But what is “native,” and what is “derived”? The folklore of the wild tribes—Negritos, Bagobos, Igorots—is in its way no more “uncontaminated” than that of the Tagalogs, Pampangans, Zambals, Pangasinans, Ilocanos, Bicols, and Visayans. The traditions of these Christianized tribes present as survivals, adaptations, modifications, fully as many puzzling and fascinating problems as the popular lore of the Pagan peoples. It should be remembered, that, no matter how wild and savage and isolated a tribe may be, it is impossible to prove that there has been no contact of that tribe with the outside civilized world. Conquest is not necessary to the introduction of a story or belief. The crew of a Portuguese trading-vessel with a genial narrator on board might conceivably be a much more successful transmitting-medium than a thousand praos full of brown warriors come to stay. Clearly the problem of analyzing and tracing the story-literature of the Christianized tribes differs only in degree from that connected with the Pagan tribes. In this volume I have treated the problem entirely from the former point of view, since there has been hitherto a tendency to neglect as of small value the stories of the Christianized peoples. However, for illustrative material I have drawn freely on works dealing with the non-Christian tribes, particularly in the case of stories that appear to be native; and I shall use the term “native” to mean merely “existent in the Islands before the Spaniards went there.”

In the notes, I have attempted to answer for some of the tales the question as to what is native and what imported. I have not been able to reach a decision in the case of all, because of a lack of sufficient evidence. While the most obvious sources of importation from the Occident have been Spain and Portugal, the possibility of the introduction of French, Italian, and even Belgian stories through the medium of priests of those nationalities must not be overlooked. Furthermore, there is a no inconsiderable number of Basque sailors to be found on the small inter-island steamers that connect one end of the archipelago with the other. Even a very cursory glance at the tales in this collection reveals the fact that many of them are more or less close variants and analogues of tales distributed throughout the world. How or when this material reached the Philippines is hard to say. The importation of Arabian stories, for example, might have been made over many routes. The Hindoo beast-tales, too, might have quite circled the globe in their progress from east to west, and thus have been introduced to the Filipinos by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Again, the germs of a number of widespread Märchen may have existed in the archipelago long before the arrival of the Europeans, and, upon the introduction of Occidental civilization and culture, have undergone a development entirely consistent with the development that took place in Europe, giving us as a result remarkably close analogues of the Western tales. This I suspect to have been the case of some of our stories where, parallel with the localized popular versions, exist printed romances (in the vernacular) with the mediaeval flavor and setting of chivalry. To give a specific case: the Visayans, Bicols, and Tagalogs in the coast towns feared the raids of Mindanao Mussulmans long before white feet trod the shores of the Islands, and many traditions of conflicts with these pirates are embedded in their legends. The Spaniard came in the sixteenth century, bringing with him stories of wars between Christians and Saracens in Europe. One result of this close analogy of actual historical situation was, I believe, a general tendency to levelling: that is, native traditions of such struggles took on the color of the Spanish romances; Spanish romances, on the other hand, which were popularized in the Islands, were very likely to be “localized.” A maximum of caution and a minimum of dogmatism, then, are imperative, if one is to treat at all scientifically the relationship of the stories of a composite people like the Filipinos to the stories of the rest of the world.

A word might be added as to the nature of the tales. I have included only “hero tales, serious and droll,” beast stories and fables, and pourquoi or “just-so” stories. Myths, legends, and fairy-tales (including all kinds of spirit and demon stories) I have purposely excluded, in order to keep the size of the volume within reasonable limits. I have, however, occasionally drawn upon my manuscript collection of these types to illustrate a native superstition or custom.

Columbia University,

May, 1918.

Contents.

