LUMAWIG ON EARTH

Igorot

One day when Lumawig, the Great Spirit, looked down from his place in the sky he saw
two sisters gathering beans. And he decided to go down to visit them. When he arrived
at the place he asked them what they were doing. The younger, whose name was
Fukan, answered:

"We are gathering beans, but it takes a long time to get enough, for my sister wants to
go bathing all the time."

Then Lumawig said to the older sister:

"Hand me a single pod of the beans."

And when she had given it to him, he shelled it into the basket and immediately the
basket was full. The younger sister laughed at this, and Lumawig said to her:

"Give me another pod and another basket."

She did so, and when he had shelled the pod, that basket was full also. Then he said to
the younger sister:

"Go home and get three more baskets."

She went home, but when she asked for three more baskets her mother said that the
beans were few and she could not need so many. Then Fukan told her of the young
man who could fill a basket from one pod of beans, and the father, who heard her story,
said:

"Go bring the young man here, for I think he must be a god."

So Fukan took the three baskets back to Lumawig, and when he had filled them as he
did the other two, he helped the girls carry them to the house. As they reached their
home, he stopped outside to cool himself, but the father called to him and he went up
into the house and asked for some water. The father brought him a cocoanut shell full,
and before drinking Lumawig looked at it and said:

"If I stay here with you, I shall become very strong."

The next morning Lumawig asked to see their chickens, and when they opened the
chicken-coop out came a hen and many little chicks. "Are these all of your chickens?"
asked Lumawig; and the father assured him that they were all. He then bade them bring
rice meal that he might feed them, and as the chickens ate they all grew rapidly till they
were cocks and hens.
Next Lumawig asked how many pigs they had, and the father replied that they had one
with some little ones. Then Lumawig bade them fill a pail with sweet potato leaves and
he fed the pigs. And as they ate they also grew to full size.

The father was so pleased with all these things that he offered his elder daughter to
Lumawig for a wife. But the Great Spirit said he preferred to marry the younger; so that
was arranged. Now when his brother-in-law learned that Lumawig desired a feast at his
wedding, he was very angry and said:

"Where would you get food for your wedding feast? There is no rice, nor beef, nor pork,
nor chicken,"

But Lumawig only answered, "I shall provide our wedding feast."

In the morning they all set out for Lanao, for Lumawig did not care to stay any longer in
the house with his brother-in-law. As soon as they arrived he sent out for some tree
trunks, but the trees that the people brought in were so small that Lumawig himself went
to the forest and cut two large pine trees which he hurled to Lanao.

When the people had built a fire of the trees he commanded them to bring ten kettles
filled with water. Soon the water was boiling hot and the brother-in-law laughed and
said:

"Where is your rice? You have the boiling water, but you do not seem to think of the
rice."

In answer to this Lumawig took a small basket of rice and passed it over five kettles and
they were full. Then he called "Yishtjau," and some deer came running out of the forest.
These were not what he wanted, however, so he called again and some pigs came. He
told the people that they were each to catch one and for his brother-in-law he selected
the largest and best.

They all set out in pursuit of the pigs and the others quickly caught theirs, but though the
brother-in-law chased his until he was very tired and hot he could not catch it Lumawig
laughed at him and said:

"You chase that pig until he is thin and still you cannot catch it, though all the others
have theirs."

Thereupon he grasped the hind legs of the pig and lifted it. All the people laughed and
the brother-in-law said:

"Of course you can catch it, because I chased it until it was tired."

Lumawig then handed it to him and said, "Here, you carry it." But no sooner had the
brother-in-law put it over his shoulder than it cut loose and ran away.
"Why did you let it go?" asked Lumawig. "Do you care nothing for it, even after I caught
it for you? Catch it again and bring it here."

So the brother-in-law started out again, and he chased it up stream and down, but he
could not catch it. Finally Lumawig reached down and picked up the pig and carried it to
the place where the others were cooking.

