Maria Makiling
Encyclopedia
Maria Makiling, sometimes spelled Mariang Makiling, in Philippine Mythology
, is a diwata or lambana (fairy or forest nymph) associated with Mount Makiling
in Laguna
, Philippines
. She is the most widely known diwata in Philippine Mythology.
Similar to Maria Sinukuan
of Pampanga
's Mount Arayat
and Maria Cacao
of Cebu
's Mount Lantoy
, Maria Makiling is a guardian of the mountain, responsible for protecting its bounty and thus, is also a benefactor for the townspeople who depend on the mountain's resources. In addition to being a guardian of the mountain, some legends also identify Laguna de Bay - and the fish caught from it - as part of her domain.
It is often said that Mount Makiling resembles the profile of a woman, said to be Maria herself. This phenomenon is described as true from several different perspectives, so there is no single location associated with this claim. The mountain's various peaks are said to be Maria's face and two breasts, respectively, and her hair cascades downwards a gentle slope away from her body.
In the highly hispanized Tagalog culture, Maria is often used as a generic name for a girl, such that the name can be interpreted as "the woman of the crooked mountain."
"Mariang Makiling" is the Tagalog contraction of "Maria ng Makiling" (Maria OF Makiling).
Professor Grace Odal of the University of the Philippines believes there is a significant link between Maria Makiling and the mythical woman (Ba'i) for whom the town of Bay
and the lake of Laguna de Bay
are named.
It is said that the abundance and serenity of the enchanted mountain complements Maria's own persona.
She is also closely associated with the white mist that often surrounds the mountain. While in just a few stories either her skin or hair is white, in most tales, it is her radiant clothing which makes people who have seen her think that perhaps they just saw a wisp of cloud through the trees and mistook it for Maria.
In some stories, this hut is situated in the village, amongst the people, where Maria Makiling lived before she fled to the mountains after having been offended for some reason.
In other stories, the hut is up in the mountain, and can only be found if one is allowed by Maria to find it.
long before they were documented, there are numerous versions of the Maria Makiling legend. Some of these are not stories per se, but superstitions.
Another superstition says that one can go into the forests and pick and eat any fruits one might like, but never carry any of them home. In doing so, one runs the risk of angering Maria Makiling. One would get lost, and be beset by insect stings and thorn pricks. The only solution is to throw away the fruit, and then to reverse one's clothing as evidence to Maria that one is no longer carrying any of her fruit.
The wise Maria recognizes the symptoms as signs not of disease, but of hunger brought about by extreme poverty. She gives the villager some ginger, which, by the time the villager gets home, has magically turned to gold.
In versions where the villager is going home to his wife, he unwisely throws some of the ginger away because it had become too heavy to carry.
In some versions, the villagers love her all the more for her act of kindness.
In most, however, greedy villagers break into Maria's garden to see if her other plants were really gold. Distressed by the villager's greed, Maria runs away up the mountain, her pristine white clothing soon becoming indistinguishable from the white clouds that play amongst the trees on the upper parts of the mountains.
In one story, she fell in love with a hunter who had wandered into her kingdom. Soon the two became lovers, with the hunter coming up the mountain every day. They promised to love each other forever. When Maria discovered that he had met, fell in love with, and married a mortal woman, she was deeply hurt. Realizing that the she could not trust townspeople because she was so different from them, and that they were just using her, she became angry and refused to give fruits to the trees, let animals and birds roam the forests for hunters to catch, and let fish abound in the lake. People seldom saw her, and those times when she could be seen were often only during pale moonlit nights.
In another version of the story, told by the Philippines' National Hero, Jose Rizal
, Maria falls in love with a farmer, whom she then watches over. This leads the townspeople say he is endowed with a charm, or mutya, as it is called, that protected him and his from harm. The young man was good at heart and simple in spirit, but also quiet and secretive. In particular, he would not say much of his frequent visits into the wood of Mariang Makiling. But then war came to the land, and army officers came recruiting unmarried young men. The man entered an arranged marriage so that he could stay safely in the village. A few days before his marriage, he visits Maria one last time. "I would that you were consecrated to me," she said sadly, "but you need an earthly love, and you do not have enough faith in me besides. I could have protected you and your family." After saying this, she disappeared. Mariang Makiling was never seen by the peasants again, nor was her humble hut ever rediscovered.
"From then on," Lanuza concludes, "Maria never let herself be seen by the people again. Every time somebody gets lost on the mountain, they remember the curse of the diwata. Yet they also remember the great love of Maria Makiling."
A common story is that of a group of hikers who leave their camp dirty with human waste and empty cans and bottles. Searching for water, the hikers find themselves befuddled, coming back to the same place over and over again. Only after they cleaned their camp did they manage to find water.
