Tag Archives: epic myths

September 2, 2015 · 7:49 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH PART FOUR

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this epic myth of the Bukidnon people of the Philippines.

PART FOUR

Philippine IslandsThe demigod Baybayan led his hundreds of followers up the mountain atop which would land the Salimbal – the divine craft sent down from Skyland by the supreme deity Magbabaya. The Earthly realm, in its fundamental evil, made a concentrated effort to lure Baybayan’s followers away from their quest. The impure world sought to prevent as many of the demigod’s followers as possible from reaching the land of the gods.

First all the rocks then the very ground itself turned to gold, to tempt the followers into staying behind to collect the gold and live the comfortable and pleasant life of the wealthy. Some of Baybayan’s disciples yielded to this temptation and stayed behind to accumulate wealth. Vile nature intensified its attack as even the leaves on the trees and the grass turned to gold in order to tempt away a few more of the disciples. Continue reading →

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August 29, 2015 · 3:25 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH PART THREE

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this epic myth of the Bukidnon people of the Philippines.

PART THREE

MindanaoWith Alisngaran’s wedding to his beloved postponed by the rising of the dual suns and the arrival of the mountain- sized boar called the Makadingding, that most valued disciple of the demigod Baybayan was filled with sorrow. Other couples among Baybayan’s hundreds of disciples had gotten married already. Baybayan assured Alisngaran that he and his woman could get married once arrived in Skyland, the home of the gods, but the loving couple were still despondent. 

Alisngaran and his intended bride announced they would rather stay on Earth among the unblessed rather than risk getting separated or getting killed unwed in the dangerous journey to Skyland. Baybayan was saddened by this but he agreed to let them stay behind and exempted Alisngaran from any further actions on his behalf.

Meanwhile the Makadingding was still running amok and killing everything in its path. With Alisngaran “retired” that left twelve remaining members of Baybayan’s inner circle of disciples. He sent that dozen into action, pitting their spears and kampilan swords against the enormous boar. As the battle raged three of them wound up getting devoured by the creature and three more were killed by the Makadingding’s tusks, tail and spiny quills.    Continue reading →

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August 26, 2015 · 11:47 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH PART TWO

Bukidnon political mapBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this epic myth of the Bukidnon people of the Philippines. 

PART TWO

The demigod Baybayan had warned his 13 favorite disciples that a time of various trials was coming. When pressed for details he explained that the time in question would be heralded by the rising of two suns in the east.

Next an enormous boar with sharp quills all over its body would appear and blot out both suns with its gigantic form. The world would be plunged into darkness and many would die before the creature – called the Makadingding – could be slain. Continue reading →

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August 22, 2015 · 4:38 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH

Philippines Baybayan 1In the past Balladeer’s Blog has examined neglected epic myths from around the world. From Vietnam I dealt with A War Between Gods, from the Navajo pantheon I explored the saga of the war god Nayanazgeni battling the dark gods called the Anaye and I even examined the Dinka people’s epic about Aiwel Longar.

Epics from Inuit, Iroquois, Chinese, Korean and Bunyoro myths were also tackled.   

This time around I move on to the Philippines for a look at the epic myth of the demigod named Baybayan.

BAYBAYAN

This enjoyable and often action-packed tale comes from the Bukidnon people of the Philippine island of Mindanao. This story fuses native Bukidnon beliefs with elements of Vietnamese, Christian and Muslim myths.   

Baybayan’s mother, whose real name was considered too sacred to share with non-Bukidnons, was a beautiful and virtuous mortal woman. In Philippine myths the gods in Skyland found Earth women to be more beautiful than the goddeses in their celestial homeland. One of those gods frequently visited Baybayan’s mother in her dreams and had sex with her. (Exact godly parentage was never an obsession in Philippine or Vietnamese myths. It was enough to just refer to a hero as “the child of a god and a mortal woman.”) Continue reading →

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January 27, 2015 · 9:37 pm

NEGLECTED MYTHICAL EPICS

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with my examinations of obscure pantheons of gods. I’ve also covered several neglected epic myths from around the world. Here’s a guide to the ones I’ve covered:

Aiwel LongarAIWEL LONGAR

Pantheon: Dinka

Central Figure: Aiwel Longar

Synopsis: Aiwel Longar was the son of the Nile River god and was set adrift as a gift for the childless woman who found him. The young godling displays his divine nature from childhood onward and many years later when various plagues strike the land Aiwel Longar leads his faithful followers to a new promised land where they can live but which he is forbidden to enter. A miraculous crossing of the Nile is also featured in this ancient epic with a broad influence.  

FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2013/08/13/mythology-the-epic-of-aiwel-longar/

Lac Long QuanA WAR BETWEEN GODS

Pantheon: Vietnamese

Central Figures: The jungle and mountain god Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh, the god of the monsoon rains.

