ROGELIO A.

CASTRONUEVO III PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE

BSOA 2ND YEAR

Activity # 2

Visit your childhood history.

1. Do you have any "Komiks" that you have read when you are young?
2. Do you like it?
3. How does it affect your childhood?
4. Tell the story of that "Komiks" that you have read and check if this "Komiks" can still be seen
in any bookstore.

In my childhood, I don't remember much reading comics, but I do have one book that I remember. I
bought this book when I was in elementary school then someone went to our school and sold a book
to the students. The “Ibong Adarna”, I can't tell it was a comic because it was a folktale about a magical
bird that can sing. I like it because it has an interesting story and you can learn a good moral lesson. It
can contribute and may play a role on your childhood development by shaping your mindsets and this
story shows the main idea of it to remain good in spite of the evil that may be done to you as you will
get your reward later on. High level of love and respect children have for their parents was shown in
the story.

What is Ibong Adarna all about?

The story revolves around the life of King

Fernando, Queen Valeriana and their
three sons, Don Pedro, Diego, and Juan.
The three princes, after discovering their
father has fallen sick and cannot be
healed, set out to find the fabled Adarna
bird and heal him; whoever brings the bird
first will inherit the king’s throne.

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom

named Berbania. It was ruled by King
Fernando and Queen Valeriana who had
three sons: Don Pedro (firstborn), Don
Diego (second) and Don Juan (the
youngest).

One night, King Fernando had a bad

dream. He saw that his youngest and
favorite Prince, Don Juan, was thrown
away in a deep, creepy well. The King
started to get weak for unknown reasons.
It seemed that nothing could bring back
his prior high level of health. His medical
advisors told him that the only cure for his
unexplained malady was a lullaby sung by
the Ibong Adarna.
So, King Fernando tasked his three sons to hunt the magical bird. Don Pedro went first but was
unsuccessful. He may have reached Mount Tabor and the tree of Piedras Platas where the Adarna bird
nested, but the prince fell asleep after hearing the bird’s song. What's worse is that he turned into a
stone when the lovely bird pooped on him. The second prince, Don Diego went hunting next.
Unfortunately, he had the same bitter end as his older brother. The kingdom was counting on Don
Juan, who went next. The youngest prince climbed through Mount Tabor. He met a very sick old man
who gave him tips about the magical tree of Piedras Platas and catching the Ibong Adarna. Don Juan
successfully caught the bird and helped his two brothers become human again. Because of envy and
greed for power, the two older brothers joined forces to beat Don Juan to death and throw him into
a deep well. The two then returned home with the Ibong Adarna. However, the king’s illness grew
worse because the bird never sang a single song.

Luckily, Don Juan’s strength returned. He was healed by the poor old man who helped him in the
mountain. He finally returned to the Kingdom of Berbania. King Fernando knew the truth when the
bird started singing after seeing Don Juan. The King grew healthy again and became stronger than
ever. He wanted to punish his two sons but Don Juan asked his father to forgive them. The King
granted his request and asked the three princes to guard the Ibong Adarna. Because of Don Pedro,
the bird flew away and escaped. Don Juan went away from the kingdom so the king wouldn't punish
his brother. King Fernando asked the two princes to look for Don Juan. They found him in the kingdom
of Armenia. One day they found an interesting well. Only Don Juan went down inside successfully. He
found two lovely princesses, Donya Juana and Donya Leonora, who were kept captive by a giant
serpent. Because of his skills in fighting, the mighty prince killed the serpent and saved the two
princesses. Don Pedro envied the young prince. He cut the rope when the prince went down inside
the well to get the ring Donya Leonora had forgotten. What's more, it was easy for Don Diego to make
Donya Juana fall in love with him. So, when they came back to Berbania, they married. On the other
hand, Don Pedro did everything to pursue Donya Leonora but he failed. An enchanted fox helped Don
Juan and he was quickly healed. The Ibong Adarna appeared suddenly and told him about the princess
of Reyno delos Cristales, his predestined love. He immediately searched for the princess and found
out about the cruel King Salermo.

In spite of the obstacles the cruel king put before him, he faced them all and succeeded with the help
of Maria Blanca, the daughter of King Salermo. Because of the selfish king, the two tried to escape.
Maria Blanca was cursed to crawl like a snail and be forgotten by the prince Don Juan.

Don Juan returned to Berbania where he was welcomed by his mother, Queen Valeriana, as well as
Princess Leonora. He forgot about Maria Blanca because of Princess Leonora. Don Juan and Princess
Leonora were scheduled to be wed. On the day of the wedding, Maria Blanca visited wearing the
emperatris. She tried to bring back all their memories and remind Don Juan about their love. Finally,
Don Juan and Princess Maria Blanca got married while Princess Leonora married Don Pedro. In the
end, Don Pedro became the new king of Berbania while Don Juan became the king of Reyno delos
Cristales.

This book is hard to find now in the market or even in bookstores although there is a book found in
mall bookstores with the same title, the content and the author are different.