Sunday, October 14, 2012

How the World Was Created (Panayan)


1In the beginning, there was no heaven or earth-only a bottomless deep and a world of mist. Everything was shapeless and formless- the earth, the sky, the sea, and the air were almost all mixed up.
                2There appeared two gods,-Tungkung Langit and Alunsina. Tungkung Langit fell in love with Alunsina and were married after so many years of courtship. They had their abode in the highest realm of the eternal space. Tungkung Langit was an industrious, loving, and kind god while Aunsina was a lazy, jealous, and selfish goddess.
                3One day, Tungkung Langit told his wife that he would be away for some time to end the chaotic disturbances in the flow of time and in the position of things. However, Alunsina sent the sea breeze to spy on Tungkung Langit. This made him very angry upon knowing about it. A quarrel between them followed. He lost his temper and divested his wife of powers and drove her away. No one knew where Alunsina went; she merely disappeared.
                4Tungkung Langit felt very lonely after Alunsina left for several days. He could not find Alunsina.  One day, when he was sailing across the regions of the clouds, a thought came to him. He would make a big basin of water below the sky so he can see the image of his wife. The sea appeared but Alunsina was never seen.
                5Tungkung Langit came down to the Middleworld and created the land; then he planted this with grasses, trees, and flowers. He took Alunsina’s treasured jewels and scattered them in the sky, hoping that when his wife would see them she might be induced to return home. The goddess’ necklace became the stars, her comb the moon, and her crown the sun. However, despite all these Alunsina did not come back.
                6And up to this time, the folks in Panay say that Tungkung Langit is alone in his palace in the skies. Sometimes, he would cry and his tears would fall down upon the earth as rain. When it thunders hard, they say that Tungkung Langit is sobbing, calling for Alunsina to come back.