HOW MINDORO GOT ITS NAME
(Philippine Legend, Folklore)
The island of Mindoro got its name from
“Mina de Oro” as to how the Spaniards
used to call it in olden days because it was
believed to be a repository of gold. True
enough, the province of Oriental Mindoro,
which comprises about half of the island,
has many treasures in its midst.
Mindoro is a Philippine province that is rich
for forest, nice folks, beaches, and is known
to have treasures of precious stones buried
beneath its land.
Legend of Mindoro tells the story of Mina,
a beautiful maiden who eloped with her
lover Oro. They reached a green island,
where the natives made them their rulers,
and they ruled the island with kindness and
wisdom until their death.
Overview of the Story
Long ago, when Philippine islands were
governed by sultans (a ruler, like a pharaoh
for Egyptians) there was one island ruled by
a sultan who have a daughter, a lovely
young maiden named Mina. Mina was so
beautiful that young sultans and young
handsome men from nearby islands would
visit her to see her loveliness, and hoping to
win her heart. Mina was so beautiful, her
long black hair that's so soft, her slender
body decorated with precious jewelries
such as gold and pearls as her necklace and
bracelets. She also got the habit of wearing
a flower in her ear, that adds up to her
beauty every time she smiles. And most of
all, she got a kind heart.
DAEDALUS AND ICARUS
(The Myth)
The story of Icarus is one of the most
famous tales from Greek myth. The tale is
often interpreted as being fundamentally
about the dangers of hubris, with Icarus’
flight a metaphor for man’s overreaching of
his limits (and coming to a sticky end as a
result).
Icarus was the son of the famous craftsman
Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth of
Crete, where the Minotaur, a half-man half-
bull creature lived, and the hallow wooden
bull Pasiphae used to mate the Cretan Bull.
Icarus and Daedalus attempt to escape from
Crete by means of wings that Daedalus built
from feathers and wax.
They escaped and flew up into the sky.
Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close
to the sun; however, Icarus got carried
away and promptly did just that, upon
which the wax in his wings melted. He fell
to his death, drowning in the sea
surrounding the island of Samos, a sea
which is now named after him. Daedalus
reached Cumae and then took refuge at
Camicos on the isle of Sicily.
Icarus’ name is a byword for one of the
Greeks’ most favorite themes: hubris, or
overreaching oneself. Icarus thought he
could keep flying closer and closer to the
sun, higher and higher away from the ‘surly
bonds of earth’, without suffering any
adverse effects. But of course, he soon
discovered otherwise, and plummeted to
his death.