The Legend of the Silent Mountain Top of Binaratan*

The top of Mount Binaratan is 3 kilometers long and about 30 meters wide. The mountain is east of the village of Dacalan in the municipality of Tanudan, Kalinga. An altimeter brought to its highest crest registered 1,886.47 meters above sea level. The thing so strange and fascinating about this mountain top is the complete silence one experiences in spite of the fact that he sees birds all around him. The birds do not chirp at all. They fly about, from tree to tree but make no sound. A foot trail eastward from Dacalan to Maducayan located in eastern Mountain Province passes along this silent mountain crest. Going down about a kilometer from this mountain top on either side, one hears birds of various kinds rendering the air with their chirpings. There must be a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Cicadas and other sounding insects are also silent while they can be heard about a kilometer below the crest. There must be an element of nature that make the birds and insects mute on top of this mountain. The following legend explains why Mount Binaratan has a silent mountain top. A very long time ago when the world was young and bountiful, the great god Kaboniyan paid visits to earth to teach his human creatures and wards how to hunt deer and wild pigs that he provided so that man might have enough to live with. He taught man how to train and use dogs for hunting. One day, some of Kaboniyans wards went hunting in the mountains. When the hunters reached the top of Mount Binaratan, they could no longer hear the barking of their hounds because of the birds chirping and singing all around them. They shouted to scare the birds away and even threw stones and twigs at them. The more they shouted, the more the birds sang in unison. The hunters could not locate their hounds and were fearful that they might miss on their hounds who may have been in pursuit of deers or wild pigs their catch would be lost. At last, one of the hunters prayed to Kaboniyan to stop the birds and other noisy creatures so they would know where the hounds were. Pitying the hunters who might miss their catch, Kaboniyan shouted in such a frightful and thundering voice that the mountain creatures never ever heard before. All at once the entire area fell silent in fear of Kaboniyan. The barking of the dogs could now be heard nearby, down the mountain side because of the complete silence. Then Kaboniyan spoke to his wards saying There down the mountain side are your dogs barking. Go now and have your catch. From now on and ever onward, this mountain top shall be silent that men shall remember that I am the Master and Lord of all creations. From that time on, the 3 kilometer top of Mount Binaratan remained silent despite the numerous creatures and wildlife living abundantly on its luxuriant vegetations and forest.
(*Excerpted from the book The Kalinga Hill Tribe of the Philippines by the late Mr. Miguel L. Sugguiyao, 1st Edition, 1990; Published by the Office of Northern Cultural Communities, Philippines)