Project

In
English
Myths and Legends
In the
Philippines

Submitted by:
Charlize T. Rapio
Grade 7 – Star Section

Submitted to:
Ms. Larra Yecla
-Teacher

August 15, 2018

Myths & Legends
 A myth is a story based on tradition or legend, which has a deep symbolic meaning
 A myth ‘conveys a truth’ to those who tell it and hear it, rather than necessarily
recording a true event. Although some myths can be accounts of actual events, they
have become transformed by symbolic meaning or shifted in time or place
 Myths are often used to explain universal and local beginnings and involve supernatural
beings. The great power of the meaning of these stories to the culture in which they
developed, is a major reason why they survive as long as they do – sometimes for
thousands of years
 A legend is a semi-true story, which has been passed on from person-to-person and has
important meaning or symbolism for the culture in which it originates.
 Legend usually includes an element of truth, or is based on historic facts, but with
‘mythical qualities’.
 It usually involves heroic characters or fantastic places and often encompasses the
spiritual beliefs of culture in which they originate. Handed down from earlier times, but
will continue to evolve with time

Philippine literature abounds with fascinating tales of legends and mythical

stories of how the Earth and everything in it came to exist. Primarily, they’re
entertaining since they could amuse, inspire and sometimes scare; but mainly,
they impart lessons on how to live well with other people.
Philippine Legend: The Legend of
the Guava
A long time ago, there's a king who ruled
a rich, prosperous island. He had all the
things a king could ever ask for: the
power, the wealth, and all the delicious
foods one could only imagine.The king's
name was King Barabas.
King Barabas is a rude king and
overweight, indulging himself to all the
foods available, hesitant to share. And
his castle is starting to become filthy. He
would spend most of his time sitting and
eating with his bare hands. As he eats,
he drips food on the floor and smile mockingly at the people around him, specially his servants.
People in the kingdom would approach with requests for his help, but he would always refuse. As he
neglected his kingdom, people started to complain and starve.
After some time, an old hunched-back woman showed up at the castle begging for food while the king
was eating. The old lady asked for food as she was starving.
"Go away! I don't have anything to give. Can't you see I'm eating?" said the king.
"Please, my king," begged the old woman. "I'm asking for anything, anything you could give me as I
am so hungry. Even a little piece of bread or fruit would do."
"Get out at once! You disgust me," the king belittled the old beggar.
The old woman stood up straight, casting aside her stooped posture. "I've heard much about you and
how your kingdom is suffering." The tone of her voice had changed. It was no longer the voice of a
weak, old woman. "I asked for help, and you shoved me away. You have a lot for yourself, but when I
only asked for a little food, you belittled me. You are selfish. No one loves you and no one will
remember you when you are gone!"
And the beggar disappeared.
After a few more days, the king slowly weakened and became sick. No one knows what's wrong with
him. He got weaker and weaker and lost much weight. He looked older than his age. Soon after that,
the king died. As unfortunate and unexpected as it was, no one cried and nobody showed up at the
king's burial. He died alone.
And where the king was buried, his people noticed a strange plant growing, a plant they had never
seen before. The plant soon grew into a tree, which bore rounded fruits that turned yellowish when
ripe. People also noticed that the fruit seemed to have a crown as it develops, which reminded them
of their selfish, arrogant king. The flesh of the fruit tasted a bit sour, just like the sour personality of
the king towards them.
The people learned to eat the fruit, which helped them with starvation. And because the tree was from
the grave of their King Barabas and it has crown just like their king, they named the tree after
him: barabas, which in time they called bayabas.
The fruit is still called, as to this day, bayabas.
And although the guava may have come from the rude, selfish King Barabas, guava fruit is one of the
fruits that offers many health benefits when consumed, the fruit is a good source of vitamin C. The
leaves are made into tea and treat many diseases as well from a simple toothache, to treating
diarrhea, lowering blood sugar, and many more. And it is used amongst young boys after their
circumcision in the Philippines.

