Origin  (A Bagobo Creation Story)

In the beginning there lived one man and one woman, Toglai and Toglibon. Their first children
were a boy and a girl. When they were old enough, the boy and the girl went far away across
the waters seeking a good place to live in. Nothing more was heard of them until their children,
the Spaniards and Americans, came back. After the first boy and girl left, other children were
born to the couple, but they all remained at Cibolan on Mt. Apo with their parents, until Toglai
and Toglibon died and became spirits. 
Soon after that there came a great drought which lasted for three years. All the waters dried
up, so that there were no rivers, and no plants could live.
“Surely,” said the people, “Manama is punishing us and we must go elsewhere to find food and
a place to dwell in.”
So they started out. Two went in the direction of the sunset, carrying with them stones from
Cibolan River. After a long journey they reached a place with broad fields of cogon grass and an
abundance of water, and there they made their home. Their children still live in that place and
are called Magindanau, because of the stones which the couple carried when they left Cibolan. 
Two other children of Toglai and Toglibon went to the south, seeking a home,and each of them
carried a baraan. When they found a good spot, they settled down. Their descendants, still
dwelling at that place, are called Baraan or Bilaan, because of the baraan they carried.
So two by two the children of the first couple left the land of their birth. In the place where
each settled a new people developed ,and thus it came about that all the tribes in the world
received their names from things that the people carried out of Cibolan, or from the places
where they settled.
All the children left Mt. Apo save two (a boy and a girl), whom hunger and thirst had made too
weak to travel. One day when they were about to die the boy crawled out to the field to see if
there was one living thing, and to his surprise he found a stalk of sugar-cane growing lustily. He
eagerly cut it, and enough water came out to refresh him and his sister until the rains came.
Because of this, their children are called Bagobo.   
GUIDE QUESTION

1. From which region did the story originate? 

2. What type of regional literature does the story fall under? Knowing its type of regional literature,
what do you think is the intention behind the text? 

3. What is the message of the story? Does the message still apply to today’s world? 

4. What is the similarity and difference of the story to other Philippine creation myths you know? 

5. Why do you think there are so many different creation myths in the Philippines?