Chacha’ and Ked-yem: This is the story of the two men who set the law
and strength of the al-lawig, keeping one’s word in the pechen. The enemy
tribe who comes to make a pact with another tribe is protected by it, that
whatever they eat or drink or smoke with the tribe with whom they have the
pechen would fear no death. Long, long ago, there were two gods by the
name of Chacha’ and Ked-yem. One was a warrior and the other a
blacksmith. They were very good neighbors.
One day, Chacha’ asked his wife the whereabouts of his two sons. His wife
answered that she saw them go up the place of Ked-yem, the blacksmith.
Taking a torch, the father went to the house of Ked-yem and asked for his
sons. The blacksmith without looking up from his work just answered they
were in his house, only that he had cut off their heads as they came
everyday to destroy his work. He pointed to the tap-an where he placed the
bodies and to the kapan where he placed the heads.
Chacha’ quietly took the heads and connected them with the bodies and
both sons lived again. Then before leaving he told his friend the blacksmith
that on the following day they will fight this matter out in the mountain. So
the following day, Chacha’ and Ked-yem met with their weapons and started
fighting. In their strength they pulled out all the trees and plants around
them in the forest till nothing was left to hurl at each other. When night
came, not one was vanquished.
So Chacha’ said that the fight would continue the following morning in the
river. And so the two giants fought it out in the river turning and using all
the stones, yet not one of them was hurt or fell. When night came and it was
time to go home, the warrior suggested to the blacksmith that they be
friends again and have the pechen.
When they looked back where they had fought, they found that kawa
(spider) had fenced the river and so they went home. Then Chacha’ said to
Ked-yem, “From now on when I eat my rice you shall eat of it and feel safe
and when I smoke my pipe, you shall smoke of it and have no fear that it
will bring you ill health.” And so, they inchur-is (bequeathed) the pacts of
the gods to the earthlings on earth.
Cordillera Tales (1) : Aran, The First Woman
January 13, 2006
Here is a Benguet folktale on the origins of the tribes that make up the Cordillera:-
The Ibaloi people believe that in the beginning the sky was low. But as the trees grew, they keep
pushing it up. And now it is very high.
It rained almost all the time. And once, it rained so hard and the water rose so high, that even the
mountains were covered. That is, except Mt. Chantog.
Of course all the animals and all the people were drowned – that is, except a woman called Aran. She
was the only one who was able to climb to the very top of Mt Chantog.
For some time after the great flood, Aran had to live alone. Then one of the bones on her right side
became a man, and he became her husband.
Soon they have a baby. This baby grew up and become the ancestor of the Ibaloi people. Later, Aran
went from place to place; and every year she had another baby. This went on for thirty years.
Taken at Igorot Steps next to Barrio Fiesta Restaurant
Because they were born and brought up in different places, these babies were different from one
another. And so, when they became grown up, they became the ancestors of different tribes – the
Kankana-ey, the Ifugao, the Bontoc, the Kalinga, the Tinggian, the Illocano, the Tagalog, the Visayan
and so on.
Source: The Origin of Tapuy and other Cordillera Tales. Edited by Rosella Camte-Bahni, Sr. Teresa R
Dagdag MM, and Marjorie M Balay-as, Igorota Foundation Inc., Baguio City, 1998.