The Heartbreaking Story of ALITAPTAP: A Bataan Legend

Once, a long time ago, in the valley of Pinak in Central

Luzon, one of the islands in the Philippines. There was
a deep large lake rich with fish. There, the people of
Pinak fished for their food, and always, there was
plenty for all. Then suddenly, the big river dried up. In
the shallow mud, there wasn’t a fish to catch. For
months, there were no rains. Out in the fields, the land
turned dry. The rice-stalks slowly withered.
Everywhere in Pinak, there was hunger. Night after night,
the people of Pinak prayed hard.

“Dear Bathala,” they would recite together in their small and

poorly-built chapel, ” send us rains, give us food to eat. For
the people are starving, and there is want among us!”
Then one black and starless night, the good Bathala
answered the prayers of the faithful people of Pinak. For
suddenly up in the dark skies appeared a blaze of gold! A
beautiful chariot of gold was zooming thru the sky. The people started to panic but a big booming
voice came from the chariot soothing them with words.

” I am Bula-hari, and I have come with my wife, Bitu-in. We are sent from the heavens to rule Pinak
from now on. We have come to give you good life!” As Bulan-hari spoke, the black skies burst open.
The rain fell in torrents. Soon the dry fields bloomed again. The large lake rose and once again was
filled with fish. The people were happy once more under the rulership of Bulan-hari.
Soon Bulan-hari and Bitu-in had a daughter. She grew up to be a beautiful maiden. Such long dark
hair! Such lovely eyes under long curling lashes! Her nose was chiselled fine. Her lips like rosebuds.
Her skin was soft and fair like cream. They named her Alitaptap for on her forehead was a bright
sparkling star.

All the young, brave handsome men of Pinak fell in love with Alitaptap. They worshipped her beauty.
They sang songs of love beneath her windows. They all sought to win her heart.
But alas! the heart of Alitaptap wasn’t human. She was the daughter of Bulan-hari and Bitu-in, who
burst from the sky and were not of the earth. She had a heart of stone, as cold and as hard as the
sparkling star on her forehead. Alitaptap would never know love.

Then one day, an old woman arrived at the palace. Her hair long and dirty. her clothing tattered and
soiled. Before the king Bulan-hari, Balo-na, the old, wise woman whined in her sharp voice… that she
had come from her dwelling in the mountains to bear the king sad news. The news being that she
saw the future in a dream and it betold of their fate… the warriors of La-ut are coming with their
mighty swords to conquer the land, the only solution is to have a marriage between Alitaptap and one
of the young men, so as to have an heir to win the war.

At once Bulan-hari pleaded with his daughter to choose one of the young men in their village. But
how could the beautiful maiden understand? Alitaptap’s heart of stone merely stood in silence. Bulan-
hari gripped his sword in despair… “Alitapatap!” he bellowed in the quiet palace, “You will follow me,
or you will lay dead this very minute!”
But nothing could stir the lovely young woman’s heart. Bulan-hari blind with anger and fear of the dark
future finally drew his sword. Clang! the steel of his sword’s blade rang in the silence of the big
palace. It hit the star on Alitaptap’s lovely forehead!

The star burst! Darkness was everywhere! Until a thousand chips of glitter and light flew around the
hall. Only the shattered pieces of the star on Alitaptap’s forehead lighted the great hall, flickering as
though they were stars with tiny wings.

Alitaptap, the lovely daughter from the heavens lay dead.

And soon, Balo-na’s prediction had come true. Riding in stamping wild horses, the warriors of La-ut
came like the rumble and clashes of lightning and thunder. They killed the people of Pinak, ruined
crops, poisoned the lake. They spread sorrow and destruction everywhere.

When it all ended, the beautiful, peaceful valley of Pinak had turned into an empty and shallow
swamp. At night, there was nothing but darkness. But soon, tiny sparkles of light would flicker and
lend glimmers of brightness in the starless night.

