Kultura
Maligayang Buan ng Wika! This month, we wanted to celebrate by sharing with you a myth that’s from the Cordilleras. The Philippines has various folktales about how its islands came to be. We have one for our mountains, as told by the Ifugao.
Maligayang Buan ng Wika! This month, we wanted to celebrate by sharing with you a myth that’s from the Cordilleras. The Philippines has various folktales about how its islands came to be. We have one for our mountains, as told by the Ifugao.
But first, to give you an overview of how vast our mountain range is up here. Cordillera Central is the name of the Cordillera mountain range that comprises the six provinces (Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province) and extends into parts of La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos region, Nueva Vizcaya, and Cagayan.
Ambuklao and Binga dams call this mountain range their home, and it houses some of the gold mines located here in the Philippines. Due to the spread of information about the gold mines, Viceroy of Mexico then sent the first Spanish expedition to the Cordilleras in 1576. Our ancestors fought against invasion and, as a result, were relatively more independent during the Spanish rule, while still trading gold with them.
When the Americans came after the Treaty of Paris was signed, they set their eyes on Cordillera Central for its mines and it also became a battleground that was vital to the Battle of Tirad Pass. Gregorio "Goyo" del Pilar used the vantage point of the mountains against the Americans before he was killed in action.
But the Americans were still able to invade the Cordillera. By September 1927, when the Benguet Consolidated Mining Company discovered one of the richest veins of gold, mining companies increased in the area.
Based on H. Otley Beyer’s book, Origin Myths among the Mountain Peoples of the Philippines, the creation of the mountain range started with Kabigat, the god of marriage and distinct agricultural rites. He desired to hunt with his dogs in the Earth World. Upon descending from Hudog (“Skyworld”), he noticed that he couldn't hear his dogs barking; the earth was too flat.
Kabigat got pensive, returned to his realm, and grabbed a cloth to wrap the Earth World's bodies of water. He announced what he did to the inhabitants of Hudog and Bongabong, suggesting that he call on Cloud and Fog to cause rains without ceasing for three days.
After said amount of days, Kabigat was then advised to remove the stopper from the water. When he did, the seas receded and the mountains and valleys formed from the rushing waters. That is how the vast Cordilleran Mountain range was born.
Did you know about this myth before reading this? Tell us your thoughts and comment below which myth you want to read about from the Cordilleras!