Life of Lam-ang (Biag ni Lam-Ang)- Anatomy of an Ilocano Epic

The theme of the epic revolves around the bravery and courage of the main character portrayed by Lam-ang, who was gifted with speech as early as his day of birth, who embarked on a series of adventures which culminated in his heroic death and subsequent resurrection.

This series of adventures started with his search for his lost father who was murdered by the head-hunting Igorots in the Igorot country. While on his way, he met a certain Sumarang, whose name connotes obstruction, who tried to dissuade him from proceeding and who taunted him into a fight. The fight that ensued proved fatal to Sumarang as he was blown three kingdoms away with a spear pierced through his stomach. This encounter led to another when he met a nine-headed serpent who, like Sumarang earlier tried to dissuade him from going any further. The serpent having been ignored challenged him into a fight which cost the serpent its heads.

Lam-ang went on until he found it necessary to rest and take a short nap. While asleep, he dreamed of his fathers head being an object of festivities among the Igorots. He immediately arose and continued his journey until he found the Igorots indeed feasting over his fathers head.

He asked the Igorots why they killed his father, but the Igorots instead advised him to go home if he did not want to suffer the same fate which his father suffered. This was accompanied by a challenge to a fight, despite their obvious numerical superiority. But Lam-ang, armed with supernatural powers, handily defeated them, giving the last surviving Igorot a slow painful death by cutting his hands and his ears and finally carving out his eyes to show his anger for what they had done to his father.

Satisfied with his revenge, he went home. At home, he thought of taking a swim in the Cordan River with the company of Cannoyan and her lady-friends. So he proceeded to Cannoyans place in the town of Calanutian, disregarding her mothers advice to the contrary. On his way, he met a woman and named Saridandan, whose name suggests that she was a woman of ill repute. He resisted her blandishments, for his feeling for Cannoyan was far greater for anyone to take.

When he reached Cannoyans house, he found a multitude of suitors futilely vying for her hand. With the help of his pets - the cock and the dog - he was able to catch Cannoyans attention. He asked her to go with him to the river along with her lady-friends. She acceded. While washing himself in the river, the river swelled, and the shrimps, fishes and other creatures in the river were agitated for the dirt washed from his body was too much. As they were about to leave the river, Lam-ang noticed a giant crocodile. He dove back into the water and engaged with the creature in a fierce fight until the creature was subdued. He brought it ashore and instructed the ladies to pull its teeth to serve as amulets against danger during journeys. Acknowledgment: three versions of Lam-ang in different artstyles, from Internet,Wikipedia, and concerned artists.

Back at Cannoyans house, he was confronted by her parents with an inquiry as to what his real intention was. He had to set aside his alibi that he went there to ask Cannoyan and her friends to accompany him to the river, and told them, through his spokesman - the cock - that he came to ask for Cannoyans hand in marriage. He was told that if he desired to marry Cannoyan, he must first be able to match their wealth, for which he willingly complied. Having satisfied her parents, he went home to his mother and enjoined her and his townspeople to attend his wedding which was to take place in Cannoyans town.

The wedding was elaborate, an event that involved practically everyone in town. There were fireworks, musical band, and display of attractive items like the glasses, the mirror, the slippers, clothes and nice food. After the wedding, Lam-angs party plus his wife and her town mates went back to their town of Nalbuan, where festivities were resumed. The guests expressed a desire to taste a delicacy made of rarang fish.

Lam-ang was obliged to go to the sea and catch the fish. Before going, however, his rooster warned that something unpleasant was bound to happen. This warning proved true, as Lam-ang was swallowed by a big bercacan, or shark-like fish. Cannoyan mourned and for a while she thought there was no way to retrieve her lost husband. But the rooster indicated that if only all the bones could be gathered back, Lam-ang could be brought to life again.

She then enlisted the aid of a certain diver named Marcus, who was ready to come to her aid to look for the bones. When all Lam-angs bones were gathered, the rooster crowed and the bones moved. The dog barked, and Lam-ang arose and was finally resurrected. Cannoyan embraced him. For his deep appreciation for the help of his pets - the cock and the dog - and of Marcus the diver, he promised that each other would get his or its due reward. And they lived happily ever after.

This synopsis is based on the transcription made by Jose Llanes from a recitation by memory of the poem by an old farmer, one Francisco Magana, from Bangui Ilocos Norte, sometime in 1947. Of the six old versions of the epic which include a Zarzuela (folk stage play) written by Eufemio L. Inofinada, the Llanes version (206 stanzas) and that of Leopoldo Yabes (305 stanzas) are the most popular. Many believe that the author of the epic is Pedro Bucaneg, a blind Ilocano poet who lived during the early part of Spanish colonization. On close examination the farmers (Magana) version pre-dates the Bucanegs Hispanized version, because the farmer clings more closely to ethnical culture, and is richer with indigenous and pagan influences. Historians believe that Biag ni Lam-ang is an epic drawn out from oral tradition handed down through countless generations in the same way the Greeks Iliad and Odyssey were handed down through centuries to the modern world. Historians like H. Otley Beyer, Fox, Fay-Cooper Cole and Jose R. Calip believe in the pre- Hispanic origin of the poem. Calip in his doctoral dissertation, University of Santo Tomas, 1957, further stated that it is not a product of any single mind but as a property of the people- a floating wisdom from the centuries into the generations. Through a long, slow evolutionary process, it floated from one century to another, and grew into several versions retaining a lucid mirror of the people of the past, reflecting their own values, environment and culture. Reference: Lam-ang in Transition by Kenneth E.Bauzon, Philippine Social Sciences and Humanities Review, Vol XXXVIII, No.3-4.(Dr.A.V.Rotor)

The Great Flood - Myth The Great Flood, many of us know about it from the Bible, but have you ever wondered if there are other versions of the story?The Tingians, a group of pagan people inhabiting the interior hills of Abra have their own story of the Great Deluge.

The tragic incident began with the abduction of Humitau, a sea-maiden guard of Tau-mari-u, lord of the sea, by Aponi-tolau.

One day, Aponi-tolau, god-hero of the Tingians, went down to the lowlands. He wandered aimlessly through the plains until he reached the seashore. The calm blue sea, massive and yet helpless beneath the morning sun which flooded it with golden light, fascinated the young man. And unable to resist the beauty of the dancing wavelets, he made a rattan raft and rowed seaward.

On and on he rowed until he came to the edge of the world. There, in a place where the sea and the sky meet, Aponi-tolau saw a towering rock, home of Tau-mari-u. lord of the sea. It was guarded by nine beautiful daughters of the seaweeds. The radiance of the ocean light reflecting silver and gold upon the greenish hair of the nine guards as they played around the palace gates, chasing one another in gay laughter, attracted the mountain lord.

Gathering the courage the Tingian warrior went nearer the palace gates. However, when he inquired what place it was, the maiden guard laughed at him and lured him further inside the palace walls. This made Aponi-tolau very angry. Taking his magic hook, he lashed at the unsuspecting maidens.

The hook hit the youngest and the most beautiful among them, Humitau. The young diwata gave a loud and piercing scream and struggled desperately to free herself from Aponi-tolau's grip. But the magic oil which the mountain lord had placed at the tip of his hook weakened her blood and soon she was helpless.

A wild uproar followed as the guards screamed and fled the gates. Aponi-tolau hurriedly picked up the unconscious body of the sea-maiden, loaded it on his rattan raft and rowed shoreward. Shortly after the Tingian hero had left the bauwi ( native hut ) gates, Tau-mari-u went out of his abode to see what was the commotion was all about. But he was too late.

In his rage, Tau-mari-u summoned the waves and tunas of the sea and ordered them to bring back the intruder. The waves lashed at the raft of the mountain warrior and the tunas pushed it back.

Alarmed, Aponi-tolau cried out to his mother, Lang-an of Kadalayapan, mistress of the wind and rain, for help. The great goddess heard her sons plea and immediately sent down strong winds to pull Aponi-tolau and efforts of the tunas, the Tingian warrior was able to reach the shore unharmed.

But Tau-mari-u was furious. He immediately called a meeting of the gods and demigods of the seas and oceans, who agreed to punish the dwellers of the land for what Aponi-tolau had done.

From the sky, Lang-an knew the plan. She immediately called for the north wind and sent him to warn her son of the impending flood. She instructed the mountain lord to go to the highest peak of the Cordillera mountains for safety. Obediently, Aponi-tolau took the members of his household to the mountain top and waited. The flood came. From his bauwi Aponi-tolau saw mighty waves sweeping across the plains, filling the valleys, and destroying the crops and working animals of the inhabitants. Higher and higher went the water until it covered the mountain top but for the few square meters where Aponi-tolau and his household took shelter.

