Mabel Cook Cole

Philippine Folk Tales Mabel Cook Cole

Philippine Folk Tales by Mabel Cook Cole

In these stories you have emerged into the magic, superstitions, strange customs and wonderland charm of these dark-skinned inhabitants. The stories were taken directly from people in their homes and around campfires or sung by pagan priests in communion with spirits.


They are typical tales of widely separated tribes and of different cultures, from ferocity to a rather high degree of development. The tales are therefore divided into five groups: Tinguian, Igorot, the wild tribes of Mindanao, Moro and Christian. Tinguian mythology points to the conclusion that the main characters of their tales are not celestial beings but typical and generalized heroes of past ages, whose actions have been amplified in the tale by many generations of their descendants. They talked to jars, created humans with betel nuts, raised the dead, and had the power to transform into other forms. This, however, does not seem strange or impossible to today's tenguins, for even now they speak with jars, perform certain rites to bring sickness and death to their enemies, and are warned by omens received by means of birds, thunder and lightning, or the conditions of the liver of a slaughtered animal.

The heroes of the tales had very unusual relationships with celestial bodies, which all seem to be considered animated beings. We can read about many "early" customs that differ radically from those of the present, but careful analysis suggests that many similar customs existed or were practiced by emigrants.

The tribes find explanations for many things in their stories, such as how people learned to plant and cure diseases, where they have secured the precious pots and beads, and why the moon has spots on its face. Other fairy tales are told simply to amuse the children or to spend the midday hours when they look for shady places to laze or stop on the path to rest.