God created the Universe…. and the flowers… and the bees… and man.. and begins the world… end, begin… all the same huh! Big change… sometimes good… sometimes bad.
That’s how I see “creation stories”.
The Philippines are stuffed with many creation stories. Let
me share with you some of it.
The Ifugao Version of Creation
According to an old mumbaki (Ifugao priest), in the
beginning Kabunian , chief of the Ifugao Parthenon, created a world which he
later destroyed will all things in it (including people) because of their many
faults. (Strangely, a lot of gods seem to create defective products.) Well… after
his second creation, Montalog, the god who taught all the customs and
traditions of the Ifugao, married Montiling, a goddess. From their union were
born Bugan and Wigan who were not supernatural beings.
Montalog, saw that the two were naked so he dropped some
plants from the sky that could be turned into thread and inspired Wigan and
Bugan on a fashion trend. Well…. since Bugan has no taste for fashion, she had
a dream that changed her taste and started to make beautiful designs.
Meanwhile, Bugan was inspired to prepare the ground for rice
production. Unlike the Judeo-Christian Genesis myth, food production is a
source of inspiration and not divine punishment. Bugan breast milk became the
first rice.
The Mangyan Version.
The Mangyan believe that our world came from worm shit. NO
SHIT! In the beginning there was Mahal Makakaako - the sayer of the word (Nope,
this is not John 1:1). From a tree which he held in his hands, a worm fell and
from its feces came the first earth. More worms grew and more feces were deposited,
making the world grow large.
Mahal Makakaako watched this earth grew and thought that it could
be good for something from which he can enjoy. So he called his 2 brothers,
Malway and Dali Dali, and set them to doing something that he could enjoy
watching.
Malway was a slow worker compare to Dali Dali, who works
really fast. Malway created flatlands since he always has the time to flatten
the pile, while Dali Dali created the mountains in a hurry.
The Laguna (Tagalong) Version
In the beginning there was no world existing. There was only a community of
the dead under the care of Queen Sinonggol (So here we begin the story from
death. Well, that makes sense – because since before you were conceived in this
planet by your parents – you don’t exist – Alas you’re “dead”.)
The queen had a brother, Sualla, who was an “albulario” or
herb doctor and treated the other gods who got sick in their kingdom.
The two lived in a palace on the east side of which stood
eight statues made of strong wood. The first statue was created by the Queen
into the first man and the woman came from his body. The two had a son named
Mentalalan.
The First man, one day did something wrong and displeases
the Queen and as punishment, Queen Sinonggol mad him ill.
Sualla gave the man something to cure him, but there is a
condition: Who ever touch the medicine other Sualla and the First man will die.
The Queen heard of this and asked the devil to touch it to prove her powers
over her creations. But instead of the devil, it was Mentalalan who died.
Mentalalan was buried and the place where his body was
buried became the world.
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Creation stories are stories in which our ancestor’s
try to assume the beginning. They are told to answer the questions where we
came from, how and why. These stories are equipped with a simple explanation
about how our world came about. It doesn’t explain complex phenomena, but
simple daily observations our ancestors have noticed on their everyday life.
These explanations are sometimes enough for priests or village medicine men… simple
stories to answer villagers’ tough questions. These stories don’t need to make
sense, since the accounts require magic in order to explain the observable
fact. It is just the same as how the Genesis story was created.
Until next time,
Ciao!