After they had all eaten and drunk and made their offerings to the spirits, Lumawig said:

"Come, let us go to the mountain to consult the omen concerning the northern tribes."

So they consulted the omen, but it was not favorable, and they were starting home
when the brother-in-law asked Lumawig to create some water, as the people were hot
and thirsty.

"Why do you not create water, Lumawig?" he repeated as Lumawig paid no attention to
him. "You care nothing that the people are thirsty and in need of drink."

Then they quarreled and were very angry and Lumawig said to the people, "Let us sit
down and rest."

While they rested, Lumawig struck the rock with his spear and water came out. The
brother-in-law jumped up to get a drink first, but Lumawig held him back and said he
must be the last to drink. So they all drank, and when they had finished, the brother-in-
law stepped up, but Lumawig gave him a push which sent him into the rock and water
came from his body.

"You must stay there," said Lumawig, "because you have troubled me a great deal." And
they went home, leaving him in the rock.

Some time after this Lumawig decided to go back to the sky to live, but before he went
he took care that his wife should have a home. He made a coffin of wood and placed
her in it with a dog at her feet and a cock at her head. And as he set it floating on the
water, he told it not to stop until it reached Tinglayen. Then, if the foot end struck first,
the dog should bark; and if the head end was the first to strike, the cock should crow. So
it floated away, and on and on, until it came to Tinglayen.

Now a widower was sharpening his ax on the bank of the river, and when he saw the
coffin stop, he went to fish it out of the water. On shore he started to open it, but Fugan
cried out, "Do not drive a wedge, for I am here," So the widower opened it carefully and
took Fugan up to the town, and then as he had no wife of his own, he married her.
Tungkung Langit & Alunsina | The ‘Other’ Visayan Creation Story

In the beginning everything was shapeless and formless. The earth, the sky, the sea,
and the air were almost mixed up. In a word, there was only confusion. Then from the
depth of this formless void there appeared the god Tungkung Langit and the goddess
Alunsina.

It was not known just where these two deities came from but it is related by old Bisayan
folk that Tungkung Langit fell in love with Alunsina. After he had courted her for many
years, they married and made their home in the highest part of heaven. There the water
was always warm and the breeze was forever cool. In this place order and regularity
began.

Tungkung Langit was a loving, hard-working god. He wanted to impose order over the
confused world. He decided to arrange the world so that the heavenly bodies would
move regularly. On the other hand, Alunsina was a lazy, jealous, selfish goddess. She
sat at the window all day doing nothing.

Sometimes she would leave her home, sit down by a pool near the door, and comb her
long, jet-black hair all day long. One day Tungkung Langit told his wife that he would be
away for some time. He said he must make time go on smoothly and arrange everything
in the world.

When he was gone, Alunsina set the breeze to spy on Tungkung Langit. Tungkung
Langit found this out and he became very angry. After he returned home, he told her
that it was ungodly of her to be jealous since there were no other gods in the world
except the two of them.

Alunsina resented this reproach, and they quarreled. In his anger, Tungkung Langit
drove his wife away. No one knew where she went. Several days later, Tungkung Langit
felt very lonely. He realized that he should not have lost his temper. But it was too late.

Once vibrant with Alunsina’s sweet voice, his home became cold and desolate. In the
morning when he woke up, he would find himself alone. In the afternoon when he came
home, he would feel the same loneliness creeping deep in his heart because there was
no one to meet him at the doorstep or soothe the aching muscles of his arms.
For months, Tungkung Langit was in utter desolation. He could not find Alunsina, try
hard as he would. And so, in desperation, he decided to do something in order to forget
his sorrows. For months and months he thought, but his mind seemed pointless; his
heart weary and sick. He needed something to ease his lonely world.

One day, while he was sailing across the regions of the clouds, a thought came to him.
He would make the sea and the earth, and the earth and the sea suddenly appeared.
However, the sombre sight of the lonely sea and the barren land irritated him. So he
came down to earth and planted the ground with trees and flowers.

