a re you going D o ge d o g ,

T o the cock fi gh t at M a gsingal

”
-
sa id the man , .

”
Wa it and I will go with you said the dee r ; and ,

h e also j oined them .

By and by they met a m ound o f ea rth that had b een

ra ised by the ants and they would have p a ssed without
,

noticing it had it not inqu i red

“ ”
Where a re you going D o ge d o g ? ,

[ 9 2 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F O L K TAL E S

To the c ock fi gh t at M agsingal s a id the man once

-
,

mo re ; and the mound o f ea rth j oined them .

T h e comp any then hu rried on and j ust a s they we re ,

le aving th e fo rest they p a ssed a b ig tree in which wa s

,

a m onkey .

“ ”
Whe re a re y ou going D o ge d o g ? sh rieke d the
,

m onkey . And without wa iting fo r a n answe r he

scrambled down the tree and followed th em .

As the pa rty walke d along they talked togethe r a nd ,

the alligato r sa id to D o ge d o g :
“
I f any m a n wants to dive into the wate r I can stay ,
”
unde r longe r than he .

T hen the dee r not to be outdone sa id

, ,
“
I f any m an wants to run I can run faste r , .

T h e mound o f e a rth anxiou s to show its strength

, ,

s aid
“
I f any man wants to wrestle I can be at him , .

An d the monkey sa id :
“
I f any m an wants to climb I can go highe r , .

T hey re ached M agsingal in good tim e and the p eo

ple we re ready fo r the fight to begin When D o ge d o g .

put his rooste r which ha d b een a cat into the p it i t

, , ,

killed the othe r cock at once fo r it use d its claws ,

like a cat .

Th e people b rought mo re rooste rs and wage red

much money but D o ge d o g s cock killed all the others
,
’

until the re wa s not one le ft in M agsingal and D o ge d o g ,

won much money T hen they went outside the town

.

a nd b rought all the cocks they could find but not one ,

could win ove r that o f D o ge d o g .

When the cocks we re all dead the people wante d ,

[ 93 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

some othe r sport so they brought a m an who could

,

stay unde r wate r fo r a long time and D o ge d o g m a de ,

him compete with the alligato r But a fte r a while the .

m an had to come up fi rst T hen they b rought a swift

.

runne r and he raced with th e deer but the m an wa s ,

le ft fa r behind N ext they looke d a round until they

.

found a ve ry la rge m an who was willing to contend

with the mound o f e a rth but a fte r a ha rd struggle the
,

m a n wa s th rown .

Finally they b rought a m a n who could climb highe r

tha n a nyone else but the monkey went fa r above him
, ,

and h e ha d to give up .

Al l these contests h ad b rought much money to Doge

dog and now he had to buy two ho rses to ca rry hi s
,

sacks o f silve r As soon a s he reache d home he

.
,

bought the house o f a ve ry rich m a n and went to live

in it And he wa s ve ry happy fo r he did not have to
.
,

wo rk any mo re .
1

1Th e story S hows the influence of t e C hristianized natives among

h ,

whom cock fi gh ti g is a very popular sport I t is found only among

-
n .

those T ingui an who come into contact with this class .

[ 94 ]
 I NT ROD U C T I O N

H REE o r fou r days j ou rney to the south a nd ea st

’

T o f the T ingu ia n live the Igo rot ; but so di ffi cult

a re the tra ils ove r the mountains a nd through the
swi ft rive rs that there i s little inte rcou rse between the
two tribes c onsequently e ach b elieves the othe r a people
,

to be fea red Salt weapons and j a rs a re sometime s

.
, ,

exchanged but the cu stom s and belie fs a re not sim

,

il a r
. Each group le ads its own li fe and i s gove rned
by its own sp i rits .

From a distance a n Igo rot village looks like a group

o f haystacks nestling among the hills ; but viewed mo re
closely it i s found to consist o f houses whose bo a rd
,

sides a re almost h idden by the ove rhanging grass roo fs .

T h e uppe r p a rt o f the house i s u sed a s a sto rehouse ,

while below on a ground fl oo r the family cooks and

, ,

eats In one end the re i s a tiny bo x like bedroom whe re

.

th e fathe r mothe r and small children sleep

, , Afte r .

they a re two o r three yea rs old the gi rls sp end the

night in a do rm ito ry while the boys sleep in the men s
,
’

council house .

T hese p eople have splendi d te rra ce d fi elds on the

mountain side s whe re wate r i s b rought from the stre am s
through troughs and ditches H e re both m en a nd .

women a re busy ea rly and late cultivating the rice ,

sweet potatoes and small vegetables on which they

,

live Th e men a re hea d hunters and a rdent wa rrio rs

.
-
,

[ 97 ]
 P H IL IP PIN E F OL K TAL E S

e ach village demanding a hea d i n p aym ent fo r any

ta k en by a hostile village .

Watching over the Igorot controlling the winds and

,

the rains and p roviding good crop s and health fo r the

,

people i s the Great Sp iri t L u m a w ig who lives i n the

, , ,

sky H e i s believed to have created the Igorot and

.

even to have lived among them on the ea rth H e no .

longe r visits them in p e rson they s ay but each mon th

, ,

they perfo rm a ce remony at which they p ray to him to

p rotect them and entre at him to favo r th em with
he alth and good crops .

T h e following tales a re told by the fathe rs and

mothers to the children to teach them how th ings came
to be a s th ey a re .

[ 9 8 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

ents T hese in tu rn ma rried and ha d m any chil

.
, ,

dren In this way the re came to be m any p eople on the

.

ea rth .

N ow L u m a w ig saw that there were seve ral things

which the p eople on the ea rth needed to u se so he set ,

to wo rk to supply them H e created salt and told .

,

th e inhabitants o f one place to b oil it down and sell

it to thei r neighbo rs But these people could not
.

unde rstand the di rections o f the G re at Spi rit and ,

the next tim e he visited them they had not touche d ,

the s alt .

T hen he too k it away from them and gave it to the

people o f a place called M a y init] T hese did a s he l

di rected and because o f this he told them th at they

,

should always b e owne rs o f the salt and that the othe r ,

p eoples must buy o f them .

Th en L u m aw ig went to the people o f B onto c and

told them to get clay and m ake pots T hey got the .

clay but they did not unde rstand the moulding and
, ,

the j a rs were not well shaped B ecause o f thei r failu re .

,

L u m a w ig told them that they would always have to

A t the north end of th e village of M

‘
are a number of brack ish a y i nit

hot springs and from these the peopl e secu re the salt which h made
,
as

the spot famous for miles around S tones are placed in the sh allow
.

streams flowi g from these springs and when they have become
n ,
en

crusted with salt ( about once month ) they are washed and the water
a

is evaporated by boiling T he salt which is then a thick paste i

.
, ,
s

formed into ca k es and ba k ed near the fire for about half an hour ,

wh en it is ready for use I t is the only salt in this section and i in

.
,
s

great demand E ven hostile tribes come to a hill overlook ing the town
.

and cal l down then deposit whatever they have for trade and with
,

draw whil e the I gorot tak e up the salt and leave it in pl ace of the
,

trade articl es .
buy thei r j a rs and he removed th e potte ry to Samoki
, .
1

When he told the people th e re wh at to do they did ,

j ust a s he sa id and thei r j a rs we re well shap ed and

,

be auti ful T hen the G re at Sp i rit saw that they we re

.

fit owne rs o f the potte ry and he tol d them that they

,

should always m ake m any j a rs to sell .

In this way L um a w ig taught the p eople and b rought

to them all the things which the y now h ave .

The women of S amo k i are k nown as e xcell ent potters and their
‘
,

ware is used over a wide a rea F rom a pit on a hill side to the north
.

of the vil lage they dig a reddish brown clay which they mi x with a
-
,

bluish mineral gathered on another hillside When thoroughly mi x ed .

,

this clay is placed on a board on the ground and the potter k neel ing , ,

before it begins her moulding G reat pati ence and s k ill are requi red
, .

to bring the vessel to the desi red S hape When it is compl eted it is
.

se t in the n to d ry for two or three days after which it is ready for

su
,

the ba k ing T he new pots are piled tier above tier on the ground and
.

blan k eted with grass tied into bundl es T hen pine ba rk is burned
.

beneath and around the pile for about an hou r when the wa re is f , su

fi ci ently fi red I t i s t en gla ze d w it resi n an d is re a dy to ma r k et

. h h .
 THE F L OOD S T ORY
I gor o t
O N CE upon a time when the world was fl at and ,

there we re no mounta ins there lived two b ro the rs , ,

sons o f Lu m a w ig the Gre at Sp irit T h e b rothe rs we re

,
.

fond o f hunting and since no m ounta ins had fo rm ed

,

there wa s no good place to catch wild pig and dee r ,

and the olde r b rothe r sai d

L e t u s cause wate r to flow ove r all the wo rld and
”
cove r it and then mounta ins will ri se up
,
.
1

So they caused wate r to fl ow ove r all the e a rth and ,

when it wa s covered they took the head ba sket o f the -

2

town and set it fo r a trap T h e b rothe rs were ve ry .

much ple ase d when they went to look at thei r trap fo r ,

they had caught not only m any wild pigs and dee r b u t
also m any people .

N o w L u m aw ig looked down from hi s place in the

sky and saw that hi s sons ha d fl oode d the ea rth and
that in all the wo rld the re wa s j ust one spot which was
not cove red And he saw that all th e people in the
.

wo rld ha d been drowned except one b rothe r and si ste r

who lived in Foki s .

The mythology of nearly all p e pl es has a flood story F th e

1
o . or

T inguian a count note on page 3 F the Bu k idnon story see

c se e 10 . or

p . 12 5
.

bamboo bas k et in which the heads of v ictims are k ept prior to

2
A ,

the head ta k ing cel ebration

-
.

[ 1 02 ]
 P H IL IPP IN E F OL K TAL E S

wate r evaporated so that the world wa s a s it wa s

b efo re except th at now there we re mounta ins T h e
, .

b rothe r and siste r m a rri ed and ha d children and th u s

,

the re came to be m any people on the e a rth .

 L U MA WIG ON EA R T H
I gor o t
day when Lum aw ig the Gre at Sp i rit looked
O
NE ,
1
,

down from hi s place in the sky he saw two siste rs

gath e ring beans And he decided to go down to visit
.

them When he a rrived at the place he a sked them

.

what they we re doing Th e y ounge r whose name wa s .

,

Fukan answe red ,

“
We a re gathe ring be ans but it ta k es a long time ,

to get enough fo r m y S iste r wants to go b athing all

,
”
th e time .

T hen Lu m aw ig sa i d to the olde r siste r

”
“
H and m e a single pod o f the be ans .

An d when she ha d given it to him he shelle d it into ,

”
th e b as k et and im m edi ately the b a s k et wa s full The .

younge r siste r laughed at this and Lum aw ig sai d to ,

her
“
Give m e anothe r pod and anothe r ba s k et .

She did so a nd when he ha d shelled the pod that

, ,

bas k et was full also T hen he sa id to the y ounge r

.

s iste r
“
Go hom e and get three mo re bas k ets .

She went hom e but when sh e a sked fo r thre e mo re

,

b as k ets he r moth e r sai d that the beans we re few and

1
note 1 p 99
Se e ,
. .

2
The magical increase of food is a popul ar su b j ect wit t e Tin hh
gu ian appearing in many of thei r fol k tales
, S e note 2 p 4 8 -
. e ,
. .

[ 1 05 ]
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

sh e could not nee d so m any T hen Fukan told he r o f

.

the young m an who could fill a basket from one pod

o f b eans and the fathe r who hea rd he r sto ry Said :
, , ,
“
Go b ring the y oung man he re fo r I thin k he must ,
”
b e a god .

So Fu k an too k the three b as k ets b a ck to Lum aw ig ,

a nd when he had filled them a s he did th e othe r two ,

h e helped the gi rls ca rry them to the house AS they .

reached thei r home he stopped outside to cool himsel f

, ,

but the fathe r called to him and he went up into the

h o use and a sked fo r some wate r T h e fathe r b rought .

him a cocoanut shell full and be fo re drinking L um a w ig

,

l oo k ed a t it and sa id :
“
I f I stay he re with you I shall become ve ry ,

strong .

T h e next mo rning L u m aw ig a s k ed to see thei r chi ck

e ns and when they opened the chicken coop out came
,
-

“
a hen a nd m any little ch ick s Ar e these all o f you r
.

”
ch ick ens ? a sked Lu m aw ig ; a nd the fathe r a ssu red
him that they we re all H e then b ade them bring rice
.

m eal that he might feed them and a s the chickens ate ,

they all gre w rapidly till they we re cocks and hens .

N e x t L u m a w ig a s k ed how m any pigs they had and ,

the fathe r replied that they ha d one with some litt le

ones T h en Lu m aw ig ba de them fill a pa il with sweet
.

potato leaves a nd he fed the pigs And a s they ate .

they also grew to full si z e .

T h e fathe r wa s so plea sed with all these things that

h e o ff e red hi s elde r daughte r to L u m aw ig fo r a wi fe .

But the Great Spi rit sai d he p re fe rred to m a rry the

y ounge r ; so that wa s a rranged N ow when hi s b rother
.

[ 1 06 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

You chase that pig until he i s thin and still you

cannot catch it though all the others h ave thei rs
, .

T he reupon h e graspe d the hind legs o f the p ig and

li fted it Al l the people laughed and the b rother in
.
-

law sa id
“
Of cou rse you can catch it because I chase d it unti l
,
”
it wa s ti red .

L u m a w ig then handed it to him and sa id H ere , ,

you ca rry it But no soone r ha d the b rothe r in

.
-

law put it ove r hi s shoulde r than it cut loose and ra n

away .

“
Why di d you let it go a sked L u m a w ig Do you .

ca re nothing fo r it even a fter I caught it fo r you ?

,

C a tch it again and b ring it he re

-
.

So the b rothe r in law sta rted out a gain and he

- -
,

chase d it up stream and down b u t he could not catch it, .

Finally L u m a w ig reache d down and picked up the p i g

and ca rried it to the place whe re the othe rs we re
cooking .

A fte r they h a d all eaten and drunk and m ade thei r

o ff erings to the sp i rits L u m a w ig sa id ,
“
Come let u s go to the m ounta in to consult the omen
,
”
concerning the no rthern tribes .

So they consulted the omen but it was not favorable , ,

and they we re sta rting hom e when the b rothe r in law - -

a s k e d L um aw ig to cre ate some wate r a s the peopl e ,

were hot a nd thi rs ty .

“ ”
Why do you not cre ate wate r L u m aw ig ? he r e ,
“
p e a te d a s L u m a w ig p a i d no attention to him You .

ca re nothing that the people a re thi rsty and in nee d

”
o f drin k .
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

T hen
they qua rreled and were ve ry angry and L uma
“ ”
w ig sa id to the people L e t us sit down and rest ,
.

While they rested L u m aw ig s t ruck the rock with ,

hi s spea r and wate r came out Th e b rothe r ln law .

1
- -

j umped up to get a drink fi rst but L u m a w ig held him ,

b ack and sa id he must be the la st to drink So they all .

drank and when they ha d finished the b rothe r in law

, ,
- -

stepped up but L u m aw ig gave h im a push which sent

,

him into the rock and wate r ca m e from hi s body .

