Malakas at Maganda ( Philippine Mythology)
A long time ago, there was no land. There were only the sea and the sky. A bird was them flying in the sky. Soon she grew tired and wanted to rest. But she could not. As she was smart, she made the sea throw rocks up at the sky. And the sky turned very dark and poured down water. That was how the island came about. Now the waves break on the shore and can never rise as high as the sky again.
Horrified by the unusual downpour of rain, the bird flew away as fast as she could. She saw the land just created. And on that land, she could see tropical trees, throwing up their naked shoulders. These green things were merely bamboos.
As the bird was flying all the time, she became thirsty. But she could not quench her thirst with the salty sea water. She, therefore, looked for rivulets. Unfortunately, there was none. Realizing that some water was stored in the bamboo joints, she alighted, and started to peck on the bamboo clumps.
“Peck harder, peck harder,” a weak voice cried, the moment her bill struck the bamboo. The bird was extremely frightened, and was about to fly away. But like a curious woman, she restrained herself. She wanted to know that voice really was. Gathering her courage, she pecked, pecked, and pecked.
“Peck harder, peck harder,” the weak voice complained again. The bird became he more curious. She pecked and pecked with all her might. But as her pecking was ineffectual, she snatched a piece of rock nearby and dropped it on the bamboo. The bamboo was broken and split in two. In the wink of an eye, a man and a woman stepped out of the bamboo joint, the man bowing politely to the woman. The woman gave recognition to the man; then they walked away hand in hand.
The appearance of the human beings frightened the bird. She forgot her thirst and flew away, hardly realizing that she saw the first human beings, and had a role in their creation.
COMMENTARY
Philippines is known in having numerous creation stories. Myths, tales and superstitious beliefs are part of its culture. Some of these beliefs stem from pre-Christian religions and were regarded by the Spanish as “myth” in an effort to delegitimize pre-colonial animism. At present, some of these myths are still held by Filipinos, especially in many regions and provinces.
One of the famous creation stories from the Philippines is the story of “Malakas(Strength) at Maganda (Beauty)”. The story has been taught since grade school. It is always my favorite sotry to hear from my grade school teachers. I was really fascinated by Malakas and Maganda who sprang from a bamboo. As a kid, who would have knew that it’s possible for a man and woman to get inside the bamboo. Isn’t it unbelievable yet amazing? And who would have knew that a bamboo is possible to be splitted by just a peck of a bird?
It really sounds interesting. From a perspective of a kid, the story of Malakas at Maganda is taken as simple as who are the first human in the earth. The fascination of a kid will remain to be just a fascination up until he gets what really the story conveys. But as time goes by, we tend to be curious to the every detail of the story. Right now, I believe that every story has a story behind it. It don’t pop out of nowhere. Someone must be intrigued and empowered by an actual event to create something. For instance, God was lonely so he decided to create things to end his solitude. Similarly, we each have our own reason to make something to improve our lives.
The Story Malakas at Maganda is a reflection of the story of Adam and Eve. Both story are tale-based in an actual event that happened way before human walked the earth. But let us discover what really lies behind the surface of the story. The sky and the sea, if you take them out of their literary context, are not really the sky and the sea. They are cosmos and galaxy. The rocks represent comets that have wandered in between the cosmos and the galaxy. It also hit the earth splitting it in half. The bamboo symbolizes the earth. Why bamboo? Simply because, it is a symbol of growth, strength, and life which is what earth all bout. The earth also comprises greenery and vegetation. Why is it that Earth after splitting, sprang a woman and a man? It is because people play a vital roles in the Age of Agriculture. The existence of human race must be included so that there’re people who’ll protect the creations.
If we take myth out of its literary meaning, little by little, is stars to make more sense and enable us to develop new perspective on life, culture, and tradition.
Malakas at Maganda ( Philippine Mythology)
A long time ago, there was no land. There were only the sea and the sky. A bird was them flying in the sky. Soon she grew tired and wanted to rest. But she could not. As she was smart, she made the sea throw rocks up at the sky. And the sky turned very dark and poured down water. That was how the island came about. Now the waves break on the shore and can never rise as high as the sky again.
Horrified by the unusual downpour of rain, the bird flew away as fast as she could. She saw the land just created. And on that land, she could see tropical trees, throwing up their naked shoulders. These green things were merely bamboos.
As the bird was flying all the time, she became thirsty. But she could not quench her thirst with the salty sea water. She, therefore, looked for rivulets. Unfortunately, there was none. Realizing that some water was stored in the bamboo joints, she alighted, and started to peck on the bamboo clumps.
“Peck harder, peck harder,” a weak voice cried, the moment her bill struck the bamboo. The bird was extremely frightened, and was about to fly away. But like a curious woman, she restrained herself. She wanted to know that voice really was. Gathering her courage, she pecked, pecked, and pecked.
“Peck harder, peck harder,” the weak voice complained again. The bird became he more curious. She pecked and pecked with all her might. But as her pecking was ineffectual, she snatched a piece of rock nearby and dropped it on the bamboo. The bamboo was broken and split in two. In the wink of an eye, a man and a woman stepped out of the bamboo joint, the man bowing politely to the woman. The woman gave recognition to the man; then they walked away hand in hand.
The appearance of the human beings frightened the bird. She forgot her thirst and flew away, hardly realizing that she saw the first human beings, and had a role in their creation.
MALAKAS AND MAGANDA
