HINILAWOD When the goddess of the eastern sky Alunsina (also known as Laun Sina, The Unmarried One)

rea hed maidenhood, the king of the gods, !a"tan, de reed that she should marry# All the unmarried gods of the different domains of the uni$erse tried to win her hand to no a$ail# She hose to marry a mortal, %atu &au'ari, the mighty ruler of (alawod# (er de ision angered her other suitors# They "lotted to 'ring harm to the newlyweds# A meeting of the oun il of gods was alled 'y )aklium*sa*t+wan, god of the "lains, where a de ision 'y those "resent was made to destroy (alawod 'y flood# Alunsina and &au'ari es a"ed harm through the assistan e of Suklang )alayon, the goddess and guardian of ha""y homes and sister of Alunsina, who learned of the e$il "lot and warned the two so they were a'le to seek refuge on higher ground# After the flood waters su'sided, &au'ari and Alunsina returned to the "lains se retly# They settled near the mouth of the (alawod ri$er# Se$eral months later Alunsina 'e ame "regnant and told &au'ari to "re"are the siklot, things ne essary for hild'irth# She deli$ered a set of tri"lets and summoned the high "riest ,ungot* ,anwa to "erform the rites of the gods of )ount )adya*as (the mountain a'ode of the gods) to ensure the good health of the hildren# The high "riest "rom"tly made an altar and 'urned some alanghiran fronds and a "in h of kamangyan# When the eremony was o$er he o"ened the windows of the north side of the room and a old northernly wind ame in and suddenly the three infants were transformed into strong, handsome young men# La'aw %onggon, the eldest of the three, asked his mother to "re"are his magi a"e, hat, 'elt

and kam"ilan (sword) for he heard of a "la e alled (andug where a 'eautiful maiden named Angoy -in'itinan li$ed# The .ourney took se$eral days# (e walked a ross "lains and $alleys, lim'ed u" mountains until he rea hed the mouth of the (alawod ri$er# When he finally met the maiden+s father and asked for her hand in marriage, the father asked him to fight the monster )analintad as "art of his dowry# (e went off to onfront the monster and with the hel" of his magi 'elt La'aw %onggon

killed the monster and to "ro$e his feat he 'rought to Angoy -in'itinan+s father the monster+s tail# After the wedding, La'aw %onggon "ro eeded home with his new 'ride# Along the way they met a grou" of young men who told him that they were on their way to Taram'ang ,urok to win the hand of A'yang %urunuun, sister of Sum"oy, the lord of the underworld and whose 'eauty was legendary# La'aw %onggon and his 'ride ontinued on their .ourney home# The moment they arri$ed home La'aw %onggon told his mother to take are of his wife 'e ause he is taking another /uest, this time he was going to Taram'ang ,urok# ,efore he an get to the "la e he has to "ass a ridge guarded 'y a giant named Sikay &adalogdog who has a hundred arms# The giant would not allow La'aw %onggon to go through without a fight# (owe$er, Sikay &adalogdog was no mat h to La'aw %onggon+s "rowess and skill in fighting so he ga$e u" and allowed him to ontinue# La'aw %onggon won the hand of A'yang %urunuun and also took her home# ,efore long he went on another .ourney, this time it is to -adlum to ask for the hand of )alitong 0awa Sinagmaling %iwata who is the young 'ride of Saragnayan, the lord of darkness# This tri" re/uired him to use his 'iday nga inagta ('la k 'oat) on whi h he sailed a ross the seas for many months, went a ross the region of the louds, and "assed the land of stones until finally he rea hed the shores of Tulogmatian whi h was the seaside fortress of Saragnayan# The moment he set foot on the ground Saragnayan asked him, Who are you and why are you here1 To whi h he answered, 2 am La'aw %onggon, son of %atu &au'ari and goddess Alunsina of (alawod# 2 ame for the 'eautiful )alitong 0awa Sinagmaling %iwata# Saragnayan laughed# (e told La'aw %onggon that what he wished for was im"ossi'le to grant 'e ause she was his wife# La'aw %onggon then hallenged Saragnayan to a duel saying that whoe$er wins will ha$e her# The hallenge was a e"ted and they started fighting# La'aw %onggon su'merged Saragnayan

under water for se$en years, 'ut when he let go of him, Saragnayan was still ali$e# The latter