“ ” “
You must stay the re sa i d L u m aw ig becaus e , ,
”
you h ave troubled m e a great deal An d they went .

hom e leaving him in the rock

, .

Som e time a fte r this L u m a w ig decided to go bac k ‘

to the sky to live but be fo re he went he took ca re that

,

his wi fe should have a home H e m ade a co fli n o f .

wood a nd placed he r i n it with a dog at he r feet and

2

a cock at he r head And a s he set it fl oating on the .

wate r he told it not to stop until it rea ched T ingl a y e n

,
3
.

T hen i f the foot end struck fi rst the dog should b a rk ;

, ,

1
Note the similarity to the S tory of M oses in this account of L m w ig u a

stri k ing the roc k and water coming out T here is a possibility that .

this incident was added to the story after the advent of the C athol ic
missionaries .

l ly one or more new fli n can be found in an I gorot v ill age

z
U su a co s .

T ey are made from a log split in two l engthwise each half being
h
,

hollowed out S ince thei r manufactu re requires some days it is n

.
, ec e s

sary to prepare th em ahead of time After the body is put in the .

,

cover is tied on with rattan and the chin k s seal ed with mud and lime .

A somewhat similar idea is found among the K ulaman of southern

3

M indanao H ere when an important man dies he is placed in a coffi n

.
,

which resembles a small boat the coffi n being then fastened on high ,

poles near the sea S C ole Wi l d T i b f D . ee D i t i ct M i n

, r es o ava o s r ,

d n
a P ub Field M useum of Nat Hist V l ! II N 2 9 3
a o, . .
,
o .
,
o .
, 1 1 .

[ 1 09
]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

a nd i f the hea d end wa s the fi rst to strike the cock ,

should crow So it fl o ated away and o n a nd on until

.
, ,

i t came to T ingl a y e n
.

N o w a widowe r wa s sha rpening his a x on the b ank

o f the rive r and when h e saw the coffi n stop he went
, ,

to fi sh it out o f the wate r On sho re he sta rted to open

.

it but Fugan crie d out Do not drive a wedge fo r I

, , ,
”
am he re . So the widowe r opened it ca re fully and
took Fugan up to the town and then a s he had no wi fe
,

o f his own he m a rrie d her

, .

[ 1 10 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

th e M oon h ad cut off his son s he ad And hu rrying

’
.

to the s p ot he put the boy s head b ack on and he wa s

,
’
,

alive aga in .

T hen the Sun said to th e M oon , You cut o ff m y

son s head and b ecause you did th is eve r a fte r on th e
’
,
”
e a rth p eople will cut o ff each othe r s heads
’
.
 THE SER PEN T EAG LE 1

I gor ot
N CE the re l ived two boys whose mothe r s ent th em
eve ry day to the fo rest to get woo d fo r he r 2

fi res Each mo rning a s the y sta rte d out she gave

.
, ,

them som e foo d fo r thei r trip but it wa s a lwa y s poo r

,

and the re wa s little o f i t and she would say :

,

T h e wood that y ou b rought yeste rday was so poo r

”
that I cannot give you much to e at today .

T h e boys tri ed ve ry h a rd to plea se he r but i f they ,

b rought nice p ine wood she scolded them and i f they ,

b rought la rge dry re eds she s a i d :

“
T hese a re no goo d fo r my fi re fo r they leave too ,
”
much a shes i n the house .

T ry a s they would they fa iled to s atis fy he r ; a nd

,

the i r bodies grew ve ry thin from wo r k ing h a rd all

day and from want o f enough to e at .

One mo rni ng when they le ft fo r the mountains the

mothe r gave them a bit o f dog mea t to e at a nd the ,

boys we re ve ry s ad When they re ached the fo rest one

.

o f them sa id

1
H ere we ha v e a story recorded by
, en k s wit a twofol d
Dr . A . E .
! , h
valu e : it i told to the ch il dren as a warning against stinginess and
s ,

it also ex plains the origin of the serpent eagle .

2 There i no j ungl e in the greater part of the I gorot country the

s ,

mountains being cov ered b y cogon grass with occasional pine trees .

At a distance these have a strange appearance for only the bushy ,

to ps are l eft the lower branches being cut 3 for fuel

,
0 .

[ I I3 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

You wa it here while I climb the tree and cut o ff

”
some b ranches .

H e went up the tree and soon called down H e re ,

”
i s some wood and the bones o f hi s a rm dropped to
,

the ground .

“ ”
Oh cried his brothe r it is you r a rm !
, ,

H e re i s som e m ore wood

”
cried the othe r and
, ,

the bone s o f the othe r a rm dropped to the ground .

T hen he calle d a gain and the bones o f his leg fell

, ,

then those o f hi s othe r leg and so on till all the bones

,

o f hi s body lay on the ground .

“ ”
T a k e these home , he sa id and tell th e wom an ,
”
that he re i s he r wood ; she only wanted my bones .

T h e y ounge r boy wa s ve ry sad fo r he wa s alone , ,

and the re wa s no one to go down the mountain with

him H e gathered up the bundle o f wood wonde ring
.
,

me anwhile what he should do but j ust a s he finished a

,

serpent e agle called down from the tree top s

“ ”
I will go with you B rothe r
, .

So the boy put the bundle o f wood on his shoulde r ,

and a s he wa s going down the mountain hi s b rothe r , ,

who wa s now a serpent e agle fl ew ove r his head , .

When h e reached the hou se he put down the bundle

,

and said to hi s mothe r

H e re i s you r wood .

When she looked at it she was ve ry much frightened

and ran out o f the hou se .

T hen the se rpent e agle ci rcled round and round

above he r hea d and c alled
“
Q u iu k ok l q u iuk ok l qu iuk ok l I do not need you r
”
food any mo re .

[ I I4 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

was very black and greasy T h e o ne who wa s cove red

.

with soot b ecam e ve ry angry and cried :

“
Why do you tre at me so when I tattooed you so
”
ca re fully ?

T hey b egan to fight but suddenly the beauti fully tat

,

to o e d one became a great liza rd which ran away a nd

hid in the tall gra ss while the sooty one became a crow
,

“
and fl ew away ove r th e village .

“
Th is story also accounts for the origin of the crow and the liza rd ,

both of which a re common in the I gorot country .

 T ILI N, T HE RI CE B I RD ‘

I gor o t
NE
O
day when a mothe r wa s pounding out rice to
c ook fo r suppe r he r little gi rl ran up to he r and
,

cri ed
“
Oh M othe r give m e som e o f the raw rice to
, ,

No, sa id the mothe r it i s not good fo r you to ,

”
e at until it i s cooked Wa it fo r suppe r . .

But the little gi rl pe rsisted until th e mothe r out o f ,

p atience cried,
“
B e still It i s not good fo r you to talk so m u ch l
.

When she ha d finished pounding the rice the woman ,

pou red it into a rice winnowe r and tossed it m any time s

into th e a i r As soon a s the chaff wa s remove d she
.

empti ed th e rice into he r b asket and cove re d it with

the winnowe r T hen she took the j a r upon he r hea d
.
,

a nd sta rte d fo r the sp ring to get wate r .

N ow the little gi rl wa s fond o f going to the sp ring

wit h he r mothe r fo r she loved to play in the cool
,

wate r while he r mothe r filled the j a rs But thi s time .

she did not go and a s soon a s the wom an wa s out o f

,

sight she ran to the b a s k et o f rice She reached down

, .

“
This sto ry fi rst recorded by Dr A E ! en k s whil e it e xplains the
,
. . .
,

origin of the l ittl e rice bird al so points a moral namely that there i
, , ,
s

pun is h ment for the disobedient child .

[ I I7 ]
 PH IL IP PIN E F OL K TAL E S

to take a handful o f the gra in T h e cove r slipp ed so

.

that she fell and wa s cove red up in the b a sket

, .

When the mothe r re turned to the house she hea rd ,

“ ”
a bi rd crying King king nik l nik l nik 1 She listened
, , ,

ca re fully and a s the sound seemed to come from the

,

b asket she remove d the cove r T o he r su rprise out

,
.
,

hopp ed a little b rown rice bi rd and a s it fl ew away it

,

kept calling b ack

“
Goodbye Mothe r ; goodb y e M othe r You would
, , .

not give me any rice to eat .

 I NT ROD U CTI O N

B O U T one thousand mile s to the south and e ast

o f the T in guia n and Igo rot i s the I sland o f M in
dana o which i s inhab ited by mo rtals and immo rtals
,

enti rely unknown to the mounta i n tribe s o f the no rth .

I n the no rthe rn p a rt o f this gre at island a re the

Bu k idnon tim id wild p eople who a ttacked from
—
, ,

time to tim e by th e M o ro o n one side and the M a nob o

on the oth e r h ave drawn back into scatte red homes in
,

the hills H e re they live in poo r dwellings ra i se d high

.

from the ground Som e even build in tre es thei r shel

.
,

te r e d and secret positions m aking them les s s ubj ect to

atta ck .

T hey a re not a wa rli k e p eople a nd thei r greatest

,

conce rn i s fo r the good will o f the numerous sp i rits

who watch ove r the i r eve ry a ct At times they gathe r
.

a little hemp o r co ff e e from the hillside o r along the

stream b ank and ca rry it to th e co a st to e x change fo r
the b right cloth which they m ake into gay clothes .

But they do not love wo rk a nd the most o f thei r tim e

,

i s spent i n resting o r attending ce remonies m a de to

ga in th e goo d will o f the immo rtals .

In thi s country the b elie f p reva ils that the re a re

spi rits in the stones in the b aliti trees in the vines th e
, , ,

cli ff s and even the cave s And neve r does a m an sta rt

, .

on a j ou rney o r m ake a clea ring on th e mounta in side

until he ha s fi rst besought these spi rits not to be angry
[ 12 1 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

with him but to favo r him with p rosperity and b ring

good crop s .

T h e gre atest o f the sp i rits i s D iwata M a gb ab ay a ,

who is so awe inspi ring that hi s name i s neve r men

-

tio ne d above a whispe r H e lives in th e sky in a

.

house made o f coins and the re a re no windows in this

,

building fo r i f men should look upon him the y would

,

m elt into wate r .

About the Gulf o f D ava o in the southe astern p a rt

,

o f thi s island a re a numbe r o f small tribes e ach di f

, ,

f e r ing somewhat from the othe r in cu stoms and b elie fs .

O f these th e most influenti al a re the B agobo who dwell

on the lowe r slop es o f Mt Ap o the highest pea k in
.
,

the P hilippines T hey a re ve ry industrious fo rging

.
,

excellent knives casting fine a rticles in b ra ss and

, ,

weaving be auti ful hemp cloth which they m ake into

elabo rate ga rm ents deco rated with be ads and shell
disks.

T h e m en a re gre at wa rrio rs ea ch gaining di stinction

,

among hi s p eople a cco rding to the numbe r o f human

lives he ha s taken A numbe r o f them dress in da r k
.

red suits and peculia r he adbands which they a re p er

m itte d to we a r only a fte r they have taken si x lives .

N otwithstanding thei r b rave ry in battle these p eople ,

fea r a nd have gre at respect fo r th e nume rou s spi rits

who rule ove r thei r l ives .

From a great fissu re in the s ide o f M t Ap o clouds .

,

o f sulphu r fumes a re constantly rising and it i s b e ,

l ie v e d to b e in this fissu re that M a nd a r a nga n and hi s

wi fe D a r a go live evil beings who look a fte r the fo r
—

tunes o f the wa rriors T hese sp i rits a re fe a red and

.

[ 12 2 ]
H OW T H E M OO N AN D T H E S T A RS C AME
TO BE

B uk id no n ( M i n d a nao
)
NE
day in the times when the sky was close to the
O ground a spinste r went out to pound rice B efo re .
1

sh e b egan he r work she took o ff the beads from a round

,

he r neck and the com b from he r ha i r and hung them ,

on the sky which at that time looked like co ral rock

,
.

T hen she began wo rking and each time that she,

raised he r p e stle into the a i r it struck the sky Fo r .

some tim e she pounded the rice and then she ra ised the ,

pestle so high that it stru ck the sky very h a rd .

Immedi ately the sky began to ri se and it went up ,

2

so fa r that she lost he r o rnaments N eve r di d they .

come down fo r the comb becam e the moon and the

,

bea ds a re the sta rs that a re scatte red about .

1
The common way to pound rice is to place a bundl e of th e grain
on the ground on a dried carabao hide and pound it with a pestl e to
loosen the heads from the straw When they a re free they a re poured
.

into a mortar and again pounded with the pestle until the grain is
separated from the cha ff after which it is winnowed
,
.

According to the K l m nti n myth ( Borneo ) th e Sky w

2
e a raised ,
as

when a giant named U sai accidental ly struck it with his mal let whil e
pounding rice S Hose and McD g ll P g n T i b f B n
. ee ou a ,
a a r es o or e o,

p 43
. 1 .

[ I2 4 ]
 THE F L OOD S T ORY
B uk id n o n ( M i n d a n a o
)
tim e ago the re Wa s a ve ry b ig crab which
L ON G
A
1

crawled into th e se a And when he went in he .

crowded the wate r out so that it ra n all ove r the e a r th

and cove re d all the la nd .

N o w about one moon b e fo re this happened a wi se ,

m a n had told the p eople that they must build a la rge

ra ft T hey di d a s he comm anded and cut m any la rge
?

trees until they h ad enough to m ake three laye rs

, .

T hese they bound tightly togethe r and when i t wa s ,

done they fa stened the ra ft with a long rattan co rd to

a b ig pole in the e a rth .

Soon a fte r this the floods came White wate r pou red .

out o f th e h ills a nd the se a rose and cove red even the

,

highest mountains T h e people and a nim als on the

.

ra ft we re s a fe bu t all the oth e rs drowned

, .

1 Asomew at simil ar b el ief t at a giant cra b i responsi b l e for t e

h h s h
ti des i widespread throughout M alaysia T he B ata k of P alawan
s .

now believe al so do the M andaya of eastern M indanao that the

, as ,

tides are caused by a giant crab going in and out of his hol e in
the a se .

Th similarity of thi s to the b iblical story of th e F lood l eads us

3 ”
e

to suppose that it h come from the neighboring Christianized or

as

M ohammedanized peopl e and has been wor k ed by the Bu k idnon into

the mould of thei r own thought However the flood story i s ome .
, s

times found i n such a gu se that it cannot be accounted for b y Christian

i

in fl uence S e for e ampl e T h Fl d S t y as tol d in the fol k lore

. e x , e oo or -

of the I gorot tri b e on p 1 02 ,

.

[ 12 5]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

When the waters went down and the ra ft wa s again

o n the ground it wa s nea r thei r old hom e fo r th e
, ,

rattan co rd had held

.

But the se were the only peo p le left on th e whole

ea rth
.
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

No sa id Ma gb angal I wish to go alone a nd

, , ,

you must stay at home .

So finally hi s wi fe a greed and i n the mo rning she ,

a rose e a rly to p rep a re food fo r him When the rice .

wa s cooked and the fish ready she called him to come

and eat but he sai d,

N o I do not want to e at now but I will retu rn this

, ,
”
a fte rnoon and you must have it re ady fo r m e .

