PHILIPPINE FOLK LITERATURE-The MYTHS
I. THE GODS: THEIR ACTIVITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS
9. GOMAYEN'S THREE DAUGHTERS *(Tinguian)
In the olden days, when the places now inhabited by the Tinguians were yet uninhabited, the great Anito took a beautiful lady, Gomayen, from the heavens to live in his deserted country. The Anito observed that she was very lonely, so by magic, he made her conceive. Not long afterwards she gave birth to two more daughters. Their names were Mabaca, Binongan and Adasin. When the three girls reached womanhood, Gomayen became seriously ill. Gomayen regretted that her daughters would inherit nothing from her except three musical instruments: the babalec (lip flute), the paldeng (nose flute) and the balingbing. When Gomayen sensed that death was at hand, she called her three daughters to her bedside. First she gave Mabaca thc nearest instrument, the babalec; she gave Binongan the paldeng and lastly, she gave Adasin the balingbing. Out of love for their mother, the three daughters became experts in playing the musical instruments given them.
The mother died and after the interment, the three sisters bade farewell to one another and they dispersed. Mabaca went north, Binongan moved a little westward and Adasin went south. Mabaca traveled from one place to another, while Binongan and Adasin became industrious farmers. From the three daughters came the three Tinguian triba: Mabaca, Binongan and Adasin.
The great Anito had a very industrious servant whose name was Emlang. For her industry, the great Anito gave her a gift, a galang (bracelet) of solid gold. One day she accidentally dropped it. It was picked up by Balowan, a woman from Adasin, who was at that time digging camotes. The grateful parents of Balowan tendered a feast a u an offering to the great Anito. During the feast 81 cows and carabaos were slaughtered, and 81 jars of basi ** (wine) were consumed by the guests. The news of the gold bracelet spread rapidly until it finally reached the Mabacas, who right away intended to take it by force. The Mabacas conducted several raids against Adasin. These raids resulted in the loss of many lives.
The elder from Binongan voluntarily offered himself as mediator between the warring tribes. He set rules for the two tribes to follow. Infraction of these rules was severely punished. This was the first bedeng (peace pact) among the Tinguians. Later on, the three tribes, realizing that all of them descended from the three daughters of Gomayen, tried their best to preserve peace among themselves.
* Artemio A Peraren "Tinguian Folklore and How It Mirrors Tinguian Culture and Folklife" (M.A.Thesis, USC, 1996), pp. 78-80
** basi - wine from sugarcane