How the First Head Was Taken

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. Now while she was working a son of Cal-chal, the Sun, came by and stopped to watch her mold 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 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.

The Man with the Coconuts

One day a man who had been to gather his coconuts loaded his horse heavily with the fruit. On the way home he met a boy whom he asked how long it would take to reach the house. "If you go slowly," said the boy, looking at the load on the horse, "you will arrive very soon; but if you go fast, it will take you all day." The man could not believe this strange speech, so he hurried his horse. But the coconuts fell off and he had to stop to pick them up. Then he hurried his horse all the more to make up for lost time, but the coconuts fell off again. Many time he did this, and it was night when he reached home.

The Boy Who Became a Stone

One day a little boy named Elonen sat out in the yard making a bird snare, and as he worked, a little bird called to him: "Tik-tik-lo-den" (come and catch me). "I am making a snare for you," said the boy; but the bird continued to call until the snare was finished. Then Elonen ran and threw the snare over the bird and caught it, and he put it in a jar in his house while he went with the other boys to swim. While he was away, his grandmother grew hungry, so she ate the bird, and when Elonen returned and found that his bird was gone, he was so sad that he wished he might go away and never come back. He went out into the forest and walked a long distance, until finally he came to a big stone and said: "Stone, open your mouth and eat me." And the stone opened its mouth and swallowed the boy. When his grandmother missed the boy, she went out and looked everywhere, hoping to find him. Finally she passed near the stone and it cried out: "Here he is." Then the old woman tried to open the stone but she could not, so she called the horses to come and help her. They came and kicked it, but it would not break. Then she called the carabao and they hooked it, but they only broke their horns. She called the chickens, which pecked it, and the thunder, which shook it, but nothing could open it, and she had to go home without the boy.

The Carabao and the Shell

One very hot day, when a carabao went into the river to bathe, he met a shell and they began talking together. "You are very slow," said the carabao to the shell. "Oh, no," replied the shell. "I can beat you in a race." "Then let us try and see," said the carabao. So they went out on the bank and started to run. After the carabao had gone a long distance he stopped and called, "Shell!" And another shell lying by the river answered, "Here I am!" Then the carabao, thinking that it was the same shell with which he was racing, ran on. By and by he stopped again and called, "Shell!" And another shell answered, "Here I am!" The carabao was surprised that the shell could keep up with him. But he ran on and on, and every time he stopped to call, another shell answered him. But he was determined that the shell should not beat him, so he ran until he dropped dead.

Juan Gathers Guavas

One day Juans father sent him to get some ripe guavas, for a number of the neighbors had come in and he wanted to give them something to eat. Juan went to the guava bushes and ate all the fruit he could hold, and then he decided to play a joke on his fathers guests instead of giving them a feast of guavas. A wasps nest hung nearby. With some difficulty he succeeded in taking it down and putting it into a tight basket that he had brought for the fruit. He hastened home and gave the basket to his father, and then as he left the room where the guests were seated he closed the door and fastened it. As soon as Juans father opened the basket the wasps flew over the room; and when the people found the door locked they fought to get out of the windows. After a while Juan opened the door, and when he saw the swollen faces of the people, he cried. What fine, rich guavas you must have had! They have made you all so fat!