Frightened, Humitau gave a desperate cry. She knew that she could no longer swim or live in the water after having tasted the mountain food which her husband had given her. The charm removed her seapowers. She imploted Tau-mari-u to save her.Ako ang Daigdig I am The World ni Alejandro G. Abadilla

I Ako IAng daigdig Am the World

Ako IAng tula Am the Poetry

Ako ang daigdig I am the WorldAng tula the Poetry

Ako ang daigdig I am the WorldNa tula of PoetryAng tula The PoetryNg daigdig of the World

Ako IAng walang maliw na ako The Never-ending MeAng walang kamatayang ako The Undying MeAng tula ng daigdig The Poetry of the World

IIAko IAng daigdig ng tula The World of Poetry

Ako IAng tula ng daigdig The Poetry of the World

Ako IAng malayang ako The Freeborn MeMatapat sa sarili Honest to MyselfSa aking daigdig To my Own Worldng tula Of Poetry

Ako IAng tula Am the PoetrySa daigdig To the World

Ako IAng daigdig Am the WorldNg tula Of PoetryAko I

IIIAko IAng damdaming The PassionatelyMalaya Free

Ako ang buhay I am the LifeNa walang hanggan That is Eternal

Ako IAng damdamin The emotionAng larawan The reflectionAng buhay The life

Damdamin EmotionLarawan ReflectionBuhay LifeTula PoetryAko I

IVAko IAng daigdig The WorldSa tula In Poetry

Ako IAng tula The PoetrySa daigdig In the World

Ako IAng tula Am the Poetry

Daigdig WorldTula Poetryako IFootnote to Youth by: Jose Garcia Villa The sun was salmon and hazy in the west. Dodong thought to himself he would tell his father about Teang when he got home, after he had unhitched the carabao from the plow, and led it to its shed and fed it. He was hesitant about saying it, he wanted his father to know what he had to say was of serious importance as it would mark a climacteric in his life. Dodong finally decided to tell it, but a thought came to him that his father might refuse to consider it. His father was a silent hardworking farmer, who chewed areca nut, which he had learned to do from his mother, Dodongs grandmother.He wished as he looked at her that he had a sister who could help his mother in the housework.

I will tell him. I will tell it to him.The ground was broken up into many fresh wounds and fragrant with a sweetish earthy smell. Many slender soft worm emerged from the further rows and then burrowed again deeper into the soil. A short colorless worm marched blindly to Dodongs foot and crawled clammilu over it. Dodong got tickled and jerked his foot, flinging the worm into the air. Dodong did not bother to look where into the air, but thought of his age, seventeen, and he said to himself he was not young anymore.Dodong unhitched the carabao leisurely and fave it a healthy tap on the hip. The beast turned its head to look at him with dumb faithful eyes. Dodong gave it a slight push and the animal walked alongside him to its shed. He placed bundles of grass before it and the carabao began to eat. Dodong looked at it without interest.Dodong started homeward thinking how he would break his news to his father. He wanted to marry, Dodong did. He was seventeen, he had pimples on his face, then down on his upper lip was dark-these meant he was no longer a boy. He was growing into a man he was a man. Dodong felt insolent and big at the thought of it, although he was by nature low in stature.Thinking himself man grown, Dodong felt he could do anything.He walked faster, prodded by the thought of his virility. A small angled stone bled his foot, but he dismissed it cursorily. He lifted his leg and looked at the hurt toe and then went on walking. In the cool sundown, he thought wild young dreams of himself and Teang, his girl. She had a small brown face and small black eyes and straight glossy hair. How desirable she was to him. She made him want to touch her, to hold her. She made him dream even during the day.Dodong tensed with desire and looked at the muscle of his arms. Dirty. This fieldwork was healthy invigorating, but it begrimed you, smudged you terribly. He turned back the way he had come, then marched obliquely to a creek.Must you marry, Dodong?Dodong resented his fathers question; his father himself had married early.

Dodong stripped himself and laid his clothes, a gray under shirt and red kundiman shorts, on the grass. Then he went into the water, wet his body over and rubbed at it vigorously. He was not long in bathing, then he marched homeward again. The bath made him feel cool. It was dusk when he reached home. The petroleum lamp on the ceiling was already lighted and the low unvarnished square table was set for supper. He and his parents sat down on the floor around the table to eat. They had fried freshwater fish, and rice, but did not partake of the fruit. The bananas were overripe and when one held the,, they felt more fluid than solid. Dodong broke off a piece of caked sugar, dipped it in his glass of water and ate it. He got another piece and wanted some more, but he thought of leaving the remainder for his parent.Dodongs mother removed the dishes when they were through, and went with slow careful steps and Dodong wanted to help her carry the dishes out. But he was tired and now, feld lazy. He wished as he looked at her that he had a sister who could help his mother in the housework. He pitied her, doing all the housework alone.His father remained in the room, sucking a diseased tooth. It was paining him, again. Dodong knew, Dodong had told him often and again to let the town dentist pull it out, but he was afraid, his father was. He did not tell that to Dodong, but Dodong guessed it. Afterward, Dodong himself thought that if he had a decayed tooth, he would be afraid to go to the dentist; he would not be any bolder than his father.Dodong said while his mother was out that he was going to marry Teang. There it was out, what we had to say, and over which he head said it without any effort at all and without self-consciousness. Dodong felt relived and looked at his father expectantly. A decresent moon outside shed its feebled light into the window, graying the still black temples of his father. His father look old now.I am going to marry Teang, Dodong said.His father looked at him silently and stopped sucking the broken tooth, The silenece became intense and cruel, and Dodong was uncomfortable and then became very angry because his father kept looking at him without uttering anything.I will marry Teang, Dodong repeated. I will marry Teang.

His father kept gazing at him in flexible silence and Dodong fidgeted on his seat.I asked her last night to marry me and she said Yes. I want your permission I want it There was an impatient clamor in his voice, an exacting protest at his coldness, this indifference. Dodong looked at his father sourly. He cracked his knuckles one by one, and the little sound it made broke dully the night stillness.Must you marry, Dodong?Dodong resented his fathers question; his father himself had married early. Dodong made a quick impassioned essay in his mind about selfishness, but later, he got confused.You are very young, Dodong.Im seventeen.Thats very young to get married at.I I want to marry Teangs a good girlTell your mother, his father said.You tell her, Tatay.Dodong, you tell your Inay.You tell her.All right, Dodong.All right, Dodong.You will let me marry Teang?Son, if that is your wish of course There was a strange helpless light in his fathers eyes. Dodong did not read it. Too absorbed was he in himself.Dodong was immensely glad he has asserted himself. He lost his resentment for his father, for a while, he even felt sorry for him about the pain I his tooth. Then he confined his mind dreaming of Teang and himself. Sweet young dreams***Dodong stood in the sweltering noon heat, sweating profusely so that his camiseta was damp. He was still like a tree and his thoughts were confused. His mother had told him not to leave the house, but he had left. He wanted to get out of it without clear reason at all. He was afraid, he felt afraid of the house. It had seemingly caged him, to compress his thoughts with severe tyranny. He was also afraid of Teang who was giving birth in the house; she face screams that chilled his blood. He did not want her to scream like that. He began to wonder madly if the process of childbirth was really painful. Some women, when they gave birth, did not cry.In a few moments he would be a father. Father, father, he whispered the word with awe, with strangeness. He was young, he realized now contradicting himself of nine months ago. He was very young He felt queer, troubled, uncomfortable.Dodong felt tired of standing. He sat down on a saw-horse with his feet close together. He looked at his calloused toes. Then he thought, supposed he had ten childrenThe journey of thought came to a halt when he heard his mothers voice from the house.Some how, he was ashamed to his mother of his youthful paternity. It made him feel guilty, as if he had taken something not properly his.Come up, Dodong. It is over.Suddenly, he felt terribly embarrassed as he looked at her. Somehow, he was ashamed to his mother of his youthful paternity. It made him feel guilty, as if he has taken something not properly his. He dropped his eyes and pretended to dust off his kundiman shorts.Dodong, his mother called again. Dodong.He turned to look again and this time, he saw his father beside his mother.It is a boy. His father said. He beckoned Dodong to come up.Dodong felt more embarrassed and did not move. His parents eyes seemed to pierce through him so he felt limp. He wanted to hide or even run away from them.Dodong, you come up. You come up, his mother said.Dodong did not want to come up. Hed rather stayed in the sun.Dodong Dodong.Ill come up.Dodong traced the tremulous steps on the dry parched yard. He ascended the bamboo steps slowly. His heart pounded mercilessly in him. Within, he avoided his parents eyes. He walked ahead of them so that they should not see his face. He felt guilty and untru. He felt like crying. His eyes smarted and his chest wanted to burst. He wanted to turn back, to go back to the yard. He wanted somebody to punish him.Son, his father said.And his mother: Dodong..How kind their voices were. They flowed into him, making him strong.Teanf? Dodong said.Shes sleeping. But you go inHis father led him into the small sawali room. Dodong saw Teang, his wife, asleep on the paper with her soft black hair around her face. He did not want her to look that pale.Dodong wanted to touch her, to push away that stray wisp of hair that touched her lips. But again that feeling of embarrassment came over him, and before his parent, he did not want to be demonstrative.The hilot was wrapping the child Dodong heard him cry. The thin voice touched his heart. He could not control the swelling of happiness in him.You give him to me. You give him to me, Dodong said.***Blas was not Dodongs only child. Many more children came. For six successive years, a new child came along. Dodong did not want any more children. But they came. It seemed that the coming of children could not helped. Dodong got angry with himself sometimes.Teang did not complain, but the bearing of children tolled on her. She was shapeless and thin even if she was young. There was interminable work that kept her tied up. Cooking, laundering. The house. The children. She cried sometimes, wishing she had no married. She did not tell Dodong this, not wishing him to dislike her. Yet, she wished she had not married. Not even Dodong whom she loved. There had neen another suitor, Lucio older than Dodong by nine years and that wasw why she had chosen Dodong. Young Dodong who was only seventeen. Lucio had married another. Lucio, she wondered, would she have born him children? Maybe not, either. That was a better lot. But she loved Dodong in the moonlight, tired and querulous. He wanted to ask questions and somebody to answer him. He wanted to be wise about many thins.Life did not fulfill all of Youths dreams.Why must be so? Why one was forsaken after love?

