MYTHS, LEGENDS , FOLKTALES

Philippine culture is rich in folklore. One tale I enjoyed during my childhood was the legend of the guava fruit, which came with a moral lesson. A guava tree or fruit is called bayabas in Tagalog, which is the Filipino language.

The story goes like this:

A long time ago, there was a king who ruled a rich, prosperous island. He had all the things a king could ever ask for: the power, the wealth, and all the delicious foods.The king's name was King Barabas.

The king was fat and rude, and his castle was starting to become filthy. He would spend most of his time sitting and eating with his bare hands. As he ate, he dripped food on the floor and smiled mockingly at the people around him.

People from the kingdom would approach with requests for his help, but he would always refuse. As he neglected his kingdom, people started to complain and starve.

After a time, a hunched old beggar woman showed up at the castle while the king was eating. The old lady asked for food as she was starving.

"Go away! I don't have anything to give to you. Can't you see I'm eating?" said the king.

"Please, my king, " said the old woman. "I'm asking for anything, anything you could give me as I am so hungry. Even a little piece of bread or fruit would do."

"Get out at once! You disgust me," the king belittled the old beggar.

The old woman stood up straight, casting aside her stooped posture. "I've heard much about you and how your kingdom is suffering." The tone of her voice had changed. It was no longer the voice of a weak, old woman. "I asked for help, and you shoved me away. You have a lot for yourself, but when I only asked for a little food, you belittled me. You are selfish. No one loves you and no one will remember you when you are gone."

And the beggar disappeared.

After a few more days, the king slowly weakened and became sick. No one knew what was wrong with him. He weakened and weakened and lost much weight. He looked older than his age. Soon after that, the king died. As unfortunate and unexpected as it was, no one cried and nobody showed up at the king's burial. He died alone.

And where the king was buried, his people noticed a strange plant growing, a plant they had never seen before. The plant soon grew into a tree, which bore rounded fruits that turned yellowish when ripe.

They also noticed that the fruit seemed to have a crown, which reminded them of their selfish, arrogant king. The flesh of the fruit tasted a bit sour, just like the sour personality of the king towards them.

The people learned to eat the fruit, which helped them overcome their hunger. And because the tree was from the grave of their King Barabas and it has crown just like their king, they named the tree after him: barabas, which in time they called bayabas

The Legend of the Pineapple Fruit

There was a pretty little girl called Pina who was pampered by her mother as an only child. Everything that Pina asked for, Pina got. Everything that Pina scoffed at was taken away. No one in her village was ever so spoiled as Pina. No one was ever such a snobbish child. She was so lazy, and she had never stirred a finger to work in her life.

Pina’s mother was perfectly happy that way, for Pina remained dependent on her as a spoiled child. But one day, Pina’s mother fell ill and there was no one to take care of Pina. She resolved that she would get well immediately for Pina’s sake – but she knew she would need help.

"Pina, Pina," she called weakly, from her cot. "Come here a moment. I have something to ask of you."

Pina had never been asked to do anything in her life, and she was quite prepared to refuse, but she said anyway, "What is it, Mother?"

"Pina," said the doting mother, "I am too sick to make you anything to eat. I am too sick to eat anything solid. I need you to cook lugaw for me, Pina. It is very easy: just put some rice in a pot, pour some water in with it, add a pinch of sugar, and leave the mixture to boil for a while."

"Oh, that’s too hard! I won’t do it," Pina said firmly.

"You have to, Pina!" her mother pleaded. "What will your poor Nanay eat?"

But Pina was immovable. At length her mother resorted to shouting if only to catch her attention. Moping, Pina dragged her heavy feet down the stairs to gather the things she needed to make lugaw. She managed to find the rice, the water, the bowl, the sugar – but she could not find the ladle anywhere. How was she supposed to cook lugaw without a ladle?

"Nanay, where is the ladle?" Pina shouted.

"It is beside the other kitchen utensils, Pina, you know where I keep them," her mother weakly shouted back.

