In ancient times, the limokon, a powerful talking dove, laid two eggs along the Mayo River. From these hatched a man and a woman. The man, lonely by the river, discovered a woman’s hair and followed the river upstream, finding his companion. They married and became the ancestors of the Mandaya people who still live along the Mayo River today.
Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916
► Themes of the story
Creation: The tale explains the origin of the Mandaya people, detailing how the first man and woman came into existence.
Ancestral Spirits: The narrative underscores the connection between the Mandaya people and their mythical ancestors, emphasizing the significance of lineage and heritage.
Sacred Spaces: The Mayo River serves as a sacred location in the story, being the birthplace of the first ancestors and the homeland of their descendants.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Philippines peoples
In the very early days before there were any people on the earth, the limokon (a kind of dove) were very powerful and could talk like men though they looked like birds. One limokon laid two eggs, one at the mouth of the Mayo River and one farther up its course. After some time these eggs hatched, and the one at the mouth of the river became a man, while the other became a woman. The man lived alone on the bank of the river for a long time, but he was very lonely and wished many times for a companion. One day when he was crossing the river something was swept against his legs with such force that it nearly caused him to drown.
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On examining it, he found that it was a hair, and he determined to go up the river and find whence it came. He traveled up the stream, looking on both banks, until finally he found the woman, and he was very happy to think that at last he could have a companion.
They were married and had many children, who are the Mandaya still living along the Mayo River.
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Dreamtime Whispers 