T hen he gathe red up his ten hatchets and bolos a ,

1

sha rpening stone and a b amboo tub e fo r wate r and

, ,

sta rted fo r the hill U pon re aching hi s land he cut

.

some sm all tree s to m ake a b ench When it wa s fi n .

“
is h e d he s at down on it and sa id to the bolos
, You ,

bolos must sha rp en you rselves on the stone And the

bolos went to the stone a nd we re sha rpened T hen .

to the hatchets he said You hatchets must be sha rp

,
”
ened and they also sha rpened themselve s
, .

“
When all were ready he sai d : N o w you bolos cut
,

all the sm all b ru sh unde r the trees and you hatchets ,

”
must cut th e la rge trees So the b olos and th e h atchets
.

went to wo rk and from hi s place on the bench M ag

,

bangal could see the land b eing clea red .

M a gb a nga l s wi fe wa s a t wo rk in thei r hou se w e av

’

ing a ski rt but when sh e hea rd the trees continuall y

,

falling she stopped to listen and thought to hersel f ,

“
My husb and must have found m any p eople to help
him clea r ou r land When he le ft he re he wa s alone
.
, ,

but su rely he cannot cut down the trees so fast I will .

see who i s help ing him .

1
Lo n g k nives .
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

She le ft the house and wal k ed rap idly towa rd the

fi eld but a s she drew ne a re r she p roceeded m o re S lowly
, ,

a nd finally stoppe d behind a tree From he r hiding .

place she could see he r husb and a sleep on the b ench

, ,

a nd she could also see that the bolos and hatchets we re

cutting the trees with no hands to gu ide them .

“
Oh ”
s ai d she
,
“
M a gb angal i s ve ry p owe r ful
, .

N eve r b e fo re have I seen bolo s and hatch ets working

”
with out h ands and he neve r told m e o f hi s powe r
, .

Suddenly she s aw he r husb and j ump up and sei z ing , ,

a bolo he cut o ff one o f hi s own a rms H e awo k e and

, .

sat up and s a id :
“
Someone must b e loo k ing at m e fo r one o f m y ,
”
a rm s i s cut o ff .

When he saw h i s wi fe he knew that she wa s t h e

cause o f his losing hi s a rm a nd a s the y went home
,

togethe r he e x claimed
,
“
N ow I am going awa y It i s bette r fo r m e to go
.

to the sky whe re I can give th e sign to the peo p le when

it is tim e to plant ; and you must go to the wate r and
”
become a fi sh .

Soon a fte r he went to the s k y a nd b ecam e the con

stellation M a gb a nga l ; and eve r since when the people ,

see the se sta rs appea r in the sky they k now tha t it i s

,

time to p lant the i r rice .

[ 1 2 9]
 H OW C H I L D RE N BEC AME M O NKEYS

B u ki d n o n ( M i n d a n ao
)
NE
day a mothe r too k he r two children with he r
O when she went to colo r cloth N o t fa r from he r .

home wa s a mud hole whe re the ca rab ao liked to

1

wallow and to this hole she ca rried he r cloth some

, ,

dye pots and two shell spoons

, .

Afte r she had put the cloth into the mud to let it
take up the da rk colo r she built a fi re and put over it
,

a pot conta ining wate r a nd the le aves used fo r dyeing .

T hen she sat down to wait fo r the wate r to boil while ,

the children p l aye d ne a r by .

By and by when she went to sti r the leave s with a

shell spoon some o f the wate r spla she d up and bu rned
,

he r hand so that she jumpe d and cried out T his

, .

amused the children and the i r laughte r changed them

i nto monkeys and the spoons became thei r ta ils
,
?

T h e na ils o f the m onkeys a re still bla ck because ,

while they we re children they ha d helped thei r mothe r

dye the cloth .

1
loth is dyed in various colors by boil ing it in water in w ich dif
C h
fe ren t k inds of leaves or roots have been steeped But to produce a
.

bluish black shade the fabric is partly buried in mud until the desired
-

color is obtained .

2
M on k eys are numerous throughout the P hilippines and it is doubt ,

l ess their human appearance and actions that have caused the d ifi er

ent tribes to try to account for th eir origin from man Here we have .

the most li k ely way that the B u k idnon can see for the r coming 1 .

[ 1 30 ]
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

the woman sitting on the la rge fl at rock he thou ght , ,

h e r ve r y b eauti ful and he dete rm ined to steal he r

, .

As he drew nea r he a sked he r to give him some o f

he r husband s b etel nut to chew and when she re fused
’
-
,

he went fo rwa rd to fight he r husb and not k nowing ,

they were b rothers As soo ri a s his wi fe awakened .

him B u l an aw a n sp rang up sei zed he r put he r in the , ,

cuff o f hi s sleeve and came fo rth re ady to fight Agu io

,
1
.

grew ve ry angry at thi s and they fought until thei r ,

weapons we re b roken and the ea rth trembled , .

N o w the two b rothe rs o f the rivals felt the e a rth

tremble although they were fa r away and each fea red ,

that hi s b rothe r wa s in trouble One wa s in the moun .

ta ins and he sta rted at once fo r the sea ; the othe r wa s

in a fa r land but he set out in a boat fo r the scene o f
,

the trouble .

T hey a rrived at the same time a t the pla ce o f battle ,

a nd they immedi ately j oined in it Th en th e trem b ling .

o f the ea rth increa sed so much that L a nggo na th e ,

fathe r o f Agu io and B u l a na w a n sought out the spot ,

and tri ed to make peace But he only seemed to m ake .

m atte rs wo rse and they all b egan fighting him So

, .

great di d the distu rbance becom e that the e a rth wa s i n

dange r o f falling to pieces .

T hen it wa s that the fathe r o f L a nggo n a came and

settled the trouble and when all were a t pe ace agai n
,

they discove red that Agu io and B u l a n aw a n were b roth

e rs a nd the grandsons o f the p eacemake r .

who have ta k en thirty human lives are permitted to wear a p eculiar

crown shaped headdress with upstanding points
-
.

S e note p 23
1
e 1 , . .

I32
 ORIGI N
B a go b o ( M i nd a na o)

N the beginning the re l ived one ma n and one woman

I T o gl a i and T o gl ib on T hei r fi rst children we re a
.
,

boy and a gi rl When they we re old enough the boy

.
,

and the gi rl went fa r away across the wate rs seeking

a good place to live in N o thing m o re was he a rd o f
.

them until thei r children the Spania rds and Ame ricans
, ,

came back Afte r the fi rst bo y a nd gi rl le ft othe r

.
,

children we re bo rn to the couple but they all rem a ine d ,

at C ibolan on M t Ap o with thei r pa rents until T o gl ai

.
,

and T o gl ib on di ed and becam e sp i rits .

Soon a fte r that the re cam e a great drought which

la sted fo r th ree yea rs All the waters dried up so
.
,

th at the re we re no rive rs and no plants could live , .

“
Surely sa i d the people Manam a i s punishing u s
”
,
“
,

a nd we must go elsewhe re to find food and a p lace to

”
dwell in .

So they sta rted out T w o went in the di rection o f

.

the suns et ca rrying with them stones from C ibolan

,

Rive r A fte r a long j ou rney they reached a place

.

whe re we re b roa d fields o f cogon grass and an abun

dance o f wate r and the re they m ade thei r home T hei r
, .

children still live i n that place and a re c alled M agin

danau because o f the stone s which the couple ca rrie d
,

when they le ft C ibolan .

T wo children o f T o gl a i and T o gl ib o n went to th e

[ 1 33 ]
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

south seeking a home and they carried with them

, ,

women s baskets ( b a ra an ) When they found a good

’
.

spot the y settled down

, T hei r descendants still.
,

dwelling at th at place a re called B a raa n o r B ila an

, ,

because o f the women s ba skets ’

.

50 tw o by two the children o f the fi rst couple le ft

the land o f thei r bi rth I n the pl ace whe re e ach set
.

tl e d a new p eople developed a nd thus it came about ,

that all the tribes in the wo rld rece ived thei r names
from things that the p eople ca rried out o f Cibolan ,

o r from the place s whe re they settled .

Al l the children le ft M t Ap o save two ( a boy and .

a gi rl ) whom hunge r and thirst had m ade too wea k

,

to travel One day when they we re about to di e the

.

boy crawled out to the field to see i f the re was one

living thing a nd to his su rp rise he found a stalk o f
,

suga r cane growing lu stily H e eagerly cut it and

-
.
,

enough wate r came out to re fresh h im a nd his siste r

u ntil the ra ins came B ecause o f this thei r children
.
,

a r e called B agobo
1
.

1 This is a good e x ampl e of the way in which people at a certain

stage try to account for thei r surroundings N early all consider them .

selves the original peopl e We find the Bagobo no e xception to this

. .

I n this tal e which is evidently very old th ey account for themselves

, ,

and their neighbors and then to meet present needs they adapt the
, , ,

story to include the white people whom they ha v e k nown for not more
than two hundred years .
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

he called all the people to a gre at feast to see the ,

a nimal .

While all we re making me rry L u m ab e t told them ,

to take a kn i fe and kill his fathe r T hey were gre atly .

surprised but did a s he comm anded and when the

, ,

old m an was dead L u m ab e t waved his he adband ove r

,

him and he came to li fe aga in Eight times they killed .

the old m an at L um ab e t s comm and and the eighth ’

,

tim e he wa s small l ike a little boy fo r each time they ,

ha d cut o ff som e o f his fl esh T hey all wonde red ve ry .

much at L um ab e t s powe r and they we re ce rta in that

’
,

he wa s a god .

One mo rning some spi rits came to talk with L uma

bet and a fte r they had gone he called the people to
,

come into his house .

“
We cannot all come in sa id the people fo r you r: , ,
”
house is sm all and we a re m any .

“ ”
T he re i s plenty o f room sa id he ; so all went ,

in and to thei r surp rise it did not seem crowded .

T hen he told the people that h e wa s going on a

long j ou rney and that all who believed he had great
p owe r could go with h im while all who rema ined ,

behind would be changed into anim als and buso He .

1

sta rted out m any following him and it was a s he sa id

, ,
.

1The e are e v il spi rits who have power to inj ure peopl e They are
s .

ugly to loo k at and go about eating anything even dead persons A ,

.

young Bagobo described his idea of a buso as follows H e has a long :

“

body long feet and neck curly hair and blac k face flat nose and one
, , , , ,

big red or yel low eye H e has big feet and fingers but small arms
.
, ,

and his two big teeth are long and pointed L i k e a dog he goes .
,

about eating anything even dead persons C ol e Wi l d T i b f

”
.
,
r e: o
,

D v D i t i t Field M useum N t His t V l ! II No 2 p 07

a ao s r c , a .
,
o .
,
.
,
. 1 .

[ 1 3 ]
6
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

Fo r those that re fused to go we re immediately change d

into animals a nd buso .

H e led the p eople fa r away across the ocean to a

p lace whe re the ea rth and the sky meet When they .

a rrived they saw that the sky move d up a nd down like

a man op ening and closing his j aws .

“ ”
Sky you mu st go up commanded L u m ab e t
, , .

But the s ky would not ob e y So the p eople could .

not go through Finally L u m a b e t p rom ised the sky

.

that i f he would let all the othe rs th rough he mi ght ,

h ave the la st man who trie d to p a ss Agreeing to .

this the sky opened and the people entered But when
, .

ne a r the la st the sky shut down so suddenly that he

caught not only the last m a n but also the long k ni fe
o f the m an be fo re .

On that same day Lu m ab e t s son who was hunting

,
’
, ,

did not know that his fathe r ha d gone to the sky .

When he wa s ti re d o f the chase he wanted to go to ,

his fathe r so he le aned a n a rrow aga inst a b aliti tree

,

and sat down on it Slowly it began to go down and

.

ca rried him to his fathe r s place but when he a rrived

’
,

he could find no p eople H e loo k ed he re and the re

.

and could find nothing but a gun m ade o f gold T his .

1

m ade him ve ry so rrow ful and he did not k now what

to do until som e white bee s which we re in the hou se
said to him
“
You must not weep fo r we ca n ta k e you to the
,

sky whe re y ou r fathe r is .

1
This is evidently an ol d tale in which the story tel ler i ntroduces -

modern ideas .

[ 1 37 ]
 PHILIPPINE F OL K TAL E S

So he did a s they b ade and rode on the gun and

, ,

the bees fl ew away with him until in three days they

,

reached the sky .

N o w although most o f the men who followed L um a

,

bet we re content to live in the sky there was one who ,

was ve ry unhappy and all the time he kept looking

,

down on the land below T h e spi rits m ade fun of

.

him and wanted to take out hi s i ntestines so that he

would be like them a nd neve r die but he was a fraid ,

a nd always begge d to b e allowed to go back home .

Finally M anam a told the spi rits to allow him to

go so they m ade a cha i n o f the leave s o f the ka ran
,

gra ss and tied it to his legs T hen th ey let him down

.

slowly hea d fi rst and when he re ached the ground he

,

wa s no longe r a m an but a n owl .

1

1
Here as is often the case an origin story has b een added to a
, ,

tale with which it h a no logical connection

s .
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

making th e ea rth he fashioned two m en but just a s ,

they we re all finished except thei r noses T au T ana ,

from below th e ea rth app ea re d and wanted to help

him .

M elu did not wi sh any a ssistance and a gre at a rgu

,

ment ensu ed . T a u T ana finally won h is po int and

m a de the noses which h e placed on the people upside
down When all was finished M elu and T a u T ana
.
,

whipped the fo rm s until they moved T hen M elu

.

went to hi s home above the clouds a nd T au T ana

,

retu rned to his place below the ea rth .

All went well until one day a great ra in came and ,

the people on the ea rth nea rly drowne d from the wate r
which ran o ff thei r heads into thei r noses M elu from
.
,

h is place on the clouds saw thei r dange r and he came

, ,

quickly to e a rth and saved thei r lives by tu rning their

nos e s the othe r side up .

T h e people we re ve ry grate ful to h im and p rom ,

ised to do anything he should a sk o f them B e fo re .

he left fo r the sky they told him that they were ve ry

,

unhappy living on the great ea rth all alone so he told ,

them to save all the h a i r from thei r heads and the d ry

skin from thei r bodies and the ne x t tim e h e cam e he
would ma k e them some comp anions And in thi s way
.

the re came to be a gre at m an y p eople on the ea rth .

 IN T H E BEGI NN I N G
B il a a n ( M i n d a na o)
N the beginning the re we re fou r be ings and th e y
I live d on an i sland no la rge r than a hat On this
1
,

island the re we re no trees o r grass o r any othe r living

thing be sides these fou r p eople and one bi rd One .
2

day they sent thi s b i rd out a cross the wate rs to se e

what h e could find and when he retu rned he b rought
,

some e a rth a piece o f rattan and some fru it

, , .

M elu th e greatest o f the fou r took the soil and

, ,

shaped it and be at it with a p addle in the sam e m anne r

in which a wom an shapes pots o f clay and when he ,

fini shed he ha d m ade the ea rth T hen he planted the .

seeds from the fruit and they grew until the re wa s

,

much rattan and m any trees be a ring fru it .

T h e fou r be ings watche d the growth fo r a long

time and we re well ple ase d with the work but finally ,

M elu sa id :
“
O f what use i s thi s e a rth and all the rattan and
”
fru it i f the re a re no people ?
“
And the othe rs repli ed L e t u s m ake som e people
,
”
out o f wa x .

So they too k some wax and wo rke d long fa shion ,

i ng it into fo rms but when they b rought them to the

,

1
M elu ,
Fi uw e igh , Diwata and ,
S aw e igh .

2
B u sw it .

1 4 1 ]
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

fi re the wax m elted and they s aw th at m en could not

,

be made i n that way .

N ext they decided to try to use di rt in making p eople ,

and M elu and one o f his companions began wo rking

on that All went well till they we re ready to m ake
.

the noses T h e companion who wa s working on that

.
,

pa rt put them on upsi de down Melu told him that

, .

the people would drown i f he le ft them that way but ,

he re fused to change them .

When his back wa s tu rned howeve r M elu sei zed

, ,

th e noses one by one and tu rned them a s they now

, ,

a re But he was in such a hu rry that he p ressed hi s

.

finge r at the root and it le ft a m a rk i n the so ft cla y

, .

which you can still see on the faces o f people .

 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

ve ry happ y to think that at last he could have a

companion .

T hey we re ma rried and ha d m any children who

,

a re th e M andaya still living along the M a y o R ive r

.

5 1 44 ]
 T H E SU N AN D T H E M OO N

M a nd a y a ( M i nd a na o)
H E Sun and the M oon we re m a rried but the Sun ,

was ve ry ugly and qua rrelsome One day he .

became angry at the M oon a nd sta rted to chase he r .

She ran ve ry fa st until she wa s som e distance ahe ad

o f him when she grew ti red and he almost cau ght
,

h e r Eve r since he ha s been chasing he r a t time s

.
,

alm ost re aching he r a nd aga in falling fa r behind

,
.

T h e fi rst child o f the Sun and M oon wa s a la rge

sta r and he wa s like a man One time the Sun b e
, .
,

com ing angry at the sta r cut him up into sm all p ieces
,

and scatte red him ove r the whole sky j u st a s a wom an

scatte rs rice and eve r since the re have been m any
,

sta rs .

Anothe r child o f the Sun and M oon was a gigantic

crab H e still lives and is so powe rful that eve ry
.
1

time he opens and closes h is eyes the re i s a fl ash o f

lightning M ost o f the time the cr ab lives in a l a rge
.

hole in the bottom o f the se a a nd when he is the re we ,

have high tide ; but when he le aves the hole the wate rs ,

ru sh in and the re is low tide H is moving about also .

cau ses great waves on the su rface o f the se a .

T h e crab i s qua rrelsome like his fathe r ; a nd he

sometimes becomes so angry with hi s mothe r the ,

1
T e crab
h w as call ed T a mb a nok e no .

[ 1 45 ]
 PHILIPPINE F OL K TAL E S

M oon that he tries

, to swallow her When the people
.
1

on e a rth who a re, fond o f th e Moon see the crab ,

nea r her they run , out o f doo rs and shout and beat
on gongs until he i s frightened away and thus the ,

M oon is saved .

1
Aneclipse of the moon T his bel ief in a monster swallowing the
.

moon and the wild efforts to frighten it away are very widespread .

I t is found among the B ata k of P al awan and in other pa rts of

M alaysia as wel l as in the South S M ongol C hinese S iamese and
e a, , , ,

H indoo mythology E ven in P er we find the belief that an evil spi rit
. u

in the form of a beast was eating the moon and that in order to sca re ,

it the people shouted and yel led and beat their dogs to mak e them
add to the noise S K arlson ! n l f R e l igi o s P y ch l gy
. ee ,
ou r a o u s o o ,

N o v ember 1 9 4 p 1 64
, 1 ,
. .
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

ming the betel nut into his m outh he leaped up and

-

ran towa rd the dog .

As he drew nea r he could see that the game wa s a

fine la rge pig all b lack save its fou r legs which we re
,

white H e li fted hi s spea r and took a im but be fo re

.
,

he could th row the p ig sta rted to run and inst ead o f ,

going towa rd a wate r cou rse it ran straight up the

mounta in Th e boy went on in hot pu rsuit and when
.
,

the pig p aused he a ga in too k a im but be fo re h e could ,

throw it ran on .

Si x times the pig stoppe d j ust long enough fo r the

boy to take aim and then sta rted on be fo re he could
,

th row T h e seventh ti m e however it halted on th e

.
, ,

top o f a la rge fl at rock and the boy succeeded in

killing it .

H e ti ed its legs togethe r wi th a piece o f rattan and

wa s about to sta rt fo r hom e with the p ig on hi s ba ck ,

when to his su rp rise a doo r in the la rge stone swung

open a nd a m an stepped out .

“ ”
Why have you killed my m aste r s p ig ? a s k ed the ’

man .

“
I did not kn ow that th is pig b elonged to anyone ,
“
replied the wi dow s son I was hunting a s I o ften
’
.
,

do and when my dog found the pig I helped him to

,
”
catch it .

“
Com e in and see my m a ste r sai d the m an and , ,

the boy followe d him into the stone whe re he found

h imself in a la rge room Th e ceiling and fl oo r we re
.

cove red with p eculia r cloth that ha d sev e n wide stripes

o f red alternating with a li k e numbe r o f yellow stri p es .

When the maste r o f the place app ea red his trouse rs

[ 1 48 ]
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

were o f seven colo rs a s we re also his j acket and the

,
1

ke rchi e f about his he ad .

T h e m a ste r o rde re d betel nut and when it wa s -

,

b rought they chewed togethe r T hen he called fo r .

wine a nd it wa s b rought i n a j a r so la rge that it h a d

,

to be set on the ground unde r the house a nd even ,

then the top came so high above the fl oo r that they

brought a se at fo r the widow s son a nd it ra i sed h im ’
,

just high enough to drink from the reed i n the top o f

the j a r H e dran k seven cups o f wine a nd then they
.
,

a te rice a nd fish and talke d togethe r .

T h e m a s te r did not blam e the boy fo r killing the

p ig and d ecla red that he wished to m ake a b rothe r o f
,

him So they b ecame fri ends a nd the boy rema ine d

.
,

seve n days in the stone At the end o f tha t time he .

,

s aid that he must re tu rn to hi s mothe r who would b e

wo rried about him I n the e a rly mo rning he le ft the
.

strange house and sta rted fo r home .

At fi rst he walked b riskly but as the mo rning wo re ,

on he went mo re slowly and finally when the sun wa s ,

high he sat down on a roc k to rest Suddenly looking .

up he saw b e fo re him s even m en each a rm ed with a

,

spe a r a shield and a swo rd T hey we re dressed in

, , .

di ff e rent colo rs and e ach m an h a d eyes the same colo r

,

a s hi s clothes T h e leade r who wa s dressed all in

.
,

1The S ubanun have adopted the M oro dress which consists of long ,

trousers and a coat T he tale shows strong M oro influence through

.

out S even is a mystic and magical number among the M alay I t i

. . s

constantly used in divination and magical practices and repeatedly

occurs in thei r fol k lore Sk eat ex plains its importance by referring
-
.

to the seven souls which each mortal i supposed to possess S e Sk eat s . e ,

M a l y M a gi c p 5
a , . 0.

[ 1 49 ]
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

red with red eyes to m atch spoke fi rst a s king th e boy , ,

whe re he wa s going T h e boy replied that he wa s .

going home to h is mothe r who would b e looking for

him and a dde d
,
“
N ow I a sk whe re you a re going all a rmed ready ,
”
fo r wa r .

“
We a re wa rrio rs replied the man in red , And .

we go u p a nd down the wo rld killi ng whateve r we see

that has li fe N ow that we h ave m et you we must
.
,

k ill you also .

T h e boy sta rtle d by this strange speech was abou t

, ,

to answe r when he he a rd a voice nea r him s ay

“ ”
Fight fo r they will try to kill you and upon looking
, ,

up he saw h i s spe a r shield and swo rd which he ha d

, ,

le ft at home T hen he knew that the comm and cam e

.

from a sp i rit so he too k hi s weapons and began to

,

fight Fo r three days and nights they contended and

.
,

neve r be fo re ha d the seven seen one m an so b rave .

On the fou rth day the le ade r wa s wounded and fell

dea d and then one by one the othe r six fell
, , , .

When they we re all killed the widow s son wa s so ,

’

cra zed with fighting that he thought no longer o f r e

tu rning home but sta rted out to find mo re to slay
,

In hi s wand e rings he came to th e hom e o f a great

giant whose house wa s already full o f the men he h ad
conque red in b attle and he calle d up from outside :
,
“
I s the m aste r o f the house at home ? I f he i s let ,

him come out and fight .

T hi s threw the giant into a rage and sei zing his ,

shield a nd his spea r the sha ft o f which wa s the trunk

,

o f a tree he sp rang to the doo r and leaped to th e

,

[ 1 50 ]
 PHIL IPPINE F OL K TAL E S

to get wine and all day the y bore j a rs ful to th e widow s

,
’

house .

T hat night there wa s a great fe ast and the spi rit o f

,

the great stone hi s seven wa rrio rs the friendly spi rit

, , ,

and the giant all cam e Th e widow s son ma rri ed the

.
’

o rphan gi rl while anothe r be auti ful woman became

,

the wi fe o f the s p irit o f the stone

.
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

ia r d s ca rried on with Me x ico Stone walls and watch.

towe rs we re built a t advantageou s points to gua rd

against them but b ays and creeks which a ff o rded op
,

p o r tu n iti e s fo r lu rking su rp rise and

, attack continued,

to be frequented by the treache rous wa rriors .

Since American occup ation the wate rs have been

ma de p ractically free from thei r ravages but on land ,

they have continued to give trouble Th e greater p a rt .

o f the M o ro now live in the Sulu Archipel ago and on

the Island o f M indanao T hey range in degree o f
.

“ ”
civilization from se a gypsies who wande r from place ,

to place living fo r months in thei r rude outrigge r boats

, ,

to settled communities which live by fishing and fa rm

ing and even by m anu factu ring som e cloth b ra ss and
, , ,

steel T hei r villages a re ne a r the coast along rive rs

.
, ,

o r about the sho res o f the inte rio r lakes the houses ,

being ra i sed high on poles nea r o r ove r the wate r fo r ,

they live la rgely on food from the sea .

T hei r folk lo re a s will be seen from the following

-
,

tales shows decided influence from A rab i a and Indi a

, ,

which ha s filte red in through the i slands to the south .

1

1 tal es illustrate to better advantage the persistence of old stories

No
and beliefs than do these of the M oro They are pe meated with i n
. r

ci d nt very simila r to those stil l found among the pagan tribes of the
e s

A rchipelago whil e associ ated with th ese are the spirits and demons of
,

H indu mythology F inally we find the semi histori cal events recorded
.
-

by the M ohammedanized M alay the ancestors of the tellers of the

,

tales .
 MY T H O L OGY O F M IN D AN AO 1

M or o

A
LO N G ,
long time ago M indanao wa s cove red
with wate r and th e se a extended ove r a ll the
,

lowlands so that nothing could be seen but mounta ins .

T hen the re we re m any people living in the country ,

and a ll the highlands we re dotted with villages and

settlements Fo r m any ye a rs the people p rospe red
.
,

living in p eace and contentment Suddenly there a p .

p e a r e d in the land fou r ho rrible monste rs which in a ,

sho rt time had devoure d eve ry hum an being they could

,

find .

Ku rita a te rrible creatu re with m an y l imbs lived

, ,

p a rtly on land and p a rtly in the se a but its favo rite ,

haunt wa s the mounta in whe re the rattan grew ; and

he re it b rought utte r destruction on eve ry living thing .

T h e second monste r T a rab u sa w a n ugly cre ature in

, ,

the fo rm o f a m an live d on M t M a tutu n and fa r

, .
,

and wide from that place he devou red the p eople ,

laying wa ste the land T h e thi rd an eno rmou s bi rd

.
,

called P a h was so la rge that when on th e wing it

,
2

cove red the sun and b rought da rk ness to the ea rth .

Its egg wa s a s la rge a s a house M t B ita wa s its h aunt . .

,

1
irst recorded by N M S aleeby
F . . .

These great b irds are doubtless derived from I ndian l iterature in

2

which the fabulous bird garuda played such an important part .

[ 1 57 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

and the re th e only people who escaped its voracity were

those who hid in caves in the mountains T h e fou rth .

monste r wa s a dre adful bi rd also having seven heads ,

and the powe r to see in all di rections at the same time .

M t Gu r ay n wa s its home and li k e the othe rs it

.

wrought havoc in its region .

So great wa s the death and destru ct ion caused by

these te rrible animals tha t at length the news sp re ad
even to the most distant lands and all nations we re ,

grieve d to he a r o f the sa d fate o f M indanao .

N ow fa r across the se a in the land o f the golden

sunset wa s a city so great that to loo k at its m any
people would inju re the eyes o f m an When tidings .

o f these great di saste rs reached thi s distant ci ty the ,

hea rt o f the king Ind a r a p a tr a was filled with com 1

p assion and he called hi s b rothe r Sulaym a n beggi ng

, , ,
2

him to save the land o f M indanao from th e monsters .

Sulaym an l istened to the sto ry and a s h e hea rd he ,

wa s moved with p ity .

“ ”
I will go s a id he zeal and enthusi asm a dding to
, ,

his strength and the land shall b e avenged

, .

King Ind a r ap a tr a p roud o f his b rothe r s courage

,
’
,

gave him a ring and a swo rd a s he wished him success

and sa fety T hen he placed a young sapling by his
.

w indow and sa i d to Sulayman

-
3

“
By thi s tree I shall kn ow you r fate from th e tim e

1
common name in M al ay and S umatran tal es
A .

2
P robably Solomon of the O ld T estament who is a great historic ,

figure among th e M al ay and who pl ays an important part in their

romances .

S e note p 28
‘
e 1 ,
. .
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

The nex t place visited by Sulayman wa s M t B ita . .

H e re havoc wa s p resent eve rywhe re and though he ,

p assed by many homes not a single soul wa s left As

, .

he walked along growing sa dde r at each moment a

, ,

sudden da rkness which sta rtled him fell ove r th e land .

As he looked towa rd the sky h e beheld a great b i rd

descending upon him Immedi ately he stru ck at it
.
,

cutti ng o ff its wing with hi s swo rd and the bi rd fell ,

de a d at his feet ; but the wing fell on Sula yman and ,

he was cru shed .

N o w at thi s ve ry time King Ind a r a p a tra wa s sitting

a t hi s window and looking out he saw th e little tree
,

withe r and dry up .

“ ”
Alas I he cried my b rothe r is dead
, and he wept
b itte rly.

T hen although he wa s ve ry sad he wa s filled with ,

a desi re fo r revenge and putting on his swo rd and

,

b elt he sta rted fo r M indanao in sea rch o f his b rothe r .

H e too traveled th rough the a i r with great speed

, ,

until he cam e to the mountain whe re the rattan grew .

T he re he loo k ed about awed at the great destruction

, ,

and when he saw th e bones o f Ku rita he k new that

his b rothe r ha d been there and gone H e went on .

till he came to Ma tu tu n and when he saw th e bones ,

o f T a r ab u s aw he kn ew that this too wa s the wo rk o f , ,

Sulaym an .

Still sea rching fo r hi s b rothe r he a rrived at M t ,

.

