Gregor Alfonsin C.

Pondoyo, July 24, 2010

Myths

A myth is “a traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings,

ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as
by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or
ideals of society: the myth of Eros and Psyche; a creation myth” (thefreedictionary.com).
Because of this definition, most people nowadays associate myths to false stories or
fantasy, fictitious set of events or unproved belief of certain phenomenon. Hence, it is
“an idea or story that many people believe, but that is not true…” (Longman Dictionary,
2004). There is a negative connotation on myth and its importance in understanding
culture therefore is undermined.

Part of being human is the ability to communicate through language. We express

emotions through formed words that have meanings that we ourselves have set. Most
importantly we tell stories. In fact “Human beings have told stories from time
immemorial, for stories are a natural product of spoken language, an outgrowth of the
imaginative power that most clearly separates us from other animals” (Powell, 1998).

The word myth comes from the Greek word mythos which means “speech”, “story”, or
“plot”. Because it is a story it is understandable that it has therefore a beginning, a
middle part, and an ending, in short, a plot. Furthermore it has characters that are
mostly composed of gods/goddesses, supernatural beings, but also humans and
animals. Myths also have settings but what
distinguishes it from most novels or pocket
books nowadays is that myths’ time
settings occur in the distant past. Thus,
“long, long time ago” is common like in
native stories of Bikolanos, Tagalogs, and
even Maranaos here in the Philippines.
Places in myths can either be actual places
or imaginative areas like “the underworld”, “limbo”, “Mount Olympus”, or “heaven”.

Previously, we have presented a definition of myth as being a traditional story.

Traditional comes from the Latin word trado which means “hand over”. So, a myth is a
story that is told from one generation to the other by word of mouth. Therefore they
present cultural realities for they promulgate values and concerns and “describe
patterns of behavior that serve as models for members of society…” (Powell, 1998).
Because myths are transmitted by mouth, their authors are not known or synonymous.
Additionally, their oral transmission makes them vulnerable to omissions and additions
or simply, changes. Variations will then occur like in the story of Oedipus which has
happy and tragic endings. Another example of variation is evident in the creation story
of Genesis there is a slight difference in the order of creation of man and other living
things in chapter 1 and 2.

Because myths contain in them distinct linguistic pattern in delivering (such as in the
different tribes here in the Philippines) and certain values which a group of people or
region hold dear, myths clearly opens up to its hearers (or readers) the cultural identity
of a group of people. It is a narrative of who a group of people think they are and their
belief of the origin of things, their philosophy in life, and their passion, commonly held
values and etiquettes, and their worldview. Myths should not be limited in their being a
story or their literal meaning but be understood in their historical and cultural
background in which they were propagated. Ergo, myths are in fact truths. They are
cultural truths that a group of people exhibit or hold.

Mythology or the study of myths is therefore relevant in studying cultures. Norsemen

valued physical features and so their gods and goddesses are described as very
muscular. Greek and Roman myths are reminiscent of battles and conflicts and
incidentally their history is also somewhat paralleled. The Bible’s creation somewhat
emphasizes man’s higher status than woman and in contrast, Philippine creation stories
centers upon man and woman coming from the same giant bamboo and so equality
egalitarian emphasis is clear. Furthermore, myths here in the Philippines also give
notice to the importance of families “as the Foundation of Values” (Menez, 1996).
Sources and Suggested Readings

Eugenio, Damiano L. (2001). Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths. Quezon city,
Philippines. University of the Philippines Press.

Myth. (2004). Longman Dictionary of American English New Edition. USA. Pearson
Education Limited. Page 595

Menez, Herminia (1996). Explorations in Philippine Folklore. Quezon city, Philippines.

Ateneo de Manila University.

Myth. (n.d.). In.The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/myth

Mythology of the Ancient World. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ancient-

mythology.com/

Powell, Barry B. (1998). Classical Myth. 2nd Edition. USA. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Sison, Emmanuel S. (2005). Tales from the Land of Salt: A Glimpse into the History and
the Rich Folklore of Pangasinan. Makati city, Philippines. ELMYRS Publishing House

Storm, Rachel (2000). Asian Mythology: Myths and Legends of China, Japan, Thailand,
Malaysia and Indonesia. New York. Annes Publishing Limited.

The Importance and Value of Myth and Mythology. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://electricka.com/etaf/muses/mythology/mythology_popups/importance.htm