The Legend of Mount Kanlaon

There once lived on the island of Negros a princess named Anina who lived a very sheltered life. One day, Anina overheard her father talking to the kingdom's chief priestess. The priestess was frantic about a report that they could not find a single maiden who was unblemished. Later, Anina asked her father what it was all about, and the king finally broke down. There had long been a seven-headed dragon threatening the kingdom, and the monster could only be appeased if an unblemished maiden was sacrificed to it. In fear, all the women in the kingdom had cut themselves to disqualify themselves from the sacrifice. Parents cut their own baby girls so as to spare the infants from the sacrifice. But the king and the queen couldn't bring themselves to mar their daughter's beauty, and so Anina was the only remaining unscarred female in the kingdom. Anina did not weep. Instead, she willingly offered herself for the sacrifice. Fortuitously, on the day she was to be brought to the mountain where the dragon lived, a man calling himself Khan Laon appeared. (Khan in his language meant a noble lord.) He said he came from a kingdom far away in order to slay the dragon and spare Anina's life. No one believed the dragon could be killed, but Khan Laon insisted that his ability to talk to animals would help him. He asked the help of the ants, the bees and the eagles. The ants swarmed over the dragon's body and crept under its scales to bite its soft, unprotected flesh, while the bees stung the fourteen eyes of the dragon till it was blind. The largest eagle carried Khan Laon to the mountain where he was able to easily chop off the seven heads of the writhing beast. In gratitude, the king gave Khan Laon his daughter Anina to be his bride, and the people named the mountain after the noble lord. And that is how, according to the story, Mount Kanlaon got its name. That it is a volcano is because of the spirt of the dead dragon.

The Legend of the Banana Plant

In the early days when the world was new, spirits and ghosts lurked everywhere. They lived in gloomy caves, they hid in anthills and tree trunks they frolicked in nooks and corners under the houses. In the dark, sometimes their tiny voices could be heard dimly, or their ghostly presence be felt. But they were never seen. It was during these days of phantoms and unseen spirits that a young and beautiful girl lived. Her name was Raya, and she was a girl bold and daring. She was never afraid of spirits. She would walk in the shadowy forests, bringing along a lighted candle. Then she would tiptoe into dark and dirty caves, searching the place for spirits. Raya only felt or heard them never having seen them. But Raya always felt the presence of one kind spirit, whenever she walked in the forest the spirit was with her at all times. One day she heard someone call her name, and she looked up to see a young handsome man. She asked him who he was, and he replied that his name was Sag-in, and he was the spirit who followed her around, and even confessed that he had fallen in love with a mortal. They married had a child and lived happily, but Sag-in knew that his time on earth was short for he was a spirit-man, and would have to return to the spirit world soon. When he knew his time had come, he called Raya and explained why he had to leave. As he was slowly vanishing, he told Raya that he would leave her a part of him. Raya looked down and saw a bleeding heart on the ground. She took the heart and planted it. She watched it night and day. A plant with long green leaves sprouted from the grave. One day, the tree bore fruit shaped like a heart. She touched the fruit and caressed it. Thinking could this be Sag-in's heart? Slowly the fruit opened , Long golden fruits sprouted from it. Raya picked one, peeled it and bit into it. Then, she heard Sag-in's voice floating in the air: "Yes, Raya, it is my heart. I have reappeared to show you that I will never forsake you and our child. Take care of this plant, and it will take care of you in return. It's trunk and leaves will give you shelter and clothing. The heart and fruits will be your food. And when you sleep at night, I will stand and watch by your window. I will stay by your side forever!"

The Legend of DAMA DE NOCHE

There was upon a time, a nobleman who was used to live careless, going to parties every night, drinking and eating and spending his nights with different women. One night while sitting on his luxurious mansion, the nobleman started to realize that his life was empty, and all of those crazy nights were growing old. With this in mind, embarks in a journey in look for a woman to spend the rest of his life with. After visiting a lot of villages, he finds the perfect woman, and it's called Dama. Dama and the nobleman get married and live happy... At first. Dama used to cook and clean for him, but this was not enough for the nobleman anymore. One night the nobleman told Dama she was not good enough for him and went back to his old life. Dama was devastated, crying, went back to the bedroom, and looking to the sky through the window, asked the spirits for help so she won't lose her husband. Later that night the nobleman came back to his house calling Dama to fix his nightclothes, but she was nowhere to be found. After looking for all over the mansion, he came back to the bedroom, when a sweet smell coming from the window grabbed his attention, he walked to check the window and saw a bush growing in the window, with lots of small white flowers spreading that sweet smell, capturing the nobleman with it. Dama never came back and the nobleman waited for her return in that window, with only the smell of the flower as company.

