The Legend Of Mount Kanlaon 3v734n

The Legend of Mount Kanlaon There once lived on the island of Negros a princess named Anina who lived a very sheltered life. One day, Anina overheard her father talking to the kingdom’s chief priestess. The priestess was frantic about a report that they could not find a single maiden who was unblemished. Later, Anina asked her father what it was all about, and the king finally broke down. There had long been a seven-headed dragon threatening the kingdom, and the monster could only be appeased if an unblemished maiden was sacrificed to it. In fear, all the women in the kingdom had cut themselves to disqualify themselves from the sacrifice. Parents cut their own baby girls so as to spare the infants from the sacrifice. But the king and the queen couldn’t bring themselves to mar their daughter’s beauty, and so Anina was the only remaining unscarred female in the kingdom. Anina did not weep. Instead, she willingly offered herself for the sacrifice. Fortuitously, on the day she was to be brought to the mountain where the dragon lived, a man calling himself Khan Laon appeared. (Khan in his language meant a noble lord.) He said he came from a kingdom far away in order to slay the dragon and spare Anina’s life. No one believed the dragon could be killed, but Khan Laon insisted that his ability to talk to animals would help him. He asked the help of the ants, the bees and the eagles. The ants swarmed over the dragon’s body and crept under its scales to bite its soft, unprotected flesh, while the bees stung the fourteen eyes of the dragon till it was blind. The largest eagle carried Khan Laon to the mountain where he was able to easily chop off the seven heads of the writhing beast. In gratitude, the king gave Khan Laon his daughter Anina to be his bride, and the people named the mountain after the noble lord. And that is how, according to the story, Mount Kanlaon got its name. That it is a volcano is because of the spirt of the dead dragon.

The Story of Bathala BathalaIn the beginning of time, there were three powerful gods who lived in the universe, although they did not know each other. The three gods were Bathala, the caretaker of the earth, Ulilang Kaluluwa (Orphaned Spirit), a huge serpent who lived in the clouds, and Galang Kaluluwa (Wandering Spirit), the winged god who loves to travel. Bathala often dreamt of creating humans due to loneliness, but the empty earth forbids him to do so. One day, while Ulilang Kaluluwa was visiting the Earth, his favorite place, he met Bathala. Ulilang Kaluluwa was not pleased for he sees another god rivaling him, and so challenged Bathala to a fight to decide who would be the ruler of the universe. After three days and three nights of fighting, Bathala killed Ulilang Kaluluwa and burned his remains. A few years later, Galang Kaluluwa wandered into Bathala’s home. The winged god was welcomed by Bathala with much kindness and invited him to live in his kingdom. The two gods became true friends, and they happily spent many years together. However, Galang Kaluluwa became very ill. Before he died, he instructed Bathala to bury him on the spot where Ulilang Kaluluwa’s body was burned. Bathala did exactly as he was told. Out of the grave of the two gods sprouted a coconut tree. Bathala took a big round nut from the tall tree and husked it. The nut reminded him of the Galang Kaluluwa’s head, while the leaves reminded him of his friend’s wings. He also noticed that the trunk was hard and ugly like the body of his enemy, Ulilang Kaluluwa. Bathala realized that he was ready to create the creatures he wanted with him on earth. He created the plants, animals, and the first man and woman. Out of the trunk and leaves of the coconut trees, Bathala built a house for the people. The first people drank the coconut juice and ate its delicious white meat for food. They used the leaves of the coconut trees for making mats, hats, and brooms. They also used the fibers of coconut trunk for making rope and many other things.