Myth and Legends

The Creation of Man and Woman

As legend has it, it was the gods, Atan and Uyan, who created the heaven and the earth and all living creatures in the dry lands and seas. In particular, it was Atan who created humans, by planting a bamboo in a garden. The plant grew tall and swayed with the breeze until one day it broke and split in two and out came a man and a woman. They named the man Malakas and the woman Maganda. Because they were the only humans, the man came to like the woman and proposed to marry her.

At first, the woman was reluctant and refused on the grounds that they were brothers and sisters having born from the same node of the bamboo tree. She finally agreed when upon seeking the advice of earthquake, the doves in the air and even the tuna fishes in the sea, she was told every time that they should marry and multiply and fill the earth with people. And they became the first husband and wife. Not long, they begot a daughter whom they named Ibus.

And a son was born to them whom they called Mara. Ibus and Mara later married and begot a Nalu. Nalu later married Guan, the second daughter born to Malakas and Maganda. They got a daughter named Nora. One day, Guan made a fishing net. She was first to invent and even tried using it right away. She caught a whale with it and brought it to the shore to keep as a pet. Not knowing whale cannot live in land, her pet died hours later.

This made her grieved so much she started blaming the gods, shouting at the top of her voice that reached up to the heavens. It was the first time a living creature died. The god Atan heard her loud cries and wanted to find out exactly why Guan was yelling. He sent the houseflies to find out what was wrong. They were apparently so busy storing honey they did not even give heed to the order that was given them. When he learned the flies haven’t left, the god Atan got angry.

He condemned them and turned them into scavengers that lived only on filthy and rotten things as they still do today. Next, Atan sent the weevil that came back at once. She informed him that Guan was lamenting over the death of her whale and blaming gods. The god Atan did not like being blamed. After consulting with Uyan, the two agreed to make thunderbolt. They threw it at Guan who died instantly. Guan was sentenced to inferno for forty days.

After which the gods took pity on her and have her back her life. Meanwhile, thinking his wife Guan had died, Nalu sought the company of Orun as the latter’s concubine. Upon coming home, Guan eagerly searched the entire house for her husband until he daughter Nora informed her that her husband had been invited by Orun to dine upon a roasted chicken. Guan told her daughter to fetch her father. She was again disappointed when her daughter told her that Nalu refuse to come home.

Because he didn’t believe she was alive. Her daughter also mentioned that her father even laughed at her when she told him she came back to life, for according to him the dead could not return to the world of living. Guan got very angry. She resolved to return to inferno and never return to the world. There were those who believed that had Nalu returned home and had not Guan returned to inferno, there would be no death or else that the dead could then come back to life.