Celestial Maiden Narratives of Southeast Asia

8/17/2019 Celestial Maiden Narratives of Southeast Asia

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TThhee CCeelleessttiiaall MMaaiiddeenn NNaarrrraattiivveess ooff SSoouutthheeaasstt AAssiiaa , , CChhiinnaa , , IInnddiiaa , , aanndd J Jaappaann

Articulating Commonalities and Appreciating Distinctiveness


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The Celestial Maiden Narratives of Southeast Asia,

China, India, and Japan

collected by

Amparo Adelina ―Jina‖ C. Umali, III, Ph.D. East and Southeast Asian Studies

Center for International Studies

University of the Philippines Diliman

Cover Photos:

Japan’s Noh “Hagoromo” Photo ©CNZayas

Thailand’s “Manohra” in India’s Bharatanatyam and P hilippines’ Igorot of Bontoc’s “Taraw Siblaw” Photos ©Jon Lazam

Inside Photos:

Cambodia http://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/system/files/DanceUnitComplete.pdf

Indonesia http://betwobeasia.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/jaka-tarub.jpg

Thailand http://www.sexglitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Manohra-is-the-art.jpgVietnam http://www.vietnamsvisa.net/the-legend-of-the-milky-way

India http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/ Mahabharata/menaka/menaka.html

China http://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklore-cowherd-and-the

-weaver-girl/

http://www.vietnamsvisa.net/the-legend-of-the-milky-wayhttp://www.vietnamsvisa.net/the-legend-of-the-milky-wayhttp://www.vietnamsvisa.net/the-legend-of-the-milky-wayhttp://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/http://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklore-cowherd-and-thehttp://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklore-cowherd-and-thehttp://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklore-cowherd-and-thehttp://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklore-cowherd-and-thehttp://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/http://www.vietnamsvisa.net/the-legend-of-the-milky-way


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I. Brunei Darussalam’s Si Butatal 1

Si Butatal is about an ugly young man with skin disease who is

ostracized by society. He lives alone in the forest where he catches

catfish through fish traps. He exchanges fish for clothes and rice.One day, however, the trap does not yield any fish. This goes on

for many days while the water of the stream gets murky.

Wondering what has happened, he decides to go upriver to

investigate. He comes upon a fall and a pool of clear water where

he sees seven princesses bathing. He steals the f lying robe of the

youngest and most beautiful princess. The six princesses fly off totheir heavenly kingdom, leaving behind their youngest sister.

Butatal falls in love with her and invites her to live with him as his

wife. She agrees, and later bears him a daughter.

One day, while Butatal is out fishing; the princess notices a flute in

the ceiling. She takes the flute and tries to play it, but it is blocked.

She looks inside the flute and finds her flying robe. Angry at herhusband for hiding the robe, she puts it on and flies back to heaven,

leaving her baby and husband behind.

When he found his wife gone, Butatal is disconsolate. He then

looks for her with the help of an old monkey. An old monkey

brings Butatal across seven erupting volcanoes (the number seven

appears as a very significant number in many of these tales).

1 This story was taken from the response of Nicanor G. Tiongson, Ph.D., to the

presentation of the Japanese Hagoromo. In Amparo Adelina C. Umali, III, ed. Celestial Maiden of Japan and Southeast Asia (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Center

for International Studies, 2009) 40-42.


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Butatal rides on the monkey’s back, while his daughter rides on his back. As they pass over every volcano, Butatal says the word

―thirsty,‖ and one layer of his clothing comes off. Finally, themonkey saves Butatal from falling off into the last volcano and

gets him to the heavenly palace.

The palace is abuzz with preparations for the wedding of the

youngest princess to her original fiancée. The princess sees Butatal

and her daughter and reveals to the king that she had gotten

married when she was on earth. The king suspects that Butatal is

not an ordinary man.