One of them was why life did not fulfill all of the youth dreams. Why it must be so. Why one was forsaken after love.Dodong could not find the answer. Maybe the question was not to be answered. It must be so to make youth. Youth must be dreamfully sweet. Dreamfully sweet.Dodong returned to the house, humiliated by himself. He had wanted to know little wisdom but was denied it.When Blas was eighteen, he came home one night, very flustered and happy. Dodong heard Blas steps for he could not sleep well at night. He watched Blass undress in the dark and lie down softly. Blas was restless on his mat and could not sleep. Dodong called his name and asked why he did not sleep.You better go to sleep. It is late, Dodong said.Life did not fulfill all of youths dreams. Why it must be so? Why one was forsaken after love?Itay.. Blas called softly.Dodong stirred and asked him what it was.Im going to marry Tona. She accepted me tonight.Itay, you think its over.Dodong lay silent.I loved Tona and I want her.Dodong rose from his mat and told Blas to follow him. They descended to the yard where everything was still and quiet.The moonlight was cold and white.You want to marry Tona, Dodong said, although he did not want Blas to marry yet. Blas was very young. The life that would follow marriage would be hardYes.Must you marry?Blas voice was steeled with resentment. I will mary Tona.You have objection, Itay? Blas asked acridly.Son non But for Dodong, he do anything. Youth must triumph now. Afterward It will be life.As long ago, Youth and Love did triumph for Dodong and then life.Dodong looked wistfully at his young son in the moonlight. He felt extremely sad and sorry for him.MARIA MAKILING Mariang Makiling is said to be the mysterious fairy guarding Mount Makiling. No one knows how old she is. It is believed she is as old as the mountain itself. The very few people who have seen her wandering around the thick forest of Makiling say she is tall and graceful, with brown skin, deep black eyes, and hair almost touching the ground. Deer hunters have seen her standing on the edge of a cliff on moonlit nights, with her long hair floating in the air and her singing echoing throughout the deep valleys.

Mariang Makiling likes to appear after a storm. She strolls around the woods to straighten broken trunks, replace nests on the branches of trees, mend the wings of butterflies, and clear the streams of fallen twigs and logs. As she walks around, all signs of the storm disappear; roses and orchids bloom, birds chirp with glee, and deer run around once again.

Mariang Makiling is also known to have a good heart. She would appear as a young girl to help old women gather firewood. She would then slip gold nuggets, coins, and jewels into their bundles of wood. She would also invite tired hunters to her home where she will serve them a warm meal and cold drinks. She often gives them a small parting gift of ginger, which hunters discover to have turned into gold when they arrive home.

Many of those who were granted Mariang Makilings generosity knows well how to repay her kindness. They thus leave on the grounds of Mount Makiling a hen that is less than one year old and with feathers as white as milk. White hens are her favourite treats.

Mariang Makiling has often appeared as an old woman begging for food from hunters. She does this to test their kindness to those in need. People who refuse to help her are chased away from the forest with the sound of howling monsters hiding in the shadows of the woods.

As time went by people saw less of Mariang Makiling. She no longer appears to people to bring them gifts of gold and jewels. Hunters have no one to turn to when they are hungry and thirsty.

Many blame Mariang Makilings disappearance from the forest on the people who do not return her generosity. Others say that the cutting of trees and excessive hunting of wild animals have greatly disappointed Mariang Makiling that she refuses to come out anymore. But the tale of the mysterious fairy of Mount Makiling lives on.

The Legend of the Magat River A long time ago, there lived in Bayombong a tall, handsome mancalled Magat. He was young and strong, and fast as a hunter and sure in his spear shot. He could run as fast as a deer and strong as he was, he could down a bull with ease. He was strong-willed and obstinate but he was also kind and gentle. Except for a few who envied him his prowess, everybody in the village loved and respected him. Magat loved outdoor life, and roamed in the forest surrounding the struggling settlement. One day, fired by adventure he wandered farther than usual. Soon night came. Being far from home, he kindled a fire in his crude, primitive way. he lay beside the fire and fell asleep. Early the next morning, he pursued his solitary way. Finally he came upon the largest streamhe had ever seen. He stopped and crawled noisily to the bankof the river near the fall. Upon parting the tall grasses he beheld a lovely sight just across the stream-beneath the shade of the outspreading branches of the big balete tree was a very beautiful maiden. She was bathing and was nude from the waist up. She was the most beautiful woman Magat had ever seen and he fell in love with her at first sight. From where he was hiding, Magat's attention was attracted by a silent movement on a spreading branch; Magat saw a great python, coiled around the branch, which was ready to attack the beautiful woman. He jumped backward. The noise he made drew the attention of the maiden, who, turning around, saw him poise a spear. She mistook his attitude for hostility and ducked under water. Just as the python sprang, the spear flew from Magat's hand. The snake was struck right through the eyes and brain. The next moment, Magat was in the water and carried the beautiful Maiden ashore. She struggled a little but did not scream, as she modestly tried to cover her body with her long dark hair. Magat pointed to the writhing python.Upon seeing it, she screamed instinctively and drew close to Magat, who put a protectingarm around her lovely shoulders. Gratitude and admiration were all over her pretty face. Magat picked up his broken spear and went back to the young woman. They wandered about in the forest. Under the spell of nature, Magat asked the woman to be his wife; the woman, after making Magat promise in the name of the great Kabunian not to see her at noon, consented. He brought her home and made a cozy room for her. Everything went well and happily for a while. But the passing days, his curiosity mounted more and more and at last, it grew out of bounds. One noon, he broke his promise and broke into his wife's seclusion. In his wife's bed of soft leaves and grasses he beheld a sight that chilled his heart. A great crocodile was lying on his wife's bed. Believing that his wife had met a horrible death, he rushed to the kitchen, fetched an ugly weapon and returned to his wife's room. He raised his weapon to kill the crocodile when suddenly he saw his wife on the bed instead of the crocodile. His wife was dying. "you broke your promise. I can no longer be happy nor live any longer. I must die." his wife sobbed. Slowly life ebbed from her. On her beautiful skin, scales appeared, as she turned into a crocodile before his very eyes. That was his punishmentfor having broken his promise made in the name of Kabunian. Sadly, Magat buried the dead crocodile in his front yard. worn out by grief for his lack of fidelity to his word and over the death of his lovely wife, he drowned himself and his miseries in the same stream grew into the mighty troublesome Magat river.

Love of Country

What love can bepurer and greaterthan love of country?What love? No other love, none.

Even when the mind repeatedly reads and try to understand the history that is written and printedby humanity, this (love of country) can be seenHoly love! when bornof a pure heart,the humble and the backwoodsman, the poor, the unletteredbecome great and respected.

Love of countryis always the desire of a man with honor;In songs, in poetry, in his writingsthe greatness of the country is always the theme.

Nothing dear to a person with a pure heart is denied to the country that gave him birth: blood, wealth, knowledge, sacrifices, E'en if life itself ends.

Why? what is this that is so bigto which is dedicated with utmost devotion,all that is dearand to which life is sacrificed.

Ah, this is the Mother country of one's birth,she is the mother on whomthe soft rays of the sun shine,which gives strength to the weak body.

To her one owes the first kissof the wind that is the balmof the oppressed heart drowningin the deep well of misfortune and suffering.

Entwined with this is love of country, everything that is dear to the memory, from the happy and careless childhood to the hour of death.

The bygone days of joy,the future that is hopedwill free the slaves,where can this be found but in one's native land?

Every tree and branchof her fields and forest joyful to behold,'tis enough to see them to rememberthe mother, the loved one, and the happiness now gone.

Her clear waters -- they come from the mountain springs, the soft whisper of the rushing wavelets enlivens the sorrowing heart.

How unfortunate to be separated from the country!Even memory is in sorrow's embrace,nothing is desiredbut to see the country of one's birth.

If this country is in dangerand she needs defending,Forsaken are the children,the wife, the parents, the brothers and sistersat the country's beck and call.

And if our land, Filipinas,* is offended and her honor, reason, and dignity outraged, by a traitorous foreign country;

What unhappiness and grief will invade the heart of the Filipino?**And will not even the most peaceful Rise to avenge her honor?

Where will the strengthto take revenge and to throw away life come,if none can be relied upon for help,but those suffering from slavery?

If his suffering and slavery are in the mire of deceit and oppression, one holds the whip, the chains that bind, and only tears are allowed to roll down.

Who is there to whom her condition Will not fill the soul with sorrow? Will the heart most hardened by treachery Not be moved to give her its life blood?