  1. I. [HERO TALES AND DROLLS.]
    1. 1. (a) [Suan’s Good Luck] 1
    2. (b) [Suan Eket] 2
    3. 2. [The Charcoal-Maker who became King] 10
    4. 3. [The Story of Carancal] 17
    5. 4. (a) [Suac and his Adventures] 29
    6. (b) [The Three Friends,—the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao] 31
    7. 5. (a) [How Suan became Rich] 35
    8. (b) [The King’s Decisions] 37
    9. 6. (a) [The Four Blind Brothers] 42
    10. (b) [Juan the Blind Man] 43
    11. (c) [Teofilo the Hunchback, and the Giant] 46
    12. (d) [Juan and the Buringcantada] 47
    13. (e) [The Manglalabas] 49
    14. 7. (a) [Sagacious Marcela] 53
    15. (b) [King Tasio] 55
    16. 8. (a) [The Story of Zaragoza] 64
    17. (b) [Juan the Peerless Robber] 69
    18. 9. [The Seven Crazy Fellows] 75
    19. 10. (a) [Juan Manalaksan] 79
    20. (b) [Juan the Poor, who became Juan the King] 81
    21. 11. (a) [Lucas the Strong] 89
    22. (b) [Juan and his Six Companions] 92
    23. (c) [The Story of King Palmarin] 98
    24. 12. (a) [The Three Brothers] 116
    25. (b) [Three Brothers of Fortune] 118
    26. (c) [Pablo and the Princess] 120
    27. (d) [Legend of Prince Oswaldo] 122
    28. 13. (a) [The Rich and the Poor] 137
    29. (b) [Lucas the Rope-Maker] 140
    30. 14. (a) [The King and the Dervish] 144
    31. (b) [The Mysterious Book] 145
    32. 15. [The Miraculous Cow] 150
    33. 16. [The Clever Husband and Wife] 152
    34. 17. [The Three Brothers] 155
    35. 18. [Juan and his Adventures] 171
    36. 19. [Juan wearing a Monkey’s Skin] 178
    37. 20. (a) [How Salaksak became Rich] 183
    38. (b) [Clever Juan and Envious Diego] 186
    39. (c) [Ruined because of Invidiousness] 188
    40. (d) [The Two Friends] 190
    41. (e) [Juan the Orphan] 192
    42. 21. [Is he the Crafty Ulysses?] 197
    43. 22. [The Reward of Kindness] 207
    44. 23. [Pedro and Satan] 211
    45. 24. [The Devil and the Guachinango] 214
    46. 25. [Juan Sadut] 223
    47. 26. [An Act of Kindness] 227
    48. 27. [The Indolent Husband] 231
    49. 28. [Cecilio, the Servant of Emilio] 237
    50. 29. [Chonguita] 244
    51. 30. [The Golden Lock] 248
    52. 31. [Who is the Nearest Relative?] 257
    53. 32. [With One Centavo Juan marries a Princess] 262
    54. 33. (a) [The Three Humpbacks] 265
    55. (b) [The Seven Humpbacks] 267
    56. 34. (a) [Respect Old Age] 271
    57. (b) [The Golden Rule] 271
    58. 35. [Cochinango] 276
    59. 36. [Pedro and the Witch] 279
    60. 37. [The Woman and her Coles Plant] 285
    61. 38. [A Negrito Slave] 287
    62. 39. [Alberto and the Monsters] 291
    63. 40. [Juan and Maria] 295
    64. 41. [The Enchanted Prince] 301
    65. 42. [The Prince’s Dream] 304
    66. 43. [The Wicked Woman’s Reward] 309
    67. 44. [The Magic Ring] 310
    68. 45. (a) [Maria and the Golden Slipper] 314
    69. (b) [Abadeja] 316
    70. 46. [Juan the Poor] 319
    71. 47. [The Fate of an Envious Woman] 323
    72. 48. (a) [The Monkey and Juan Pusong Tambi-Tambi] 326
    73. (b) [Andres the Trapper] 332
    74. 49. [Juan the Fool] 338
    75. 50. [Juan and his Painted Hat] 353
    76. 51. [Juan and Clotilde] 355
    77. 52. [The Poor Man and his Three Sons] 359
    78. 53. [The Denied Mother] 361
    79. 54. [Tomarind and the Wicked Datu] 363
  2. II. [FABLES AND ANIMAL STORIES.]
    1. 55. [The Monkey and the Turtle] (three versions) 366
    2. 56. [The Monkey and the Crocodile] (two versions) 374
    3. 57. [The Monkeys and the Dragon-Flies] 379
    4. 58. [The Monkey, the Turtle, and the Crocodile] 382
    5. 59. [The Iguana and the Turtle] 383
    6. 60. (a) [The Trial among the Animals] 385
    7. (b) [The Pugu’s Case] 386
    8. (c) [Why Mosquitoes hum and try to get into the Holes of our Ears] 387
    9. (d) [A Tyrant] 388
    10. 61. [The Greedy Crow] 391
    11. 62. [The Humming-Bird and the Carabao] 393
    12. 63. [The Camanchile and the Passion] 394
    13. 64. [Auac and Lamiran] 395
  3. III. [“JUST-SO” STORIES.]
    1. 65. [Why the Ant is not so Venomous as the Snake] 398
    2. 66. [Why Locusts are Harmful] 399
    3. 67. [How Lansones became Edible] 401
    4. 68. [Why Cocks fight One Another] 403
    5. 69. [Why Bats fly at Night] 404
    6. 70. [Why the Sun shines more brightly than the Moon] 404
    7. 71. (a) [Why the Culing has a Tonsure] 407
    8. (b) [The Culeto and the Crow] 407
    9. (c) [The Hawk and the Coling] 408
    10. 72. (a) [Why the Cow’s Skin is Loose on the Neck] 410
    11. (b) [The First Loose-Skinned Cow and the First Tight-Skinned Carabao] 411
    12. 73. [Why the Monkey is Wise] 412
    13. 74. (a) [The Lost Necklace] 414
    14. (b) [The Cock and the Sparrow-Hawk] 415
    15. 75. [The Story of our Fingers] 416
    16. 76. [Why Snails climb up Grass] 417
    17. 77. [Why the Cuttlefish and Squids produce a Black Liquid] 419
    18. 78. [Why Cocks have Combs on their Heads] 420
    19. 79. (a) [How the Crow became Black] 420
    20. (b) [Why the Crow is Black] 421
    21. (c) [The Dove and the Crow] 422
    22. 80. [Why the Ocean is Salty] 425
    23. 81. (a) [Why the Sky is Curved] 426
    24. (b) [Why the Sky is High] 426
    25. 82. [An Unequal Match; or, Why the Carabao’s Hoof is split] 428