Then he took his wife’s treasured jewels and scattered them in the sky, hoping that
when Alunsina would see them she might be induced to return home. The goddess’s
necklace became the stars, her comb the moon and her crown the sun. However,
despite Tungkung Langit’s efforts, Alunsina did not come back.

Until now, some elders of Panay say Tungkung Langit lives alone in his palace in the
skies. Sometimes, he would cry out his pent-up emotion and his tears would fall down
upon the earth. When it thunders hard, it is Tungkung Langit sobbing, calling for his
beloved Alunsina to come back, entreating her so hard that his voice reverberates
across the fields and the countryside.

Aponibolinayen and the Sun

Tinguian

The betel-nut went up to the Sun, who was in his house, and said One day
Aponibolinayen and her sister-in-law went out to gather greens. They walked to the
woods to the place where the siksiklat grew, for the tender leaves of this vine are very
good to eat. Suddenly while searching about in the underbrush, Aponibolinayen cried
out with joy, for she had found the vine, and she started to pick the leaves. Pull as hard
as she would, however, the leaves did not come loose, and all at once the vine wound
itself around her body and began carrying her upward.1

Far up through the air she went until she reached the sky, and there the vine set her
down under a tree. Aponibolinayen was so surprised to find herself in the sky that for
some time she just sat and looked around, and then, hearing a rooster crow, she arose
to see if she could find it. Not far from where she had sat was a beautiful spring
surrounded by tall betel-nut trees whose tops were pure gold. Rare beads were the
sands of the spring, and the place where the women set their jars when they came to
dip water was a large golden plate. As Aponibolinayen stood admiring the [7]beauties of
this spring, she beheld a small house nearby, and she was filled with fear lest the owner
should find her there. She looked about for some means of escape and finally climbed
to the top of a betel-nut tree and hid.

Now the owner of this house was Ini-init,2 the Sun, but he was never at home in the
daylight, for it was his duty to shine in the sky and give light to all the world. At the close
of the day when the Big Star took his place in the sky to shine through the night, Ini-init
returned to his house, but early the next morning he was always off again.

From her place in the top of the betel-nut tree, Aponibolinayen saw the Sun when he
came home at evening time, and again the next morning she saw him leave. When she
was sure that he was out of sight she climbed down and entered his dwelling, for she
was very hungry. She cooked rice, and into a pot of boiling water she dropped a stick
which immediately became fish,3 so that she had all she wished to eat. When she was
no longer hungry, she lay down on the bed to sleep.

Now late in the afternoon Ini-init returned from his work and went to fish in the river near
his house, and he caught a big fish. While he sat on the bank cleaning his catch, he
happened to look up toward his [8]house and was startled to see that it appeared to be
on fire.4 He hurried home, but when he reached the house he saw that it was not
burning at all, and he entered. On his bed he beheld what looked like a flame of fire, but
upon going closer he found that it was a beautiful woman fast asleep.

Ini-init stood for some time wondering what he should do, and then he decided to cook
some food and invite this lovely creature to eat with him. He put rice over the fire to boil
and cut into pieces the fish he had caught. The noise of this awakened Aponibolinayen,
and she slipped out of the house and back to the top of the betel-nut tree. The Sun did
not see her leave, and when the food was prepared he called her, but the bed was
empty and he had to eat alone. That night Ini-init could not sleep well, for all the time he
wondered who the beautiful woman could be. The next morning, however, he rose as
usual and set forth to shine in the sky, for that was his work.

That day Aponibolinayen stole again to the house of the Sun and cooked food, and
when she returned to the betel-nut tree she left rice and fish ready for the Sun when he
came home. Late in the afternoon Ini-init went into his home, and when he found pots of
hot rice and fish over the fire he was greatly troubled. After he had eaten he walked a
long time in the fresh air. “Perhaps it is done by the lovely woman who [9]looks like a
flame of fire,” he said. “If she comes again I will try to catch her.”