Will not, perchance, her sorrow Drive the Filipinos to come to the rescue of the mother in agony, trampled underfoot by the mean Spaniards?

Where is the honor of the Filipino?**where is the blood that should be shed?The country is being oppressed, why not make a move,you are shocked witnessing this.

Go, you who have livedin the full hope of comfort,and who reaped nothing but bitterness,Go and love the oppressed country.

You who, from the stream of your breast, have lost the holy desire to sacrifice, Once more let true love flow, express that love for the imprisoned country.

You from whom the fruit and flowers of your life have been plucked by intrigues and incomparable sufferings, once more freshen up and love thy country.

You, so many hearts that... ?*of cheating and oppression of the mean in actions,now rise up and save the country,snatch it from the claws of the tyrant.

You who are poor without... ?* except to live in poverty and suffering, protect the country if your desire is to end your sufferings, for her progress is for all.

Dedicate with all your love -- as long there is blood -- shed every drop of it, If for the defense of the country life is... ?* this is fate and true glory.THE WEDDING DANCEThere was a couple namedAwiyao and Lumnay. They were married for a long time but Awiyao her husband has to marry another girl named Madulimay because Lumnay cannot bear a child. On the night of the wedding of Awiyao and Madulimay, Awiyao went to his and Lumnay's house where they used to live to personally invite his ex wife to join the dance but Lumnay refuses to join. Lumnay is the best dancer in their tribe.

They had a heart-to-heart talk about their separation, and on their conversation they found out that the couple still had a thing on each other. They still love each other but they have to separate becausetheir tribes custom is--every man in that tribe should have one (or more) child that would carry his name and if his wife cannot give him a child he can marry another woman. It's a man's necessity to have a child.Lumnay can hardly let go of her husband. The two both agreed that if Awiyao's second marriage did not work, he will go back to Lumnay's arms and this was sealed by the beads that Lumnay will keep. Then Awiyao goes back to the wedding because someone is calling him already. After being fetched by others, Lumnay decided to go to the wedding not to dance or to join the celebration but to stop the wedding. She decided to break the unwritten law of her tribe, but when she is near all her guts to stop the wedding suddenly disappeared.She did not have the courage to break into the wedding feast.Lumnay walked away from the dancing ground, away from the village. She went to the mountain instead and in the mountain is where she diverted all her bitterness in her and she partly reminisce their story of Awiyao.

THE STORY OF BANTUGANBefore the Spaniards occupied the island of Mindanao, there lived in the valley of the Rio Grande a very strong man, Bantugan, whose father was the brother of the earthquake and thunder. Now the Sultan of the Island had a beautiful daughter whom Bantugan wished to marry, but the home of the Sultan was far off, and whoever went to carry Bantugan's proposal would have a long and hazardous journey. All the head men consulted together regarding who should be sent, and at last it was decided that Bantugan's own son, Balatama, was the one to go. Balatama was young but he was strong and brave, and when the arms of his father were given him to wear on the long journey his heart swelled with pride. More than once on the way, however, his courage was tried, and only the thought of his brave father gave him strength to proceed.Once he came to a wooden fence which surrounded a stone in the form of a man, and as it was directly in his path he drew his fighting knife to cut down the fence. Immediately the air became as black as night and stones rained down as large as houses. This made Balatama cry, but he protected himself with his father's shield and prayed, calling on the winds from the homeland until they came and cleared the air again.Thereupon Balatama encountered a great snake in the road, and it inquired his errand. When told, the snake said:"You cannot go on, for I am guard of this road and no one can pass."The animal made a move to seize him, but with one stroke of his fighting knife the boy cut the snake into two pieces, one of which he threw into the sea and the other into the mountains.After many days the weary lad came to a high rock in the road, which glistened in the sunlight. From the top he could look down into the city for which he was bound. It was a splendid place with ten harbors. Standing out from the other houses was one of crystal and another of pure gold. Encouraged by this sight he went on, but though it seemed but a short distance, it was some time before he at last stood at the gate of the town.It was not long after this, however, before Balatama had made known his errand to the Sultan, and that monarch, turning to his courtiers, said: "You, my friends, decide whether or not I shall give the hand of my daughter to Bantugan in marriage."The courtiers slowly shook their heads and began to offer objections.Said one, "I do not see how Bantugan can marry the Sultan's daughter because the first gift must be a figure of a man or woman in pure gold.""Well," said the son of Bantugan, "I am here to learn what you want and to say whether or not it can be given."Then a second man spoke: "You must give a great yard with a floor of gold, which must be three feet thick.""All this can be given," answered the boy.And the sister of the Princess said: "The gifts must be as many as the blades of grass in our city.""It shall be granted," said Balatama."You must give a bridge built of stone to cross the great river," said one.And another: "A ship of stone you must give, and you must change into gold all the cocoanuts and leaves in the Sultan's grove.""All this can be done," said Balatama. "My uncles will give all save the statue of gold, and that I shall give myself. But first I must go to my father's town to secure it."At this they were angry and declared that he had made sport of them and unless he produced the statue at once they would kill him."If I give you the statue now," said he, "there will come dreadful storms, rain, and darkness."But they only laughed at him and insisted on having the statue, so he reached in his helmet and drew it forth.Immediately the earth began to quake. A great storm arose, and stones as large as houses rained until the Sultan called to Balatama to put back the statue lest they all be killed."You would not believe what I told you," said the boy; "and now I am going to let the storm continue."But the Sultan begged him and promised that Bantugan might marry his daughter with no other gifts at all save the statue of gold. Balatama put back the statue into his helmet, and the air became calm again to the great relief of the Sultan and his courtiers. Then Balatama prepared to return home, promising that Bantugan would come in three months for the wedding.All went well with the boy on the way home until he came to the fence surrounding the stone in the form of a man, and there he was detained and compelled to remain four months.Now about this time a Spanish general heard that Bantugan was preparing to marry the Sultan's daughter, whom he determined to wed himself. A great expedition was prepared, and he with all his brothers embarked on his large warship which was followed by ten thousand other ships. They went to the Sultan's city, and their number was so great that they filled the harbor, frightening the people greatly.Then the General's brother disembarked and came to the house of the Sultan. He demanded the Princess for the General, saying that if the request were refused, the fleet would destroy the city and all its people. The Sultan and his courtiers were so frightened that they decided to give his daughter to the General, the next full moon being the date set for the wedding.In the meantime Bantugan had been preparing everything for the marriage which he expected to take place at the appointed time. But as the days went by and Balatama did not return, they became alarmed, fearing he was dead. After three months had passed, Bantugan prepared a great expedition to go in search of his son, and the great warship was decorated with flags of gold.As they came in sight of the Sultan's city, they saw the Spanish fleet in the harbor, and one of his brothers advised Bantugan not to enter until the Spaniards left They then brought their ship to anchor. But all were disappointed that they could not go farther, and one said, "Why do we not go on? Even if the blades of grass turn into Spaniards we need not fear." Another said: "Why do we fear? Even if the cannon-balls come like rain, we can always fight." Finally some wanted to return to their homes and Bantugan said: "No, let us seek my son. Even though we must enter the harbor where the Spaniards are, let us continue our search." So at his command the anchors were lifted, and they sailed into the harbor where the Spanish fleet lay.Now at this very time the Spanish general and his brother were with the Sultan, intending to call upon the Princess. As the brother talked with one of the sisters of the Princess they moved toward the window, and looking down they saw Bantugan's ships entering the harbor. They could not tell whose flags the ships bore. Neither could the Sultan when he was called. Then he sent his brother to bring his father who was a very old man, to see if he could tell. The father was kept in a little dark room by himself that he might not get hurt, and the Sultan said to his brother:"If he is so bent with age that he cannot see, talk, or walk, tickle him in the ribs and that will make him young again; and, my Brother, carry him here yourself lest one of the slaves should let him fall and he should hurt himself."So the old man was brought, and when he looked out upon the ships he saw that the flags were those of the father of Bantugan who had been a great friend of his in his youth. And he told them that he and Bantugan's father years ago had made a contract that their children and children's children should intermarry, and now since the Sultan had promised his daughter to two people, he foresaw that great trouble would come to the land. Then the Sultan said to the General:"Here are two claimants to my daughter's hand. Go aboard your ships and you and Bantugan make war on each other, and the victor shall have my daughter."So the Spaniards opened fire upon Bantugan, and for three days the earth was so covered with smoke from the battle that neither could see his enemy. Then the Spanish general said:"I cannot see Bantugan or the fleet anywhere, so let us go and claim the Princess."But the Sultan said: "We must wait until the smoke rises to make sure that Bantugan is gone."When the smoke rose, the ships of Bantugan were apparently unharmed and the Sultan said:"Bantugan has surely won, for his fleet is uninjured while yours is badly damaged. You have lost.""No," said the General, "we will fight it out on dry land."So they both landed their troops and their cannon, and a great fight took place, and soon the ground was covered with dead bodies. And the Sultan commanded them to stop, as the women and children in the city were being killed by the cannon-balls, but the General said:"If you give your daughter to Bantugan we shall fight forever or until we die."Then the Sultan sent for Bantugan and said:"We must deceive the Spaniard in order to get him to go away. Let us tell him that neither of you will marry my daughter, and then after he has gone, we shall have the wedding."Bantugan agreed to this, and word was sent to the Spaniards that the fighting must cease since many women and children were being killed. So it was agreed between the Spaniard and Bantugan that neither of them should marry the Princess. Then they both sailed away to their homes.Bantugan soon returned, however, and married the Princess, and on the way back to his home they found his son and took him with them. For about a week the Spanish general sailed toward his home and then he, too, turned about to go back, planning to take the Princess by force. When he found that she had already been carried away by Bantugan, his wrath knew no bounds. He destroyed the Sultan, his city, and all its people. And then he sailed away to prepare a great expedition with which he should utterly destroy Bantugan and his country as well.One morning Bantugan looked out and saw at the mouth of the Rio Grande the enormous fleet of the Spaniards whose numbers were so great that in no direction could the horizon be seen. His heart sank within him, for he knew that he and his country were doomed.Though he could not hope to win in a fight against such great numbers, he called his headmen together and said:"My Brothers, the Christian dogs have come to destroy the land. We cannot successfully oppose them, but in the defense of the fatherland we can die."So the great warship was again prepared, and all the soldiers of Islam embarked, and then with Bantugan standing at the bow they sailed forth to meet their fate.The fighting was fast and furious, but soon the great warship of Bantugan filled with water until at last it sank, drawing with it hundreds of the Spanish ships. And then a strange thing happened. At the very spot where Bantugan's warship sank, there arose from the sea a great island which you can see today not far from the mouth of the Rio Grande. It is covered with bongo palms, and deep within its mountains live Bantugan and his warriors. A Moro sailboat passing this island is always scanned by Bantugan's watchers, and if it contains women such as he admires, they are snatched from their seats and carried deep into the heart of the mountain. For this reason Moro women fear even to sail near the island of Bongos.When the wife of Bantugan saw that her husband was no more and that his warship had been destroyed, she gathered together the remaining warriors and set forth herself to avenge him. In a few hours her ship was also sunk, and in the place where it sank there arose the mountain of Timaco.On this thickly wooded island are found white monkeys, the servants of the Princess, who still lives in the center of the mountain. On a quiet day high up on the mountain side one can hear the chanting and singing of the waiting-girls of the wife of Bantugan. The IBALON