Synopsis: While on a safari with the semi-divine emperor Hung Vuong XVIII, Tan Vien saves the life of the rain deity Thuy Tinh. Thuy Tinh’s father, the sea god Long Vuong, welcomes Tan Vien to his undersea kingdom to thank him. Thuy Tinh and Tan Vien’s friendship grows as the jungle and mountain god is feasted and celebrated for weeks before being sent home with various supernatural gifts from the god of the sea.

When Hung Vuong XVIII’s daughter Mi Nuong is offered up to be courted Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh best all of the mortal suitors competing for her hand. Next follows a tragic conflict between the two deities, a conflict with long-lasting consequences. 

FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/vietnamese-myth-2/ Continue reading →

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March 2, 2014 · 4:01 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: PART TWO OF HODADEION, THE GOD OF MAGIC

Iroquois longhouse lodge village

PART 2 – THE WASP-MEN – (Hodadeion was the son of the creator god Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman, the same mortal woman who bore him Hodadeion’s siblings. Those siblings were Otgoe, the wampum god and Yeyenthwus, the future goddess of chestnut trees.)

Hodadeion ventured to the north despite his sister Yeyenthwus’ warnings. He came across a few more villages that were now deserted like his own and he realized how far-reaching was the reign of terror of the cannibalistic wizards who had decimated the population of Continue reading →

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March 1, 2014 · 2:42 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION, THE GOD OF MAGIC

Iroquois longhouse lodge villageIn the tradition of Balladeer’s Blog’s previous looks at neglected epic myths from the Navajo, Vietnamese, Dinka, Greek and Chinese pantheons I will examine the saga of the Iroquois god of magic Hodadeion. This will be done in the same style as my examinations of the Navajo war god’s battle with the Anaye, the war between the Vietnamese jungle and monsoon gods and the Chinese Divine Archer Yi’s adventures.

1. Hodadeion was the son of the creator god Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman, the same mortal woman who bore him Hodadeion’s siblings. Those siblings were Otgoe, the wampum god who loved chestnuts and Yeyenthwus, the future goddess of chestnut trees.

Tharonhiawakon was gone for years at a time attending to other matters in the world and while Otgoe was a toddler and Hodadeion and Yeyenthwus in their teens an entire village full of cannibalistic humans led by a Continue reading →

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February 8, 2014 · 4:51 pm

THE SACK OF TROY: THE NEGLECTED ANCIENT GREEK EPIC

fall of troyPreviously Balladeer’s Blog examined three of the neglected tales from the Epic Cycle which dealt with the Trojan War. First came Cypria, then after skipping The Iliad because of how well-known it is I moved on to Aethiopis and then last week I examined Iliad Minor.

SACK OF TROY aka Sack of Ilion is credited to Arktinos of Miletos in the 770’s BCE. The previous epic Iliad Minor wrapped up with the Greek warriors springing out of the Trojan Horse and at last triumphing over King Priam and his Trojans. Sack of Troy rehashes a few story elements, backing up to cover the construction of the Trojan Horse and the Trojans ignoring the prophet Cassandra’s warnings about the Horse. New elements are the arguments the Continue reading →

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January 31, 2014 · 11:40 pm

ILIAD MINOR: THE ANCIENT GREEK EPIC

Little IliadPreviously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria and Aethiopis, two of the neglected Greek epics. Cypria recounted the events leading into The Iliad while Aethiopis picked up the tale of the Trojan War after the death and funeral of Hector at the end of The Iliad. The neglected epic I’m examining today is Iliad Minor, the next in line chronologically. The author is speculated to have been either Lesches, Thestorides, Diodoros, Kinaithon or even Homer himself.

ILIAD MINOR – Also called Iliad Mikra and The Little Iliad this neglected epic opens up with the Continue reading →

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January 25, 2014 · 4:55 pm

AETHIOPIS: THE ANCIENT GREEK EPIC

Death of Penthesilea

Death of Penthesilea

Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria, the neglected Greek epic myth that dealt with the events leading up to the Trojan War all the way up to Achilles leading the Greek forces in establishing a beachhead at Troy. The Trojan forces were then forced to retreat inside the walls of Troy itself, leaving the outside settlements to be sacked by the Greek forces. This led right into the whole Briseis/Chryseis conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon that opened up The Iliad.

The events of The Iliad are well-known enough that I will skip over a recap of that epic and move on to the very next neglected epic in the cycle: Aethiopis.

AETHIOPIS – This work is often attributed to Arctinus, by some accounts in 776 BCE to coincide with the very first ancient Olympic games. Other sources place it as late as the 740’s BCE. Very little of Aethiopis itself survives, so most of what is known about it comes from Proclus and other – often contradictory – references in ancient writings. The tale begins soon after the death of Hector which marked the end of The Iliad.

Just as the fighting is set to resume following the break in honor of Hector’s funeral the Amazons arrive on the scene to support their allies the Trojans. Needless to say they are very effective in combat and Continue reading →

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