The next day the Sun shone in the sky as before, and when the afternoon grew late he
called to the Big Star to hurry to take his place, for he was impatient to reach home. As
he drew near the house he saw that it again looked as if it was on fire. He crept quietly
up the ladder, and when he had reached the top he sprang in and shut the door behind
him.

Aponibolinayen, who was cooking rice over the fire, was surprised and angry that she
had been caught; but the Sun gave her betel-nut5 which was covered with gold, and
they chewed together and told each other their names. Then Aponibolinayen took up
the rice and fish, and as they ate they talked together and became acquainted.

After some time Aponibolinayen and the Sun were married, and every morning the Sun
went to shine in the sky, and upon his return at night he found his supper ready for him.
He began to be troubled, however, to know where the food came from, for
though [10]he brought home a fine fish every night, Aponibolinayen always refused to
cook it.

One night he watched her prepare their meal, and he saw that, instead of using the nice
fish he had brought, she only dropped a stick into the pot of boiling water.

“Why do you try to cook a stick?” asked Ini-init in surprise.

“So that we can have fish to eat,” answered his wife.

“If you cook that stick for a month, it will not be soft,” said Ini-init. “Take this fish that I
caught in the net, for it will be good.”

But Aponibolinayen only laughed at him, and when they were ready to eat she took the
cover off the pot and there was plenty of nice soft fish. The next night and the next,
Aponibolinayen cooked the stick, and Ini-init became greatly troubled for he saw that
though the stick always supplied them with fish, it never grew smaller.

Finally he asked Aponibolinayen again why it was that she cooked the stick instead of
the fish he brought, and she said:

“Do you not know of the woman on earth who has magical power and can change
things?”

“Yes,” answered the Sun, “and now I know that you have great power.”

“Well, then,” said his wife, “do not ask again why I cook the stick.”

And they ate their supper of rice and the fish which the stick made.[11]
One night not long after this Aponibolinayen told her husband that she wanted to go with
him the next day when he made light in the sky.

“Oh, no, you cannot,” said the Sun, “for it is very hot up there,6 and you cannot stand
the heat.”

“We will take many blankets and pillows,” said the woman, “and when the heat becomes
very great, I will hide under them.”

Again and again Ini-init begged her not to go, but as often she insisted on
accompanying him, and early in the morning they set out, carrying with them many
blankets and pillows.

First, they went to the East, and as soon as they arrived the Sun began to shine, and
Aponibolinayen was with him. They traveled toward the West, but when morning had
passed into noontime and they had reached the middle of the sky Aponibolinayen was
so hot that she melted and became oil. Then Ini-init put her into a bottle and wrapped
her in the blankets and pillows and dropped her down to earth.

Now one of the women of Aponibolinayen’s town was at the spring dipping water when
she heard something fall near her. Turning to look, she beheld a bundle of beautiful
blankets and pillows which she began to unroll, and inside she found the most beautiful
woman she had ever seen. Frightened at her discovery, the woman ran as fast as she
could to the town, where she called the people together and told them to come at once
to the spring. They all hastened to [12]the spot and there they found Aponibolinayen for
whom they had been searching everywhere.

“Where have you been?” asked her father; “we have searched all over the world and we
could not find you.’

“I have come from Pindayan,” answered Aponibolinayen. “Enemies of our people kept
me there till I made my escape while they were asleep at night”

All were filled with joy that the lost one had returned, and they decided that at the next
moon7 they would perform a ceremony for the spirits8 and invite all the relatives who
were mourning for Aponibolinayen.

So they began to prepare for the ceremony, and while they were pounding rice,
Aponibolinayen asked her mother to prick her little finger where it itched, and as she did
so a beautiful baby boy popped out. The people were very much surprised at this, and
they noticed that every time he was bathed the baby grew very fast so that, in a short
time, he was able to walk. Then they were anxious to know who was the husband of
Aponibolinayen, but she would not tell them, and they decided to invite everyone in the
world to the ceremony that they might not overlook him.[13]

They sent for the betel-nuts that were covered with gold,9 and when they had oiled
them they commanded them to go to all the towns and compel the people to come to
the ceremony.

