The Filipino Myth on Creation
How did everything on Earth start? This Filipino myth tells us why.
In the beginning, this myth claims, there was nothing on earth—no things, no people. Lumawig, the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. The myth says he divided these into pairs and placed in various parts of the world. “You must speak”, said Lumawig to the reeds. Instantly, the reeds became humans, men and women who could talk. Their languages differed from each other, the myth adds.
Lumawig, thereafter, commanded each couple to marry. The myth says, they did. As a result, there were many children, all speaking the same language as their parents. The myth says these, in turn, married and had many children. Then, gradually, the earth was filled with people.
Now, says the myth, Lumawig saw that there were several things people on the earth needed. So he set to work to create supplies for such needs. For instance, the myth says, he created salt and told the inhabitants of one place to boil it and make a business out of it. But these people could not understand the Great Spirit. When Lumawig visited them, he found that salt was yet unexploited, the myth adds.
Lumawig took the salt away from them and gave it to another people called Mayinit. The myth says, the Mayinits did as they were told. Being good stewards of salt, he told them that they would always be the owners of salt, and that the other people must buy it from them, the myth says.
After some time, Lumawaig went to the highlands, to the people of Bontoc. The myth says he told them to exploit their rich clay and make pots and trade them with people of the low lands. They took no interest in clay molding, much less, the art of pottery, the myth says. Lumawaig’s lessons on pottery were ignored. The myth says the jars they made were not well-shaped. Consequently, Lumawig told them to forget about pottery and jsut focus on their other skills.
The myth says that, consequently, Lumawig thought it best to just entrust pot making to another people group. Eventually, he found a worthy people of pot making. They did just as he said, and their jars were all of excellent quality, the myth says. The Great Spirit told them they would monopolize the jar industry.
The myth shows examples of how Lumawig taught people and brought them everything they needed.
Related topics:
The Myth about the Shining Moon
The moon was a useless giant ball of rocks and metal that went around the Earth in search of meaning. A myth says it shed no light of any kind and even became a hindrance to the sun now and...
The Myth about the Sugarcane
The Philippine myth about the sugarcane is a story on searching for meanings in life. Life can only have meaning, says this myth, if our experience of it is sweet. Without this, the myth avers that achievements, no matter how...
The Philippine Myth about the Sun
What would Earth be without the sun, and how would people react to such a predicament? A Philippine myth says people are likely to fail, despite efforts to make up for the sun’s absence. And the myth avers that people...
The Myth about Cats and Dogs
Greed destroys a lot of things. A myth on cats and dogs says it can even destroy solid friendships established by a long record of mutuality and intimacy. The myth also teaches how good friendship is often compromised for temporary...
The Myth on the Camachile Tree
Nature is generous with its benefits to mankind, but abuse of it also incurred an undesirable result. A myth on the camachile tree tells us how the beauty of nature can also be abused unknowingly by its admirers, to the...
Philippine Myth on Ant Hills
Mytical ant hills, says a Philippine myth, can reveal two vital things to the curious. They can either teach one to behave or pinpoint where house repair problems originate....
The Myth about the Butterfly
Children ought to be responsible, beginning with household chores, and with more, as they grow up. A myth on butterflies reminds both parents and children in building up the family. The myth further shows that children untrained with responsibilities may...
The Myth about the Rabbit and the Lion
Disadvatageous relationships hinging on personal interests alone can no more last as a friendship between a lion and a rabbit are likely to end up disastrously. A local myth on such unlikely friendship did end up disastrously, but with a...
The Philippine Myth on Maria and the Crab
A mother’s undying and boundless love for her child---this is a favorite theme of countless Filipino stories and TV soap operas. Filipino families being closely-knitted together, a Philippine myth on Maria and the Crab would be a best selling hit....
Philippine Myth: The Origin of Turnips
The Philippine myth on how the Filipino term for “turnip” came to be is a quite an amusing myth. It symbolizes how the conquered and the conqueror can sometimes unknowingly help each other to resolve an issue. In this case,...
Leave a Reply
