Two close friends, envious of others’ tattoos, decide to tattoo each other. One skillfully tattoos his friend, but when it’s his turn, the other covers him in soot, sparking a fight. In anger, the tattooed one transforms into a lizard and hides, while the sooty one becomes a crow, flying away. Their disagreement explains the origins of lizards and crows in this tale.
Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916
► Themes of the story
Transformation: The friends undergo physical changes, turning into a lizard and a crow, symbolizing the consequences of their actions.
Cunning and Deception: The act of smearing soot instead of properly tattooing reflects deceit between the friends.
Mythical Creatures: The transformation into a lizard and a crow ties into the cultural significance of these creatures in folklore.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Philippines peoples
Once there were two young men, very good friends, who were unhappy because neither of them had been tattooed. They felt that they were not as beautiful as their friends.
One day they agreed to tattoo each other. One marked the breast and back of the other, his arms and legs, and even his face. And when he had finished, he took soot off the bottom of a cooking-pot and rubbed it into all the marks; and he was tattooed beautifully.
The one who had done the work said to the other: “Now, my friend, you are very beautiful, and you must tattoo me.”
► Continue reading…
Then the tattooed one scraped a great pile of black soot off the cooking-pots, and before the other knew what he was about, he had rubbed it all over him from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet; and he was very black and greasy. The one who was covered with soot became very angry and cried:
“Why do you treat me so when I tattooed you so carefully?” They began to fight, but suddenly the beautifully tattooed one became a great lizard which ran away and hid in the tall grass, while the sooty one became a crow and flew away over the village.
Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page
Dreamtime Whispers 