FIRST MONKEY

A long time ago, a young girl lived in a forest who was an apprentice of the Goddess Of Weaving, who always looked over the young girl. One day the Goddess called the girl and ask her to make a dress made of cotton. The young girl had no idea in how to make this, and so the Goddess explain it to her: Clean the cotton, beat it, spin it, weave it into cloth, cut it and finally sew it. What the Goddess didn't know it was that the girl was lazy and thought that making a dress was a lot of work. Believing it would be easier, she just took the leather cloth used to beat the cotton and wore it, plus also it would last longer than the cotton. When the Goddess asked the girl to show her the dress, she got furious to find out what the girl didn't do what she was asked. As punishment the Goddess made the leather stick to the poor girl's skin and the beating stick became her tail. And this is the Legend of the Monkey in the Philippines.

THE MAKAHIYA

In a village, a long time ago, it used to live Mang Dondong, his wife Aling Iska and their daughter Maria, who was very loved by her parents. Maria was very obedient, kind and beautiful, but above all very shy, who made her avoid contact with everyone. Maria had a flowers garden which she used as a sanctuary. All the flowers were beautiful and she used to take good care of them. One fatal day, a band of thieves came to Maria's village, Mang Dondong notice their coming, and running back to his house, took Maria and hid her in the garden, while Aling Iska was praying to God to protect her daughter. Suddenly the doors were wide open and the bandits ran inside the house, knocking down Mang Dondong and Aling iska. The thieves trashed the house taking all the money and valuables and fled. As soon Aling Iska woke up, she ran into the garden looking for Maria, but she was not there. She looked everywhere in the house with no luck. Believing that she was taken by the bandits, went back to the garden crying. While she was there, she felt something by her feet. After a while, she noticed a small plant, she knew then that it was Maria, who was transformed in that plant by God to protect her, Aling Iska's tears then transformed in more of those plants as soon as they touch the garden. Both Mang Dondong and Aling Iska took care of the plant, which just like Maria was shy.

The Story of Bathala

In the beginning of time there were three powerful gods who lived in the universe. Bathala was the caretaker of the earth, Ulilang Kaluluwa (lit. Orphaned Spirit), a huge serpent who lived in the clouds, and Galang Kaluluwa (lit. Wandering spirit), the winged god who loves to travel. These three gods did not know each other. Bathala often dreamt of creating mortals but the empty earth stops him from doing so. Ulilang Kaluluwa who was equally lonely as Bathala, liked to visit places and the earth was his favorite. One day the two gods met. Ulilang Kaluluwa, seeing another god rivalling him, was not pleased. He challenged Bathala to a fight to decide who would be the ruler of the universe. After three days and three nights, Ulilang Kaluluwa was slain by Bathala. Instead of giving him a proper burial, Bathala burned the snake's remains. A few years later the third god, Galang Kaluluwa, wandered into Bathala's home. He welcomed the winged god with much kindness and even invited him to live in his kingdom. They became true friends and were very happy for many years. Galang Kaluluwa became very ill. Before he died he instructed Bathala to bury him on the spot where Ulilang Kaluluwas body was burned. Bathala did exactly as he was told. Out of the grave of the two dead gods grew a tall tree with a big round nut, which is the coconut tree. Bathala took the nut and husked it. He noticed that the inner skin was hard. The nut itself reminded him of Galang Kaluluwas head. It had two eyes, a flat nose, and a round mouth. Its leaves looked so much like the wings of his dear winged friend. But the trunk was hard and ugly, like the body of his enemy, the snake Ulilang Kaluluwa. Bathala realized that he was ready to create the creatures he wanted with him on earth. He created the vegetation, animals, and the first man and woman. Bathala built a house for them out of the trunk and leaves of the coconut trees. For food, they drank the coconut juice and ate its delicious white meat. Its leaves, they discovered, were great for making mats, hats, and brooms. Its fiber could be used for rope and many other things