In UP Los Baños, a University that sits on the foot of Mount Makiling, students still tell stories of a woman in white who is sighted walking down the long uphill road heading to the Upper (College of Forestry) Campus. Sometimes, the woman appears to be trying to hitch a ride down the mountain. Invariably, the observers are said to be frightened and just ignore the woman, believing her to be Maria Makiling.
The unusual weather patterns on the mountain area are also often attributed to Maria Makiling. Often this means sudden rains whenever particularly noisy events are held in the areas near the mountain. Locals say that the diwata does not approve of the event. Acclaimed stage and screen actor and director Behn Cervantes relates a reverse version of this legend, during the launching program for the UP Alumni Association's Maria Makiling Foundation, an advocacy group formed for the protection and conservation of Mount Makiling:
Philippine mythology
Philippine mythology include a collection of tales and superstitions about magical creatures and entities. Some Filipinos, even though heavily westernized and Christianized, still believe on these tales...
, is a diwata or lambana (fairy or forest nymph) associated with Mount Makiling
Mount Makiling
Mount Makiling, also rarely Mount Maquiling, is a potentially active volcano in Laguna province on the island of Luzon, Philippines. It rises to 1,090 m above mean sea level.-Legend:...
in Laguna
Laguna province
Laguna is a province of the Philippines found in the CALABARZON region in Luzon. Its capital is Santa Cruz and the province is located southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna almost completely surrounds Laguna de Bay,...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She is the most widely known diwata in Philippine Mythology.
Similar to Maria Sinukuan
Maria Sinukuan
Maria Sinukuan is the diwata or mountain goddess associated with Mount Arayat in Pampanga, Philippines, similar to Maria Makiling of Los Baños and Maria Cacao of Cebu.-Basic legend:...
of Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...
's Mount Arayat
Mount Arayat
Mount Arayat is an extinct stratovolcano on Luzon Island, Philippines, rising to a height of There is no recorded eruption of the volcano, and its last activity probably dates to the Holocene era.The volcano is located in a flat agricultural region at...
and Maria Cacao
Maria Cacao
Maria Cacao is the diwata or mountain goddess associated with Mount Lantoy in Argao, Cebu, Philippines, similar to Maria Makiling of Los Baños and Maria Sinukuan of Mount Arayat....
of Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
's Mount Lantoy
Mount Lantoy
Mount Lantoy is a 593-meter mountain located 10 kilometers inland from the municipality of Argao, Cebu in the Philippines.-Watershed forest reserve:...
, Maria Makiling is a guardian of the mountain, responsible for protecting its bounty and thus, is also a benefactor for the townspeople who depend on the mountain's resources. In addition to being a guardian of the mountain, some legends also identify Laguna de Bay - and the fish caught from it - as part of her domain.
It is often said that Mount Makiling resembles the profile of a woman, said to be Maria herself. This phenomenon is described as true from several different perspectives, so there is no single location associated with this claim. The mountain's various peaks are said to be Maria's face and two breasts, respectively, and her hair cascades downwards a gentle slope away from her body.
Etymology
There is some argument whether this spirit was named after the mountain or the mountain was named after her, but it has been noted that the mountain rises from Laguna de Bay "to a rugged top and breaks into irregular hills southward, thus 'leaning' or 'uneven." The Tagalog word for 'leaning' or 'uneven' is "Makiling."In the highly hispanized Tagalog culture, Maria is often used as a generic name for a girl, such that the name can be interpreted as "the woman of the crooked mountain."
"Mariang Makiling" is the Tagalog contraction of "Maria ng Makiling" (Maria OF Makiling).
Professor Grace Odal of the University of the Philippines believes there is a significant link between Maria Makiling and the mythical woman (Ba'i) for whom the town of Bay
Bay, Laguna
Bay is a 3rd class also considered as 2nd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 60,756 inhabitants in 15,194 households...
and the lake of Laguna de Bay
Laguna de Bay
Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is on the island of Luzon between the provinces of Laguna to the south and Rizal to the north...
are named.
Appearance
Descriptions of Maria Makiling are fairly consistent. She is a breathtakingly beautiful young woman who never ages. Lanuza describes her as having "light olive skin, long shining black hair, and twinkling eyes."It is said that the abundance and serenity of the enchanted mountain complements Maria's own persona.
She is also closely associated with the white mist that often surrounds the mountain. While in just a few stories either her skin or hair is white, in most tales, it is her radiant clothing which makes people who have seen her think that perhaps they just saw a wisp of cloud through the trees and mistook it for Maria.
Home on The Mountain
Unlike Maria Sinukuan and Maria Cacao who live in caves in their respective mountains, Makiling is often described as living in a humble hut.In some stories, this hut is situated in the village, amongst the people, where Maria Makiling lived before she fled to the mountains after having been offended for some reason.
