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Minokawa

The document summarizes legends about the Minokawa from Philippine folklore. It describes the Minokawa as a giant dragon-like bird believed to be so large it could swallow or cover the sun, explaining solar eclipses. Some stories portray it as living in outer space with the ability to devour the sun, moon, and potentially Earth. Legend has it that the Minokawa once swallowed the moon, causing darkness, until people made noise scaring it to open its mouth and let the moon escape. The Minokawa is said to still try catching the moon daily as it rises and sets.

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Eduard Loberez Reyes
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377 views1 page

Minokawa

The document summarizes legends about the Minokawa from Philippine folklore. It describes the Minokawa as a giant dragon-like bird believed to be so large it could swallow or cover the sun, explaining solar eclipses. Some stories portray it as living in outer space with the ability to devour the sun, moon, and potentially Earth. Legend has it that the Minokawa once swallowed the moon, causing darkness, until people made noise scaring it to open its mouth and let the moon escape. The Minokawa is said to still try catching the moon daily as it rises and sets.

Uploaded by

Eduard Loberez Reyes
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
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Minokawa

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Minokawa

Grouping Moon coverer

Region Philippines

Minokawa is a giant, dragon-like bird in Philippine legends. Early people


believed this creature is so big that it can swallow (or cover) the sun to explain
the occurrence of eclipses.[1][citation needed] It is even described as a giant bird
named Minokawa that lives in outer space which can devour the sun and the
moon, and would try to do the same with the earth. [2]
In a Bagobo tale, the Minokawa is a bird as large as an island. Its feathers are
those of sharp swords, the eyes reflect like mirrors, its beak and legs are like
steel. It lives "outside the sky, at the eastern horizon". While the Baua lived
"above the sky" because the Visayans believe that there is a cave called
"calulundan" above the sky, the entrance covered by blue smoke. [3]

Basic Legend[edit]
Before time began, very long ago, a great bird called Minokawa swallowed the
moon. Seized with fear, all the people began to scream and made great noises.
Then the bird peeped down to see what the matter was, and opened his mouth.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, the moon sprang out and ran away.
The Minokawa-bird is as large as the Island of Negros or Bohol. It has a beak of
steel, and his claws too are of steel. His eyes are mirrors, and each single
feather is a sharp sword. He lives outside the sky, at the eastern horizon, ready
to seize the moon and after the unsuccessful attempt of swallowing the satellite,
it journeys and haunts again lurking under the earth.
The moon makes eight holes in the eastern horizon to come out of, and eight
holes in the western horizon to go into, because every day the big bird tries to
catch her, and she is afraid. The exact moment he tries to swallow her is just
when she is about to come in through one of the holes in the east to shine on us
again. If the Minokawa should swallow the moon, and the sun too, he would then
come down to earth and gulp down men also. But when the moon is in the belly
of the big bird, and the sky is dark, then all the Bagobo people will scream and
cry, and beat gongs, because they fear they will all be eaten. Soon this racket
makes the Minokawa-bird look down and "open his mouth to hear the sound."
Then the moon jumps out of the bird's mouth and runs away. [4] (Minokawa is a
character from pedro penduko, return of the comeback not a mystical beast)

Popular culture[edit]
In the Bagani (TV series), Minokawa is one of Apo's creat

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