Myths are products and a connection of culture, tradition and beliefs that belong to a group of people reflecting identity and ethnic background. It has existed with the use of oral tradition in the ancient times and has now been developed into written/printed form.
The word “myth” originated from the Greek word “mythos” which translates to words or tales of belief that do not contain factual evidences.
Philippine mythology is consisted of superstitious beliefs that the early Filipinos used before the Spaniards came to colonize the country. Before science and technology were discovered, our ancestors used tales in explaining our existence, why animals were made, why there were calamities and natural phenomena as to why the rain occurs, why the sun shines during the day and the moon shows at night and the like.
These myths played a vital role in the tradition and culture of our ancestors and up to this day, these myths reflect the beliefs that we use as a basis or guiding light with our lifestyles and in respecting and understanding the agricultural aspect and our relationship with the environment.
A. Tungkung Langit and Alunsina
“Tungkung Langit and Alunsina” is a Panay myth about a God and Goddess. They were a happy couple despite being the only ones to exist in the entire universe. Loneliness was never a problem to neither of them as they had each other’s company. Tungkung Langit took his duties in maintaining peace and order seriously. He would travel great lengths and even spend days without coming home just to protect the universe and make sure there was no threat or problem. Alunsina was a loving, joyful and carefree deity who on the other hand, was always left alone in their beloved home. They were perfect for each other and they were content, until one day they quarreled and everything changed soon after that. The Goddess noticed that the God has been frequently taking longer periods of time in coming back home, which for her was suspicious, so she decided to have a breeze spy on him - this in turn enraged the God. He raised his voice and questioned “Why would you have me spied when we’re the only ones existing in the universe?” He took the Goddesses’ ‘loneliness’ as jealousy and a lack of trust. Alunsina heard his voice and the words hurt her feelings deeply – so deep that she left the only home she ever had. Tungkung Langit went home feeling angry and didn’t bother his wife’s absence. Days went by until he finally regretted raising his voice and saying such harsh words to his beloved companion. Alunsina never came back and Tungkung Langit grew lonelier with each passing time. With the irony of their love story coming to an end, a beginning was created. The God decided to look for the Goddess in every part of the universe and even beyond, but all led to no avail as Alunsina was still nowhere to be found. One day, upon traveling, he came up with an idea – he created a big bowl of water to see the reflection of the heavens and the skies thinking maybe, just maybe, he’d see a reflection of Alunsina too and that he’d finally find her. This big bowl of water became the sea, the ocean that we know of today. The image of the Goddess was never seen in the reflection of the water and out of despair, the God decided to try something else - he created land and filled it with trees, plants, and animals. Not satisfied still, he took the Goddesses’ jewelry and belongings and threw them up to the sky – her crown became the sun, her comb became the moon and the beads of her necklace became the stars. According to Panay mythology, our world was created out of Tungkung Langit’s grief and sadness – out of a tragic love story of the very first man and woman. Whenever it rains, it is said that God is crying in the heavens, longing for Alunsina’s warm embrace. Whenever we hear thunder, it is said that the God is in agony, howling in pain and out of loneliness for the Goddess to come back.
This mythology shows no matter how perfect the situation or relationship is, we all have imperfect qualities. We need to appreciate what we have and that we shouldn’t take advantage of or take for granted what matters to us – we should not be careless or neglectful with our loved ones. Trust is important and pride is a feeling that does not cut wounds but pierces through hearts and creates damage that scars the soul. This myth is also a message to all of us that not all endings are the end of the destination, sometimes it’s a road to a brand new beginning.
Alunsina was carefree, loving, joyful, and strong – she was able to walk away and become independent. Despite these positive qualities, she wasn’t able to fully trust her husband and I wouldn’t say she was prideful, I think she just knew what she wanted and Tunkung Langit wasn’t able to give that. I wouldn’t even call it jealousy, I think Alunsina felt the roles they portrayed was unequal and that the whole situation was unfair as she didn’t want a partner who would leave her all alone doing household chores by herself, eating and sleeping all alone while her husband was away going on adventures and being able to see every part of the universe knowing full well they were companions who were meant to be doing things together.