In other stories, the hut is up in the mountain, and can only be found if one is allowed by Maria to find it.
Legends of Maria Makiling
Because stories about Maria Makiling were part of oral traditionOral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
long before they were documented, there are numerous versions of the Maria Makiling legend. Some of these are not stories per se, but superstitions.
Superstitions about Maria Makiling
One superstition is that every so often, men would disappear into the forests of the mountain. It is said that Makiling has fallen in love with that particular man, and has taken him to her house to be her husband, there to spend his days in matrimonial bliss.Another superstition says that one can go into the forests and pick and eat any fruits one might like, but never carry any of them home. In doing so, one runs the risk of angering Maria Makiling. One would get lost, and be beset by insect stings and thorn pricks. The only solution is to throw away the fruit, and then to reverse one's clothing as evidence to Maria that one is no longer carrying any of her fruit.
Turning Ginger into Gold
Perhaps the most common "full" story is that of Maria turning ginger into gold to help one villager or the other. In these stories, Maria is said to live in a place known to the villagers, and interacts with them regularly. The villager in question is often either a mother seeking a cure for her ill child, or a husband seeking a cure for his wife.The wise Maria recognizes the symptoms as signs not of disease, but of hunger brought about by extreme poverty. She gives the villager some ginger, which, by the time the villager gets home, has magically turned to gold.
In versions where the villager is going home to his wife, he unwisely throws some of the ginger away because it had become too heavy to carry.
In some versions, the villagers love her all the more for her act of kindness.
In most, however, greedy villagers break into Maria's garden to see if her other plants were really gold. Distressed by the villager's greed, Maria runs away up the mountain, her pristine white clothing soon becoming indistinguishable from the white clouds that play amongst the trees on the upper parts of the mountains.
Spurned Lover
In many other stories, Makiling is characterized as a spurned lover.In one story, she fell in love with a hunter who had wandered into her kingdom. Soon the two became lovers, with the hunter coming up the mountain every day. They promised to love each other forever. When Maria discovered that he had met, fell in love with, and married a mortal woman, she was deeply hurt. Realizing that the she could not trust townspeople because she was so different from them, and that they were just using her, she became angry and refused to give fruits to the trees, let animals and birds roam the forests for hunters to catch, and let fish abound in the lake. People seldom saw her, and those times when she could be seen were often only during pale moonlit nights.
In another version of the story, told by the Philippines' National Hero, Jose Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, Maria falls in love with a farmer, whom she then watches over. This leads the townspeople say he is endowed with a charm, or mutya, as it is called, that protected him and his from harm. The young man was good at heart and simple in spirit, but also quiet and secretive. In particular, he would not say much of his frequent visits into the wood of Mariang Makiling. But then war came to the land, and army officers came recruiting unmarried young men. The man entered an arranged marriage so that he could stay safely in the village. A few days before his marriage, he visits Maria one last time. "I would that you were consecrated to me," she said sadly, "but you need an earthly love, and you do not have enough faith in me besides. I could have protected you and your family." After saying this, she disappeared. Mariang Makiling was never seen by the peasants again, nor was her humble hut ever rediscovered.
The Three Suitors
Michelle Lanuza tells another version of the story, set during the later part of the Spanish occupation :Maria was sought for and wooed by many suitors, three of whom were the Captain Lara, a Spanish soldier; Joselito, a Spanish mestizo studying in Manila; and Juan who was but a common farmer. Despite his lowly status, Makiling eventually chose Juan.
Spurned, Joselito and Captain Lara conspired to frame Juan for setting fire to the cuartel of the Spanish. Juan was shot as the enemy of the Spaniards. Before he died, he cried Maria's name out loud.
The diwata quickly came down from her mountain while Captain Lara and Joselito fled to Manila in fear of Maria's wrath. When she learned what happened, she cursed the two, along with all other men who cannot accept failure in love.
Soon, the curse took effect. Joselito suddenly contracted an incurable illness. The revolutionary Filipinos killed Captain Lara.
"From then on," Lanuza concludes, "Maria never let herself be seen by the people again. Every time somebody gets lost on the mountain, they remember the curse of the diwata. Yet they also remember the great love of Maria Makiling."
Modern Sightings
Mount Makiling still abounds with superstitions and stories concerning Makiling. When people get lost on the mountain, the disappearances are still attributed to the diwata or to spirits who follow her.A common story is that of a group of hikers who leave their camp dirty with human waste and empty cans and bottles. Searching for water, the hikers find themselves befuddled, coming back to the same place over and over again. Only after they cleaned their camp did they manage to find water.
