The Myth on the First Man and Woman
How did the first man and woman came to be? This Philippine myth tells us how.
According to this myth, the first creations were the sea, the sky, and a giant bird. How they appeared was not mentioned, but they just existed. There was no land yet, so the giant bird just flew continuously. According to the myth, the bird finally grew tired of flying, but the predicament was that there was nothing yet to land on. Being smart, or so the myth avers, the bird instigated the sea to throw rocks on the sky.
Somehow the sky was hit, and it retaliated by a tremendous downpour. The rocks thrown plus the downpour later produced land masses all over the world, says the myth. The land produced plants much later. Now the giant bird had something to perch on. As it was relaxing on a branch, the myth says, it became thirsty. So the bird flew again in search of fresh water, this time. But the sea yielded nothing but salt water. So the bird tried searching on the land. It came upon a cluster of shrubberies where giant weeds grew nearby. The giant bird, the myth continues, knew that these giant weeds had stored water between their knots. So the bird started pecking on a bamboo, the name of the giant weeds.
After much pecking, the bamboo remained the same. The myth says that when the bird was about to leave for another round of search, voices from inside the bamboo urged it to continue pecking. The bird obliged, but to no avail. Finally, being a smart bird, it picked up a big rock with its claws, flew high, and, the myth says, dropped the thing on the bamboo. It crashed open the bamboo and from inside, the myth declares, appeared a man and a woman, naked. That shooed scared the bird off. It was its first time to see humans.
Without realizing it, the bird was instrumental to the creation of the land masses all over the world and the first human beings, as far as this myth is concerned. But for the bird, all it wanted was something to land on to get some rest, and some fresh water to quench its thirst.
This Philippine myth on the origin of man and woman suggests that necessity is the mother of creation. And secondly, unsung heroes always take the back seats in any story.
Related topics:
The Myth about the Lanzones Fruit
A lot of people are afraid of new and untried things. They would rather not have anything to do with them. But there are people who are lured by strange things, but often end up harmed. A few learn the...
A Myth on Mayon Volcano
One myth on the Mayon Volcano is actually a figurative narrative of the exploits of a heroic people called the Bicolanos. Personified in the courage and skills of three epic chieftains, Bicolanos, though not mentioned even once in the myth,...
Myth: A Bird with a Reddish Spot on Its Chest
Justice may be blind, but it always makes crime pay. A local myth on why some birds have reddish spots on their chests tells of an almost perfect crime that was condemned and convicted by an unlikely witness. Crime, says...
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 Quixotic Myth of Mayon Volcano
An idealistic love affair between a couple that fell for each other at first glance. This is a favorite theme in most love stories, and is in fact the essence of a myth on Mayon Volcano. But unfortunately, the sweet...
The Amazing Myth on Lam-ang
Lam-ang was a mythical epic hero from the Northern Luzon who allegedly possessed extraordinary strength and wisdom. Lam-ang’s myth is typical of the Northern people’s propensity to take on challenges to the end. Lam-ang’s myth reflects the courage and undying...
A Myth on the Philippine Archipelago
A long time ago, after Spain christianized the country, many believed that the Philippines had a divine destiny in the far east. A local myth corroborates this assumption and tells of a supernatural intervention from heaven to save the natives...
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 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 Water in Coconuts
A popular folk myth about coconuts is about the selfishness of a native boy from somewhere in southern Luzon. The popular folk myth goes that the boy, hoarding a precious commodity in time of drought was condemned violently by the...
Leave a Reply