B ita whe re the dea d bi rd lay on the ground and a s ,

he li fted the seve red wing he beheld the bone s o f Sulay

man wi th h is swo rd b y hi s si de H is gri ef now so .

ove rwhelmed In d a r a p a tr a that he wept for some time .

[ 1 60 ]
 M M EER

B axncm c WA TE R FR OM TH E S T EA M
R
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

da red le ave until a fte r Sula ym a n killed the vo rac iou s

b i rd P a h
, .

At Ind a ra p a tr a s ea rnest request th e old wom an

’
,

led him to th e cave whe re he found the hea dm an with

his family and some o f hi s p eople T hey all gathere d
.

about the strange r a sking m any questions fo r this wa s

, ,

the fi rst they h ad hea rd about the death o f the mon

s te rs When they found what Ind a ra p atr a ha d done
fo r them they we re filled with grati tude and to sho w
.

, ,

thei r app reci ation the headm an gave hi s daughte r to

him in m a rriage a nd she p roved to be the beauti ful
,

gi rl whom In d a r ap atr a ha d seen a t the mouth o f th e

cave.

T hen the people all came out o f th ei r hiding place -

a nd retu rned to thei r home s whe re they lived in pe ace

a nd happiness And the se a withdrew from th e land
.

a nd gave the lowlands to the p eople .

[ 1 62 ]
 THE S T ORY OF B AN T U GAN
M or o
EFORE the Spania rds occupi ed the island o f M in
B dana o the re lived in the valley o f the R io G rande
,

a ve ry strong m an B antugan whose fathe r wa s the

, ,

b rothe r o f the e a rthquake and thunde r .

1

N ow the Sultan o f the I sland had a beauti ful d au gh 2

te r whom B antugan wishe d to m a rry but the home ,

o f the Sultan wa s fa r o ff and whoeve r went to ca rry

,

B a ntu ga n s p roposal would have a long and ha za rdou s

’

j ou rney Al l the hea d m en consulted togethe r rega rd

.

i ng who should b e s ent and at last it wa s decided that

,

B a ntu gan s own son B a l a tam a wa s the one to go

’
, , .

B a l a tam a wa s young but he wa s strong and b rave and ,

when the a rm s o f hi s fa the r were given him to we a r

o n the long j ou rne y h is hea rt swelled with p ride .

M o re tha n once on the wa y howeve r hi s cou rage wa s

, ,

tried and only the thought o f h is b rave fathe r gave

,

him strength to p roceed .

Once he came to a wooden fence which su rrounded

a stone in the fo rm o f a m an and a s it wa s di rectly ,

in hi s p ath he drew hi s fighting kni fe to cut down the

1 this case of a semi historic being whose father w said to be

In -
,
as

the brother of the earthqua k e and thunder we have an interesting ,

blending of mythological and historical facts .

2Among M alay p eopl e the sultan i the supreme rul er of a district

s ,

while petty ruler a re k nown s datos

s a .

[ 1 63 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

fence Immediatel y the a i r becam e a s black a s night

.

a nd stones ra ined down a s la rge a s houses T hi s .

m ade B a l a tam a cry but he p rotected himsel f with his

,

father s sh ield and p rayed calling on the winds from

’
,

the homeland until the y came a nd clea red the a i r

again .

T he reupon B a l ata m a encountered a gre at sna k e in 1

the roa d and it inqui re d hi s e rrand When told th e

, .
,

s na k e sai d :
“
You cannot go on fo r I am gu a rd o f thi s road ,
”
and no one can pa ss .

T h e animal m a de a move to sei ze him but with ,

one stroke o f hi s fighting kni fe the boy cut the snake

into two p ieces one o f which he th rew into the se a
,

and the othe r into the mounta ins .

A fte r m any days the wea ry l a d c am e to a high roc k

i n the road which glistened in the sunlight From
, .

the t0p he could look down into the city fo r which he

wa s bound I t was a splendid place with ten ha r
.

bo rs Standing out from the othe r houses wa s one

.

o f crystal and anothe r o f pu re gold Encou raged b y .

thi s sight he went on but though it seemed but a short

,

distance i t wa s some time be fo re he at last stood a t

,

the gate o f the town .

I t wa s not long a fte r thi s howeve r be fo re B ala , ,

tama ha d m ade known hi s e rrand to the Sultan and ,

that mona rch tu rning to hi s cou rtie rs sa id

, ,
“
You my friends decide whethe r o r not I shall
, ,

1
Here as in the T inguian lore we find heroes conv ersing with
, ,

animals and commanding the forces of nature to come to th eir aid .

[ 1 64 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

But the y only laughed a t him and insisted o n having

the statue so he reached in his helmet and drew it
,

forth .

Immediately the ea rth b ega n to quake A great .

sto rm a rose and stones a s la rge a s house s ra ine d until

,

the Sultan called to B a l a ta m a to put b ack the sta tu e

lest they all be killed .

“
You would not believe what I told you said t h e ,
“ ”
boy ; and now I am going to let the sto rm continue .

But the Sultan begged him and p romised that B an

tugan m ight m a rry his daughte r with no othe r gi fts
at all save the sta tu e o f gold B a l a tam a put b ac k
.

th e statue into his helmet and the a i r became calm

,

a gain to the great reli e f o f the Sultan and his cou rtie rs .

T hen B a l a ta m a p repa red to retu rn home p romising ,

that B an tuga n would com e in th ree months fo r the

wedding .

Al l went well with the boy on the way home until

h e came to th e fence su rrounding the stone i n the fo rm
o f a m an and there he wa s detained and compelle d
,

to rem ain fou r months .

N o w about thi s ti m e a Sp anish gene ral hea rd tha t

B antu gan wa s p repa ring to ma rry th e Sultan s d au gh ’

te r whom he dete rmine d to wed himsel f A grea t

, .

e x pedition wa s p rep a red and he with all his b rothe rs

,

emba rke d on his la rge wa rship which wa s followed by

ten thousand othe r ships T hey went to the Sultan s
.
’

ci ty and the i r numbe r wa s so great that they filled

,

the ha rbo r frightening the p eople greatly

, .

T hen the Gene ral s b rothe r disemb a rked and cam e

’

to th e house o f the Sultan H e demanded the P rincess

.

[ 6 6 ] 1
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

fo r the Gene ral saying that i f the request we re re

,

fused the fl e e t would destroy the city and all its people
,
.

T h e Sulta n and hi s cou rtie rs we re so frightene d that

they decide d to give his daughte r to the Gene ral the ,

nex t full moon be ing the date set fo r the wedding .

In the me antim e B antugan ha d been p repa ring eve ry

thing fo r the ma rriage which he expecte d to take pla ce
a t the appo inted time But a s th e days went by and
.

B a l a ta m a di d not retu rn they becam e ala rmed fe a ring

, ,

he was dea d Afte r three months ha d p a ssed B an

.
,

tugan p repa re d a gre at expedition to go in sea rch o f

his son and the great wa rship wa s deco rate d with fl ags
,

o f gold .

As they cam e i n sight o f the Sultan s ci ty they saw ’

,

th e Spanish fl eet i n the ha rbo r and one o f h is b rothe rs

,

a dvised B antu ga n not to ente r until the Sp ani a rds le ft .

T hey then b rought thei r ship to a ncho r But all we re .

disappointed that they could not go fa rthe r and one ,

“
sai d Why do we not go on ? Even i f the blades o f
,
”
gra ss tu rn into Spani a rds we nee d not fea r Anothe r .

s a id : Why do we fea r ? Even i f the cannon b alls -

”
com e li k e rain we can always fight , Finally som e .

wanted to retu rn to the i r hom es and B antugan s ai d

“
N o let u s seek my son
, Even though we must ente r
.

the ha rbo r whe re the Spania rds a re let u s continue ,

”
ou r se a rch So at hi s comm and the ancho rs we re
.

li fted and they sa iled into the ha rbo r whe re the Sp an

,

i sh fl eet lay .

N ow at this ve ry time the Spanish gene ral and hi s

b rothe r we re with the Sultan intending to call upo n ,

the P rincess As the b rothe r talked with one o f the

.

[ 1 67 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

siste rs o f the P rincess they moved towa rd the window ,

a nd looking down they saw B a ntu ga n s ships ente ring ’

the ha rbo r T hey could not tell whose fl ags the ships
.

bore N eithe r could the Sultan when he wa s called

’

. .

T hen he sent his b rothe r to b ring hi s fathe r who wa s

a ve ry old m an to see i f he could tell T h e fa the r
, .

wa s kept in a little da rk room by himself that he might

not get hu rt and the Sultan s a i d to hi s b ro the r :
,
“
I f he i s so bent with a ge tha t he cannot see talk , ,

o r walk tickle h im in the ribs and that will m ake him

,

young aga in ; and my B rothe r ca rry him he re you rself

, ,

lest one o f the slaves should let him fall and he should
”
hu rt himself .

So th e old man wa s b rought and when he looked ,

out upon the ships he saw that the fl ags we re those o f

the fathe r o f B antugan who ha d been a great friend
o f hi s in his youth And he told them th at he and .

B a ntu ga n s fath e r yea rs ago had made a contract that

’

thei r children and children s children should inte r ’

m a rry and now since the Sultan ha d p rom ised hi s

,

daughte r to two people he fo resaw that great trouble ,

would come to the land T hen the Sultan sai d to the .

( 3e ne r a l '

“
H ere a re two claimants to my daughte r s hand ’
.

Go abo a rd you r ships and you and B an tuga n make

wa r on each othe r and the victo r shall have my ,
”
daughte r .

So the Sp ania rds opened fi re upon B antugan and ,

fo r three days the e a rth wa s so covered with smoke

from the b attle that neithe r could se e his enemy T hen .

the Spanish gene ral said :

[ 1 68 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

hi s son and too k him with them Fo r about a week .

the Sp anish gene ral sa iled tow a rd his hom e and then
he too tu rned about to go b ack planning to take the
, , ,

P rincess by fo rce When he found that she had a l

.

ready been ca rried away by B antugan his wrath kne w ,

no bounds H e destroyed the Sultan his ci ty and

.
‘

, ,

all its peopl e An d the n he sailed away to p repa re a

.

gr e at expedition with which he should utte rly destroy

B antugan a nd hi s country a s well .

One mo rning B antugan looked out and s aw at the

mouth o f the Rio Grande the eno rmous fl eet o f th e
Sp ani a rds whose numbe rs we re so great that in no
di rection could the ho rizon b e seen H is hea rt san k .

within him fo r he knew that he and his country we re

,

doom ed .

T hough he could not h 0 pe to wi n in a fight aga inst

such great numbe rs he called his headm en togethe r
,

and sai d
My B rothe rs the Ch ristian dogs h ave come to de
,

stroy the land We cannot success fully oppose them

.
,
”
but in th e defense o f the fathe rland we can die .

So the great wa rship wa s aga i n p repa red and all ,

th e soldie rs o f I slam emba rked and then with B an ,

tugan standing at the bow they sa iled fo rth to meet

thei r fate .

Th e fighting wa s fast and fu rious but soon the great ,

wa rship o f B antugan filled with wate r until at last i t

sank drawing with it hundreds o f the Sp anish ships
, .

And then a strange thing happene d At the ve ry spot .

whe re B a ntu ga n s wa rship sank the re a rose from the

’
,

se a a great i sland which you ca n see today not fa r

[ 1 7 0 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

from th e mouth o f the Rio G rande I t i s cove re d

.

with bongo p alms and deep within its mountains live

,

B antu gan and hi s wa rrio rs A M o ro sa ilbo at p a ssing

.

thi s island i s a lways scanne d by B a ntu ga n s watche rs

’
,

a nd i f it conta ins women such a s he adm i res they a re ,

snatche d from thei r seats a nd ca rrie d deep into the

hea rt o f the m ounta in F o r thi s rea son M o ro wom en
.

fe a r even to sa il nea r the i sland o f Bongos .

When the wi fe o f B antugan saw that he r husb and

w a s no mo re a nd that h i s wa rship ha d been destroyed ,

she gathe red togethe r the rem a ining wa rrio rs a nd set

fo rth he rself to avenge him I n a few hou rs he r ship
.

wa s also sun k and in the pl ace whe re it san k t h ere

,

a ros e the mountai n o f T im a co .

On thi s thickly wooded i sland a re found white

mon k eys th e se rvants o f th e P rincess who still lives
, ,

i n the cente r o f the mounta in On a qu iet day high up

.

o n the mounta in side one can he a r the chanting and

s inging o f the waiting gi rls o f the wi fe o f B antu gan
-
.
 I NT R O D U CT IO N

‘
N Z H E N
in
the S p ani a rds discove red the P hili pp ine
the sixteenth centu ry they found the tribe s
,
s

along th e co asts o f the di ff e rent islands alre ady some

what influence d by trade with China S i am and the, ,

i slands to th e south.

U nde r Spa nish rule th e co a st inhabi tants with the

,

e x ception o f the M o ro soon becam e conve rts to Chris

,

tia nity and adopted th e dres s o f thei r conque ro rs ,

though they reta ined thei r seve ral di alects and m an y

o f thei r fo rm e r customs T hen no longe r b eing a t
.
, ,

wa r with one anothe r the y m ade great advance s i n

,

civilization while the h ill tribe s have rem aine d iso

,

lated re ta ining thei r old custom s and belie fs

, .

Th e tales o f the Christi ani zed trib es include a gre at

m ix tu re o f old idea s and fo reign influence s obta ine d
th rough conta ct with th e outside world .

[ 75 ]
1
 TH E M O NKEY AN D T H E T U R T LE

I l o ca no
M O NKEY looking ve ry s ad and dej ected w a s
A ,

walking along the b ank o f the rive r one day when

,

he m et a tu rtle .

“ ”
H o w a re you ? a sked the tu rtle noti cing that he ,

looke d sa d .

Th e monke y replied Oh my friend I am ve ry

, , ,

hungry Th e squa sh o f M r Fa rm e r we re all taken

. .

by the othe r monkeys and now I am about to die

,
”
from want o f food .

“
Do not b e discou raged sai d the tu rtle ; take a,

bolo and follow m e and we will steal some banana

”
plants.

So they walked along togethe r until they found som e

nice p lants which they dug up and th en they looked ,

fo r a place to set them Finally th e monkey climbe d

.

a tree and planted hi s i n it but a s the tu rtle could not

,

climb b e dug a hole in th e ground and set his the re .

When thei r wo rk wa s finished they went away plan ,

ning what they should do with thei r crop Th e .

monkey said
“
When my tree bea rs fru it I shall sell it and have ,
”
a great deal o f money .

An d the turtle sa id : When my tree bea rs fruit I ,

shall sell it and buy th ree va ra s o f cloth to wea r in

”
place o f th i s cracked shell .

[ 1 7 6 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F O L K TAL E S

I like I have been struck with a hatchet m any times

. .

”
D o you not s ee the black sca rs on my shell ?
“
T hen one o f the othe r monkeys sai d : L e t u s th row
”
h im into the water .

At thi s the tu rtle cri ed and begged them to sp a re

h i s li fe but they p ai d no heed to his pleadings and
,

t hrew him into the wate r H e sa nk to the bottom.

,

but ve ry soon came up with a lobste r T h e monkeys .

we re gre atly su rp ri sed a t thi s and begged him to tell

th em how to catch lobste rs .