“If anyone refuses to come, grow on his knee,” said the people, and the betel-nuts
departed to do as they were bidden.

As the guests began to arrive, the people watched carefully for one who might be the
husband of Aponibolinayen, but none appeared and they were greatly troubled. Finally
they went to the old woman, Alokotan, who was able to talk with the spirits, and begged
her to find what town had not been visited by the betel-nuts which had been sent to
invite the people. After she had consulted the spirits the old woman said:

“You have invited all the people except Ini-init who lives up above. Now you must send a
betel-nut to summon him. It may be that he is the husband of Aponibolinayen, for the
siksiklat vine carried her up when she went to gather greens.”

So a betel-nut was called and bidden to summon Ini-init.

“Good morning, Sun. I have come to summon you to a ceremony which the father and
mother of Aponibolinayen [14]are making for the spirits. If you do not want to go, I will
grow on your head.”10

“Grow on my head,” said the Sun. “I do not wish to go.”

So the betel-nut jumped upon his head and grew until it became so tall that the Sun was
not able to carry it, and he was in great pain.

“Oh, grow on my pig,” begged the Sun. So the betel-nut jumped upon the pig’s head
and grew, but it was so heavy that the pig could not carry it and squealed all the time. At
last the Sun saw that he would have to obey the summons, and he said to the betel-nut:

“Get off my pig and I will go.”

So Ini-init came to the ceremony, and as soon as Aponibolinayen and the baby saw him,
they were very happy and ran to meet him. Then the people knew that this was the
husband of Aponibolinayen, and they waited eagerly for him to come up to them. As he
drew near, however, they saw that he did not walk, for he was round; and then they
perceived that he was not a man but a large stone. All her relatives were very angry to
find that Aponibolinayen had married a stone; and they compelled her to take off her
beads11 and her good clothes, for, they said, she must now dress in old clothes and go
again to live with the stone.

So Aponibolinayen put on the rags that they brought her and at once set out with the
stone for his home. [15]No sooner had they arrived there, however, than he became a
handsome man, and they were very happy.

“In one moon,” said the Sun, “we will make a ceremony for the spirits, and I will pay your
father and mother the marriage price12 for you.”

This pleased Aponibolinayen very much, and they used magic so that they had many
neighbors who came to pound rice13 for them and to build a large spirit house.14

Then they sent oiled betel-nuts to summon their relatives to the ceremony. The father of
Aponibolinayen did not want to go, but the betel-nut threatened to grow on his knee if he
did not. So he commanded all the people in the town to wash their hair and their
clothes, and when all was ready they set out.

When they reached the town they were greatly surprised to find that the stone had
become a man, and they chewed the magic betel-nuts to see who he might be. It was
discovered that he was the son of a couple in Aponibolinayen’s own town, and the
people all rejoiced that this couple had found the son whom they had thought lost. They
named him Aponitolau, and [16]his parents paid the marriage price for his wife—the
spirit house nine times full of valuable jars.15

After that all danced and made merry for one moon, and when the people departed for
their homes Ini-init and his wife went with them to live on the earth.
The Story of Gaygayoma who Lives up Above
Tinguian

One day, while Aponitolau sat weaving a basket under his house, he began to feel very
hungry and longed for something sweet to chew. Then he remembered that his field
was still unplanted. He called to his wife who was in the room above, and said: “Come,
Aponibolinayen, let us go to the field and plant some sugar-cane.”

So Aponibolinayen came down out of the house with a bamboo tube,42 and while she
went to the spring to fill it with water, Aponitolau made some cuttings, and they went
together to the field, which was some distance from the house.

Aponitolau loosened the earth with his long stick43 and set out the cuttings he had
brought, while his wife sprinkled them with water from the bamboo tube. And when they
had filled the field, they returned home, happy to think of the splendid cane they should
have.