The Mariners and the Four Asuangs of Capiz

Once a small boat containing one commandant, a captain and six sailors landed on the island of Capiz. They sought refuge in a house owned by a widow and her three lovely daughters. These women were very accommodating, and during their meals there was much gay talk and laughter. The meals themselves were of the highest quality. Never had the sailors been extended such hospitality! And then one of the sailors noticed that his fork was shaped like a human hand. This observation prompted the mariners to quickly be done with the meal. The mariners began to form suspicions as to the true nature of the women in the house with them. They decided to watch out for strange happenings during their stay in Capiz. The more curious three of the sailors investigated the lower rooms of the house they were staying in. There, they found the three lower halves of the bodies of women. The upper halves had simply broken away and disappeared. The sailors gave way to temptation and fear and smeared ashes on the top parts of these lower halves and changed their positions, to prevent the upper and lower halves from coming together again. Later in the night the three upper halves returned and found the rest of their bodies defiled. The captain of the mariners heard their despaired weeping and hastened downstairs. He found the three daughters of the widow who owned the house he slept in in the form of flying night-creatures, or asuangs. The asuangs begged for him to wash the ashes from the lower halves of their bodies, and so moved was the captain by their pleas that he himself washed the ashes off with a piece of cloth and water. The asuangs were able to reunite with their lower halves before daylight, when, they said, they would die a horrible death. They thanked the captain profusely, but were angry at the sailors who had done them wrong. The captain tried to confront the three sailors who had played the trick on the asuangs, but they had run away. The asuangs pursued them, threatening to kill them unless they atoned for their crime by marriage. At last the three sailors had to submit to fate and return to Capiz as spouses to asuangs. Anyway, the asuangs made them good wives. The three sailors who were never mean to the asuangs settled with women from Capiz and became happy. The captain and the commandant stayed in Capiz for a long while.

Why the Sky is High

Long ago, our elders say, the sky was so close to the earth that one could touch it. But there were only two people who could avail of that fact. They were the first man and woman. It has been said that the first woman was so vain. She wore so much jewelry and despised work. Whenever the first man would ask her to do something, she would pout. She pouted when he asked her to clean the house. She pouted whenever he asked her to cook. She pouted whenever he asked her to grind the rice grains everyday for their food. "But if you dont grind the rice, we dont get to eat," the first man reasoned, and even the vain first woman could not dispute that. But it was so much work grinding the rice with a little pestles and mortars. So she poured all their rice for the day into a very large mortar and took up a very large pestle to grind it with. The pestle was so tall that when it hit the mortar, it touched the sky. The first woman was oblivious to this. She only knew she had to grind all the rice before her husband came home for supper. She still wore all her jewelry. She noticed that her jewelry kept falling off or hampered her in any other way whenever she worked. So she hung her larger pieces of jewelry upon the sky, which were her silver comb, her gold ring, and her long pearl necklace. And then she went to work with the huge pestle, unknowing that as one end of the pestle pounded onto the rice grains, the other end was pounding onto the sky. The first woman only knew that having the sky so low only made her task more difficult. So she pounded harder and harder on the rice. Higher and higher the sky went, until with one enormous stroke, the first woman sent the sky flying up, never to come so close to the earth again. She sensed a draft behind her neck and looked up. She was astonished to see that the sky had risen so high and taken her most precious things with it! She could see her silver comb shining where the moon is now, and the beads of her lovely necklace twinkling all around it. Her golden ring was nowhere in sight. The first woman grumbled, "I would have worn those things again if Id known they would go to waste."