“
I tied one end o f a string a round my wai st sa id ,
“
the turtle T o the othe r end o f the string I tied a
.

”
stone so that I would sin k .

T h e monkeys immedi a tely tie d strings a round them

s elve s a s th e tu rtle sa id and when all wa s ready they
,

p lunged into the wate r neve r to com e up again .

And to thi s day monkeys do not like to e at m eat ,

b ecause they rem embe r the ancient sto ry .

‘

1
This tal e told by the I locano is well k nown among b th the o

C hristianized and the wild tribes of the P hilippines and al so in ,

B orneo and ! ava However the I locano is the only version

.
,
far , so as

k nown which has th e ex planatory element th e reason is given here

, :

why mon k eys do not eat meat T he tu rtl e is accredited with e xtra
. ct

dina r y sagacity and cunning I t is another ex ample of the type of

.

tal e showing the v ictory of the wea k and cunning o v er t e strong but h
stupid S . The T urtl e and the L izard p 8 6
ee
“
,
”
. .
 T H E PO OR FISHE R MAN AN D H IS WI FE
I l o ca no

M AN Y m any ye a rs ago a poo r fishe rm an and his

,

wife lived with thei r thre e sons in a village by

the sea One day the old m an set hi s sna re in the
.

wate r not fa r from hi s house and at night wh en h e

,

went to look at it h e found that he h ad caught a gre at

,

white fi sh T his sta rtled the old m an very much fo r

.
,

he ha d neve r seen a fi sh like this b e fo re a nd it occu rre d,

to him that it wa s the p riest o f the town .

H e ran to hi s wi fe a s fast a s he could and cried

“
My wi fe I have caught the p rie st
,
”
.

”
What ? sa id the old wom an te rrifi ed a t the sight ,

o f he r frightened husband .

“
I have caught the p riest s a i d the old m an a ga in
, .

T hey hu rried togethe r to the rive r whe re the sna re

wa s set and when the old woman s aw the fish she
, ,

cried
“
Oh it i s not the p riest but the gove rno r
, .

”
N o it i s the p riest insisted the old man and the y
, , ,

went home trembling with fea r .

T hat night neithe r o f them wa s able to sleep fo r

thought o f th e te rrible thing that ha d happene d a nd
wondering what the y should do N ow the next day .

was a gre at holida y in the town At fou r o clock in .

’

the mo rning cannons we re fi red and bells rang loudly .

T h e old m an a nd wom an hea ring all t h e noise and

,

[ 1 79 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

not knowing the re ason fo r it thought that thei r crim e ,

had been discove red and the people we re sea rching

,

fo r them to punish them so they set out a s fa st a s ,

they could to hide in the woods On and on they went .

,

stopp ing only to rest so a s to enable them to resume

thei r fl ight .

T h e next mo rning they reache d the woods nea r P ila r ,

whe re the re also wa s a great holiday and the sex ton ,

wa s ringing the bells to call the p eopl e to m ass As .

soon a s the old m an and woman he a rd th e bells th ey

thought the people the re had been notifi ed o f thei r
escape and that they too were try ing to catch them
, , , .

So they tu rned and sta rted home a ga in .

As they reached thei r hou se the th ree sons came ,

home with thei r one ho rse a nd tied it to the trun k o f

the ca ram ay tree P resently the bells began to ring
.
‘

a ga in fo r it was twelve o cloc k at noon N o t think

,
’
.

ing what tim e o f day it wa s the old man and woman ,

ran out o f doo rs in te rro r and seeing the ho rse jumped

,

on its b ack with the intention o f riding to the ne x t town

b e fore anyone could catch them When they ha d .

mounte d they began to whip the ho rse In thei r h aste .

,

they ha d forgotten to unti e th e rop e which was a round

the trun k o f the ca ramay tree As th e ho rse pulled at .

the rope fruit fell from the tree upon the old man a nd
woman B elieving they we re shot th ey we re so fright
.
,

ened th at they died .

1

1 Al l events here given represent present day occurrences an d

th e -
,

th e story appears to have been invented purely to amuse .

[ 1 80 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

horns H e then climbe d out filled u p th e hole and

.
, ,

went home .

By and by som e p eople cam e along the roa d on thei r

way to m a rket and a s they p assed the bamboo they
,

stopp ed in am a z ement fo r su rely a voi ce came from ,

the trees and it sa id that the p residente had ho rns

, .

T hese people h astened to m a rket and told what they

had hea rd and the people there went to the bamboo to
,

listen to the strange voice T hey info rmed o the rs .

,

and soon th e news ha d sp rea d all ove r the town T h e .

councilmen we re told and th ey too went to the h am , , ,

boo When they had hea rd the voice th ey ran to

.
,

th e house o f the p residente But his wi fe sa id that .

h e wa s ill and they could not see him .

By th i s time the ho rns had gro wn until they were one

foot i n length and the p residente wa s so a sham ed that
,

he b ade hi s wi fe tell the people that he could not tal k .

She told this to the councilm en when th ey came on the

following day but they replied th at they mu st see him
, ,

fo r they ha d hea rd th at he ha d ho rns and i f thi s we re ,

tru e he had no right to gove rn the p eople .

She re fused to let them in so they b roke down the ,

doo r T hey saw the ho rns on the head o f the p resi

.

dente a nd killed him Fo r they sa id he wa s no bette r

.
, ,

than an animal .
1

1 H ere we have an ex cellent illustration of how a story brought in

by the S paniards has been wor k ed over into P hilippine setting This .

is doubtless the cl assical story of M idas but since the ass is practically ,

un k nown in the P hilippines horns ( probably carabao horns ) have

,

been substituted for the ass s ears which grew on M idas head L i k e
’
,
’
.

wise the bamboo which grows in abundance ta k es the place of the

, ,

reeds in the original tal e .

[ 1 8 2 ]
 TH E S T O RY O F A M O NKEY
I l o ca no

O
NE day when a monkey wa s climb ing a tree i n
th e fo rest in which he lived he ran a thorn int o ,

h is ta il T ry a s he would he could not get it out s o

.
, ,

he went to a ba rbe r i n the town and sa id :

“
F riend B a rbe r I have a tho rn in the end o f m y
,

ta il P ull it out a nd I will p ay you well

.
, .

Th e ba rbe r tri e d to pull out the tho rn with hi s ra zo r ,

but in doing so he cut o ff the end o f the ta il Th e .

monkey was ve ry angry and cried

“
B a rbe r B a rbe r g ive m e b ack m y ta il o r give m e
, , ,

y ou r ra zor !
T h e ba rbe r could not put b ack the end o f th e
monkey s ta il so he gave him h is ra zo r
’
, .

On the way hom e the monkey m et a n old wom a n

who wa s cutting wood fo r fuel a nd he sa i d to he r : ,
“
Grandmothe r Grandmothe r that i s ve ry h a rd
, , .

”
U se this ra zo r and then it will cut e asily .

Th e old woman wa s very pleased with the o ffe r and

began to cut with the ra zo r but be fo re she had u se d ,

it long it b ro k e T hen the mon k ey cried :

.

“
Grandmoth e r Grandmothe r you have b ro k en my
, ,

razor l You must get a new one fo r m e o r else giv e

”
m e all the fi rewood .

T h e old wom an could not get a new ra zo r s o sh e

g ave him the fi rewood .

[ 1 83 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

Th e m onkey took the woo d a nd wa s going ba ck to

town to sell it when he saw a woman sitting beside
,

the roa d m aking ca k es .

“
Grandmothe r Grandmothe r s a id he y ou r wood
, , ,

is most gone ; take this o f mine and bake mo re cakes .

T h e wom an too k the woo d and thanked him fo r h is

k indness but when the la st stick wa s bu rned th e
, ,

monkey cried out :

“
Grandmothe r Grandmothe r you have bu rned up
, ,

all my w o od l N ow y ou must give m e all you r ca k e s

to p ay fo r it .

T h e old woman could not cut mo re dry wood at

once so she gave h im all the cakes
, .

T h e m on k ey too k the ca k es and sta rted fo r the town ,

but on the way he m et a dog which bit him so that h e

died And the dog ate all the ca k es
. .
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

T hey b rought a la rge kn i fe and p icked it but ,

s ca rcely ha d they sta rted to open it when a voice cried

“
out from within P le a se be ca re ful that you do not
,
”
hu rt me .

T h e m a n a nd woma n stoppe d thei r wo rk fo r the y ,

thought that a spi rit must have spoken to them But .

when the voice aga in called and begged them to op e n

the squa sh they ca re fully O pened it and the re inside
, ,

wa s a nice b aby boy H e could already stand alone

.
1

a nd could tal k And the m an and his wi fe we re ove r

.

j oye d .

P re sentl y the wom an went to the sp ring fo r a j a r o f

wate r and when she ha d b rought it she sp re ad a m at
,

o n the fl oo r and began to b athe the baby As th e .

d rops o f wate r fell o ff hi s body they were im m e di ,

a tely cha nged to gold so that when the bath was fi n

,

is h e d gold pieces cove red the m at T h e couple had .

been so delighted to have the b aby that it ha d seemed

a s i f the re wa s noth ing mo re to wish fo r but now that ,

the gold had come to them also they we re happi e r tha n

eve r .

T h e next mo rning the woman gave the b aby anothe r

bath and a gain the wate r tu rned to gold T hey now
, .

h a d enough money to build a la rge house T h e thi rd .

m o rning sh e b rought wate r fo r his bath a ga in but he ,

grew ve ry sad and fl ew away At the same time all .

the gold disappea red also and the m an and hi s wi fe ,

we re le ft poo r and alone .

1 A common fancy in M al ay legends is the superna tural origin of a

child in some vegetabl e usually a bamboo

,
. See note 2 , p .
99 .

[ 1 86 ]
 TH E C REAT IO N S T O RY
Ta ga l og

‘
N but onlyI H E N th e wo rld fi rst bega n there was no land
se a and the sky and between them
th e ,
,

wa s a kite One day the bi rd which ha d nowhe re to

1

light grew ti red o f flying about so she stirre d up the ,

sea until it th rew its wate rs aga inst the sky T h e sky .
,

in o rde r to restrai n the sea showe re d upon it many ,

islands unti l it could no longe r rise but ra n back and ,

fo rth T hen the sky o rdered the kite to light on one

.

o f the i slands to build he r nest and to leave the se a ,

and the sky in peace .

N o w at this time the land b ree ze and the se a b ree ze

we re m a rrie d and they ha d a child which wa s a
,

bamboo One day when thi s b amboo wa s flo ating

.

about on the wate r it struck the feet o f th e kite which

,

wa s on the beach T h e b ird angry that anything

.
,

should strike it p e ek e d at the b amboo and out o f one

, ,

section came a m an and from the othe r a woman .

T hen the e a rthquake called on all the bi rds a nd fi sh

to see what should be done with these two and it wa s ,

decided that they should ma rry M any children we re .

bo rn to the couple and from them came a ll the di ff e r

,

ent races o f people .

Afte r a while the parents grew ve ry ti red o f having

1
A bird something li k e a haw k .

[ 1 87 ]
 P H IL I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

so m any idle and useless children a round and they ,

wishe d to b e rid o f them but they knew o f no place to ,

send them to Time went on and th e children becam e

.

so nume rous that the pa rents enj oyed no peace One .

day in despe ration the fathe r sei zed a sti ck a nd bega n

, ,

beating them on all sides .

T his so frightened the children that they fl ed in di f

f e r e n t di rections seeking hidden rooms in the house
,

-
som e concealed themselves i n the walls some ra n ,

outside while othe rs hid in the fi replace a nd seve ra l

, ,

fl ed to the sea .

N o w it happened that those who went into the

hidden rooms o f the house late r became th e chie fs o f
the I slands ; and those who concealed themselves in
the walls became slaves T hose who ran outside we re .

free m en ; and those who hid in the fi replace be cam e

negro es ; while those who fl e d to the sea were gone
m any yea rs and when thei r children cam e ba ck they
,

were the white people .

1

1
See note 1 ,
p . 1 34 .

[ 1 88 ]
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

It was a new and strange wo rld to B enito who ha d

known only the li fe o f a little village T h e work wa s .

ha rd but he wa s h appy in thinking that now he could

,

help hi s fathe r and mothe r One day the king sent .

fo r him and sa id :
“
I want you to b ring to me a beauti ful p rincess who
lives in a land across the se a G0 at once and i f you .
,
”
fail you shall b e punished seve rely .

T h e boy s hea rt sank with in him fo r h e di d not

’
,

k now what to do But he answe red a s b ravely a s po s

.

“ ”
sible I will my lo rd and le ft the king s chambe r
, , ,
’
.

H e a t once set a b out p repa ring things fo r a long j ou r

ney fo r he wa s determined to try at le ast to fulfil the
,

comm and .

When all wa s ready B enito sta rted H e had not .

gone fa r be fore he ca m e to a thick fo rest where h e ,

s aw a la rge bi rd bound tightly with strings .

“ ” “
Oh my fri end pleaded the bi rd ple ase free m e
, , ,

from these bonds and I will help you wheneve r you

,

call on me .

Benito quickly released the bi rd and it fl ew away ,

calling back to him that its name wa s Sp a rrow

hawk .

B enito continued his j ou rney till he came to the se a

’
.

U nable to fi nd a way o f crossing h e stopped and gazed ,

s adly out ove r the wate rs thinking o f th e king s threat

,
’

i f he failed Suddenly h e saw swimming towa rd him

.

the King o f th e Fishes who a s k ed

“ ”
Why a re you so sad ?
I wish to cross the sea to find the beauti ful P rin
cess answe red the boy
, .

[ 1 9 0 ]
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

We ll get on my ba ck s a id the Fish and I will

, , ,
”
ca rry you across .

So B enito steppe d on his back a nd wa s ca rrie d to

the othe r sho re .

Soon h e met a strange woma n who inqui re d what

it was he sought and when he had told he r she sa id
,
“
T h e P rincess i s kept i n a castle gua rded by giants .

T ake th i s m agic swo rd fo r it will kill instantly what

'

,
”
eve r it touches . And she ha nde d him the we apon .

B enito wa s mo re than grate ful fo r he r k indness and

went on full o f hope As he app roa ched the ca stle
.

h e could see that it wa s su rrounde d by m any giants ,

and as soon a s they saw him they ra n out to sei ze him ,

but they went una rm e d fo r they saw that he wa s a

me re boy As they app ro ached he touched those in
.

front with hi s swo rd and one by one th ey fell de ad

, .

T hen the oth e rs ra n away i n a p ani c and le ft the castle ,

ungua rded B enito ente red and when he ha d told the

.
,

P rincess o f his e rrand she wa s only too glad to e scap e

,

from he r captivi ty and she set out at once with him

fo r the palace o f the king .

At the sea sho re the King o f the Fishes wa s wa iting

fo r them and they had no d ifli cu lty i n crossing the
,

sea and then in j ou rneying th rough the thick f o rest to

the palace whe re they we re received with gre at r e
,

j o ic in
.
g A fte r a time the King a s k ed the P rincess to
becom e hi s wi fe and she replied
,
“
I will O King i f you will get the ring I lost i n
, ,
”
the se a as I wa s crossing it .

T h e King immedi ately thought o f B enito and send ,

ing fo r him he comm anded him to find the ring which

[ 1 9 1 ]
 PH I L I PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

ha d been lost on the j ou rney from th e land o f th e

giants .

