ANGELES, MILES LYNDON C.

CAS

Perceptions across Regions about Stories of Creation

When you look at the world, you’ll see the nature composed of different colors, things of
different structures, and people of different beliefs. At some point, you’ll start to realize and get
curious on how did these things start; on the beginning of this world we currently live in. There
is a wide array of viewpoint on the beginning of the world. In the Philippines, there are many
more legends and folklores that different people believe in. The Philippines has its own version
of mythology that’s about the myths, legends, and superstitions of Filipinos—Anitism. In this
paper, creation myths in different cultures and regions from the Philippines according to Eugenio
(2001) will be discussed.
The Bikolanos (Bicol) have different creation stories. One story is about the brothers
named Bulan and Adlao. Bulan is stronger than Adlao. Due to this, Adlao hated his older
brother. One day, they had a fight and Bulan said hurtful words to Adlao. However, Adlao
seemed to be not hurt and just laughed at what his brother’s saying. Bulan lost temper and
challenged Adlao to a fight. A clash commenced. In the clash, Adlao hit the eye of Bulan, and
then he flattened Bulan’s arms and cut it from his body. Bulan cried of pain and his tears fell
down to his flattened arm. This flattened arm went down, and down until it settled. It became the
Earth and the tears became the rivers and seas. After some time, two strands of hair grew from
the arm and these strands became man and woman.
Meanwhile, the Nabaloi believe that in the past, there was only Skyworld and
Underworld and no Earth. The people from the Skyworld and Underworld were enemies and
they shoot arrows and spears to each other. One time, a person from the Underworld hit the sun
with his arrow that is why the sun decided to make the Earth so that both worlds will stop
shooting at each other. The people from both worlds went to the Earth to hunt. The people from
Skyworld were following a deer until it passed through the place where the people from
Underworld stay. The people from Underworld killed the deer and the people from Skyworld got
angry. This ignited a fight between the two worlds. After the war, a wounded man from the
Skyworld and a wounded woman from the Underworld were left by their comrades thinking that
they are already dead. Once recovered, the man and the woman married and they had many
children. These people are believed to be our ancestors.
The Bisayas also have various creation stories. One of these is the belief that long ago,
there was no world, only the ocean and the sky. There is a bird named Manaul who flies back
and forth the ocean. One day it got tired but it had nothing to land on. Due to this, Manaul
needed the help of the gods. He provoked both gods who both claimed superiority which started
a war. Kaptan, the God of the Sea sent winds that caused mountain-high waves reaching the sky.
Magauayan, the God of the Land, sent back whirlwinds to send the waved back. This caused the
land to form. The war continued for a long time since no one wants to be inferior. Manaul once
became tired of the war that’s why he flew to a mountain and gathered huge masses of rocks. He
threw these rocks to the gods at war. These masses of rocks became the various islands that form
the Philippine archipelago. The war ceased afterwards. Manaul flew and landed on a bamboo
where he heard a voice which requests to open the joints. With the help of his beak, he split the
bamboo to half and there came a man, named Si-Kalao and a woman, named Si-Kalay. Manaul
noticed that they are not of the same race that’s why he flew and disappeared and he was never
seen again.
The Igorots believe that God created the Earth, together with the sky and the bodies of
water. One time, there became a misunderstanding about the sun and moon in the sky. The moon
was envious of the sun that’s why it blocked the light of the sun which caused darkness.
However, the sun put and heated the moon, causing it to have spotted surface and have reduced
light. This is the first eclipse. Lumawig, the God, went to the sky to settle the misunderstanding.
He made the sun give light during the day and the moon and stars during the night. After this,
Lumawig wanted things to live on the Earth that’s why when he passed a banana tree while
walking that’s why he struck this with his spear and cut it. From the banana tree, a man and
woman came out and they were named Alelayo and Aremaya, respectively.
There may be many creation stories in the Philippines but all of them are interconnected
in some way (i.e. presence of powerful gods and a chaos between them). This implies that the
Filipinos are very creative. This also proves that the Filipino culture is, indeed, very rich.
References:
Eugenio, D. L. (2001). Philippine folk literature. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the
Philippines Press.
 The Bilaan tribe believed that a world was created by a being who occupied all the space in the
sky named Melu. They believed that the world was built from Melu’s dead skin. Moreover, Melu decided
to make two beings that look like him but are smaller than him. He made them using the remnants of his
dead skins. After some time, Melu decided to make more people who are able to form a village. One day,
a man and a woman left the village for a few days and when they came back, the woman carried a child in
her arms. Melu became angry and he abandoned the village. For two seasons, there was no rain—causing
draught. Soon, every man and woman went away, two by two. Melu never visited the village again.
Another story that is prevalent in Bicol is about the huge giant which holds the world. It is believed that
the earthquake is caused by the giant moving its fingers and the strength is dependent on which finger was
moved. They believe that the giant moves his fingers when it is angry that’s why the people are afraid to
make it angry. Furthermore, people are afraid that there may come a time when the giant moves its whole
body once it is tired of holding the world which will cause the end of the world. On other places, some
believe that the giant holding the world is a punishment for overusing its powers.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that we need to understand between us and the natural environment before the natural
environmental preservation. Human as a small part of the world ecosystem will lead to understand how
this ecosystem works by knowing its laws and respective processes. This led us to answer the question
What about the natural environment. However, it seems that the most important question is How. For
example, how should we behave toward the natural environment? How should we respect world
ecosystem`s regulations and disciplines? Although knowing the natural environment is the first step to
preservation, but it is not enough. We need something more to guide our behavior toward natural
environment and indicate how we should deal with non-human world.

