Sikalak and Sikabay

sikalak and sikabay
Sikalak and Sikabay | @museumxst0ries

Sikalak and Sikabay

FILIPINO CREATION MYTHS: Visayas- Negros-Panay

At a time many years ago- so long that man’s imagination can no longer reach it back- there was only the sea. Time passed, and no one could tell where the sky, the earth, the wind or the clouds were. Manaul, the king of the air, guided the destiny in space.

Tired and finding that there was no place to rest, King Manaul decided that the earth and the sky should be at war. It took them a long time, and when he was finally tired of it, the king blew all his fury, raising huge waves in the sea. He next clawed up huge rocks from under the ocean- rocks so big that no one else could move them- lifting them in the air and casting them below. He finally succeeded in separating the winds and the waves.

The rocks formed into islands, one of which became known as Negros. Manaul at last had a place to rest, but the hot rays of the sun eventually bothered him, since there were no plants nor trees. He commanded his general Magauyan to solve his problem. It took the general a long time to come back and when he did, he had with him a piece of spiny bamboo which he threw onto the sea. The blowing wind and the sea carried it to the island where it grew.
King Manaul was charmed by the beauty of the place, and here he was able to rest. One day, sitting under the branches, he heard voices coming out from one of the stems. He pecked it open with his beak, out of which emerged from one node a man, and a woman from the other. King Manaul named the man Sikalak and the woman Sikabay, both of whom were the ancestors of humankind.

Reference: NM-Planetarium

You may want to read: