MYTHS AND

ARCHETYPES
(Source: https://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/myths.html)
MYTHS
 "God made man, because he liked to hear a story." So say the
Africans, and the rich variety of worldwide mythology proves that
God chose wisely!
 Myths are stories that are based on
tradition. Some may have factual
origins, while others are completely
fictional. But myths are more than
mere stories and they serve a more
profound purpose in ancient and
modern cultures. Myths are sacred
tales that explain the world and
man's experience. Myths are as
relevant to us today as they were to
the ancients.
 Myths answer timeless questions and serve as a compass to each
generation. The myths of lost paradise, for example, give people
hope that by living a virtuous life, they can earn a better life in the
hereafter. The myths of a golden age give people hope that there are
great leaders who will improve their lives. The hero's quest is a
model for young men and women to follow, as they accept adult
responsibilities. Some myths simply reassure, such as myths that
explain natural phenomena as the actions of gods, rather than
arbitrary events of nature.
 The subjects of myths reflect the universal concerns of mankind
throughout history: birth, death, the afterlife, the origin of man and
the world, good and evil and the nature of man himself. A myth taps
into a universal cultural narrative, the collective wisdom of man. An
excellent illustration of the universality of these themes is that so
many peoples who have had no contact with each other create
myths that are remarkably similar. So, for example, cultures
worldwide, from the Middle East to the distant mountains of South
America have myths about great floods, virgin births, and the
afterlife.
ARCHETYPES
 An archetype is a universal symbolic pattern. Examples of
archetypal characters are the femme fatale, the trickster, the great
mother and father, and the dying god. There are archetypal stories
as well. Examples are stories of great floods, virgin births, creation,
paradise, the underworld, and a final apocalypse. True to their
universal nature, archetypal characters and stories appear again and
again in myths across many diverse cultures. 
 Archetypal myths explain the nature of the world and life. Thus,
many peoples have tales to explain the origins of places and
objects: the city, the mountain, the temple, the tree and even the
stone. Other archetypal myths serve to instruct. For example, the
quest archetype is typically a journey where the hero or heroine
must overcome their own faults and weaknesses in order to
reemerge as a mature, productive member of their society. 
 While some aspects of these myths have remarkable similarities
across cultures, others have peculiarities specific to that land.
Sometimes it is possible to trace the inheritance of a part of a myth
as it is passed from culture to culture.
THE STORY OF
TUNKUNG LANGIT
AND ALUNSINA  
(a folklore from Panay)
PANAY ISLAND
 The island of Panay belongs to the Western Visayas Region in central Philippines and is
divided into five provinces, namely Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo and Guimaras. It is
surrounded by various bodies of water and is characterized by relatively wide stretch of
coastal lowlands with rugged hills and mountains on the interiors, making Panay a heart of
diverse marine life, inland fishery and various agricultural products. The island is also
competitively advantageous in the production of seaweed and is being considered as the
second largest rice producing region in the Philippines. Its large agricultural land area
produces coconut, mangoes, pineapples, root crops, vegetables and the well-known
muscovado, the origin of sugar in Panay and the Philippines. Rattan craft is also a large local
industry.
 According to historical records, Panay is the place where the dawn
of Christianity started and is the center of the first act of revolt
against the Spaniards in the Province of Capiz. In 1569, the
Spaniards led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came to Panay from
Cebu and found people with tattoos. They called it Isla de Pintados
or the Island of the Painted.
 How the island itself came to be called Panay goes back to many
accounts. Aninipay was the ancient name of Panay given by the Ati,
making it the namesake of a local plant thriving in the island.
Legend has it that Legazpi and his men, in search of food,
exclaimed upon the island, “Pan hay en esta isla!”, which means
“There is bread on the island!”. They then established their first
settlement in the island at the mouth of the Banica River in Capiz
and called it Pan-ay. The island is presently named after this
settlement.
 Once upon a time when the earth was but a
shapeless, formless void appeared the god called
Tungkung Langit (“ Pillar of Heaven”) and the
virgin goddess of the eastern skies, Alunsina (“ The
Unmarried One”). 
The old Visayan folklore states that Tungkung
Langit fell in love with Alunsina. After he had
courted her for many years, they married and made
their home in the highest part of heaven. There the
water was always warm and the breeze was forever
cool, not a bad weather was in sight, and the
couple was happy. In this place in the heavens,
order and regularity began.
 Tungkung Langit was a loving, hard-
working god. He wanted to impose order
over the confused world. He decided to
arrange the world so that the heavenly
bodies would move regularly. On the
other hand, Alunsina was a lazy, jealous,
selfish goddess. She sat at the window of
their home all day doing nothing but
brush her long beautiful hair. Sometimes
she would leave her home, sit down by a
pool near the door, and comb her long,
jet-black hair all day long.
 One day Tungkung Langit told his wife that he would be away for some time. He said he
must make time go on smoothly and arrange everything in the world and did not return
for a long time. Alunsina thought he was off to see a lover, so she summoned the breeze
to spy on Tungkung Langit. Tungkung Langit caught the spying breeze and he became
very angry with Alunsina. After he returned home, he told her that it was ungodly of her
to be jealous since there were no other gods in the world except the two of them. 
 Alunsina resented this reproach, and they
quarreled all day. In his anger, Tungkung
Langit drove his wife away. And with that,
Alunsina suddenly disappeared, without a
word or a trace to where she went. A few days
passed, Tungkung Langit felt very lonely and
longed for his wife. He realized that he should
not have lost his temper. But it was too late,
Alunsina is gone.  Their home which was once
vibrant with Alunsina's sweet voice, his home
became cold and desolate. In the morning
when he woke up, he would find himself alone.
In the afternoon when he came home, he would
feel loneliness creeping deep within him.
 For months Tungkung Langit lived in utter desolation. Try as he did he could not find
Alunsina. And so in his desperation, he decided to do something to forget his sorrow and win
back his wife’s favor. So he came down to earth and planted trees and flowers that she may
notice it, but she still didn’t come home. Then in desperation, he took his wife's jewels and
scattered them in the sky. He hoped that when Alunsina should see them she might be induced
to return home. 
 Alunsina's necklace became the stars, her comb the moon, and her crown the sun. But in spite
of all his efforts, Alunsina did not return home. Until now, as the story goes, Tungkung Langit
lives alone in his palace in the skies and sometimes, he would cry out for Alunsina and his
tears would fall down upon the earth as rain and his loud voice, calling out for his wife, was
believed to be the thunder during storms, begging for her to come back to their heavenly
palace once more.