Admittedly, limiting human desirer and freedom to have a responsible human-nature interaction is an
imperative duty in modern age in order to conserve nature from man-made damages. We believe limiting
human behavior can be best done by ethics because, it helps people to create ethical relationship to natural
environment and forms right behavior toward natural environment by dignifying respective ecosystems
laws and regulations. This is possible by establishing inner bridles against overexploiting nature as well
as teaching how and why humans should restrict their actions to ensure ecological stability.

Although environmental crises push us to refer proper ethics to find out how behave rightly toward
the natural environment, but it is very important to recognize that when we are trying to know
ecosystem regulations, the basic philosophical foundations of that knowledge determine its
functions. It means if human knowledge is based on sensualistic epistemology and carnal desires,
humans will track the way to brutal exploitation of the natural environment. This is an undeniable
reason for present ecological crisis and has promoted an anthropocentric ethic. This means human
in the present age thinks he/she is superior to the natural laws and neither believes nor respects
them. Furthermore, with choosing the technology as idol, the psychic values are to be forgotten or
rejected and then, there is almost nothing to preserve the natural environment to be deteri orated by
man. This fact makes an emergency necessity for reminding humankind the inner bridles because,
man-made laws could not completely control selfish human desires which are directed toward
economic, social and political progress. Therefore, environmental ethics is gotten more attentions
for preserving the natural environment. It is also more possible to establish the environmental
ethics that reinforces inner and constant motives to preserve ecological sustainability by knowing
ethics and ecology and their relationship better. This enterprise can be facilitated by knowing both
human`s inner self and the natural environment which should be supported by wisdom and
metaphysical sources.
Ethics make it possible to establish inner bridles. These bridles pr event people from unfair desires
toward nature. We can hold out hope have more sustainable and survivable natural environment
with respecting ethical bridles as much as possible. They emerge when the person voluntary limits
its selfishness and realizes that other entities also possess rights for life, freedom, happiness and
use of resources (Sesin, 2003).

Refleeotieofjs

Nature was beautiful. Nature is beautiful. I’m not sure if in the future, nature will still be beautiful.
In less than 2 years, climate crisis will be irreversible. It sounds bad because it actually is bad.
Large corporations are contributing to the damage caused to the environment. But we also do.
Maybe we’ll all agree that the environment is important to everyone. Now that it is dying, w hat
should we do to save it?

I used to think that as a thinking being, I am superior. I had been abusing the environment in such
ways that I am damaging it. Living beside a river, it was my habit before to just throw my trash on
the window, direct to the water body beside our home. My family was also doing the same as I did.
But as soon as we realize that what we’re doing backfires to us, we stopped. On the other hand, I
also had been wasting tons of papers. I used to think that I should not care about was ting papers
because I paid for it. Now, I’m realizing that a huge amount of trees has to be cut just to make
sufficient paper supplies. This will not happen if the demand did not go too high, if we were not
wasting our resources. This deforestation causes extreme disasters, and it’s affecting us big time.

It took me some time to realize these things. I feel so guilty that it needed such backfires for me to
stop what I am doing. It is sad that I was not able to think that like me, the environment is alive,
too.

Im thinking that nature should not be seen as nature alone; and humans as humans alone. We,
humans, are part of the environment. It gives us our life and in return, we must let it live. I think
that we must be knowledgeable about Ecology and the current state of our environment. Through
education, we will understand what we should and should not do to sustain our environment. We
must establish bridles in what we’re doing because man-made principles cannot control selfish
people’s desires for economic, social and political progress. MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

I alone cannot make the environment healthy again. All of us, individuals and corporations, must
all hold hands and together, we shall engage with environmental sustainability. But the work
doesn’t stop there because the environment needs to be maintained. Let us not think of ourselves
alone. Do not cut trees illegally. Plant trees. Throw your garbage properly with segregation. Try
Upcycling. Save power, water and other resources. Do not contribute to pollution. Its not only for
you or for me. Surely, the future generations will thank you.