As in the other tales, Butatal has to undergo four tests to retrieve

his wife. First, the king asks Butatal to level the hill to the ground,

which Butatal does with the help of two big pigs. Second, he asks

Butatal to cut down a tree into four sections without the tree falling

down and using no tools. Two eagles come to help him with this.

Third, the king orders him to collect the oil which was poured into

the paddy. For this the ants come to his rescue. Lastly, the kingasks him to scoop seawater with a basket. The jellyfish help him

perform the task.

After Butatal passes the tests, the king agrees to marry him off to

the princess. Butatal asks for a fortnight to clean himself and turns

into a handsome man. Later the fiancée arrives and Butatal

apologizes to him. The fiancée accepts the apology. They engage

in a friendly fight, where Butatal defeats the fiancée. At one point,

Butatal strikes the ring finger of the fiancée who falls to earth and

dies. Butatal sprinkles rose water on him and he lives again.

Butatal and the princess are married.


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II. Cambodia’s Preah Sothun Neang Monorea2

Neang Keo Monorea and her six siblings, all sisters, reside in the

heavens with their parents. One day their father allows them to

visit earth. Each wearing a scarf with magical powers grantingthem the ability to fly away from their celestial abode, they

promise their father to return home as soon as they hear the ringing

of the gongs. When they reach earth, they go to bathe in a lotus

pond.

Unbeknownst to them, however, a hunter leads Preah (Prince)

Sothun to watch the celestial visitors clandestinely. Upon the

ringing of the gongs, they prepare to take leave of earth, as theyhad pledged. But Neang Monorea’s magic scarf has disappeared.Unable to join her sisters as they departed, she cries herself

unconscious. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented him,

Preah Sothun offers to help. He and Neang Monorea fall in love,

return to the Prince’s palace, and marry.

2 This synopsis was adapted from the program notes of Princess Norodom Buppha

Devi’s 2003 remounting of Preah Sothun Neang Monorea as a full-length classical dance performance in Tono Shapiro-Phim, ―Tradition and Innovation in Cambodian Dance, ACurriculum Unit for Post- Secondary Level Educators‖ Ithaca, NY: Southeast AsiaProgram Outreach Office May 15, 2013

http://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/system/files/DanceUnitComplete.pdf

http://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/system/files/DanceUnitComplete.pdfhttp://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/system/files/DanceUnitComplete.pdfhttp://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/system/files/DanceUnitComplete.pdf


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One day, Preah Sothun’s country is invaded. His father orders himto go to war to save the country. While he is away, the prince’smother summons a fortune-teller to interpret a frightening dream

she has had. Being cruel, he lies, explaining to her that because of

sins the Queen committed in a previous life, Neang Monorea must be killed to avoid the continuation of war, and the certain death of

Preah Sothun. The King and Queen send Neang Monorea into

exile, rather than to her death. On her way back to the heavens,

Neang Monorea meets a hermit and offers him her ring so that

should Preah Sothun ever search for her, the hermit could show the

ring to him.

When he returns to the palace victorious, Preah Sothun is

devastated by the news of what has befallen his princess. He asks

for permission to search for her. On his search, he meets the hermit

and receives the ring she had left for just this purpose. Overcoming

many obstacles along the way, the Prince eventually makes it to

her world. When he observes royal maids collecting water at the

pond, he uses a magic spell to cause one of the maid’s water jars to become too heavy to lift. The prince appears just then, to offer his

help. While pretending to assist the maid with the pot, he drops the

ring inside it.

As the maid bathes Neang Monorea, the ring spills onto her hair,

where she finds it. The maid tells her the story of the helpful

stranger. Neang Monorea runs to the pond, and there she finds her

beloved. Neang Monorea’s parents grant them permission toremain in the heavens as a married couple


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III. Indonesia’s Jaka Tarub and the Seven Celestial

Maidens3

Jaka Tarub was a handsome and diligent young man. He lived in a

village near a lake. One day, when Jaka Tarub passed the lake, heheard some giggles and laughs of some girls who were bathing in

the lake. He was curious, so he peeped through the bushes. There

were seven beautiful girls in the lake. They're fairies from the

heavenly kingdom of kahyangan. Jaka Tarub saw a scarf near the

bushes. It belonged to one of the fairies. Jaka Tarub then took it

and hid it.