Si Malakas at Maganda

It was told that that in the beginning, there was no earth or man. There was only the Sky and the Sea. Both of equal prowess, they exist one above or below the other. The only thing in between them was a small bird. The bird was flying endlessly, until, he got bored and tired. The Sky was above him, but he cant reach it; below him was the Sea, but he cant land on it. So the bird thought deeply. And then he swooshed, and scooped and splashed water from the Sea. He continued with his splashing until water reached the Sky above. The Sky was furious. He didnt want the waters to flood him, and he noticed that the Sea now was also mad. All the Sky thought of was creating rocks and then throwing them. And so he did. The Sky created rocks and he threw them down, which landed on the Sea. The bird was satisfied. He landed on those rocks and then made a nest. The Sky commanded the bird to never disturb him and the Sea again. But then the bird noticed something floating on the water. He ignored it but the bamboo shaft bumped him and hurt him. He got so furious so he pecked and pecked the bamboo until it split into two. From the first half sprung a man, and from the second, a woman. Malakas and Maganda. They were our first parents, and from them, the rest of the world began.

The Creation Story

When the world first began there was no land, but only the sea and the sky, and between them was a kite (a bird something like a hawk). One day the bird which had nowhere to light grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up the sea until it threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon it many islands until it could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite to light on one of the islands to build her nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in peace. Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a child which was a bamboo. One day when this bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the feet of the kite which was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything should strike it, pecked at the bamboo, and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman. Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these two, and it was decided that they should marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all the different races of people. After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children around, and they wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no place to send them to. Time went on and the children became so numerous that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick and began beating them on all sides. This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions, seeking hidden rooms in the house -- some concealed themselves in the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace, and several fled to the sea. Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of the islands; and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those who ran outside were free men; and those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea were gone many years, and when their children came back they were the white people

Hudhud hi Aliguyon
In the mountainous regions of Northern Luzon, a hudhud is a long tale sung during special occasions. This particular long tale is sung during harvest. A favorite topic of the hudhud is a folk hero named Aliguyon, a brave warrior. Once upon a time, in a village called Hannanga, a boy was born to the couple named Amtalao and Dumulao. He was called Aliguyon. He was an intelligent, eager young man who wanted to learn many things, and indeed, he learned many useful things, from the stories and teachings of his father. He learned how to fight well and chant a few magic spells. Even as a child, he was a leader, for the other children of his village looked up to him with awe. Upon leaving childhood, Aliguyon betook himself to gather forces to fight against his fathers enemy, who was Pangaiwan of the village of Daligdigan. But his challenge was not answered personally by Pangaiwan. Instead, he faced Pangaiwans fierce son, Pumbakhayon. Pumbakhayon was just as skilled in the arts of war and magic as Aliguyon. The two of them battled each other for three years, and neither of them showed signs of defeat. Their battle was a tedious one, and it has been said that they both used only one spear! Aliguyon had thrown a spear to his opponent at the start of their match, but the fair Pumbakhayon had caught it deftly with one hand. And then Pumbakhayon threw the spear back to Aliguyon, who picked it just as neatly from the air. At length Aliguyon and Pumbakhayon came to respect each other, and then eventually they came to admire each others talents. Their fighting stopped suddenly. Between the two of them they drafted a peace treaty between Hannanga and Daligdigan, which their peoples readily agreed to. It was fine to behold two majestic warriors finally side by side. Aliguyon and Pumbakhayon became good friends, as peace between their villages flourished. When the time came for Aliguyon to choose a mate, he chose Pumbakhayons youngest sister, Bugan, who was little more than a baby. He took Bugan into his household and cared for her until she grew to be most beautiful. Pumbakhayon, in his turn, took for his wife Aliguyons younger sister, Aginaya. The two couples became wealthy and respected in all of Ifugao.