A long time ago, there was a rich land called Ibalong. The hero Baltog, who came from Botavora of the brave clan of Lipod, came to this land when many monsters were still roaming in its very dark forests. He decided to stay and was the first to cultivate its field and to plant them with gabi.Then one night, a monstrous, wild boar known as Tandayag saw these field and destroyed the crops. Upon knowing this, Baltog decided to look for this boar with all his courage and patient. At last, as soon as he saw it, he fearlessly wrestled with it, with all his might. Baltog was unafraid. He was strong and brave. Though the Tandayag had very long fangs, he was able to pin down the monstrous, wild boar and break apart its very big jawbones. With this, Tandayag fell and died.After this fight, Baltog went to his house in Tondo, carrying the Tandayag broken bones. Then he hung it on a talisay tree in front of his house. Upon learning of the victory of their Chief Baltog, the people prepared a feast and celebrated. The very big jawbones of the dead boar became an attraction for everyone. Thus, came the tribes of Panikwason and Asog to marvel it.The second hero who came to the land of Ibalong was Handyong. Together with his men, he had to fight thousands of battles, and face many dangers to defeat the monster. As warriors, they first fought the one-eyed monster with the tree necks in the land of Ponong. For ten months, they fought without rest. And they never stopped fighting until all these monsters were killed.

Handyong and his men made their next attack against the giant flying sharks called Triburon which had hardly flesh and sawlike teeth that could crush rocks. They continued fighting until the defeat of the last Triburon.They tamed the wild carabaos. They even drove away the giant and very fierce Sarimao which had very sharp fingernails. And using their spears and arrows, they killed all the crocodiles which were as big as boats. With all these killings, the rivers and swamps of Ibalong turned red with blood. It was at this time that the savage monkeys became frightened and hid themselves.Among the enemies of Handyong and his men, the serpent Oryol was the hardest to kill. Having a beautiful voice, Oryol could change its image to deceive its enemies. To capture it, Handyong tried different ways. But Oryol escaped every one of it and disappeared.So alone and unafraid, Handyong decide to look for Oryol in the heart of the forest. He followed the beautiful voice and was almost enchanted by it in his pursuit. Days and nights passed until Oryol came to admire Handyongs bravery and gallantry. Then the serpent helped the hero to conquer monsters, thus restoring peace to the entire Ibalong.In one the areas of Ibalong called Ligmanan, Handyong built a town. Under his leadership and his laws, slaves and masters were treated equally. The people planted rice and because of their high regard of him they named this rice after him. He built the first boat to ride the waves of Ibalongs seas. Through his good example, his people became inspired and came up with their own inventions. There was Kimantong who made the plow, harrow and other farming tools. Hablom who invented the first loom for weaving abaca clothes, Dinahong an Agta, who created the stove, cooking pot, earthen jar and other kitchen utensils, and Sural who brilliantly thought of syllabary and started to write on a marble rock. This was a golden period in Ibalong.Then suddenly, there came a big flood caused by Unos, with terrifying earthquakes. The volcanoes of Hantik, Kulasi and Isarog erupted. Rivers changed their direction and the seas waves rolled high. Destruction was everywhere. Soon, the earth parted, mountains sank, a lake was formed, and many towns in Ibalong were ruined.Then appeared the giant Rabot, half-man and half-beast, with awesome and terrifying powers.People were asking who will fight against Rabot. So Bantong, the third hero was called. He was a good friend of Handyong. He was ordered to kill the new monster on Ibalong. To do this, he took with him a thousand warriors to attack Rabots den. But using his wisdom against Rabot, he did not attack the giant right away. He first observed Rabots ways. Looking around the giants den, he discovered that there were many rocks surrounding it, and these were the people who were turned into rocks by Rabot.Bantong also learned that Rabot loved to sleep during the day and stayed awake at night. So, he waited. When Rabot was already sleeping very soundly, Bantong came hear him. He cut the giant into two with his very sharp bolo and without any struggle, Rabot died. So Ibalong was at peace once more.

Characters of the story: Baltog- First hero of Ibalon who defeated the Tandayag. Handyong- Second hero who fought thousands of battles and defeated lots of monsters particularly theOne-eyed monster, Triburon, the Giant Carabaos, Sarimao, Crocodiles, and Serpent Oryol. Bantong- Third hero of Ibalon; a good friend of Handyong. Kimantong - He made the farming tools. Hablom- He invented the first loom for weaving abaca clothes. Dinahong- an Agta; created the kitchen utensils. Sural- he is the one who brilliantly thought of syllabary; he started to write on a marble rocks. Tandayag- a monstrous wild boar killed by Baltog. One-eyed monster- a monster with three necks killed by Handyong. Triburon- a giant flying shark at the same time defeated by Handyong. Giant Carabaos & Crocodiles- monster enemy killed by Handyong. Sarimao- a monster with sharp fingernails. Serpent Oryol- a serpent; hardest enemy of Handyong. Giant Rabot- half-man and half-beast; last enemy of Bantong.