But the ladle was not anywhere near the other kitchen utensils, and Pina was too lazy to look for it elsewhere. "I can’t find the ladle, mother," she complained. "I guess I won’t be cooking without the ladle."

"Oh, you lazy child," Pina’s mother wept. "You won’t even look! I hope you grow a thousand eyes so you’ll be able to find it!" After saying these words, Pina’s mother noticed that the house had fallen silent. Pina was no longer griping downstairs! That was a marvel. Perhaps she was already cooking. Pina’s mother would be happy if the child would cook her anything, even if it were burnt.

But a long time had passed, and still the house was silent, and still Pina’s mother could not smell the cooking coals burning. She began to get worried. With all her meager strength she called out for Pina. Pina did not come, but the neighbors heard her pitiful cries, and they decided to drop by to see what was wrong. They took care of Pina’s mother in the child’s place.

"Where is Pina?" Pina’s mother asked at once. "Where is my child?"

"Oh, you know that girl," they assured her, "she must be in some friend’s house, having a good time. She hates responsibility. She may only be a little angry at you because you had asked her to work. It will pass, and she will come home."

Pina’s mother rested easily with that thought, and she recovered quickly. But she was up and about and asking all around town for her precious little child, and still Pina had not returned.

One sunny day, while Pina’s mother was cleaning their back yard, she saw a strange yellow fruit about as large as the head of a child that had sprung up from the ground. "How curious!" she thought, and bent to examine it. The strange, spiny yellow fruit, she saw, had a thousand black eyes.

"A thousand eyes...!" she gasped, remembering a mother’s curse carelessly let out. "My Pina!"

But there was nothing to be done. Imagine a thousand black eyes and not one of them seeing, and not one of them being able to shed a tear. Pina’s mother, who still loved the child more than anything in the world, decided to honor her memory by taking the seeds of the strange yellow fruit and planting them. When after a while there was more of the fruit, Pina’s mother gave her harvest away to everyone she knew. Thus Pina, in another form, became generous to others.

To this day the Filipinos call the yellow fruit pinya, after the pretty spoiled child.

The Myth about the Lanzones Fruit

Lanzones are local berry-like fruits with light brown skin. The fruit itself is white inside. When ripe enough they have a subtle sweetness that tantalizes the taste buds and make them want to sample for more. But according to a local myth, it used to be a harmful fruit.

Before, according to the myth, the lanzones fruit was poisonous. The fruit looked edible enough, and in fact many were tempted to sample it. The myth says, the people wondered: How could anything that looked so good be so dangerous? Some people, despite the death toll, could not fight off the temptation once they see the fruits abundantly display themselves in clusters hanging invitingly on the lanzones tree. Several deaths in the village had been linked to eating its fruits, the myth adds.

One day, the myth says, a hungry old woman came to the village begging for food. The kind villagers gladly gave the old woman food and water and clothes to wear. They even offered her free lodging as long as she saw the need to stay with them. According to the myth, the woman was awed by the kindness of the villagers. One day, while staying with the people, she learned about the lanzones fruits that could not be eaten because they were poisonous. She asked the people where the tree was. They gladly obliged. Then, according to the myth, upon seeing the lanzones tree and its fruits, the old woman smiled knowingly. She announced to the people that the fruit was edible, to everyone’s wary delight.

She taught the villagers the proper way to pick, peel and eat the fruits of the lanzones tree. According to the myth, the old woman said that peeling the fruit by pinching it lets out a small amount of the white sticky sap from the fruit, and that served as an antidote to the poison of the fruit. Then, the myth says, she did it with a fruit and ate it. She did the same with another fruit, and another, and another. The myth says the villagers also discovered for themselves that the fruits were very edible and delicious. Since then, the villagers started planting more lanzones trees and it became a very lucrative source of income for everyone, the myth adds.

The Philippine myth on the lanzones tree and fruit reminds us that there is a proper procedure for doing things, even things untried before, to end up with a safe outcome