BIAG NI LAM-ANG
Don Juan and his wife Namongan lived in Nalbuan, now part of La Union in the northern part of the Philippines. They had a son named Lam-ang. Before Lam-ang was born, Don Juan went to the mountains in order to punish a group of their Igorot enemies. While he was away, his son Lam-ang was born. It took four people to help Namongan give birth. As soon as the baby boy popped out, he spoke and asked that he be given the name Lam-ang. He also chose his godparents and asked where his father was. After nine months of waiting for his father to return, Lam-ang decided he would go look for him. Namongan thought Lam-ang was up to the challenge but she was sad to let him go. During his exhausting journey, he decided to rest for awhile. He fell asleep and had a dream about his father's head being stuck on a pole by the Igorot. Lam-ang was furious when he learned what had happened to his father. He rushed to their village and killed them all, except for one whom he let go so that he could tell other people about Lam-ang's greatness.

Upon returning to Nalbuan in triumph, he was bathed by women in the Amburayan river. All the fish died because of the dirt and odor from Lam-ang's body. There was a young woman named Ines Kannoyan whom Lam-ang wanted to woo. She lived in Calanutian and he brought along his white rooster and gray dog to visit her. On the way, Lam-ang met his enemy Sumarang, another suitor of Ines whom he fought and readily defeated. Lam-ang found the house of Ines surrounded by many suitors all of whom were trying to catch her attention. He had his rooster crow, which caused a nearby house to fall. This made Ines look out. He had his dog bark and in an instant the fallen house rose up again. The girl's parents witnessed this and called for him. The rooster expressed the love of Lam-ang. The parents agreed to a marriage with their daughter if Lam-ang would give them a dowry valued at double their wealth. Lam-ang had no problem fulfilling this condition and he and Ines were married. It was a tradition to have a newly married man swim in the river for the rarang fish. Unfortunately, Lam-ang dove straight into the mouth of the water monster Berkakan. Ines had Marcos get his bones, which she covered with a piece of cloth. His rooster crowed and

his dog barked and slowly the bones started to move. Back alive, Lam-ang and his wife lived happily ever after with his white rooster and gray dog.

Darangan
The people of Mindanao had rich literatures that exist only in their minds and memories. Only recently that these epic poetries were put in writing, so these can be studied by the public. Locally called "Darangan", these epic poetries were similar to those of that Homers Iliad and Odyssey. The Darangan tells of the sentimental and romantic adventures of noble warriors, one of them, is about a warrior-prince called Bantugan.. Prince Bantugan was the brother of the chieftain of a village called Bumbaran. Bantugan owned a magic shield, was protectedby divine spirits called "Tonongs" and was capable of rising from the dead. Once his enemies attacked Bembaran, thinking he was dead. In the nick of time, Bantugans soul was recovered and he saved the village. There is also an episode, where Prince Bantugan was on a quest and fought his enemies with his magic Kampilan (Native sword). Soon, he got tired and fell on to the water. A crocodile delivered him to his enemies, but he regained his strength, escaped his captors, and commands an oar less ship and won the battle. There were also Darangan epic poetries that relates stories of wars about abducted princesses. Just like the chronicles of the Trojan War. The Darangan is one of the oldest and longest Philippine Epic poetries. Several nights were needed to recite the twenty five beautiful chapters. The Darangan, sung in its original, possessed a sustained beauty and dignity, it might be studied for its esthetic values alone.