HINILAWODWhen the goddess of the eastern sky Alunsina (also known as Laun Sina, The Unmarried One) reached maidenhood, the king of the gods, Kaptan, decreed that she should marry. All the unmarried gods of the different domains of the universe tried to win her hand to no avail. She chose to marry a mortal, Datu Paubari, the mighty ruler of Halawod.Her decision angered her other suitors. They plotted to bring harm to the newlyweds. A meeting of the council of gods was called by Maklium-sa-twan, god of the plains, where a decision by those present was made to destroy Halawod by flood.Alunsina and Paubari escaped harm through the assistance of Suklang Malayon, the goddess and guardian of happy homes and sister of Alunsina, who learned of the evil plot and warned the two so they were able to seek refuge on higher ground.After the flood waters subsided, Paubari and Alunsina returned to the plains secretly. They settled near the mouth of the Halawod river.Several months later Alunsina became pregnant and told Paubari to prepare the siklot, things necessary for childbirth. She delivered a set of triplets and summoned the high priest Bungot-Banwa to perform the rites of the gods of Mount Madya-as (the mountain abode of the gods) to ensure the good health of the children. The high priest promptly made an altar and burned some alanghiran fronds and a pinch of kamangyan. When the ceremony was over he opened the windows of the north side of the room and a cold northernly wind came in and suddenly the three infants were transformed into strong, handsome young men.Labaw Donggon, the eldest of the three, asked his mother to prepare his magic cape, hat, belt and kampilan (sword) for he heard of a place called Handug where a beautiful maiden named Angoy Ginbitinan lived.The journey took several days. He walked across plains and valleys, climbed up mountains until he reached the mouth of the Halawod river. When he finally met the maidens father and asked for her hand in marriage, the father asked him to fight the monster Manalintad as part of his dowry. He went off to confront the monster and with the help of his magic belt Labaw Donggon killed the monster and to prove his feat he brought to Angoy Ginbitinans father the monsters tail.After the wedding, Labaw Donggon proceeded home with his new bride. Along the way they met a group of young men who told him that they were on their way to Tarambang Burok to win the hand of Abyang Durunuun, sister of Sumpoy, the lord of the underworld and whose beauty was legendary.Labaw Donggon and his bride continued on their journey home. The moment they arrived home Labaw Donggon told his mother to take care of his wife because he is taking another quest, this time he was going to Tarambang Burok.Before he can get to the place he has to pass a ridge guarded by a giant named Sikay Padalogdog who has a hundred arms. The giant would not allow Labaw Donggon to go through without a fight. However, Sikay Padalogdog was no match to Labaw Donggons prowess and skill in fighting so he gave up and allowed him to continue.Labaw Donggon won the hand of Abyang Durunuun and also took her home. Before long he went on another journey, this time it is to Gadlum to ask for the hand of Malitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata who is the young bride of Saragnayan, the lord of darkness.This trip required him to use his biday nga inagta (black boat) on which he sailed across the seas for many months, went across the region of the clouds, and passed the land of stones until finally he reached the shores of Tulogmatian which was the seaside fortress of Saragnayan. The moment he set foot on the ground Saragnayan asked him, Who are you and why are you here?To which he answered, I am Labaw Donggon, son of Datu Paubari and goddess Alunsina of Halawod. I came for the beautiful Malitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata.Saragnayan laughed. He told Labaw Donggon that what he wished for was impossible to grant because she was his wife. Labaw Donggon then challenged Saragnayan to a duel saying that whoever wins will have her.The challenge was accepted and they started fighting. Labaw Donggon submerged Saragnayan under water for seven years, but when he let go of him, Saragnayan was still alive. The latter uprooted a coconut tree and started beating Labaw Donggon with it. He survived the beating but was not able to surpass the powers of Saragnayans pamlang (amulet) and eventually he gave up and was imprisoned by Saragnayan beneath his house.Back home Angoy Ginbitinan and Abyang Durunuun both delivered sons. Angoy Ginbitinans child was named Aso Mangga and Abyang Durunuuns son was called Abyang Baranugon.Only a few days after they were born, Aso Mangga and Abyang Baranugon embarked to look for their father. They rode their sailboats through the region of eternal darkness, passed the region of the clouds and the land of stones, finally reaching Saragnayans home. Saragnayan noticed that Abyang Baranugons umbilical cord have not yet been removed, he laughed and told the child to go home to his mother.Abyang Baranugon was slighted by the remarks and immediately challenged Saragnayan to a duel. They fought and Abyang Baranugon defeated Saragnayan and won his fathers freedom.Labaw Donggons defeat and subsequent imprisonment by the Lord of Darkness also angered his brothers. Humadapnon was so enraged that he swore to the gods of Madya-as that he would wreak revenge on all of Saragnayans kinsmen and followers.Humadapnon prepared to go to Saragnayans domain. He employed the aid of Buyong Matanayon of Mount Matiula who was well-known for his skill in swordsmanship. For their journey they rode on a sailboat called biday nga rumba-rumba. They travelled through the region of the clouds, passed by the region of eternal darkness and ended up at a place called Tarambang Buriraw. In this place was a ridge called Talagas Kuting-tang where a seductive sorceress named Piganun lived.Piganun changed herself to a beautiful maiden and captured the heart of Humadapnon. Buyong Matanayon begged with Humadapnon to leave the place with him but the latter refused. After seven months passed, Buyong Matanayon remembered that they have brought with them some ginger. One evening at dinner time Buyong Matanayon threw seven slices of ginger into the fire. When Pinganun smelled the odor of burning ginger she left the dinner table because sorcerers hated the odor of ginger. Immediately Buyong Matanayon struck Humadapnon, who became unconscious. He dragged his friend with him and they were able to escape.They continued with their trek and everywhere they went they exacted revenge on all of Saragnayans people and relatives. One day they reached a place called Piniling Tubig who was ruled by Datu Umbaw Pinaumbaw. There was a big gathering in the village and when they asked what was going on they were told that the datu was giving his daughter for marriage to whoever could remove the huge boulder that rolled from a mountain into the center of the village. Many men tried their luck but no one so far was able to even move the stone.Humadapnon took off his magic cape and used it to lift the stone and threw it back into the mountain. The datu kept his word and Humadapnon married his daughter. During the wedding feast Humadapnon heared about the beauty of the goddess of greed Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan from a guest minstrel who sang at the celebration.After the wedding Humadapnon went to seek the hand of the goddess in marriage. Along the way he encountered Buyong Makabagting, son of the mighty Datu Balahidyong of Paling Bukid who was also travelling with the same purpose in mind. Upon learning of Humadapnons intent, Buyong Makabagting challenged him to a duel. They fought and Buyong Makabagting was no match to Humadapnons strength and skill. The fight ended when Buyong Makabagting surrendered and even promised to aid Humadapnon in his quest. Humadapnon married the goddess and brought her home.Meanwhile, right after Humadapnon left to seek Saragnayans followers and relatives his brother Dumalapdap left for Burutlakan-ka-adlaw where the maiden Lubay-Lubyok Hanginun si Mahuyokhuyokon lived. For the trip he brought along Dumasig, the most powerful wrestler in Madya-as.Several months later they came to a place called Tarambuan-ka-banwa where they encountered the two-headed monster Balanakon who guarded a narrow ridge leading to the place where the maiden lived.With the aid of Dumasig, Dumalapdap killed Balanakon. However, upon approaching the gate of the palace where the maiden lived he was confronted by Uyutang, a bat-like monster with sharp poisonous claws. There ensued a bloody battle between the Dumalapdap and the monster. They fought for seven months and their skill and prowess seemed to be equal. But on the seventh month, Dumalapdap was able to grab on to Uyutangs ankle and broke it. Then he took his iwang daniwan (magic dagger) and stabbed Uyutang under the armpit. Uyutang cried out so loud that the ridge where they were fighting broke into two and there was an earthquake. Half of the ridge became the island of Buglas (Negros) and the other became the island of Panay.Dumalapdap married Lubay-Lubyok Hanginun si Mahuyokhuyokan and then took her home. Datu Paubari was very happy when he was reunited with his three sons and he prepared a feast in their honor. After the celebration, the three brothers left for different parts of the world. Labaw Donggon went to the north, Humadapnon went south, Dumalapdap to the west and Datu Paubari remained in the east.Sicalac and Sicavay(A Visayan Creation Myth)Once there were two gods, Captan and Maguayan.One day, Captan planted a bamboo in agarden. It grew and split into two sections, and stepped out a man who was named Sicalac andwoman named Sicavay.Sicalac asked Sicavay's hand for marriage because there were no other people on earth.She refused because they were brother and sister, having been conceived out of the same reed.Sicalac persistently pleaded with her and finally they decided to consult the tunas of the sea, thedoves of the air and the earthquake, who agreed that they should marry so that the world will bepopulated. Finally, they decided to go ahead and got married and had a son named Sibo. Thenthey had a daughter named Samar. Sibo and Samar had a daughter named Luplupan who grewup and married Pandaguan, who was also a son of Sicalac and Sicavay. Lupluban and Pandaguanhad a son named Anoranor.Pandaguan invented the fishing net and he caught a shark when he used it but the sharkdid not survive for long out of the water. He cried loudly to the Gods.The god Captan, sent the flies to find out why Pandaguan was making such a loud lamentationbut the flies refused to obey so they were condemned to scavenge among filthy and rotten thingsfrom then on. Then, the god sent the weevils and he discovered about Pandaguans grief and hestruck him dead by a thunderbolt. Pandaguan stayed in the infernal regions but the gods took pityon him and brought him back to the world.Pandaguan discovered that his wife Luplupan became the concubine of Maracoyrun.Pandaguan got angry and went back to infernal regions, vowing never to return to the world.______________________________________________________________________________

MYTH--a myth is defined as a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form.Theme:The story is about how the first people appeared on earth*It tells a story of equal birthing of man and woman throughout the archipelago that assert a womans equal position with a man within the tribal systems.Moral Lesson:We should only do things or decisions as long as it is necessary and acceptable.*We should always accept that things happen for a reason and that all things on Earth come to an end*We should obey the authority for us to be safe but, we should also remember to obey only those that obey the moral policies or rules.*We should be careful not to love or marry somebody else other than the one we married and we have promised to love forever because it is one of Gods will.Bowaon and Totoon

Once upon a time, there were two friends, Bowaon and Totoon. They couldnt find work so they decided to go away from their place to look for their fortune somewhere. They brought with them some rice and then they mounted their horses. As they went on, they got hungry. From a distance, they saw a coral reef. They got off their horses and headed for the reef to catch some fish. They caught schools of fish but these were very tiny. Totoon forgot his hunger. He returned the fish he caught to the reef. Bowaon got angry. How will we able to eat? he scolded Totoon. Never mind Bowaon, they are so tiny; they will still grow bigger, Totoon replied.

They rode on their horses again. After a distance, they saw a dead man. Totoon asked Bowaon to stop so they could bury the body. But Bowaon got angry, Are you out of mind? If somebody sees us, hell think we killed him. But we should show mercy. There is a way of finding the truth. Well, if you wont help me, then I will bury him by myself. You may go onward if you please. Ill follow later, said Totoon.

