Origin Myths among the Mountain Peoples of the Philippines

The author surveys beliefs among mountain populations of the Philippines that explain the origins of the earth, humans, animals, plants, and landscape features, emphasizing their persistence and ritual role. Material divides communities by cultural complexity—primitive, intermediary, and highly developed—and illustrates contrasts through examples from Mangyan, Tagbanwa, Ilongot, Ifugao, Igorot, and Kalinga traditions. Myths are mainly oral, often chanted or embedded in ceremonies; a few syllabic alphabets and manuscript survivals are noted. The study draws on field collectors familiar with local dialects and compares recurrent motifs such as underworld realms, creator or supporting deities, and etiological tales explaining natural phenomena.