It seem ed a hopeless ta sk to the boy but a nx ious to , ,

obe y hi s m a ste r he sta rted out At the seaside he

, .

stopped and ga zed ove r the waters until to hi s great ,

delight he saw hi s friend the King o f th e Fishes

, , ,

swimming towa rd him Wh en he ha d been told o f .

the boy s troubles the great fi sh sa id : I will see i f I

’
,

can help you a nd he summone d all hi s subj ects to

,

him When they came he found that one wa s m issing

.
,

and he sent the othe rs in sea rch o f it T hey found it .

unde r a stone so full that it could not swim and the ,

la rge r ones took it by the ta i l and dragged it to the

King .

“ ”
Why did you not come when you were called ?
inqui red the King Fish .

“
I have eaten so much that I cannot swim replie d ,

the poo r fish .

T hen the King Fish suspe cting the truth o rde red it
, ,

cut open and inside they found the lost ring B enito
, .

wa s ove rj oyed at this and exp re ssing his great th an k s

, ,

hastened with the p recious ring to hi s m aste r .

Th e King gre atly pleased ca rri ed the ring to the

, ,

P rincess and sa id
“
N o w that I have you r ring will you b ecome my
”
wi fe ?
“
I will b e you r wi fe replied th e P rincess i f you
, ,

will find my e a rring that I lost i n the fo rest a s I w a s

”
j ou rneying with B enito .

Again the King sent fo r B enito and thi s tim e h e ,

commanded him to find the e a rring T h e boy w as .

[ 1 9 2 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

Th e King believing that now with the a id o f B enito

,

he could grant anything inqui red what it was she ,

wi shed and she replied

,
“
Get m e some wate r from heaven and some from
”
the lowe r wo rld and I shall a s k nothing mo re
, .

Once mo re the King called B enito and sent him on

th e ha rdest e rrand o f all .

T h e boy went out not knowing which wa y to tu rn ,

a nd while he wa s in a deep study hi s we a ry feet led

him to the fo rest Suddenly he thought o f the b i rd
.

“
who ha d p rom ised to help him and h e called Spa r , ,
”
r ow h aw k l T he re wa s a rustle o f wings and the b i rd ,

swooped down H e told it o f hi s troubles and it

.

s aid :
“
I will get th e wate r fo r y ou .

T hen B enito m ade two light cu p s o f b amboo which

he fa stened to the bi rd s legs and it fl ew away Al l
’
, .

day the boy wa ited in the fo rest a nd j ust a s night was ,

coming on th e bi rd retu rned with both cups fu ll T h e .

one on his right foot he told B enito wa s from heaven

, , ,

a nd that on his le ft wa s from the lowe r wo rld T h e .

boy un fa stened the cups a nd then as h e was th an king

, ,

the bi rd he notice d that the j ou rney ha d been too much

,

fo r it and that it wa s dying Filled with so rrow fo r .

hi s winge d friend he wa ited and ca re fully bu ried it

, ,

and then he h astened to the p alace with the p reciou s

wate r.

When the P rinc ess saw that he r wish had been ful
filled she a ske d the King to cut he r in two and pou r
ove r he r the wate r fro m heaven T h e King wa s not .

able to do this so she cut he rsel f and then a s he poured

, ,

[ 1 94 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

the wate r ove r he r he beheld he r grow into the most

be auti ful woman h e had eve r seen .

Eage r to becom e handsome himself the King then ,

begged he r to pou r ove r him the wate r from the othe r

cup H e cut himself and she did a s he reque sted but
.
, ,

immediately the re a rose a crea tu re most ugly and ho r

rible to look upon which soon vanishe d out o f sight
, .

T hen the P rincess called B enito and told him that b e

cause he had been so fa ith ful to his m a ste r and so ki nd
to he r she chose h im fo r he r hu sb and
, .

T hey we re m a rrie d am id great festivitie s a nd becam e

king and queen o f that b road and fe rtile land Du ring .

all the great rej oicing howeve r B enito neve r fo rgot

, ,

his pa rents One o f the finest po rtions o f hi s kingdom

.

he gave to th em and from tha t tim e they all lived i n

,

great happiness .
1

1
This undoubtedly a wor k ed o v er story pro b a b ly b rought in from
is -
,

E u rope K ings queens pal aces etc were of course un k nown to

.
, , ,
.
, , ,

the p eopl e before the advent of the S paniards .

[ 1 95 ]
 T H E AD VE N T U RES OF J U AN
Ta ga l og

UAN wa s always getting into trouble H e wa s a

! la zy boy and mo re than that he did not have good
, ,
.

sense When h e tried to do things he made such

.
,

dreadful m ista k es tha t he might bette r not have tried .

H is fam ily grew ve ry impatient with him scolding ,

and beating him wheneve r he di d anything w rong One .

day his mothe r who wa s a lmost di scou raged with him

, ,

gave him a bolo and sent him to the fo rest fo r she

1
,

thought he could at least cut firewood Jua n walked .

le isu rely along contemplating some means o f escape

, .

At la st he came to a tree that seemed easy to cut ,

and then he drew hi s long kni fe and p rep a red to

wo rk .

N ow it h appened that thi s wa s a magic tree and i t

sai d to Juan
“
I f you do not cut me I will give you a goat that
shakes silve r from its whiske rs .

T his pleased Juan wonde rfully both b ecause h e wa s,

cu rious to see the go at and because he would not have

,

to chop the wood H e a greed at once to sp a re the

.

tree whereupon the b a rk sepa rat e d and a goat step p ed

,

out Ju an comm anded it to shake its whi ske rs and

.
,

when the money began to drop he was so delighte d that

1
A long k nife .
 M sm ons T R A N OR A O N
SP T TI

A ST O RE m A CH R ST AN Z E D
I I I V I LL AG E
 PH I L I PP I N E F OL K TAL E S

he too k the anima l and sta rted hom e to sho w his

treasu re to his mothe r .

On the way he met a friend who wa s mo re cunning

than Juan and when he he a rd o f th e boy s rich go at
,
’

h e decided to rob him Knowing Ju an s fondness fo r .

’

t uba he pe rsuaded him to drink a nd wh ile he wa s

1
, ,

dru nk the friend sub stituted anothe r goat fo r the m agic

,

one As soon a s he wa s sobe r a ga in Juan ha stened

.
,

home with th e goat and told his people o f the wonde r

ful tree but whe n he comm anded the animal to shake
,

its whiske rs no money fell out Th e family b eli eving

, .
,

it to be anoth e r o f Juan s trick s be at and scolded the ’

,

p oo r boy .

H e went bac k to the tre e and threatened to cut it

down fo r lying to him but the tree sa id : ,
“
N o do not cut me down and I will give you a net
,

which you m ay ca st on d ry ground o r e ven in the tre e ,

”
tops and it will re turn full o f fi sh
, .

So Ju an spa re d th e tree and sta rted h ome with his

p recious net but on the way he met the same fri end
,

who again pe rsuaded him to drink tuba While he wa s .

drunk the friend replaced the m agic net with a comm on

,

one so that when Jua n re a ched home and tried to show

,

his powe r he wa s aga in the subj ect o f ridicule

, .

Once mo re Juan went to hi s tre e this time dete r ,

m ined to cut it down But the o ff e r o f a magi c pot

.
,

always full o f ri ce and spoons which p rovided what

eve r he wishe d to eat with his rice dissuaded him and , ,

he sta rted home happie r than eve r B e fo re re aching .

1
The fermented j uice of the cocoanut
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

home howeve r he met wi th the same fate a s be fo re

, , ,

and his folks who we re becoming ti re d o f hi s p ranks

, ,

beat him ha rde r than eve r .

T ho roughly ange red Juan sought the tree a fou rth

,

tim e and wa s o n the point o f cutting it down when once

m o re it a rrested hi s attention Afte r some dis cussion .
,

he consented to a ccept a stick to which he had only to

“ ”
say B o om b y e B oomb a and it would beat and kill
, , ,

anything he wished .

When he met hi s friend on this trip he wa s a s k ed ,

what h e h a d and he replied

“ ‘
Oh it i s only a stick but i f I sa y B o om by e
, , ,
”
B oomb a it will beat you to death
’
.

At the sound o f the m agic wo rds the stick leaped

from his hands a nd began beating h is friend unti l he
cried
“
Oh stop it and I will give back eve rything that I
,
”
stole from y ou Juan o rdered the stick to s te p and
.
,

then h e compelled the man to lead the go at and to

ca rry the net and th e j a r and spoons to hi s hom e .

T here Ju an commanded the goat and it shoo k its ,

whiske rs until hi s mothe r and b roth e rs ha d all the silve r

they could ca rry T hen they ate from the m a gi c j a r
.

a nd spoons until they were filled And thi s time Juan .

wa s not scolded A fte r they ha d finished Juan said :

.

“
You h ave beaten m e and scolded m e all my li fe ,

a nd now y ou a re glad to a ccept my good things I am .

‘
going to show you something else : B o om by e ,

B oomb a Immediately the stick leaped out and beat

them all until they begged fo r me rcy and p romised that
Juan should eve r a fte r be hea d o f the house .

[ 1 9 8 ]
 ! U AN G AT H ERS G U AVAS
Ta ga l og

NE
O
day Juan s fathe r sent him to get som e rip e
’

guavas fo r a numb e r o f the neighb o rs had com e

,

Juan went to the gu av a m

in and he wanted to give th m something to eat
and ate all the fruit
he could hold and then he decided to play a j oke on
.

his fathe r s gu ests instea d o f giving them a fea st o f

’

guava s A wasp s nest hung nea r by With some

.
’
.

d ifli cu l ty h e succeeded in taking it down a nd putting it

i nto a tight b a sket that he ha d b rought fo r the fruit .

H e hastened hom e and gave the ba sket to his fathe r ,

and then a s he le ft the room whe re the guests we re

seated he closed the doo r and fastened it .

As soon a s Ju an s fathe r opened the basket the wasps

’

fl ew ove r the room ; and when the p eople found the

doo r locked they fought to get out o f the windows .

A fte r a while Juan opened the doo r and when he saw

,

the swollen faces o f the people he cried

, .

“
What fine rich guava s you must have b a d ! T hey
,
”
have m ade you all so fat !
 T H E SU N AN D T H E M OO N 1

Vis ay a n

O N CE upon a time the Sun and the M oon we re

m a rried and they ha d m any children who we re
,

th e sta rs T h e Sun wa s ve ry fond o f his children but

.
,

wheneve r he tried to emb race any o f them he wa s so ,

hot that he bu rned them up T his m ade the M oon .

so angry that finally she fo rba de him to touch them

a ga in and he was greatly grieved
, .

One day the M oon went down to the sp ring to do

some washing and when she le ft she told the Sun that
,

he must not touch a ny o f thei r children in he r absence .

When she returned howeve r she found that he had

, ,

disobeyed he r and seve ral o f the children h a d pe rished

, .

She wa s ve ry angry and picke d u p a b anana tree to

,

strike him whe reupon he threw sand in he r face and

, ,

to this day you ca n see the da rk ma rk s on the face o f

th e Moon .

T hen the Sun sta rted to chase he r and they have ,

been go ing eve r since Someti m e s he gets so ne a r that

.

he almost catches he r but she e scapes a nd by and by

, ,

she is fa r ahea d a ga in .
2

These V isayan tales reflect old beliefs co v ered with a v eneer f

1 o

E uropean ideas T he V isayan still holds to many of th e old super

.

not because he has reasoned them out for himself but because
s t iti o n s, ,

his ancestors bel ieved them and transmitted them to him in such stories
as these .

A very old e x pl anatory tal e

2
I n a slightly v arying form it is found
.

i n other parts of the I sl ands .

[ 2 01 ]
 THE FI RS T M O NKEY
Vis ay a n

M AN Y yea rs a go at the foot o f a fo rest covered hill

wa s a sm all town and just a b ove the town on
,
-

the hillside was a little house in which lived a n old

woman a nd he r grandson .

Th e old woman who wa s very industrious ea rned

, ,

the i r living by removing the seeds from cotton and ,

she always ha d nea r at hand a b asket in which we re

cotton and a long stick that she used fo r a sp indle .

T h e boy wa s lazy and would not do anything to help

h is grandm othe r but eve ry day went down to the town
,

and gambled .

One day when he had been losing money the boy

, ,

went hom e a nd wa s cross because his suppe r was not

rea dy.

“
I am hu rry ing to get th e seeds out o f thi s cotton ,
“
s a id the grandmothe r and a s soon a s I sell 1t I will
,
”
buy us some food .

At this the boy fell into a rage and he picked up ,

som e coco anut shells and th rew them at his grand

mothe r T hen she became angry and began to whip
.

him with he r spindle when suddenly he wa s changed

,

into an ugly animal and the cotton b ecame hai r whi ch

,

covered his body while the stick itself became hi s tail

,
.

As soon as the boy found that he ha d b ecome an

ugly creatu re h e ran down into the town and began
[ 2 02 ]
 T H E VI R TUE OF T H E COCO AN U T
Vis ay a n

NE
O day a m an too k his blow gu n and his dog and 1
-

went to the fo rest to hunt As he wa s m aking his .

way through the thick woods he chanced upon a y oung

c o co anut tree growing in the ground .

It wa s the fi rst tree o f thi s kind that he ha d eve r

seen and it seemed so peculia r to him that he stopped
,

to l ook a t it .

When h e ha d gone some distance fa rthe r hi s atten ,

tion wa s attracted by a noisy bi rd in a tree and he shot ,

it with h i s blow gun By and by he took a im a t a l a rge

-
.

m onkey which mock ed him from ano the r treetop and

, ,

that too fell dea d at his feet

, , .

T hen he hea rd hi s dog ba rking furiously in the dis

tant bushes and hastening to it he found it biting a
,

wild pig Afte r a ha rd stru ggle he killed the p ig and

.
,

then feeling satisfie d with his success he took the th ree

, ,

anim als on his b ack and retu rned to the little plant .

“
I h ave decided to take you home with me little
-

plant he sa id fo r I li k e you and you may be o f some

, ,
”
u se to m e .

H e dug u p the plant ve ry ca re fully and sta rted

1T he blow gun is a M alayan weapon which i used ex tensi v ely in

-
,
s

the P hilippines Among certain wild tribes poisoned darts are blown
.

through it but among the C hristianized tribes a clay pellet is use d

,
.

[ 2 04 ]
 PH I LI PPI N E F OL K TAL E S

home but he ha d not gone fa r when he noticed that

,

the le aves had begun to wilt and he di d not know wh at ,

to do since he h a d no wate r Finally in desp a i r he

, .
, ,

cut th e th roat o f the bi rd and sp rinkled the blood on

the cocoanut N o soone r ha d he done th is than the
.

plant began to revive and he continued his j ou rney , .

B e fo re he ha d gone fa r howeve r the le aves again , ,

began to wilt and this time he revived it with the blood

,

o f the monkey T hen h e ha stened on but a thi rd time

.
,

the leaves wilted a nd he was compelle d to st 0 p and ,

revive it with the blood o f the p ig T his wa s h is la st .

animal so he m ade all the haste possible to reach home

,

be fo re his plant died T h e coco anut b egan to wilt .

a ga in be fo re he re ached his house but when he planted ,

it in the ground it qu ick l y revived and grew into a, ,

tall tree .