Bowaon went ahead while Totoon dug a grave for the body. Then he carried the dead person and buried him. He prayed over it then went on his journey. Bowaon could not bear to leave him so he returned for Totoon. They therefore, set out together again. Trotting along, they heard babies crying. They went towards the direction of the sounds. They found hungry baby eagles in a nest.

Lets stop for a while and feed the eagles, suggested Totoon. Then Bowaon saw that Totoon was going to kill his horse. Are you foolish? When they grow up theyll prey on you. Lets go on, were already delayed, Bowaon said. Dont mind me. I pity these baby eagles. Anyway, no debt goes unpaid. Go ahead, Ill just follow.

If you go on with your silly ideas, Ill not give you a ride, threatened Bowaon.

Then Ill walk, decided Totoon. Even if I go slowly, Ill still reach my destination.

After killing his horse, he fed the eagles. When they feel asleep, Totoon left. Bowaon again returned to give Totoon a ride. Far ahead, they sighted a palace. Lets go, suggested Bowaon. Lets ask the king for work.

They knocked at the palace door. They were told to enter, but since it was late, they were not granted any audience with the king. They slept in the palace. You see, taunted Bowaon, if you did not delay our trip, we shouldve been able to eat. You are the cause of all this. They went to sleep nevertheless since they were so tired from their journey.

After a while, Totoon heard someone calling his name. Rise, Totoon, and listen: In the morning, when the king calls you for breakfast, dont eat at once. On the table youll see a pen and some cooking utensils. Sit near the pen, and your future will be bright. Dont be surprised. I am the dead person whom you have buried. I have come back to pay you back the favor you showed me. Everything went silent and Totoon feel asleep again.

In the morning, the two friends were called for breakfast by the king. As he was told the night before, he saw the pen and some cooking utensils on the table. Bowaon sat down and just as soon began eating.

You, Totoon, will become my secretary; while you, Bowaon, will become my cook, announced the king.

At first, Bowaon was glad with his work for it meant plenty of food. He would not go hungry. But as time went on, he began to envy Totoon for the latter was not fatigued much. He thought of smearing the name of his friend.

One day, Bowaon went to the king to report that he heard Totoon say that the latter would be able to find the ring the king lost within three days and that the reward will be marriage to the princess. Of course, the king got angry for he did not say anything like that. He had Totoon summoned to his hall. Totoon protested the accusation but the angry king would not listen to him.

Go, look for the ring then and if you find it you will have the princess for a reward but, if you fail you will lose your head, announced the king.

Totoon did not say anything. He got a paddle and rode far out to the sea. There, he cried because of his fate. No longer after, he heard a voice. It was a fish asking him why he as crying. Totoon unburdened his problem. After listening, the fish dived deep into the sea. When it surfaced, many fishes came up with it, each one with a ring in its snout. Totoon looked among the rings. The kings ring was not there. The fishes dived again. When they came up, they were bringing the kings ring. Totoon thanked the fish.

Dont mention it, said the fish. Actually we are only paying the favor you showed us before when you threw us back into the reef. Then they left.

The king rejoiced that the ring had been found. He held a banquet. Now, Bowaon had plenty of work again. He did not like it. In the banquet, the king announced the forthcoming marriage of Totoon and the princess. Bowaon was very angry. There would be much work ahead. He thought of a plan to thwart the wedding. But it did not succeed.

After the wedding, Bowaon went to the king. Your majesty, he said. I heard Totoon say that on the third day, the princess will give birth.

The king got mad. He once more summoned Totoon. Do you mean to say that you had an affair with the princess even before you got married? You scoundrel! But since youre already my child, I cant do anything. However, do what youve said---that the princess will give birth three days from now. If not, youll surely lose your head.

Totoon cried in despair. The princess comforted him by saying shed talk with her father, but he couldnt be calmed. After a while, an eagle came. Dont cry, Totoon, she began. This time Ill help you in payment for help you extended my children. Get a midwife and talk to her. Ill bring you a newly-born child. Then the eagle flew away.

When she came back, she had an infant, still dripping with blood. In the bedroom, the midwife acted as if there really was a delivery. When the king awoke he heard the ones of an infant. He was amazed that the princess did give birth. He forgot his anger. It must be a miracle, he muttered.Dead star THROUGH the open window the air-steeped outdoors passed into his room, quietly enveloping him, stealing into his very thought. Esperanza, Julia, the sorry mess he had made of life, the years to come even now beginning to weigh down, to crush--they lost concreteness, diffused into formless melancholy. The tranquil murmur of conversation issued from the brick-tiled azotea where Don Julian and Carmen were busy puttering away among the rose pots.

2. "Papa, and when will the 'long table' be set?"

3. "I don't know yet. Alfredo is not very specific, but I understand Esperanza wants it to be next month."

4. Carmen sighed impatiently. "Why is he not a bit more decided, I wonder. He is over thirty, is he not? And still a bachelor! Esperanza must be tired waiting."

5. "She does not seem to be in much of a hurry either," Don Julian nasally commented, while his rose scissors busily snipped away.

6. "How can a woman be in a hurry when the man does not hurry her?" Carmen returned, pinching off a worm with a careful, somewhat absent air. "Papa, do you remember how much in love he was?"

7. "In love? With whom?"

8. "With Esperanza, of course. He has not had another love affair that I know of," she said with good-natured contempt. "What I mean is that at the beginning he was enthusiastic--flowers, serenades, notes, and things like that--"

9. Alfredo remembered that period with a wonder not unmixed with shame. That was less than four years ago. He could not understand those months of a great hunger that was not of the body nor yet of the mind, a craving that had seized on him one quiet night when the moon was abroad and under the dappled shadow of the trees in the plaza, man wooed maid. Was he being cheated by life? Love--he seemed to have missed it. Or was the love that others told about a mere fabrication of perfervid imagination, an exaggeration of the commonplace, a glorification of insipid monotonies such as made up his love life? Was love a combination of circumstances, or sheer native capacity of soul? In those days love was, for him, still the eternal puzzle; for love, as he knew it, was a stranger to love as he divined it might be.

10. Sitting quietly in his room now, he could almost revive the restlessness of those days, the feeling of tumultuous haste, such as he knew so well in his boyhood when something beautiful was going on somewhere and he was trying to get there in time to see. "Hurry, hurry, or you will miss it," someone had seemed to urge in his ears. So he had avidly seized on the shadow of Love and deluded himself for a long while in the way of humanity from time immemorial. In the meantime, he became very much engaged to Esperanza.

11. Why would men so mismanage their lives? Greed, he thought, was what ruined so many. Greed--the desire to crowd into a moment all the enjoyment it will hold, to squeeze from the hour all the emotion it will yield. Men commit themselves when but half-meaning to do so, sacrificing possible future fullness of ecstasy to the craving for immediate excitement. Greed--mortgaging the future--forcing the hand of Time, or of Fate.

12. "What do you think happened?" asked Carmen, pursuing her thought.

13. "I supposed long-engaged people are like that; warm now, cool tomorrow. I think they are oftener cool than warm. The very fact that an engagement has been allowed to prolong itself argues a certain placidity of temperament--or of affection--on the part of either, or both." Don Julian loved to philosophize. He was talking now with an evident relish in words, his resonant, very nasal voice toned down to monologue pitch. "That phase you were speaking of is natural enough for a beginning. Besides, that, as I see it, was Alfredo's last race with escaping youth--"

14. Carmen laughed aloud at the thought of her brother's perfect physical repose--almost indolence--disturbed in the role suggested by her father's figurative language.

15. "A last spurt of hot blood," finished the old man.

16. Few certainly would credit Alfredo Salazar with hot blood. Even his friends had amusedly diagnosed his blood as cool and thin, citing incontrovertible evidence. Tall and slender, he moved with an indolent ease that verged on grace. Under straight recalcitrant hair, a thin face with a satisfying breadth of forehead, slow, dreamer's eyes, and astonishing freshness of lips--indeed Alfredo Salazar's appearance betokened little of exuberant masculinity; rather a poet with wayward humor, a fastidious artist with keen, clear brain.

17. He rose and quietly went out of the house. He lingered a moment on the stone steps; then went down the path shaded by immature acacias, through the little tarred gate which he left swinging back and forth, now opening, now closing, on the gravel road bordered along the farther side by madre cacao hedge in tardy lavender bloom.

18. The gravel road narrowed as it slanted up to the house on the hill, whose wide, open porches he could glimpse through the heat-shrivelled tamarinds in the Martinez yard.

19. Six weeks ago that house meant nothing to him save that it was the Martinez house, rented and occupied by Judge del Valle and his family. Six weeks ago Julia Salas meant nothing to him; he did not even know her name; but now--

20. One evening he had gone "neighboring" with Don Julian; a rare enough occurrence, since he made it a point to avoid all appearance of currying favor with the Judge. This particular evening however, he had allowed himself to be persuaded. "A little mental relaxation now and then is beneficial," the old man had said. "Besides, a judge's good will, you know;" the rest of the thought--"is worth a rising young lawyer's trouble"--Don Julian conveyed through a shrug and a smile that derided his own worldly wisdom.

