The First Garlic

There once lived a beautiful maiden whose mother arranged to be married to the son of one of the richest datus in the land. She was so lovely that a rival suitor murdered her fiance. That rival was, in turn, killed by the dead fiance's loyal slave. As news of the double-deaths spread, the young maiden runs up a sacred mountain and implores Bathala to take her away so that her beautiful face will no longer cause any future killings. She gets apped by lightning. !er mother buries her and grieves, watering her grave with tears. "ne day, the mother sees some grass-like plants sprouting on top of her dead daughter's graves. Thinking it was some useless weed, she pulls it out and sees seeds that look like her dead daughter's teeth. She hears a supernatural voice boom# $Those are your daughter's teeth.$ She gives thanks, knowing this is Bathala's way of giving her something that will remind her of her daughter. She plants the seeds all over her land to spread the memory of her daughter, and that's how the garlic plant began.

Why the Sun Follows the Moon

The Sun and the %oon used to be married and shared the sky. "ne day the %oon had to gather vegetables in the forest and asked the Sun to watch over their children. She warned him not to get too near the sleeping kids because they might get burned. !e watches the kids from a distance but, because he wanted to kiss them, forgot his wife's warning. !e bends over near his children and, horrified, sees them melt. !e hides in the forest. !is wife, the %oon, returns to find her children all melted. After some time, the Sun shows himself to the %oon. They fight# !e throws the vegetables to her face and she leaves him. "n a clear night, when the %oon is full, you will see traces of vegetable leaves on her face. Their children have turned into stars, while the Sun keeps chasing after the %oon in an attempt to reconcile.

Why The Sea Is Salty

%any years ago, the sea tasted like ordinary rainwater. &t was bland and tasteless. 'ortunately, the people living in the islands knew about a friendly giant who kept mounds of salt in his cave. The people would cross the ocean on their boats to reach the gentle giant's island, and that is how they were able to bring salt back to their villages, in order to prepare tastier meals. "ne time, however, the ocean was (uite rough and they could not sail out to gather salt. They eventually ran out of salt and the villagers no longer en)oyed their tasteless meals. They wondered how they could get salt again, when a child suggested they ask the giant to stretch out his legs over the ocean so that they could walk to his island instead. The kind giant agreed, and villagers with empty salt sacks walked along the giant's leg. *nfortunately, the giant's foot landed on an anthill, and the ferocious red ants started biting the enormous leg. $!urry+$ pleaded the giant, who strained to keep his itchy legs still. As soon as the people reached the giant's island, he immediately withdrew his foot and scratched the itchy bites. The villages )ust smiled at how a giant could be bothered by tiny ants. Anyway, the people got their salt and the giant again stretched his leg over the ocean. &mmediately, the ants began biting his swollen foot. "nce again, the giant asked the people to hurry up, but the heavy salt sacks slowed them down. Besides, the people didn't believe that the tiny ants could really affect the giant, so they idly chatted away, and walked rather slowly. Before the villagers could cross the ocean, the giant cried out and thrust his ant-bitten foot into the ocean. All the packed salt fell into the plain-water sea and melted. The giant saved the people from drowning, but no one was able to recover the spilled salt. 'rom that day onwards, the sea became salty.

Malakas and Maganda

&n the beginning, there was only the sea, the sky and the air. The ,oddess of the Sea and the ,od of the Sky were enemies and fought for centuries. The Sky ,od hurled thunder bolts, lightning and colossal boulders at the sea while the Sea ,oddess fashioned pounding waves and swirling hurricanes that touched the sky. The usually patient ,od of Air grew tired of the incessant fighting. !e took the form of a beautiful bird and tried to get the Sea ,oddess and the Sky ,od to reconcile with one another. 'inally, the ,ods made peace at the hori on- the place where the sea and the sky come together. -ater they fell in love. A tiny seed born out of their love was planted on one of the magnificent boulders the Sky ,od had once thrown into the sea. 'rom this seed a bamboo began to grow. The bird who brought peace perched to rest on one of the thousands of boulders and saw the growing bamboo. "ut of curiosity the bird pecked at it and the bamboo was split in two. A man and a woman sprang from the two pieces+ The man was named %alakas .meaning strong/ and the woman was %aganda .meaning beautiful/. %alakas and %aganda went on to have many children, grand children, great grandchildren and so on. The generations spread across the thousands of boulders that came to be known as the 0hilippines.

Filipino Mythological Creatures

'ilipino myths are a powerhouse of creatures. Some of the popular 'ilipino legends include stories about creatures like the Aswang, 1apre, Tikbalang and Sirena. Aswang are probably the most recogni ed or most well known of the filipino mythical creatures. Aswang are something like witches. They are typically considered to be female and are often the reason behind unfortunate occurances like sickness, death or things as simple as strange noises. %y parents would tell me that the aswang would find me if & didn't go to bed or if & didn't do my chores around the house. & think an American e(uivalent to Aswang is the Boogeyman. 2e3t up is the 1apre which according to folklore is a tree demon that resembles a hairy giant smoking a big tobacco pipe. 1apres are not harmful creatures but they are fond of playing pranks on people. A Tikbalang is the 'ilipino version of a centaur - a giant creature that is part horse and part man. They usually live in remote areas or under bridges and on top of trees. The Tikbalang like to scare travelers and get them lost. &t is also capable of turning into a human being or becoming invisible. The mermaid, an almost universally recogni ed creature, is called Sirena in 'ilipino legend. The Sirena has the head and torso of a human but the lower body of a fish.

Sirenas hypnoti e men, usually fisherman, with their beautiful voices, and cause them to cause accidents at sea or drown. 'ilipino -egends and 'olktales are )ust as interesting as the popular stories told in the *nited States. %y parents never told me and my brother these stories when we were growing up in 4hicago. As an adult, it is delightful to learn these stories and to share them with my American born 'ilipino friends. & hope you share these age old 'ilipino -egends and folktales with your friends, too+