After seven days Aponitolau went back to the field [38]to see if the plants had lived, and
he found that the leaves were already long and pointed. This delighted him, and while
he stood looking at it he grew impatient and determined to use his magical power so
that the cane would grow very fast. In five days he again visited the field and found that
the stalks were tall and ready to chew. He hurried home to tell Aponibolinayen how fast
their plants had grown, and she was proud of her powerful husband.

Now about this time Gaygayoma, who was the daughter of Bagbagak, a big star, and
Sinag, the moon, looked down from her home in the sky, and when she saw the tall
sugar-cane growing below, she was seized with a desire to chew it. She called to her
father, Bagbagak, and said:

“Oh, Father, please send the stars down to the earth to get some of the sugar-cane that
I see, for I must have it to chew.”

So Bagbagak sent the stars down, and when they reached the bamboo fence that was
around the field they sprang over it, and each broke a stalk of the cane and pulled some
beans which Aponibolinayen had planted, and the stems of these beans were of gold.
Gaygayoma was delighted with the things that the stars brought her. She cooked the
beans with the golden stems and spent long hours chewing the sweet cane. When all
that the stars brought was gone, however, she grew restless and called to her father,
the big star:
“Come, Father, and go with me to the place where the sugar-cane grows, for I want to
see it now.”

Bagbagak called many stars to accompany him, and [39]they all followed Gaygayoma
down to the place where the sugar-cane grew. Some sat on the bamboo fence, while
others went to the middle of the field, and all ate as much as they wished.

The day following this, Aponitolau said to his wife:

“Aponibolinayen, I am going to the field to see if the bamboo fence is strong, for the
carabao will try to get in to eat our sugar-cane.”

So he set out, and when he reached the field and began looking along the fence to see
if it was strong, he kept finding the stalks that the stars had chewed, and he knew that
someone had been there. He went into the middle of the field, and there on the ground
was a piece of gold, and he said to himself:

“How strange this is! I believe some beautiful girl must have chewed my cane. I will
watch tonight, and maybe she will return for more.”

As darkness came on he had no thought of returning home, but he made his meal of the
sugar-cane, and then hid in the tall grass near the field to wait. By and by dazzling lights
blinded his eyes, and when he could see again he was startled to find many stars falling
from the sky, and soon he heard someone breaking the cane. Suddenly a star so large
that it looked like a flame of fire fell into the field, and then a beautiful object near the
fence took off her dress which looked like a star, and she appeared like the half of the
rainbow.

Never had Aponitolau seen such sights; and for a while he lay shaking with fear.

“What shall I do?” he said to himself. “If I do [40]not frighten these companions of the
beautiful girl, they may eat me.”

With a great effort he jumped up and frightened the stars till they all flew up, and when
the pretty girl came looking for her dress she found Aponitolau sitting on it.44 “You must
forgive us,” she said, “for your sugar-cane is very sweet, and we wanted some to chew.”

“You are welcome to the sugar-cane,” answered Aponitolau. “But now we must tell our
names according to our custom, for it is bad for us to talk until we know each other’s
names.”

Then he gave her some betel-nut and they chewed together,45 and he said:
“Now it is our custom to tell our names.”

“Yes,” said she; “but you tell first”

“My name is Aponitolau and I am the husband of Aponibolinayen.”

“I am Gaygayoma, the daughter of Bagbagak and Sinag up in the air,” said the girl. “And
now, Aponitolau, even though you have a wife, I am going to take you up to the sky, for I
wish to marry you. If you are not willing to go, I shall call my companion stars to eat
you.”

Aponitolau shook with fear, for he knew now that the woman was a spirit; and as he
dared not refuse, he promised to go with her. Soon after that the stars [41]dropped a
basket that Gaygayoma had ordered them to make, and Aponitolau stepped in with the
lovely star and was drawn quickly through the air up to the sky. They were met on their
arrival by a giant star whom Gaygayoma introduced as her father, and he told
Aponitolau that he had acted wisely in coming, for had he objected, the other stars
would have eaten him.