21. A young woman had met them at the door. It was evident from the excitement of the Judge's children that she was a recent and very welcome arrival. In the characteristic Filipino way formal introductions had been omitted--the judge limiting himself to a casual "Ah, ya se conocen?"[So, you know each other already?--Ed.]--with the consequence that Alfredo called her Miss del Valle throughout the evening.

22. He was puzzled that she should smile with evident delight every time he addressed her thus. Later Don Julian informed him that she was not the Judge's sister, as he had supposed, but his sister-in-law, and that her name was Julia Salas. A very dignified rather austere name, he thought. Still, the young lady should have corrected him. As it was, he was greatly embarrassed, and felt that he should explain.

23. To his apology, she replied, "That is nothing, Each time I was about to correct you, but I remembered a similar experience I had once before."

24. "Oh," he drawled out, vastly relieved.

25. "A man named Manalang--I kept calling him Manalo. After the tenth time or so, the young man rose from his seat and said suddenly, 'Pardon me, but my name is Manalang, Manalang.' You know, I never forgave him!"

26. He laughed with her.

27. "The best thing to do under the circumstances, I have found out," she pursued, "is to pretend not to hear, and to let the other person find out his mistake without help."

28. "As you did this time. Still, you looked amused every time I--"

29. "I was thinking of Mr. Manalang."

30. Don Julian and his uncommunicative friend, the Judge, were absorbed in a game of chess. The young man had tired of playing appreciative spectator and desultory conversationalist, so he and Julia Salas had gone off to chat in the vine-covered porch. The lone piano in the neighborhood alternately tinkled and banged away as the player's moods altered. He listened, and wondered irrelevantly if Miss Salas could sing; she had such a charming speaking voice.

31. He was mildly surprised to note from her appearance that she was unmistakably a sister of the Judge's wife, although Doa Adela was of a different type altogether. She was small and plump, with wide brown eyes, clearly defined eyebrows, and delicately modeled hips--a pretty woman with the complexion of a baby and the expression of a likable cow. Julia was taller, not so obviously pretty. She had the same eyebrows and lips, but she was much darker, of a smooth rich brown with underlying tones of crimson which heightened the impression she gave of abounding vitality.

32. On Sunday mornings after mass, father and son would go crunching up the gravel road to the house on the hill. The Judge's wife invariably offered them beer, which Don Julian enjoyed and Alfredo did not. After a half hour or so, the chessboard would be brought out; then Alfredo and Julia Salas would go out to the porch to chat. She sat in the low hammock and he in a rocking chair and the hours--warm, quiet March hours--sped by. He enjoyed talking with her and it was evident that she liked his company; yet what feeling there was between them was so undisturbed that it seemed a matter of course. Only when Esperanza chanced to ask him indirectly about those visits did some uneasiness creep into his thoughts of the girl next door.

33. Esperanza had wanted to know if he went straight home after mass. Alfredo suddenly realized that for several Sundays now he had not waited for Esperanza to come out of the church as he had been wont to do. He had been eager to go "neighboring."

34. He answered that he went home to work. And, because he was not habitually untruthful, added, "Sometimes I go with Papa to Judge del Valle's."

35. She dropped the topic. Esperanza was not prone to indulge in unprovoked jealousies. She was a believer in the regenerative virtue of institutions, in their power to regulate feeling as well as conduct. If a man were married, why, of course, he loved his wife; if he were engaged, he could not possibly love another woman.

36. That half-lie told him what he had not admitted openly to himself, that he was giving Julia Salas something which he was not free to give. He realized that; yet something that would not be denied beckoned imperiously, and he followed on.

37. It was so easy to forget up there, away from the prying eyes of the world, so easy and so poignantly sweet. The beloved woman, he standing close to her, the shadows around, enfolding.

38. "Up here I find--something--"

39. He and Julia Salas stood looking out into the she quiet night. Sensing unwanted intensity, laughed, woman-like, asking, "Amusement?"

40. "No; youth--its spirit--"

41. "Are you so old?"

42. "And heart's desire."

43. Was he becoming a poet, or is there a poet lurking in the heart of every man?

44. "Down there," he had continued, his voice somewhat indistinct, "the road is too broad, too trodden by feet, too barren of mystery."

45. "Down there" beyond the ancient tamarinds lay the road, upturned to the stars. In the darkness the fireflies glimmered, while an errant breeze strayed in from somewhere, bringing elusive, faraway sounds as of voices in a dream.

46. "Mystery--" she answered lightly, "that is so brief--"

47. "Not in some," quickly. "Not in you."

48. "You have known me a few weeks; so the mystery."

49. "I could study you all my life and still not find it."

50. "So long?"

51. "I should like to."

52. Those six weeks were now so swift--seeming in the memory, yet had they been so deep in the living, so charged with compelling power and sweetness. Because neither the past nor the future had relevance or meaning, he lived only the present, day by day, lived it intensely, with such a willful shutting out of fact as astounded him in his calmer moments.

53. Just before Holy Week, Don Julian invited the judge and his family to spend Sunday afternoon at Tanda where he had a coconut plantation and a house on the beach. Carmen also came with her four energetic children. She and Doa Adela spent most of the time indoors directing the preparation of the merienda and discussing the likeable absurdities of their husbands--how Carmen's Vicente was so absorbed in his farms that he would not even take time off to accompany her on this visit to her father; how Doa Adela's Dionisio was the most absentminded of men, sometimes going out without his collar, or with unmatched socks.

54. After the merienda, Don Julian sauntered off with the judge to show him what a thriving young coconut looked like--"plenty of leaves, close set, rich green"--while the children, convoyed by Julia Salas, found unending entertainment in the rippling sand left by the ebbing tide. They were far down, walking at the edge of the water, indistinctly outlined against the gray of the out-curving beach.

55. Alfredo left his perch on the bamboo ladder of the house and followed. Here were her footsteps, narrow, arched. He laughed at himself for his black canvas footwear which he removed forthwith and tossed high up on dry sand.

56. When he came up, she flushed, then smiled with frank pleasure.

57. "I hope you are enjoying this," he said with a questioning inflection.

58. "Very much. It looks like home to me, except that we do not have such a lovely beach."

59. There was a breeze from the water. It blew the hair away from her forehead, and whipped the tucked-up skirt around her straight, slender figure. In the picture was something of eager freedom as of wings poised in flight. The girl had grace, distinction. Her face was not notably pretty; yet she had a tantalizing charm, all the more compelling because it was an inner quality, an achievement of the spirit. The lure was there, of naturalness, of an alert vitality of mind and body, of a thoughtful, sunny temper, and of a piquant perverseness which is sauce to charm.

60. "The afternoon has seemed very short, hasn't it?" Then, "This, I think, is the last time--we can visit."

61. "The last? Why?"

62. "Oh, you will be too busy perhaps."

63. He noted an evasive quality in the answer.

64. "Do I seem especially industrious to you?"

65. "If you are, you never look it."

66. "Not perspiring or breathless, as a busy man ought to be."

67. "But--"

68. "Always unhurried, too unhurried, and calm." She smiled to herself.

69. "I wish that were true," he said after a meditative pause.

70. She waited.

71. "A man is happier if he is, as you say, calm and placid."

72. "Like a carabao in a mud pool," she retorted perversely.

73. "Who? I?"

74. "Oh, no!"

75. "You said I am calm and placid."

76. That is what I think."

77. "I used to think so too. Shows how little we know ourselves."

78. It was strange to him that he could be wooing thus: with tone and look and covert phrase.

79. "I should like to see your home town."

80. "There is nothing to see--little crooked streets, bunut roofs with ferns growing on them, and sometimes squashes."

81. That was the background. It made her seem less detached, less unrelated, yet withal more distant, as if that background claimed her and excluded him.

82. "Nothing? There is you."

83. "Oh, me? But I am here."

84. "I will not go, of course, until you are there."

85. "Will you come? You will find it dull. There isn't even one American there!"

86. "Well--Americans are rather essential to my entertainment."

87. She laughed.

88. "We live on Calle Luz, a little street with trees."

89. "Could I find that?"

90. "If you don't ask for Miss del Valle," she smiled teasingly.

91. "I'll inquire about--"

92. "What?"

93. "The house of the prettiest girl in the town."

94. "There is where you will lose your way." Then she turned serious. "Now, that is not quite sincere."

95. "It is," he averred slowly, but emphatically.

96. "I thought you, at least, would not say such things."

97. "Pretty--pretty--a foolish word! But there is none other more handy I did not mean that quite--"

98. "Are you withdrawing the compliment?"

99. "Re-enforcing it, maybe. Something is pretty when it pleases the eye--it is more than that when--"

100. "If it saddens?" she interrupted hastily.

101. "Exactly."

102. "It must be ugly."

103. "Always?"

104. Toward the west, the sunlight lay on the dimming waters in a broad, glinting streamer of crimsoned gold.

105. "No, of course you are right."

106. "Why did you say this is the last time?" he asked quietly as they turned back.

107. "I am going home."

108. The end of an impossible dream!

109. "When?" after a long silence.

110. "Tomorrow. I received a letter from Father and Mother yesterday. They want me to spend Holy Week at home."

111. She seemed to be waiting for him to speak. "That is why I said this is the last time."

112. "Can't I come to say good-bye?"

113. "Oh, you don't need to!"

114. "No, but I want to."