Crack!!! Accidentally, Jaka Tarub stepped on a twig. "There's

someone!" said one of the fairies. .'Let's get back. Hurry!" she said.

They pulled over and wear their scarf. '.Where is my scarf?" one of

the fairies couldn't find her scarf. She was the youngest fairy called

Nawang Wulan. They tried to search for it, but it was nowhere to

be found. "We're sorry, Wulan. We have to go back to kahyangan,"

said the eldest fairy. "You'll have to find it by yourself. We'll wait

3 This story originated from East Java. It was provided by University of Indonesiastudent-participants Anantama Fauzan Azhima and Dinar Rami and Gadjah MadaUniversity student-participant Ni Wayan Radita NP to the UPCIS-SEASREP Asian

Emporiums Program 2010 at UP Diliman.


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for you in kahyangan," she said in empathy. The other fairies then

flew to the sky leaving Nawang Wulan behind. Nawang Wulan

saw them leaving in tears. She was so sad.

"Excuse me ...," said Jaka Tarub, startling Nawang Wutan. "Areyou okay?" he asked. Nawang Wulan moved backward, "Who are

you?" she asked. "My name is Jaka Tarub. I was passing by and I

heard you crying, so I came to see what happen," Jaka Tarub lied.

Nawang Wulan then told him about her problem. ―I can't flywithout my scarf," she said. Jaka Tarub then asked Nawang Wulan

to come home with him. At first, Nawang Wulan refused the offer.

But since she didn't have anywhere else to go, Nawang Wulan thendecided to follow Jaka Tarub.

Nawang Wulan stayed with Jaka Tarub in the village. A month

passed, and they decided to get married. Nawang Wulan was

willing to marry a human because she fell in love with Jaka Tarub.

After a year, they had a beautiful daughter. They named her

Kumalasari. They lived happily.

Jaka Tarub was also happy to live with Nawang Wulan and

Kumalasari. Especially because he always got a lot of harvest since

he married Nawang Wulan. He couldn't even keep all of his

harvest in the barn because it was always full. "It's so weird.

Nawang Wulan cooked everyday, but why is my barn always full,"

Jaka Tarub mumbled to himself. He was so curious. One day, Jaka

Tarub stayed at home. "I want to stay home today. I'd like to play

with Kumalasari," he said to his wife. "Well, I'll go to the river to

wash the clothes. Please keep an eye on Kumalasari," asked

Nawang Wulan. "I'm cooking rice now. Please do not open the pan

cover before it's done," she said just before she left. "Could this be

the secret?" Jaka Tarub thought. After Nawang Wulan left, he

curiously opened the pan cover. He found only one single paddy.

"How come?" he wondered.

Before lunch, Nawang Wulan came home. She headed to the

kitchen to see the rice she had cooked. She found that the rice

turned only a few grains. "Did you open the pan cover?" she asked


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her husband. ―I'm sorry. I was curious," Jaka Tarub said as herealized his fault.

Ever since, Nawong Wulan had lost her power. She couldn't cook

rice with only a single paddy. Their poddy supply was slowlylessened. Their barn was almost empty. One day, Nawang Wulan

went to the barn to get some paddy. When she took one of them,

she found a scarf. "What's this? This is my scarf," said Nawang

Wulan startled.

That night, Nawang Wulan asked her husband about the scarf. Jaka

Tarub's eyes widened, "You found it?" he asked. Jaka Tarub lookeddown and asked for her forgiveness. "Because I've found my scarf,

it's time for me to go back to where I belong," Nawang Wulan said.

Jaka Tarub tried to stop her, but Nawang Wulan had made up her

mind. "Please take good care of Kumalasari," she said. "If she

wanted to see me, take seven grains of candlenut and put it into a

basket. Shake it as you play the bamboo flute. I'll come to see her,"

she explained.