In UP Los Baños, a University that sits on the foot of Mount Makiling, students still tell stories of a woman in white who is sighted walking down the long uphill road heading to the Upper (College of Forestry) Campus. Sometimes, the woman appears to be trying to hitch a ride down the mountain. Invariably, the observers are said to be frightened and just ignore the woman, believing her to be Maria Makiling.
The unusual weather patterns on the mountain area are also often attributed to Maria Makiling. Often this means sudden rains whenever particularly noisy events are held in the areas near the mountain. Locals say that the diwata does not approve of the event. Acclaimed stage and screen actor and director Behn Cervantes relates a reverse version of this legend, during the launching program for the UP Alumni Association's Maria Makiling Foundation, an advocacy group formed for the protection and conservation of Mount Makiling:
- During our launch, we had a hair-raising experience. When the remarkable Dulce (singer) reached the climax of her song of praise to Nature, she raised her arms as though in veneration of Maria Makiling. As if on cue, golden leaves from surrounding trees showered the audience like petals from the heavens. The astounded crowd gasped and aahhed in unison.
[ Los Baños' Dr. Portia Lapitan] whispered to me, “The diwata approves.”
In Art and Popular Culture
Maria Makiling is a common theme among Filipino artists, ranging from painters and sculptors to graphic novelists.- One prominent depiction of Maria Makiling can be found on the Seal of the Municipality of Los Baños, LagunaLos Baños, LagunaThe Nature and Science City of Los Baños is a 1st class urban city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 98,631 inhabitants in 17,030 households...
. It depicts Maria makiling in the foreground with the mountain in the background and water (representing Laguna de BayLaguna de BayLaguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is on the island of Luzon between the provinces of Laguna to the south and Rizal to the north...
) at her feet.
- A statue of Maria Makiling was once put up in front of UPLB's main library. It depicts the diwata surrounded by various creatures of the forest, most noticeably a doe and some birds. The statue has since been replaced by that of the "Philippine Pegasus" or "Pegaraw". The original statue was moved to the road leading up to UPLB's College of Forestry, near the University Health Service.
- Another statue of Maria Makiling was once put up at the boundary of Los Baños and Calamba CityCalamba CityCalamba City is a first class component city located in the province of Laguna, Philippines. Situated only 54 kilometers south of Manila, about an hour by chartered bus, Calamba City is a popular tourist destination with its hot spring resorts, most of the resorts are located in Barangay Pansol...
, on the boundary marker that identifies Los Baños as a "Special Science and Nature City". The statue has since been removed. That specific statue had been criticized by some members of Los Baños' religious sector because they said it glorified a territorial spiritTerritorial SpiritAccording to some Christians , Territorial Spirits are demons who rule over certain geographical areas in the world....
. No official remark has been made, however, as to whether this complaint had anything to do with the removal of the statue.
- In Arnold ArreArnold ArreArnold Arre is a Filipino comic book writer and artist.-Biography:Arre has won National Book Awards from the Manila Critics Circle for his graphic novels The Mythology Class , a four-part action-adventure miniseries that was re-released as a Special Collected Edition by Adarna House in 2005 and...
's graphic novel, Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat, Maria Makiling is in love with a KatipuneroKatipunanThe Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...
(revolutionary). When her lover is killed by Zolgo, she loses her memory due to trauma. She wanders down to the city, with no clue on who she is. The graphic novel chronicles the efforts of the protagonists to find Maria and restore her memory.
- To celebrate the launching of the UPAA Maria Makiling Foundation, an advocacy group formed by the UP Alumni Association to promote conservation efforts of the mountain, the Foundation held the Mariang Makiling Ecological-Cultural Festival. A highlight of that event was what UPLB Chancellor Velasco described as a relauching of the image of Maria Makiling—modelled at the event by television star and singer KarylleKarylleAna Karylle Padilla Tatlonghari , better known as simply Karylle, has established herself as one of the most talented showbiz personalities in the Philippines. She is a respected singer, actress, TV host, athlete, and a writer/blogger....
. Says Renowned theater director and UPAA Board Public Relations Director Behn Cervantes: Karylle was chosen by the organizers for her graceful demeanor and sweet image, her expressive eyes, and her luxuriant wavy hair that typifies long-held descriptions of Maria Makiling.
- Maria Makiling features significantly in Karen Francisco's novel "Naermyth", a fantasy adventure novel set in a post-apocalyptic Philippines, where creatures of lore, folktales and the once-mythical waged a war that led to the human race's downfall. In the novel, the diwata are neutral in the war between men and naermyth, and Makiling is a major figure among them.
External links
- "Master of the Filipino Madonnas in the 40s" - Simon Saulog's painting of Maria Makiling.