After Aponitolau had lived with the stars for some time, Gaygayoma asked him to prick
between her last two fingers, and as he did so a beautiful baby boy popped out. They
named him Takyayen, and he grew very fast and was strong.

All this time Aponitolau had never forgotten Aponibolinayen who, he knew, was
searching for him on the earth, but he had been afraid to mention her to the stars. When
the boy was three months old, however, he ventured to tell Gaygayoma of his wish to
return to the earth.

At first she would not listen to him, but he pleaded so hard that at last she consented to
let him go for one moon46. If he did not return at the end of that time, she said, she
would send the stars to eat him. Then she called for the basket again, and they were
lowered to the earth. There Aponitolau got out, but Gaygayoma and the baby returned
to the sky.

Aponibolinayen was filled with joy at the sight of her husband once more, for she had
believed him dead, and she was very thin from not eating while he was away. Never did
she tire of listening to his [42]stories of his life among the stars, and so happy was she
to have him again that when the time came for him to leave she refused to let him go.

That night many stars came to the house. Some stood in the windows, while others
stayed outside by the walls; and they were so bright that the house appeared to be on
fire.
Aponitolau was greatly frightened, and he cried out to his wife:

“You have done wrong to keep me when I should have gone. I feared that the stars
would eat me if I did not obey their command, and now they have come. Hide me, or
they will get me.”

But before Aponibolinayen could answer, Bagbagak himself called out:

“Do not hide from us, Aponitolau, for we know that you are in the corner of the house.
Come out or we shall eat you.”

Trembling with fear, Aponitolau appeared, and when the stars asked him if he was
willing to go with them he dared not refuse.

Now Gaygayoma had grown very fond of Aponitolau, and she had commanded the
stars not to harm him if he was willing to return to her. So when he gave his consent,
they put him in the basket and flew away with him, leaving Aponibolinayen very sad and
lonely. After that Aponitolau made many trips to the earth, but at Gaygayoma’s
command he always returned to the sky to spend part of the time with her.

One day when Takyayen was a little boy, Aponitolau took him down to the earth to see
his half-brother, [43]Kanag. The world was full of wonders to the boy from the sky, and
he wanted to stay there always. But after some time while he and Kanag were playing
out in the yard, big drops of water began to fall on them. Kanag ran to his mother and
cried:

“Oh, Mother, it is raining, and the sun is shining brightly!”

But Aponitolau, looking out, said, “No, they are the tears of Gaygayoma, for she sees
her son down below, and she weeps for him.”

Then he took Takyayen back to his mother in the sky, and she was happy again.

After that Takyayen was always glad when he was allowed to visit the earth, but each
time when his mother’s tears began to fall, he returned to her. When he was old
enough, Aponitolau selected a wife for him, and after that Takyayen always lived on the
earth, but Gaygayoma stayed in the sky.[4
How the First Head was Taken
Igorot

One day the Moon, who was a woman named Kabigat, sat out in the yard making a large copper
pot. The copper was still soft and pliable like clay, and the woman squatted on the ground with
the heavy pot against her knees while she patted and shaped it.14

Now while she was working a son of Chal-chal, the Sun, came by and stopped to watch her
mould the form. Against the inside of the jar she pressed a stone, while on the outside with a
wooden paddle dripping with water she pounded and slapped until she had worked down the
bulges and formed a smooth surface.

The boy was greatly interested in seeing the jar grow larger, more beautiful, and smoother with
each stroke, and he stood still for some time. Suddenly the Moon looked up and saw him
watching her. Instantly she struck him with her paddle, cutting off his head.

Now the Sun was not near, but he knew as soon as [112]the Moon had cut off his son’s head.
And hurrying to the spot, he put the boy’s head back on, and he was alive again.