u"rooted a o onut tree and started 'eating La'aw %onggon with it# (e sur$i$ed the 'eating 'ut was not a'le to sur"ass the "owers of Saragnayan+s "amlang (amulet) and e$entually he ga$e u" and was im"risoned 'y Saragnayan 'eneath his house# ,a k home Angoy -in'itinan and A'yang %urunuun 'oth deli$ered sons# Angoy -in'itinan+s hild was named Aso )angga and A'yang %urunuun+s son was alled A'yang ,aranugon# Only a few days after they were 'orn, Aso )angga and A'yang ,aranugon em'arked to look for their father# They rode their sail'oats through the region of eternal darkness, "assed the region of the louds and the land of stones, finally rea hing Saragnayan+s home# Saragnayan noti ed that A'yang ,aranugon+s um'ili al ord ha$e not yet 'een remo$ed, he laughed and told the hild to go home to his mother# A'yang ,aranugon was slighted 'y the remarks and immediately hallenged Saragnayan to a duel# They fought and A'yang ,aranugon defeated Saragnayan and won his father+s freedom# La'aw %onggon+s defeat and su'se/uent im"risonment 'y the Lord of %arkness also angered his 'rothers# (umada"non was so enraged that he swore to the gods of )adya*as that he would wreak re$enge on all of Saragnayan+s kinsmen and followers# (umada"non "re"ared to go to Saragnayan+s domain# (e em"loyed the aid of ,uyong )atanayon of )ount )atiula who was well*known for his skill in swordsmanshi"# 3or their .ourney they rode on a sail'oat alled 'iday nga rum'a*rum'a# They tra$elled through the region of the louds, "assed 'y the region of eternal darkness and ended u" at a "la e alled Taram'ang ,uriraw# 2n this "la e was a ridge alled Talagas !uting*tang where a sedu ti$e sor eress named &iganun li$ed# &iganun hanged herself to a 'eautiful maiden and a"tured the heart of (umada"non# ,uyong )atanayon 'egged with (umada"non to lea$e the "la e with him 'ut the latter refused# After se$en months "assed, ,uyong )atanayon remem'ered that they ha$e 'rought with them some ginger# One e$ening at dinner time ,uyong )atanayon threw se$en sli es of ginger into the fire# When &inganun smelled the odor of 'urning ginger she left the dinner ta'le 'e ause sor erers hated the odor of ginger# 2mmediately ,uyong )atanayon stru k (umada"non, who 'e ame un ons ious# (e dragged his friend with him and they were a'le to es a"e#

They ontinued with their trek and e$erywhere they went they e4a ted re$enge on all of Saragnayan+s "eo"le and relati$es# One day they rea hed a "la e alled &iniling Tu'ig who was ruled 'y %atu Um'aw &inaum'aw# There was a 'ig gathering in the $illage and when they asked what was going on they were told that the datu was gi$ing his daughter for marriage to whoe$er ould remo$e the huge 'oulder that rolled from a mountain into the enter of the $illage# )any men tried their lu k 'ut no one so far was a'le to e$en mo$e the stone# (umada"non took off his magi a"e and used it to lift the stone and threw it 'a k into the

mountain# The datu ke"t his word and (umada"non married his daughter# %uring the wedding feast (umada"non heared a'out the 'eauty of the goddess of greed ,urigadang &ada Sinaklang ,ulawan from a guest minstrel who sang at the ele'ration# After the wedding (umada"non went to seek the hand of the goddess in marriage# Along the way he en ountered ,uyong )aka'agting, son of the mighty %atu ,alahidyong of &aling ,ukid who was also tra$elling with the same "ur"ose in mind# U"on learning of (umada"non+s intent, ,uyong )aka'agting hallenged him to a duel# They fought and ,uyong )aka'agting was no mat h to (umada"non+s strength and skill# The fight ended when ,uyong )aka'agting surrendered and e$en "romised to aid (umada"non in his /uest# (umada"non married the goddess and 'rought her home# )eanwhile, right after (umada"non left to seek Saragnayan+s followers and relati$es his 'rother %umala"da" left for ,urutlakan*ka*adlaw where the maiden Lu'ay*Lu'yok (anginun si )ahuyokhuyokon li$ed# 3or the tri" he 'rought along %umasig, the most "owerful wrestler in )adya*as# Se$eral months later they ame to a "la e alled Taram'uan*ka*'anwa where they en ountered the two*headed monster ,alanakon who guarded a narrow ridge leading to the "la e where the maiden li$ed# With the aid of %umasig, %umala"da" killed ,alanakon# (owe$er, u"on a""roa hing the gate of the "ala e where the maiden li$ed he was onfronted 'y Uyutang, a 'at*like monster with shar" "oisonous laws# There ensued a 'loody 'attle 'etween the %umala"da" and the monster# They fought for se$en months and their skill and "rowess seemed to 'e e/ual# ,ut on the se$enth month, %umala"da" was a'le to gra' on to Uyutang+s ankle and 'roke it# Then he took his iwang

daniwan (magi dagger) and sta''ed Uyutang under the arm"it# Uyutang ried out so loud that the ridge where they were fighting 'roke into two and there was an earth/uake# (alf of the ridge 'e ame the island of ,uglas (5egros) and the other 'e ame the island of &anay# %umala"da" married Lu'ay*Lu'yok (anginun si )ahuyokhuyokan and then took her home# %atu &au'ari was $ery ha""y when he was reunited with his three sons and he "re"ared a feast in their honor# After the ele'ration, the three 'rothers left for different "arts of the world# La'aw %onggon went to the north, (umada"non went south, %umala"da" to the west and %atu &au'ari remained in the east#