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The Cycle of The Sun and The Moon

The folktale explains the cycle of the sun and moon based on a Manobo story. The moon had to leave her children with the sun one day, warning him not to touch them as they would burn up. However, the sun disobeyed and kissed the children, causing them to turn to ashes. In anger and grief, the moon scattered their ashes and fled from the sun. Now the moon forever flees with her star children, pursued by the sun trying to get them back, explaining their cycle across the sky.

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Maria Cecil D
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14K views2 pages

The Cycle of The Sun and The Moon

The folktale explains the cycle of the sun and moon based on a Manobo story. The moon had to leave her children with the sun one day, warning him not to touch them as they would burn up. However, the sun disobeyed and kissed the children, causing them to turn to ashes. In anger and grief, the moon scattered their ashes and fled from the sun. Now the moon forever flees with her star children, pursued by the sun trying to get them back, explaining their cycle across the sky.

Uploaded by

Maria Cecil D
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • The Cycle of the Sun and the Moon: A Manobo folktale about the eternal chase between the Sun and the Moon, exploring themes of love, misunderstanding, and celestial cycles.

The Cycle of the Sun and the Moon

A Manobo Folktale

A long time ago, only the sun rode to the sky. His wife, the Moon, stayed at home and tended the

children and their farm. The Moon loved their two children and went about her tasks happily water, gathering

gabi leaves, and digging camote for supper.

One cloudy day when the Sun was home, the Moon had to go to the river for water. She crooned the

children to sleep and called to her husband. “Dear husband, I am going to fetch water. Watch over the

children, but do not go near them because you know what will happen if you do.” And after the warning, she

left. The Sun looked lovingly at his children. He had never before been able to really know them or even get

near them. Overcome with love and affection, he kissed them. To his horror, they shriveled up before his eyes

and crumbled to ashes. His anguish was great. He moaned and cried. Suddenly he remembered what her wife

had told – not to touch the children! Not knowing what to, he hid in the forest. Soon after this the Moon

returned. A water jar was balanced on her head and she carried a bundle of freshly cut gabi leaves in her

arms. Laying down the jar and leaves, she turned to look for her children. Wild was her grief to only ashes

where her lovely brown babies had once been. Her screams and lamentation reach her husband in the forest,

and his pity overcoming his fear, he went home. However, as soon as the Moon saw him, her wailing became

louder. “My husband why did you do it? Did I not tell you never to touch or even draw near our children? Why

did you disobey me?” “I couldn’t help kissing them, O wife; they looked so sweet. I had never seen anything

so sweet ever before. Forgive me, O Moon! Forgive me’’, he begged her. But the Moon would not be

comforted. Her reproaches increased in intensity. In the end, the Sun got angry. “Mang-gad!” he shouted.

“Did you say that I disobeyed you? How dare you to think that you are superior to me, that you can order me

what to do. Mang-gad! Slave! How dare you say that I disobeyed you! “Ai” she moaned. “I am nothing,

nothing at all! Then, my children are nothing too!” And with one defiant sweep of her arm, she scattered their

ashes to four winds. Horrified and enraged, the sun seized the gabi leaves and threw them in his wife’s face

and dashed out of the house. When he returned very late that night, his ill-tempered was gone. He regretted

having shouted at his wife. He found the house dark and empty. His wife had fled, but pinpoints of glimmering
light in the distance told him where she was, for he knew the light were his children following in her mother

flight.

So started the endless cycle of the Sun chasing the moon and the Moon fleeing the Sun. The Moon is

forever with her children, the many tiny lights we called stars. Now then a shooting star breaks across the

path of the Moon. It is nothing more than an attempt from her husband to make her and their two children

return to him. But the Moon speeds away faster, sometimes leaving the sky altogether, with her star-babies

there. This happens when the marks of the gabi leaves on the Moon’s face swell, and she remembers the pain

and humiliation of her husband’s anger when he threw the to her face and called her mang-gad (property) and

binotong (slaves).

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