Jaka Tarub promised to take good care of their daughter. He once

again asked for forgiveness for all of his mistakes. "I've forgiven

you, so you don't have to feel guilty. I must go now. Take care,"

said Nawang Wulan as she flew to the bright full moon.


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IV. Laos’ Sithon Manora 4

Once upon a time, seven celestial maidens with wings come down

from the sacred mountain KaiLard Mountain to the deep forest and

take a bath in a beautiful pool of water of the river Anoma.

Two serpents, living in the pool, guard it and keep it clean and

beautiful all year round. Every year, the serpent's wife gives birth

but they cannot raise their child because a big giant usually comes

to that forest and eats the serpent's child. They don't know what todo because they both cannot fight him. Fortunately, one day, a

brave hunter came to hunt wildlife. When he saw the giant takingthe serpent’s child, he killed it. After the giant died, the hunterwent back to hunting and took a rest near the river where seven

maidens were taking a bath. When he saw them, he fell in love

with the most beautiful maiden who is no other than Manora.

Because of her beauty, he wanted her to be his wife so he decided

to catch her. He asked himself how he could do it. Finally, he went

back to the pool and asked for a prize from the serpents, which hehelped kill the giant. They gave him a powerful cord. He went

back again to the river and catches Manora with the cord and

tightens it around Manora’s body.

After catching Manora, he took her to his house. At first, he

wanted her to be his wife. However, he noticed that she is so

4 This story was provided by Ms. Palamy CHANGLEUXAI and Mr. Vilayuth

PHETSENGTHONG, National University of Laos’ student-participants toUPCIS-SEASREP Asian Emporiums Program 2010 at UP Diliman.


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beautiful and unsuitable for him so he decided to pass Manora to

the king of the state (Peng Jaan Palace) in exchange for treasure.

But the son of the king named Sithon fell in love with her. They,

then, got married.

Time passed by and Manora’s husband had to go to battle to fightwith the enemies. He left her under the care of his parents. Sithon’s parents were so worried about his fate that they even asked the

help of the fortuneteller. He told them ―For the peacefulness of this palace, we have to kill Manora, because she is not a real human

being. She will cause disaster to fall on us and even to Prince

Sithon‖. When Manora heard of it, she resented everyone whowanted to kill her. She waited for her husband every day and kepton wondering why he wasn’t coming back to her. At last on the daythat all the people in the palace were preparing for a ritual is the

day they would kill her. She asked for her wings to enable her to

dance to complete the ceremony before she dies, and if she dies,

without wings, the ceremony would not be successful.

After she got her wings back, she flew to the sky quickly and cried.

She very much regretted why they wanted to kill her.

When Sithon, her husband, came back to the palace, he looked for

her and asked everyone in his palace for his wife. After he learned

of the truth, he decided to go after his wife Manora, even if he had

to face many difficulties several times to prove his love.


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V. Malaysia’s The Handsome Young Man5 (Timugon

Murut, SABAH, MALAYSIA) 1

This is yet another story2 from our elders of long ago. A king

3 of a

certain village had a son. This son was very handsome; there wasno one else as handsome as he.

One night the son had a dream. In this dream an old man, like a

grandfather, spoke to him. He said that there was a certain place

where there lived an old woman, called Grandmother. The

grandfather explained further that in this place there also lived

seven beautiful sisters and that the youngest one was the most beautiful of them all. ―Go and meet the grandmother, and she willhelp you when you get ther e,‖ the grandfather said.

When the young man woke up, he looked around him in surprise,

for he had thought that the grandfather was there right next to him.

That was it. The young man could not get back to sleep, for until

dawn he just kept on thinking a bout the grandfather’s words. Hegot up before dawn and felt very restless in his heart. He did not

have any appetite and did not feel like bathing.