Maragtas
The Maragtas Chronicles of Panay is a history of rulers of the island from the time of the Ten Malay Datus (rulers) that settled from Borneo. The "Legend of the Ten Datus (chieftains)" narrates about the forefathers of the Filipinos and the story of ten Bornean chieftains who escaped the cruel regime of Sultan Makatunaw. Datu Puti along with other nine chieftains plans to leave Borneo. Riding their native boats, they ventured into the night and across the wide ocean. At first, the ten rulers and their families were afraid that they might perish in the middle of the sea. Soon, they have reached the islands of Panay and befriended with the natives called Aetas. The Aetas are quite friendly and decides to sell a piece of their land to the ten chieftains. The chieftains gave the Aetas leader, Marikudo a golden Salakot (Native head piece) After this; the chieftains and Aetas lived in peace and harmony. The Haraya is another epic poem from Panay. It is a collection of rules of conduct told in the form of heroic tales. The "Hari sa Bukid" of Negros is a mythical epic of Kanlaon (Kan comes from a Persian word "Khan" meaning "King" and "Laon" from a Malay word meaning "Ancient.") and "Hinilawod" an epic poem made by the early inhabitants of Iloilo, Aklan and Antique also from Panay. The hero of Hinilawod, Humadapnon was of divine ancestry. He had super natural powers and guardian spirits to protect him. His most exciting adventure was his search for Nagmalitong Yawa: A beautiful maiden whom he saw in his dream. He boarded his golden boat, sailed amidst dangerous seas, and was captured by an enchantress/engkantada. Finally, he found and won the love of Nagmalitong Yawa.

IBALON
A long time ago, there was a rich land called Ibalong. The hero Baltog, who came from Botavora of the brave clan of Lipod, came to this land when many monsters were still roaming in its very dark forests. He decided to stay and was the first to cultivate its field and to plant them with gabi. Then one night, a monstrous, wild boar known as Tandayag saw these field and destroyed the crops. Upon knowing this, Baltog decided to look for this boar with all his courage and patiend. At last, as soon as he saw it, he fearlessly wrestled with it, with all his might. Baltog was unafraid. He was strong and brave. Though the Tandayag had very long fangs, he was able to pin down the monstrous, wild boar and break apart its very big jawbones. With this, Tandayag fell and died. After this fight, Baltog went to his house in Tondol, carrying the Tandayag broken bones. Then he hung it on a talisay tree in front of his house. Upon learning of the victory of their Chief Baltog, the people prepared a feast and celebrated. The very big jawbones of the dead boar became an attraction for everyone. Thus, came the tribes of Panikwason and Asog to marvel it. The second hero who came to the land of Ibalong was Handyong. Together with his men, he had to fight thousands of attles, and face many dangers to defeat the monster. As warriors, they first fought the one-eyed monster with the tree necks in the land of Ponong. For ten months, they fought without rest. And they never stopped fighting until all these monsters were killed. Handyong and his men made their next attack against the giant flying sharks called Triburon which had hardly flesh and sawlike teeth that could crush rocks. They continued fighting until the defeat of the last Triburon. They tamed the wild carabaos. They even drove away the giant and very fierce Sarimao which had very sharp fingernails. And using their spears and arrows, they killed all the crocodiles which were as big as boats. With all these killings, the rivers and swamps of Ibalong turned red with blood. It was at this time that the savage monkeys became frightened and hid themselves. Among the enemies of Handyong and his men, the serpent Oryol was the hardes to kill. Having a beautiful voice, Oryaol could change its image to deceive its enemies. To capture it, Handyong tried different ways. Then suddenly, there cmae a big flood caused by Unos, with terrifying earthquakes. The volcanoes of Hantik, Kulasi and Isarog erupted. Rivers changed their direction and the seas waves rolled high. Destruction was everywhere. Soon, the earth parted, mountains sank, a lake was formed, and many towns in Ibalong were ruined. Then appeared the giant Rabot, half-man and half-beast, with awesome and terrifying powers. People were asking who will fight against Rabot. So Bantong, the third hero was called. He was a good friend of Handyong. He was ordered to kill the new monster on Ibalong. To do this, he took with him a thousand warriors to attack Rabots den. But using his wisdom against Rabot, he did not attack the giant right away. He first observed Rabots ways. Looking around the giants den, he discovered that there were many rocks surrounding it, and these were the people who were turned into rocks by Rabot. Bantong also learned that Rabot loved to sleep during the day and stayed awake at night. So, he waited. When Rabot was already

sleeping very soundly, Bantong came hear him. He cut the giant into two with his very sharp bolo and without any struggle, Rabot died. So Ibalong was at peace once more.