The Myths,Legend and Folktales in Region 7
Siquijor Myths
The sorcerer first ties a six-inch length of thread to the legs of three beetles. Sometimes a special breed
of barang , which has seven legs rather than six, is raised specifically for use in sorcery. The sorcerer
commands the beetles to go to the victim’s house, wait until night and enter the person’s sleeping body. After
the beetles lay their eggs inside the body, they return to the sorcerer who inspects their threads. If the threads
are bloody, he knows that the curse has been placed effectively. The beetle’s eggs hatch in the victim’s
stomach causing ulcers, swollen abdomen, aches all over the body and other maladies. If not treated by
a mananambal , who often begins the healing process by magically removing small insects, the person will die.
4
To practice an alternate method, hilo , the sorcerer goes to a special haunted place, sets out sharp bamboo
blades and prepares an altar with an offering to special spirits. The ceremony attracts poisonous snakes which
leave blood and venom on the blades. These substances are mixed with various herbs to form a sticky wax-like
compound which can be put in the victim’s food or drink, touched to his body or merely buried in a place where
the person will step. These and similar hilo techniques then produce the desired sorcery symptoms, according to the islanders.
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Some forms of sorcery require fashioning a doll and damaging it in the same manner as the victim is to be
harmed. The doll is often prepared using rituals vaguely related to those of the Catholic Church and to forms of
Latin prayers. For example, the doll might be baptized at the instant that a baby is being baptized within a
church.
6
To practice la-ga, the sorcerer adds hair, saliva, waste, a picture or some article belonging to the victim to an
herbal mixture and boils it over a special fire with ritual prayers. The victim is expected to suffer and die in the
manner desired by the sorcerer.
7
Some forms of sorcery are designed to punish adulterers. Lieban describes antiwal , a method that requires
an herbal concoction containing the joined genitals of two turtles, killed whiled engaging in sex. If the victim
wears clothing on which the substances had been applied, the adulterous couple will be unable to disengage
after sexual intercourse. The spell can be broken if the first person to see the joined couple takes off all his
clothes.
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Mananambals know counter-measures, which generally involve
herbs, for each sorcery method. One mananambal , Nicolas Agan,
showed me his collection of herbal remedies. The victim may be
required to place a compress on his chest or stomach, to eat or
drink a remedy or to stand in the smoke of a fire constructed with
days, particularly Good Friday before Easter. Roots, bark or leaves
gathered from the east side of a tree bring about healing. Similar
substances taken from the west side are used in sorcery. The area
around San Antonio, on the highest mountain of Siquijor where Agan
lives, is known as the “graduate school of sorcery.” Every Good
Friday herbal practitioners from other Filipino Islands and the
local mananambals visit the area to gather herbs, cook up
concoctions and perform rituals.
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The Myths in Bohol
The Legend of Chocolate Hills
he first tells the story of two feuding giants who hurled rocks, boulders, and sand at each other. The fighting lasted for days, and exhausted the two giants.
In their exhaustion, they forgot about their feud and became friends, but when they left, they forgot to clean up the mess they had made during their battle, hence the Chocolate Hills.
Siqiujor Legends
Bolo-bolo is performed with the use of a drinking glass, water, stone and straw. The healer first puts a black stone into the glass, then he half fills the glass with water. He then blows air into the water through a straw as he passes the glass around the patient’s body. When the water becomes cloudy, murky, or if some objects appear in the water, that means something is wrong with the patient.
Folktales In Region 7
Cebu
In the olden days, there lived in the heavens two gods, Kaptan and Maguayan. Kaptan fell in love with Maguayan, and they were
married. One day, Kaptan and Maguayan had a quarrel as many couples do after the honeymoon. In a fit of anger, Kaptan told his wife
to go away. With a heavy heart, Maguayan left.
When the goddess was gone, the god Kaptan felt very lonely. He knew that he had done his wife wrong; he had made an unjustifiably
hasty decision, and this thought bothered him. However, it was too late for him to ask to be forgiven. He source the heavens, but his
efforts were in vain; Maguayan was nowhere to be found. She had vanished like smoke into thin air.
So, to while away his sorrows, the repentant god created the earth and planted bamboo in a garden called Kahilwayan. He also
planted other plants like rice, corn, and sugarcane. Among these plants, the bamboo sprouted first. It grew to be a beautiful tree with
pliant branches and feathery leaves dancing to the rhythmic wafting of the breeze. Beholding the splendor of his creation, the great
Kaptan was filled with happiness. "Ah," he sighed, "were Maguayan here, she would enjoy this beautiful sight amid the sighs of the breeze
and the rustle of the leaves! The bamboo continued to grow. The garden became more beautiful each day. Then one late afternoon
, while Kaptan was watching the bamboo leaves play in the breeze, a thought came to him, and, before he realized what it was all about
, he was murmuring to himself, "I will make creatures to take care of these plants for me." No sooner had he spoken these words than
the bamboo split into two halves. From one stepped out the first man. To the man, Kaptan gave the nameSikalak, meaning "the sturdy
one." And from that time on, men have been called si lalak or lalaki for short. From the other half stepped out a woman. The god called
her Sikabay, meaning "partner of the sturdy one." Thenceforth, women have been called sibabaye or babaye for short. Together, the
two creatures tended the garden and took care of the plants. Meanwhile, Kaptan left for a faraway place to look
for Maguayan. One day, when the god had left, Sikalak asked Sikabay to marry him. The woman, however,
refused. "Don't you know that you are my brother?" she reproved the man sternly. "I know. But there are no
other people in this garden," Sikalak argued. "And we need children to help us take care of this wide place for
our lord and master.
The woman was unmoved. "I know," she replied, "but you are my brother. We were born of the same bamboo stalk, with only one
node binding us. Finally, after much argument, they sought the advice of the tuna fish of the sea and the doves
of the air. The fish and doves approved of their marriage. Still unconvinced, Sikabay consulted the
earthquake,
who also approved of the marriage
.
"It is necessary," the earthquake said, "so that the earth will be populated."