At daybreak he went to see his father to tell him about the kind of

dream he had had. But his father was quite shocked and doubtful at

what his son was telling him. But after a while he believed him and

allowed him to go and meet the grandmother, according to the

5 Hazel J. Wrigglesworth, ed.The Maiden of Many Nations: The Sky Maiden Who

Married a Man From Earth. Lingusitic Society of the Philippines, Special Monograph

Issue, Number 31. (Manila: Linguistic Society of the Philipines, 1991)


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son’s dream. On the way the young man met all kinds ofdifficulties, but his heart did not waver; for as we know, something

held his heart.

After a while he reached the grandmother’s house. He had dressedhimself in torn clothes for pretense, for he was afraid that the

grandmother would recognize him as the king’s son. When hereached the grandmother’s place, she asked him whether he wasthe king’s son. ―No, I’m not,‖ he denied vehemently. But eventhough the young man did not admit to it, she had already

recognized him as being the king’s son.

The young man had only been in the grandmother’s place for alittle while when they heard the sounds that were a sign that magic

beings were descending to the earth. They saw altogether seven

beautiful young girls descending to the earth. As they were

descending, (the young man and the grandmother) saw that the

leaves of the tress fluttered down, the trees stood still, and the birds

began to chirp frantically. It is said that these are the signs bywhich we know that magic beings are coming down to the earth to

bathe. As the beautiful young girls were bathing, the grandmother

told the young man to go and fish on the bank of the river, nearby

where the girls were bathing. He was wearing old, ragged clothes.

The day wore on and it was already late afternoon. Usually it is at

this time, late afternoon before it gets dark, that the magic beings

return back to their own place. One of them said: ― Arira!4 Look,it’s already late in the afternoon. Let’s get out of the water!‖ Sothey all go out of the water to where they had left their change of

clothes.

As they were all changing their clothes, the youngest one said to

her elder sisters that she could not find her flying clothes. ―Whyare you looking around? There was no one else here with us justnow, only us!‖ the eldest one answered.

She asked again from the other sisters, but they all gave the same

answer. Soon the dusk turned into darkness and still the youngest


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girl was looking around for her flying clothes. Her sisters said:

―keep on looking for your flying clothes. We have to leave youhere, for no matter how much you want to come back with us, you

cannot, not without your flying clothes.‖ The poor girl started to

sob.

Soon after that the elder sisters flew off to their own place. Soon

after the elder sisters had flown away, the old man who had

entwined the young man’s heart in the dream, came to the sceneand asked the girl: ―Why are you sobbing and what are are youlooking for?‖

―Stop pretending, you must be the one who stole my flyingclothes!‖ But the old man answered that he was not aware ofhaving taken them, he had not even seen them. By mutual

agreement the two of them went to meet the grandmother. When

they got to the grandmother’s house, the young man took what hehad wrongfully obtained and hid it inside a rice bin.

Early the next morning, as it was nearing dawn, the young man

applied sweet smelling oil on his body. After he had applied the oil,

he was even more handsome than before, so much so that the

beautiful girl only took one look at him and fell deeply in love with

him.

From the moment their eyes met, they both felt pure love for one

another in their hearts. After some time they were married in the

grandmother’s place. After they had been married for some months,the husband said one day, when it was nearing dusk: ―Wife. I feelwe have been here long enough. It’s time we went to my parent’s place, for you have not met them yet and I myself too miss them a

lot.‖

―All right, I’ll go along with whatever you say,‖ the wife answered.So, soon after that they went back to the husband’s place. Whenthey got to the husband’s house, his parents were very happy to seetheir daughter-in-law was such a beauty.


