The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao - The R. F. Cummings Philippine Expedition by Fay-Cooper Cole
page 122 of 211 (57%)
page 122 of 211 (57%)
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non-ASCII symbols; the symbols for male or female were footnoted.]
The last was the father of Alimama, the chief informant of this tale. Inok, dato of Labau, is also of this line, tracing his descent from Lakbang. It is said that MElu and Saweigh now live below, Dwata and Fiuweigh in the sky. A variation of this story credits MElu and Dwata with being the creators of Fiuweigh and SEweigh. They were the ancestors of men, for they took earth and made it into the form of people and then whipped it until it moved. The first people they made were Otis (male) and Lakbang (female). Two of their children were Mastafi (male) and Lakarol (or Landol) (female). From these two came all the Bila-an. "These two lived in a small distant place and their one animal was Baswit--a bird. They sent him on a long journey and when he returned he brought a piece of earth and the fruit of a _pandag_ tree. Lakarol planted the fruit in the piece of earth and when it grew the leaves fell down and finally made the earth." From these tales and later questioning we learn the MElu, or MElE, is the most powerful of all the natural spirits and that his help is sought in times of calamity and at very important occasions. Duwata (Duata, Dwata, Adwata, Diwata) is generally considered to be the wife of MElu and of equal strength with him. She is sometimes identified with a female spirit called Kalalokan. Fiuweigh and SEweigh are now powerful spirits; but there is some dispute |
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