And so, the fireflies came about. Once, a long time ago, they were fragments from the star on the
forehead of Bulan-hari’s daughter, the beautiful Alitaptap.
The Legend of Pineapple

There was once a pretty little girl called Piña, who was loved dearly by her
mother to the point of spoiling her. As Piña grew older, she had become lazy,
inconsiderate and self-centered. Yet the mother didn’t mind her daughter’s
behavior, because she wanted Piña to depend on her forever.
One day, the mother fell ill and could not bring herself to cook food for Piña,
while the young girl kept complaining that she was hungry. This time, Piña's
mother had to stay firm for the young gril's sake. On the other hand, Piña forced
herself to go to the kitchen, grumbling and resentful that her mother was sick.
The girl half-heartedly set out to cook “lugaw" or rice porridge the way her
mother instructed her.
While in the kitchen, Piña kept asking where her mother kept the things she

needed.
“Mother, where is the rice keeper?" The mother had to shout her answer several times over because
Piña took ages before she could find whatever it was she was looking for.
“Mother, where are the woods for the stove?"
“Mother, where’s the soup ladle?"
Mother, where’s the salt?"
Mother where’s the bowl?"
Note that to all of Piña’s questions, the sick mother had to shout at the top of her lungs, which only
made her feel worse. Feeling weak and exasperated with Piña’s unending questions, the mother
finally lost her temper and let out a curse: “Heaven forbid child! But I call on all the gods to put eyes
all over your face so you can see the things you’re looking for." Tired and weak Piña’s mother fell
asleep.
When the mother woke up, the house was dark and quiet. She called Piña but there was no answer.
The mother willed herself to investigate where Piña could be, but the mother only found the
unfinished cooking task. The mother was saddened by the thought that Piña decided to leave her,
because she was sick and could no longer take care of her daughter.
As she was about to leave the kitchen, she tripped on something that was lying on the floor, all the
while thinking that it was one of Piña’s many things. She picked up the strange looking object, which
was shaped like a human head with tufts of leaves atop its crown.
The mother had an uncanny feeling that the brown circles scattered all over the object reminded her
of Piña’s beautiful brown eyes. Horrified, the mother remembered that she let out a terrible curse on
her daughter before she fell asleep – in fact, she called on all the gods to put eyes all over Piña’s
face. Thus, the strange looking fruit was called “pinya" or pineapple, since Piña simply vanished into
thin air.
The Origin of Rainbow
A long, long time ago people prayed to Bathala and
offered him gifts for they believed that he was God
and the source of all graces.

One day Bathala thought of making ajourney to the

earth. He said to himself, “My people on earth have
been very good to me. I would like to make them
happy.”

Bathala commanded his messenger to call all his

children in heaven. He wanted to see them before he went down to earth. First, the daughters came.
They were such lovely maidens and among them were Tala, the morning star; Liwayway, the dawn
and Tag-ani, the goddess of harvest. A loud noise and a blinding blaze accompanied the arrival of his
sons Kidlat, the lightning; Hangin, the wind; and Araw, the sun. All the other sons came hurrying.
They knew that when Bathala called, they should lose no time in coming.

Bathala’s children were now all seated. Looking at one empty seat, Bathala said, “Bighari is not here
again. Did my messenger tell her about this meeting?”

“Panginoon, I looked for Bighari but she was nowhere to be found,” said the messenger who looked
very tired.

“Perhaps, she is among the flowers in some distant land on earth,” someone whispered. The others
exchanged glances, for they knew that Bighari, who was the goddess of flowers, loved to play among
the flowers in the garden.

Bathala was indeed very angry. “This will not do,” he strongly said. “How many times has she been
late? I will not allow tardiness among my children. If Bighari prefers to be with her children, she can
stay with them forever.”

His children were afraid. They looked at one another in silence. After a brief pause, Bathala
continued, “From now on, Bighari will remain forever wherever she is right now to live there alone.”
Bathala’s children were saddened by those angry words. They loved their beautiful and kind sister
Bighari. But no one could protest Bathala’s decision to exile Bighari from his heavenly kingdom.

At that very moment, Bighari was having a delightful time among the flowers in a faraway garden on
earth. When it was time for her to return to her heavenly home, she could not find her way out. She
was worried about her father. When the messenger came to tell her of Bathala’s anger, she sobbed
and said, “I’m not sorry to lose my place in the heavenly kingdom. I grieve because I have offended
my father.” The messenger was very sorry for her, but there was nothing he could do.

So the flower garden on earth became Bighari’s home. The flowers bloomed all the more and gave
forth beautiful colors never seen before. Everybody around was so delighted. The people who were
living nearby saw that the garden grew lovelier everyday. Soon Bighari had many friends. They came
to see the flowers and admire their beauty. The people loved Bighari more and more. One day
somebody suggested: “Let us build a bower in Bighari’s garden so that we can see the beautiful
flowers even from afar.” So the people built a bower. It was high and it arched over the entrance of
the garden. Soon the arch was decked all over with blossoms of red, yellow, pink, orange, blue, and
white.

Thereafter, whenever the goddess of flowers goes on a journey we can see the lovely many-colored
arch in the sky—the rainbow.

Ancient Philippine Creation Myth: Malakas and

Maganda

When the world first began there was no land; there was
only the Sea and the Sky, and between them flew a huge,
beautiful Kite (a bird similar to a hawk). One day, the bird,
which had nowhere to land and rest, grew tired of flying
about, and in frustration stirred up the Sky in a quarrel
against the Sea. The Sky threw rain, thunder, and lightning
that reached the Sea, who in turn rose up and hurled
waves and hurricanes that reached the Sky.

In order to restrain its fury, the Sky showered a multitude

of massive boulders down upon the Sea, which became the islands that formed the Philippines.
These islands prevented the waters from rising any more - instead causing them to flow back and
forth, and thereby creating the tides. Afterwards, the Sky then ordered the Kite to light on one of the
newly-formed islands to build her nest, and to leave the Sea and the Sky in peace.

Now at this same time the Land Breeze and the Sea Breeze were married, and they had a child
which they named Bamboo. One day, when Bamboo was floating against the sea, it struck the feet of
the Kite. Shocked, hurt, and angered that anything should strike it, the bird furiously pecked at the
bamboo until it split in half. Out of one section came a golden-bronze colored man,
named Malakas (Strong One) and from the other half came a similarly hued woman,
named Maganda (Beautiful One).

The earthquake then called on all the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea to see what should be
done with these two, and the animals decided that they should marry each other.
Together, Malakas and Maganda had many children, and from them eventually came all the different
races of people.

After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children around. They
wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no other place to send them off to. Time went on and the
children became even more numerous that the parents could no longer enjoy any peace. One day, in
an act of pure irritation and desperation, Malakas seized a stick and began beating them on all sides.

This so frightened the children that they all fled in different directions; seeking some place to hide
both within and outside the house. Some of the children ran into hidden rooms in the house, several
concealed themselves within the actual walls, while others hid in the fireplace. Some ran outside and
the rest fled out to the sea.

Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of
the islands (Maharlikas); and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves (Alipins).
Those who hid in the fireplace became the Negritos and the Aetas; and those who ran outside turned
into free men (Timawas). As for those who fled to the Sea; they were gone many years, and when
their children eventually came back, they had become the white foreigners.

Notes

Because the Philippines has so many islands and is inhabited by different ethnic groups, Philippine
mythology and superstitions are very diverse. Even the story of Malakas and Maganda vary from
region to region, but specific elements of the story remain the same: there is a huge bird that splits a
giant bamboo, and Malakas and Maganda emerge from the halves.

The names Malakas and Maganda also denote a deeper meaning and truth
about Pilipino culture. Pilipinos consider women to be maganda - beautiful, sweet, and soft; while
men as malakas - a strong and sturdy being to whom the family can depend on at all times.

The final part about the children who fled out to the sea and eventually came back as “white
foreigners” seems to have been added to the original version that had been handed down orally over
the years from generation to generation.

References:

https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Philippine-Legend-The-Legend-Of-Guava

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/social-studies-help/122385-myths-and-legends-of-the-
philippines/

https://www.aswangproject.com/legend-of-the-firefly/

https://www.aswangproject.com/rainbows-in-philippine-mythology-folklore/

http://bakitwhy.com/articles/ancient-philippine-creation-myth-malakas-and-maganda