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Soon after their return the husband’s father died, for he had beenseriously ill for a long time already. After the father died, his work

was passed on to the son. But after his father’s death he felt veryunhappy. He kept on thinking about his father’s death, became

very sad and did not do his work properly. At that time his wifewas two months pregnant, but he did not go back to their house

and only stayed in his place of work. Up till the time his wife gave

birth, not once did he return home to her. All this time he went

around drinking heavily and playing around with other women. His

wife felt very upset at her husband’s behavior, all the more so asshe remembered their mutual promise when they had been married,

how they had vowed that no matter what kind of difficulties theycame up against, they would never separate. As she remembered

all this, she was not able to sleep at night, but stayed awake till

daybreak. Every evening she sat on the steps and sobbed. Tears

were her only company as she went to bed. She remembered all the

things form her past life, for she was not of this earth. This made

her feel even more dejected in her heart.

One day, as it was nearing dark, she went into a room that she had

never entered before, for her husband had sternly told her not to.

She looked up and saw that her flying clothes were hanging from

the rafters. As she saw her flying clothes there, she was certain

now that it had been her husband who had hidden them from her in

the first place. As she saw her flying clothes, she was very happy,

for now she could return to her own place, all the more so because

her husband did not care for her anymore. All this while, up till the

time her child was already old enough to crawl, her husband had

not come to back to their house.

Because of her husband’s behavior her heart was now torn betweenthe two places, but she was ready to return to her own place. After

that she took her flying clothes and dressed herself in them. She

felt her child to be cared for by a certain woman and flew off. Shewould have loved to have taken her child with her, but the baby

had no flying clothes. Not long after the wife had gone away, the

husband was told about it. He was shocked to learn what had


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happened. He had a change of heart. He lost his appetite and kept

on crying till he fainted.

After some time he went back to the grandmother again to ask for

her help and find out how he could go and meet his wife again.When he got to the grandmother’s place, she scolded him severely.She reminded him that before they were married the two of them

had promised to love one another, but he had not kept his word.

But although the grandmother was angry with him she still helped

him and told him a way to meet his wife again.

A little while later a fine canoe appeared from somewhere. Theman got into it and it took off into the air. After a while he met

with his wife. The wife was willing to come back to him, if he

would not to return to his old ways. The husband once more gave a

word of promise that he would not return to his old ways, but

instead wanted to become a gentle husband. So, he set his wife into

the fine canoe and the two of them returned to this earth. From the

time of their return the husband did not more evil, but loved hiswife dearly. He also carried out his work as a headman5 very well

and all the people put their trust in him.

So, this was a story that was called ―The handsome young man.‖ Actually the was a son of a headman of his people and very rich.

His wife was not from this earth but was a magic being from

another world, from the middle world, that is.’

1 The story was narrated in Timugon Murut by Elizabeth Tiporbte Brahim. It was

recorded and translated into English by Kielo Brewis of the Summer Institute ofLinguistics.

2Tunungon ―story‖ is derived from the verb tunung ―to relate a story.‖ In correspondencefrom Mrs. Brewis she states that ―the people believe the story may have hap pened in oneform or another a long time ago.

3 Raja: ―king,‖ a borrowing from Malay which occurs interchangeably in this narrativewith tingganai ―headman.‖ 4 Arira and its linguistic variant Ariru are interjections indicating ―surprise, shock, oreven pain.‖ 5Tingganai: ― a headman.‖


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VI. Myanmar’s Dway Mal Naw6

In the country of A-yote-da-ya, there was a king. His son, Prince

Thu Da Na, travelled to the country of Ngwe Taung, and it is said

that the princess there is one of the ancestors of the winged people.There, Prince Thu Da Na saw her playing / bathing in the water in

the lakes called Dway Mal Naw and Htee Inn. They fell in love at

first sight, because of the relationship they once had in their past

lives. (We believe in past lives.) The prince brought her back to his

country and married her.

One day, while the prince was away from his wife, those who were

jealous of their love told the princess things in order to tear them

apart – and the princess, made unhappy by what was said, went back to her country. When Prince Thu Da Na returned and found

that his wife was not home, he immediately followed her to the

country Ngwe Taung. Finally, they met again.

Dway Mal Naw Lake and Htee Inn Lake are still in the east of

Ngwe Taung village until now. They are located in Kayah State, in

the eastern part of Myanmar.