T his hunte r wa s the fi rst m a n to ta k e t h e liquo r

called tuba from the coco anut tree and he and h is
1
,

fri ends began to drin k it Afte r they ha d become ve ry .

f ond o f it the hunte r sa id to hi s friends

,
“
T h e cocoanut tree is like the th ree anim als whose
blood gave it li fe when i t would have di ed Th e m a n .

who drinks three o r fou r cups o f tuba becomes li k e the

noisy bi rd that I shot with my blow gun One who -
.

drinks mo re than three o r fou r cup s becomes li k e the

big monkey that acts silly ; and one who become s drun k
”
i s li k e the p ig that sleeps even in a mud hole -
.

‘
Se e note 1 , p . 1 97 .

[ 2 05 ]
 MAN SU MAN D IG
Vis ay a n

NE day a ma n sai d to h i s wi fe : My wi fe we a re
O getting ve ry poo r and I must go into business to ,

ea rn some money .

“
T hat i s a goo d idea replie d hi s wi fe , H ow .

”
much capital have you ?
“
I have twenty fi v e centavos -
answe re d the m an ; ,

and I am going to buy rice a nd ca rry it to the m ines ,

”
fo r I have he a rd that it b rings a goo d p rice the re .

So he took his twenty fi v e centavos and bought a -

h alf cavan o f rice whi ch he ca rried on his shoulde r to

-

the mine A rriving there he told the p eople that he

.

had rice fo r sale and they a sked e agerly how much

,

he wanted fo r it .

“
Why h ave you forgotten the re gula r p rice o f ri ce ?
,
“ ”
a s k e d the man It is twen ty fi v e centavos
.
-
.

T hey at once bought the ri ce and the m an wa s ve ry ,

gla d because he would not h ave to ca rry it any longe r .

H e put the money in his belt and a sked i f they would

li k e to buy any m o re .

“ ”
Yes said they we will buy a s m any cav ans a s
, ,

you will b ring .

When the man re ache d home hi s wi fe a sked i f he

had been successful .

1
A Spanish coin worth half a cen t .

[ 2 06 ]
 P H IL IPP IN E F OL K TAL E S

wi fe angrily H aven t you sa id that rice b rought a

’
.

”
good p rice at the m ines ?
“ ”
T hat i s all he replied , .

H o w much di d you p ay fo r the rice ?

”
T wenty fi v e centavos
-
.

”
H o w much di d you rece ive fo r it ?
”
T wenty fi v e centavos
-
.

”
Oh my husband cried hi s wi fe how c an you
, , ,

m ake any ga in i f you sell it fo r j ust what you p a i d

”
fo r it ,

T h e man leaned his head a gainst the wall and

“
thought Eve r since then he ha s been called M ansu
.

m a n d ig a m a n who leans back and thinks

, .

“
T hen the wi fe said Give me the twenty fi v e cen
,
-

”
tavos and I will try to m ake some money
, So he .

“
handed it to he r a nd she sa id N ow you go to the field
, ,

whe re the people a re gathe ring hemp and buy twenty

fi v e centavos wo rth fo r me and I will weave it into ,
”
cloth.

When M a nsum a nd ig re turne d with the hemp she

sp read it in the sun and a s soon a s it was dry she tied
,

it into a long threa d and put i t on the loom to weave .

N ight and day she wo rked on he r cloth and when i t ,

wa s finished she ha d eight va ra s T hi s she sold fo r .

twelve and a half centavos a va ra and with this money ,

she bought mo re hemp She continued weaving and .

selling he r cloth and he r wo rk was so good that people

,

we re gla d to buy from he r .

At the end o f a yea r she again sp rea d the m at on

the floo r and too k he r place on one side o f it while he r ,

husband sat on the opposite side T hen she pou re d .

[ 2 08 ]
 P H I L I P P I N E F O L K TAL E S

th e money out o f th e blanket in which she k ept it upon

the m at She held aside he r cap ital which wa s twen ty
.
,

fi v e centavos and when she counted the rem a inder she

,

found that she h ad th ree hundred p esos M a nsum an .

dig wa s gre atly a shame d when he rememb ered that he

h a d not m ade a cent and he leaned his hea d aga inst
,

the wall and thought A fte r a while the wom an p itied

.

h im so she gave him the mone y and told him to buy

,

ca rabao .

H e wa s able to buy ten ca rabao a nd with these he

plowed his fields By ra ising good crops they we re
.

able to live com fo rtabl y all the rest o f thei r lives .

[ 2 9 9 ]
 WH Y DOGS WAG T H EI R TAI L S

V i s ay a n

RI C H m an in a ce rta in town once owne d a dog

A and a cat both o f which we re ve ry use ful to him
, .

T h e dog ha d served his m aste r fo r m any yea rs and

had become so old that he ha d lost his teeth and wa s
unable to fight any mo re but he wa s a good gu ide and
,

comp anion to the cat who wa s strong and cunning .

T h e m aste r had a daughte r who wa s a ttending

school at a convent some distance from home and ve ry ,

o ften he sent the dog and the cat with p resents to

th e gi rl .

One day he called the fa ithful animals a nd b ade

them c a rry a m agic ring to hi s daughte r .

“
You a re strong and b rave he sa id to the cat , .

You m ay ca rry the ring but you must b e ca re ful not

,
”
to drop it .

An d to the dog he sa id : You must a ccompany the

”
cat to guide he r and keep he r from ha rm .

T hey p romised to do thei r best and sta rted out Al l , .

went well until they came to a rive r As the re wa s .

neithe r b ridge no r bo at there wa s no way to cross but

,

to swim .

“
L e t me ta k e the m agic ri ng sai d the dog a s th ey
,

we re about to plunge into t h e wate r .

“ ” “
Oh no replied th e cat the m aste r gave it to me
, , ,
”
to ca rry .

[ 2 10 ]
 T H E H AWK AN D T H E H E N

Vis ay a n

H AWK flying abou t in the sky one d a y decided

A that he would like to m a rry a hen whom he o ften
saw on e a rth H e fl ew down and sea rche d until he
.

found he r and then a sked he r to become his wi fe She

, .

at once gave he r consent on the condition that he would

wa it until she could grow wings like his so that she ,

m ight also fly high T h e hawk a greed to this and fl ew

.

away a fte r giving he r a ring a s an engagement p resent

,

and telling he r to take good ca re o f it .

T h e hen wa s very p roud o f the ring a nd placed it

a round he r neck T h e next day howeve r she met
.
, ,

the cock who looked at he r in astonishment and said

“
Whe re did you get that ring ? Do you not know
that you p romised to be my wi fe ? You must not wea r
”
the ring o f anyone else T h row it away
. .

And the hen threw away the beauti ful ring .

N o t long a fte r this the h awk came down b ringing

be auti ful fe athe rs to dress the hen When she saw .

him coming she wa s frightened and ran to hide b ehind

the doo r but the h awk called to he r to com e and see
,

the be auti ful dress he had b rought he r .

T h e hen came out and the hawk at once saw that

,

the ring wa s gone .

“
Where is the ring I gave you ? he a sked Why .

”
do you not wea r it ?
[ 2 12 ]
 PH I L I P P I N E F OL K TAL E S

Th e hen wa s frightened a nd a shamed to tell the

truth so she answe red
“
Oh si r yesterday when I wa s walking in the
, ,

ga rden I m et a la rge snake and he frightened me so

,

that I ra n a s fa st a s I could to the house T hen I .

m issed the ring and I sea rched eve rywhe re but could
not find it .

T h e hawk looked sha rply a t the hen and he knew ,

that sh e wa s deceiving him T hen h e s a id to he r

.

“
I di d not believe that you could behave so badly .

When you have found the ring I will come down a gain
‘

and m ake you my wi fe But a s a punishment fo r b reak

.

ing you r p rom ise you must a lways scratch the ground
,

to look fo r the ring And eve ry chicken o f you rs that

.

”
I find I shall snatch away
, .

T hen he fl ew away a nd eve r since all the hens

,

throughout the wo rld have be en scratching to find th e

h aw k s ring
’
.

[ 2 1 3 ]
 THE S P I DER AN D T H E FLY

Vis ay a n

R S P I DER wanted to ma rry M iss Fly M any

. .

times he told he r o f his love and b eg ged he r to

become hi s wi fe but she always re fused fo r she did
,

not like him .

One day when she saw M r Spide r coming again .

M iss Fly closed all th e doo rs and windows o f he r house

a nd m ade ready a pot o f boiling wate r T hen she .

wa ited and when M r Spide r called b egging he r to

, .
,

allow him to ente r she answe red by throwing boiling

,

wate r at him T hi s m ade M r Spide r ve ry angry and

. .

h e cried
“
I will neve r fo rgive you fo r this but I and my de ,

s ce nd a n ts will always despise you We will neve r give .

”
you any peace .

M r Spide r kept hi s wo rd and even today one can

.
,

see the hatre d o f the sp ide r fo r the fly .

[ 2 1 4 ]
 P H IL IP P IN E F OL K TAL E S

own so they thought his must be wrong and they

,

laughed at h im and sai d

“
Friend shrimp you r face is turned the wrong way
, .

”
What weapon have you to fight with the waves ?
My weapon i s a spea r on my hea d replied the
”
,

sh rimp and j ust then he saw a big wave com ing and
,

ran away T h e crabs did not see it howeve r fo r they

.
, ,

we re all looking towa rd the sho re and they we re cov

,

e red with wate r and drowned .

By and by the wive s o f the crabs became wo rried

because thei r husb ands did not retu rn a nd they went ,

down to the shore to see i f they could help i n the b attle .

N o sooner ha d they reached the wate r howeve r than , ,

the waves rushe d ove r them and killed them .

Some time a fte r thi s thousa nds o f little crabs ap

p e a re d nea r the sho re a nd
, the shrimp o ften vi site d
them and told them o f the sad fate o f thei r pa rents .

Even tod a y these little crab s can b e seen on the sho re ,

c ontinu ally running b ack a nd fo rth T hey see m to ru sh

.

down to fight the waves and then a s thei r cou rage

, ,

fa ils they run back to the land whe re thei r fo re fathe rs

,

lived T hey neithe r live on dry land a s thei r ancesto rs

.
,

did no r in the se a whe re the othe r crabs a re but on

, ,

the beach wh e re the waves wash ove r them at high tide

and try to dash them to pieces .

[ 2 1 6]
P RO N U N CI AT IO N OF P H I L I P P I N E N AMES

vowel sounds in the following p ronunciations

Th e
a re those used in Webste r s dictiona ry ’
.

A d as e n, da sen a-
'
G a cwi ga fw e n , g w
a -
é -
ga wen '

Agu i o, a ge '
-
o G a y ga y o m a , g g om a
i -
i -
'

a l an ta pa
' ’
Ala n ,
G otg ota p a , got go - -

' '
A l ok ota n a l a k a tan ,
- - - Ig or ot, i g o r ot - -

A p on i b a l a g e n, a p o- n é - b a - l a- gen
'
I l oca n o, i l o - -
k a no '

i l o k os no rte
' '
Ap oni b ol i n a y e n , I l ocos N or te , -

a p o né h é l é- - - -
na
'
y en I nd a r a p a tr a , i n d a - -
t a- pa tra '

Ap on i tol a u , apo '

ne ~ t6 l o u
-
I ni i n it, é
- -
ni - é n i t
'

B a g b a g a k, b ag b a g ak - -
'
K a b ig a t , ka be - -
gat ’

B a g o b o, ba go bo-
'
K a b oniy a n, k a b o n é -
yan - -
'

b a l a ta ma da k l an
' ’
B a l a ta m a , - -
K a d a k l a n, k a - -

B g an a n, b an g an '
K a d a l a y a p a n, k d a la ya pan a- - -
'

B t g ba t g n
an u a n, n- oo
'
a K ad ay ad aw a n k a d a y a d a wan
,
- - -
'

B it b
en o, e K a na g, k a n ii g
’

B il b l a an
a a n, e-
'
K om ow , k o mou '

B it b e ta
a,
'
K u r i ta , k u -
r e ta '

B nt bon to k
o oc,
'
L a ngg a n a , lang go na -
'

B k id
u boo k id non
n on , -
'
L i gi, l e ge
'

B l w
u a na boo l a na wan a n, - -
'
L i m ok on, l é — m o k é n
'

C l g k a a l ang loo m a bet

' ’
aa an ,
-
L u m a b e t, -

k a hi l d o L m w i g loo m a w i g
' '
C bild
a o, -
u a ,
-

Cib l ci b o l an
o a n, -
'
M g b ng l mag b ang a l
a a a ,
-
’

D l a on a
g da l o na gan
a n, - -
'
M gi nd
a m a gi n d a nou
a na u , - -
’

d a é pan M g ng ma go sang
' '
D p
a ne a n, -
n -
a os a ,
-

M g w i mag
’ '
D a p i l is a n, d a ~ p é ~ l é s an a sa wé ,
-
s a-

D ay a p a n, di -
pan
a- M g i ng l m ag i gal
a s a ,
'
s n-

d é na wa gen M m man a m
' '
D i na w a g e n, - -
a na a, -
a

D od e d og, d og e d og - -
M d y m éi n di ya
an a a, -
'

D a m a y co, d o i o m k -
'
M m n d ig m i n
a ns u man dig
a ,
'

a -
su- -

D u m a l a w i, doo ma l a - - -
wé
'
M y i i t mi i ni t
a n ,
-
'

p é gou M y mi yo
' '
E p agow , é - -
a o,

[ 2 1 7 ]
 F OL K TAL E S

min da nou
M i nd a n a o ,
- -
'
Su l ay m a n , l i man
soo -
’

N lp g n nal pan gan

a an a ,
- -
'
T a ga l og, ta ga log -
'

p e l ar w ta
' ' '
P il af ,
T a ra busa , b oo -
ra- sou

i m ok i
' '
S m ki
a o , s - T i kgi, ti k ge
S y n a yen
a e , s -
’
T i m a co, ti m k
'
a o -

E a gon n ti ng gi
' '
Si g n
a o , s -
T i ngu ia ,
- -
an
'
T ogl a i, tog l a e
'
S i l i t, sé lét -

S i na g, s e nag ' '

T ogl i b on, tog l é bon -

S ogs og ot, sfi g- so got ’

Vis a y a n, vi si yan -
'

S u b a nu n, s oo - b a nun '
 RETUR N TO th e c irc u la tio n desk o f a ny

Unive rs ity of C al if o rnia Lib ra ry

o r to th e

NO RTHER N REG IO NA L LIB RA RY FAC ILITY

B ld g 4 00, R ic h m o nd Fie ld S tatio n
.

Unive rs ity of C a l if o rnia

Ric h mo nd CA 9 48 04 4 69 8
,
-

ALL B OO KS MAY B E RECA LLED A FTER 7 DAYS

2 m o nth loa ns m a y b e re ne we d b y c a ll ing
-

( 5 1 0) 6 4 2 6 7 53
-

1 y e a r l oa ns m a y b e
-
re c h a rge d b y b ringing b oo k s
to NR LF
Re ne wal s a nd re c h a rge s ma y b e m a d e 4 d a y s
p rio r to d ue d a te

DUE AS S TA MP ED B ELO W

MAY2 2 l993