What are the legends of the Filipinos?

Answer 1

The Legend of Mount Mayon

Makusotg, the tribal chief of Rawis, had a daughter, Daragang Magayon, whose outward beauty was matched by her kind heart. Her suitors were legion, including Pagtuga, a handsome warrior but arrogant chief of the Iragas.

But, Magayon's heart belonged to the noble Ulap, son of the Chief Karilaya of the Tagalogs. Thus, he gathered his warriors to fight for his beloved.

In the ensuing battle, Ulap slayed Pagtuga. Overjoyed, Magayon rushed to embrace Ulap. But as she did so, a stray arrow hit her. As Ulap cradled the dying Magayon in his arms, one of Pagtuga's captains threw his spear at Ulap and killed him.

The death of Ulap and Magayon sobered the people. Chief Makusog himself buried the two lovers in a single grave. Much to the people's astonishment, the grave grew higher and higher until a majestic mountain towered over their town.

These days, when the top of Mount Mayon is veiled with clouds, people say that it is Ulap kissing Magayon. And when rain fall, they say those are his tears mourning their last love.

A Visayan story about the creation of the earth, the first man, and the first woman.

In the beginning, the earth

Thconsisted of the endless seas and skies. The great bird, Manaul, flew across this sapphire expanse searching for a perch. Tired of his endless flight, he appealed to the god of the Sea, Kaptan, and to the god of the Lands, Magauayan, for aid.

The two, however, fell into a quarrel with each other over who was more powerful. They then sought to resolve this dispute by war. Kaptan sent furious and immense waves at his nemesis. Magauayan, meanwhile, unleashed whirlwinds that pushed back the seas to reveal the lands underneath. This went on for a long time, with neither gaining on the other.

Manaul, desiring peace, then sent emissaries Kanauay and Amihan, to ask the gods to reconcile. But Magauayan and Kaptan ignored their pleas. Tired of the battle, Manaul thus flew to the tip of a high craggy mountain overlooking the ocean, and gathered colossal boulders. He then dropped these on the warring gods and succeeded in stopping them.

When a lull was finally reached, Manaul flew down from his mountain perch until he landed near a tall clump of bamboo. A few moments later, he heard a voice inside the grove asking him to open the bamboos as those inside wanted to be free. Moreover, they desired to help him maintain peace and promised to populate his domains. With a mighty blow from his beak, Manaul opened the bamboos. From one emerged the first man, Si-Kalao and from another, the first woman, Si-Kalay.

A Visayan Story of the Legend of Rice

In the olden days, famine gripped the land. The desperate people implored their goddess to save them. Moved by pity, the goddess descended to the earth. The land was parched with drought, with only a few hardy weeds on the ground.

The goddess bared her bosom and squeezed milk into each barren ear of the weeds. When her milk run out and she saw that there were still empty ears, she asked the heavens to give her more milk.

But when she pressed her bosom again, only blood came out. When she was done, she then bent low over the plants and pleaded with them to flourish and feed her again.

Weeks passed and the weeds grew and became heavy with grain. When the people harvested the stalks and pounded these open, some grains were as white as the goddess' milk while some were are red as her blood.

The people cooked these and found these nourishing. Rejoicing, for at last they have sustenance, they gave thanks to the goddess as they re-planted and harvested this weed which is what is now known as rice

Another Visayan Story, about The Legend of The Firefly

There was once a young man who was as handsome as he was vain. He had the habit of derisively pointing out the physical defects of those around him.

One day, on his way to the forest, he saw a maiden clothed in silk. He was struck by her beauty and thought that, certainly, this was the loveliest woman in the world.

Entranced, he started to come near her, but she turned and fled. He combed the forest all day searching for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Finally, tired and irritated, he burst out aloud, "You are not really beautiful! Your nose is flat and your ears are too wide." He then settled down against a tree and slept.

He awoke with a start later to find the woman staring down at him. He also discovered that he had been transformed into an insect. The young woman, who was a fairy, told him that he would be cursed to remain thus until he finds a maiden who could exceed her in beauty. To this day, the enchanted young man continues his search, carrying a flickering light at night to help him in his quest