Filipino Stories given in the Notes.

[Only stories from my own manuscript collection are listed here. Titles of those given in full are printed in Roman; of those given merely in abstract, in Italics. A “(C)” after a title indicates that the story is taken from one of the native corridos, or metrical romances printed in the vernacular.]

  1. [Pedro’s Fortunes] 15
  2. [Pusong] 23
  3. [Cabagboc] 23
  4. [Sandapal] 23
  5. [Sandangcal] 23
  6. [Greedy Juan] 23
  7. [Juan Tapon] 23
  8. [Dangandangan] 23
  9. [Tangarangan] 23
  10. [Kakarangkang] 29
  11. [How Piro became Rich] 41
  12. [The Cripple and the Blind Man] 51
  13. [Marcela outwits the King] 56
  14. [Cay Calabasa] (C) 57
  15. [Rodolfo] (C) 60
  16. [Juan and his Six Friends] 78
  17. [Edmundo] (C) 87
  18. [The Three Brothers] 127
  19. [The Priest and his Pupil] 148
  20. [Abu-Hasan] (C) 154
  21. [Don Agustin, Don Pedro, and Don Juan] (C) 169
  22. [The Adarna Bird] (C) (two versions) 169
  23. [Pedro and the Giants] 175
  24. [The Monkey becomes King] 182
  25. [Juan the Ashes-Trader] 195
  26. [Colassit and Colaskel] 195
  27. [Juan the Poor] 202
  28. [Juan Bachiller] (C) 202
  29. [Mabait and the Duende] 217
  30. [The Fortunes of Andoy, an Orphan] 241
  31. [Peter the Violinist] 241
  32. [Duke Almanzor] (C) 251
  33. [The Seven Hunchbacked Brothers] 268
  34. [Juan and his Father] 275
  35. [Pugut Negro] (C) 280
  36. [Juan Tiñoso] (C) 283
  37. [Juan and Maria] (C) 298
  38. [Pitong] 299
  39. [The Wonderful Tree] 318
  40. [King Asuero and Juan the Poor] (C) 322
  41. [Ricardo and his Adventures] 347
  42. [Juan and the Robbers] 348
  43. [The Adventure of Two Robbers] 349
  44. [Juan Sadut] 351
  45. [Juan Loco] 352
  46. [The Monkey and the Crocodile] 377
  47. [The Battle between the Birds and the Beasts] 381
  48. [The Bacuit’s Case] 389
  49. [Why the Ant is not so Venomous as the Snake] 399
  50. [The Origin of Locusts] 399
  51. [The Origin of Locusts] 400
  52. [The Adam and Eve of the Tagalogs] 402
  53. [How Lanzones became Edible] 402
  54. [The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars] 405
  55. [The Sun and the Moon] 406
  56. [Origin of the Monkey] 413
  57. [The First Monkey] 413
  58. [The Deer and the Snail] 429