Igorot

(map)

"Igorot" refers collectively to several ethnic groups in the mountains of northern Luzon, Philippines. I found no more specific identification for these myths.

The deluge covered all land except the summit of Mount Mugao, where a brother and sister had survived. Kabunian, the great spirit of heaven, was lonesome and glad to discover them. He went down to them and, after a little time with them, told them they should reproduce. The two adamantly refused, though, because of their relatedness. However, they had expressed a desire for tobacco earlier, and when Kabunian revealed that he had some to give them, they gladly agreed to mate in exchange for the tobacco.

Damiana L. Eugenio, Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths (Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2001), 229-231.

This myth, reportedly, was often told at feasts and marriages. The names of the survivors are not remembered.

When, long ago, a flood covered the earth, all people perished except for a brother and sister. The sister survived on the summit of Kalauitan; the brother took refuge in a cave on the same mountain. When the waters subsided, the man came from his cave at night and, looking around, was surprised to see a large bonfire burning at the summit of the mountain. He was afraid to go up then, but when day dawned, he climbed to the summit and found his sister, who welcomed him joyously. From that couple, all the Igorots are descended.

H. Otley Beyer, "Origin Myths among the Mountain Peoples of the Philippines", The Philippine Journal of Science, section D, vol. 8 (1913), 94-95.

The earth was originally desolate, with water draining into its concave center. The god Lumawig placed Gaki, the giant crab, as overseer of the water.

Because of the lack of landmarks, hunters often got lost and resorted to shouting for communication. This shouting disturbed Lumawig, and he decided to create a new generation in a new, beautiful world. He ordered Gaki to plug the water's outlet, and the whole earth flooded. Lumawig created two mountains, Polis and Calawitan, to rise above the waters. He rescued two bodies from the flood and restored them to life. Gatan, the man, he placed on Mount Polis and the woman, Bangan, on Mount Calawitan. He erased their memories of life before the flood.

Gatan wakened in the cold at night and saw a light flickering in the distance. When dawn came, he found a raft moored at the edge of his small island. A dog was tied to the right railing of the raft, and a rooster to the left. Gatan immediately sailed towards the spot where he had seen the light the night before. When the raft veered to the left, the dog barked, and when it strayed to the right, the rooster crowed, and Gatan made the appropriate course adjustments. Thus guided by Lumawig, Gatan reached Mount Calawitan.

Gatan first discovered the embers of the fire he had seen the night before. Then the woman appeared, naked, for she had been bathing. To the surprise of both, they were brother and sister.

Lumawig ordered Gaki to drain the floodwater, revealing a new mountainous world. He created vegetation by plucking a knot of his beard and scattering it over the world.

Damiana L. Eugenio, Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths (Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2001), 232.

In earliest times, a man and woman came into the world with a dog, chicken, and pig. Because the world was flat at the time, the animals ran away and were lost. The man, named Tiwantiwan, scolded the unconfined water for carrying everything away. The water became angry and flooded. The man's sister floated in a wooden tub, stopping on top of a mountain called Caningan. Kabunyan (god) took pity on the man and ordered the water to lower until other mountains appeared.

The dog, cat [sic], and pig floated to the man, who gathered them. Seeing a light in the distance, he went to it, taking the animals, and found the woman. Because the woman was his sister, he did not want to marry her, but by the power of Kabunyan, they found themselves together the next morning, and in due course, four boys and four girls were born to them.

The four boys, each with a girl, went in four directions. The man who went west took the head of the southern man, and the man who went north took the head of the man in the east. They brought the heads back to their father and mother. As a result, the father became sick. Guided by a dream, he made a cañao ceremony, and he became well.

Damiana L. Eugenio, Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths (Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2001), 233.