Tunkung Langit was hardworking, loving, responsible, and independent – he made the world all by himself. Despite these positive qualities, he wasn’t able to understand the purpose and essence of companionship. I think he was neglectful for not even bothering or feeling worried about his wife’s safety when she was left alone and he was also prideful as it even took him days before he finally regretted what he did and finally decided to find her.
The myth is also called “Alamat ng Ulan” (myth of the rain) and in the early times, it was used to interpret the reason behind the existence of rain and thunder. Our ancestors made myths to make sense of the world and the occurrences that happened around them. Panays also celebrated the first rainfall of May to honor God and to thank the blessing that showered their crops.
B. The Great Flood
The Tinggians (also known as Itneg or Initeg since they live near the Tineg River) are a group of people settling in the lower parts of the province of Abra in the mid-western section of the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon having the different ethnic background, customs, and (pagan) religion from other Filipino groups but just like every other culture, they too, have their own myths. “The Great Flood” is a Tinggian myth about the great deluge which tells the story of the tragic flood caused by the conflict of Aponi-Tolau, the god-hero of the Tinggians, Tau-Mari-u, the lord of the sea, and Humitau, the youngest maiden guard of Tau-Mari-u.
One day, the Tinggian hero went down to the lowlands and wandered with no proper destination in mind until he reached the seashore. Amazed and fixated by the beauty of the sea, he had a sudden bright idea – make a raft and see more of this beauty. He traveled by sea, rowing, and rowing until he reached the edge of the world – a place where the sea and the sky met. He saw a huge towering rock which was home of the lord of the sea, Tau-Mari-u. Observing his surroundings, he noticed that the rock was guarded by 9 beautiful maiden guards who were daughters of the seaweeds. Enchanted by the place and thrilled with his discovery, he gathered all courage within him and approached the maiden guards. He asked them what the place was but the maidens only laughed at him and lured him further into the palace walls. This only upset him and out of fury, he grabbed his magic hook and suddenly lashed it to the maidens. Humitau, the youngest and most beautiful of all the maidens was hit. The maidens scurried frantically out of fear and the palace was filled with piercing voices. Out of pain, Humitau yelped and screamed and in her best attempt forced herself to be free not even minding the struggle, but, the magic of the oil on the hook made her week in each passing second until she eventually lost consciousness. Aponi-Tolau quickly took the maiden’s unconscious body and brought it to his raft and Tau-Mari-U upon hearing the commotion, went outside his abode. When he found out that Humitao was taken by an intruder, he became infuriated and thus, as the lord of the sea, he summoned the waves and the tunas to save the young maiden but the plan was put to shame when Aponi-Tolau sought help from his mother, Lang-an of Kadalayapan, mistress of the wind and rain. The fury of the waves and tunas was defeated by the strong winds and Aponi-Tolau reached the seashore with Humitao with no damages on their raft. Tau-Mari-U grew more infuriated and called a meeting with the gods, goddesses, and demigods of the seas and oceans to inform them of the Tinggian dweller’s captivity of Humitao. All of them agreed to the plan – flood the land so Aponi-Tolau may pay for the crime he has committed. From the sky, Lang-an Kadalayapan heard every piece of information that was discussed in the meeting – she knew the whole plan, so she quickly ordered the northern wind to go to Aponi-Tolau and tell him to evacuate to the highest peak of the Cordillera mountains. The Tinggian god-hero did as he was told and brought with him the members of his household. From the mountain top, they saw the wrath of the flood which destroyed homes, crops, valleys, and trees and took the lives of inhabitants and animals. The flood rose higher and higher until it reached the mountain top, just a few feet away from Aponi-Tolau’s and his household’s shelter. Frightened, Humitao screamed desperately for the flood to stop for her sea powers have been stopped the moment she was pierced with the magic oil of Aponi-Tolau’s hook - she can no longer survive on water, no longer swim, no longer breathe underwater. Despite Tau-Mari-u’s anger, he took pity on his favorite maiden – Humitao, and ordered the waves and the water to stop the wrath, but promised that until Aponi-Tulao’s crime is appeased, he, the lord of the sea, will sink men’s boats and drown passengers. When the water subsided, Aponi-Tulao along with his household and Humitao came down from the mountains and because of their marriage, people were created.