Then the Sun said to the Moon, “You cut off my son’s head, and because you did this ever after
on the earth people will cut off each other’s heads.”

https://www.aswangproject.com/tungkung-langit-alunsina/ Tungkung Langit &

Alunsina | The ‘Other’ Visayan Creation Story December 30, 2016 Jordan
Clark

https://www.aswangproject.com/ribung-linti-visayan-god-mythology/
RIBUNG LINTI: Visayan Deity of Thunder & Lightning | Philippine Mythology
February 26, 2016 Jordan Clark

https://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/pft/pft29.htm LUMAWIG ON EARTH 1916 Mabel Cook

Cole
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12814/12814-h/12814-h.htm?
fbclid=IwAR0JtdGwegNNKLjEhs-
unqS4BLP10dhCvqppDUnCM3MP9uS9MHHWIb0gCEQ Aponibolinayen
and the Sun

The Story of Gaygayoma who Lives up Above

Tinguian

How the First Head was Taken

Igorot

Ribung Linti – the god of thunder and lightning. He was

believed to be able to control thunder , release bolts of
electricity and harness lightning.
There is actually very little known about the lightning deity, but we do know how he was
first documented. In 1955, Filipino anthropologist F. Landa Jocano became interested
in native folklore. He travelled deep into central Panay with two colleagues collecting
folk songs, stories, and riddles. It was during one of those trips to the upland barrios of
Lambunao, Maasin, Janiuay, and Calinog in Iloilo that his attention was called to a long
and popular tale called Hinilawod – a 28,000-verse epic that takes about three days to
chant in its original form, making it one of the longest epics known. Over the course of
several weeks they would record the Hinilawod epic and document many other customs
and beliefs. In Jocano’s 1958 paper “The Sulod: A Mountain People In Central Panay,
Philippines”, we find the only mention of Ribung Linti.

“The Ibabawnun or “Upperworld” is divided into two dominions–one occupied by the

male diwata and the other by the female diwata? The most powerful male diwata is
called Tungkung Langit. His origin is not known. He merely appeared in this realm one
day and proclaimed his power. He is assisted by other less powerful diwata; namely,
Bangunbagun, the diwata who regulates cosmic movements; Pahulangkug, the diwata
who changes the seasons; Ribung Linti, the diwata of lightning and thunderstorms;
Sumalongsong, the diwata of the rivers and seas; Santonil.vo. the diwata of good
graces; and Munsad Burulakaw,” the diwata who has direct power over men. The latter
is the most respected and feared among the diwata of the Upperworld.”
Nowhere else has there been a mention of this lightning deity. We are not sure of his
functions, but we could assume he served to punish those who would displease him, or
perhaps even strike against those who are in conflict with the people who give him
favour. It is not uncommon for the gods in any mythology to send thunder and lightning
to strike the transgressors of their moral laws, or as punishment for acting against the
will of their followers.

Ribung Linti literally translates to “thousand lightnings”. Linti still means “lighning” in the
Ilongo language, but it has also become known as a very offensive expression of
disgust. If one blurts it out, it could be deemed as extremely offensive.
There is apparently a children’s story in the Sulod region of Panay. The dwarfs of the
earth spent an entire year building building a ladder out of vines to reach Ibabawnon
(Upper World). Their reason for this was to ask the lightning deity to be mindful when
he casts lightning, for he sometimes strikes the termite mounds they live in. Impressed
by their efforts, Ribung Linti told the dwarfs they should raise little umbrellas
(mushrooms) on their homes when the rain comes so he may see them. The dwarfs did
exactly as he said which is why we sometimes see mushrooms (“uhong” ) on termite
mounds after a thunderstorm.
There is no verifying the validity of this tale as it only appears on one fan blog and in no
literature or study. It could simply be a once off story told by a Nanay or Lola – or it
might be another section of an epic waiting to be discovered. Who knows?

Even with a lack of documented myths that involve Ribung Linti, the unwavering
preservation of these stories over the centuries by the Sulodnon people has cemented
the lightning deity in Visayan Mythology forever.