6 This story was provided by Ms. Nandar Hein, a Myanmarese student of UP Diliman.


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VII. Philippines’ Taraw Siblaw7

Of the Lumauig stories and other stories that were told and passed

on from generation to generation, one of the stories of long ago in

the days of hunting was the story of the celestial maidens of TarawSiblaw. Taraw sometimes pronounced Talaw, refers to the ―star.‖The story was about the ten maidens who were found by a male

hunter in Mount Siniblawan as claimed by the Talubin and Barlig

villagers (Mountain Province) and Mount Pinnagey by the Bayyo,

Bontoc, Mountain Province and Cambolo Ifugao villagers. The

story was told in different versions, but all stories point to the same

spot at the foot of the mountain existing up to this time. The exactlocation, where the maidens had been spotted by the man long time

ago, is uninhabitable today for it remains a soft spot that anyone

who stands on it could be drowned in the mud.

Another commonality in the different versions of the story is that

the ten celestial maidens had detachable wings that they removed

while they were swimming and dancing at the foot of Mount

7 Caridad B. Fiar-od, Ph.D. Understanding the Igorot Culture as Implied in the Celestial

Maiden Story. In Amparo Adelina C. Umali, III, ed. Celestial Maiden of Japan andSoutheast Asia (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Center for International

Studies, 2009) 122-143.


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Siniblaw, which is sometimes called Mt. Pinnagey by others in

Mountain Province. Now it is Filig ad Siniblaw or “mountain at

Siniblaw.” The celestial maidens were dancing with passion that

they did not notice the hunter who slipped and hid the wings of

Kadmali, the youngest of the ten maidens. All the nine flew up tothe sky except Kadmali whose wings were nowhere to be found.

She stayed on earth and married the hunter and later had two

daughters. After sometime, Kadmali found her rotting wings at the

sugar cane field. She secretly did some mending of the wings until

she was able to fly up the sky with her wings. Kadmali’s twochildren were left with their father.

One day Kabunyan, who is referred to as the “Almighty”

(Manakabalin) and the“Unseen” (Adikaila) sent Lumauig down to

earth to find a maiden to marry and teach the people how to make a

living. Lumauig found the younger sister of the two daughters of

Kadmali. Her name was Bangan, a descendant of the celestial

maiden.


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VIII. Thailand’s The Tale of Phra Suthon – Manorah8

Once upon a time, there was a city called Panjalanakorn, it wasruled by King Arthitayawongsa and Queen Chantradhewi, they

ruled the city well and everyone was content with the royal

patronage all around the land. One day, after the Queen bears a son,

four bunches of gold appear out of nowhere on the four corner of

the palace, it was the origin of the prince’s name, Phra Suthon (onewho possess a great asset). From the day the prince was born, the

city become even richer and more famous, and the Prince wasuniversally loved.

Boontrik a hunter of Panjalanakorn, went hunting in the deepest

forest of the city called Suvarnabhumi that was very plentiful and

abundant. There, in the midst of the wildwas a great lake of

Suvarnabhumi, which was said to be the most beautiful in the

8 This story was provided by Arthit Jiamrattanyoo. Chutima Tantakasem and Soleeheen

Bilanglod, Thai participants to UPCIS-SEASREP Asian Emporiums Program 2010 at UP

Diliman.


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continent. That day, the hunter Boontrik had a view of the most

unexpected occurrence, Seven most charming creatures he had

never seen before were flying down to the great lake with their

seven fluttery pairs of wings, these creatures were known to the

hunter as kinaree, a kind of mythical creature mixed of human and bird. These kinarees came from Mount Krailas, a place where

Shiva resides. They are sisters, daughters of the king who looked

after Mount Krailas at that time.

While the kinarees have taken off their wings to enjoy the lake, the

hunter had an idea of catching one of them to be his own. He took

one pair of the wings and hid it. After the kinarees have finishedtheir bathing, they looked for their wings and flew back to the sky,

except the youngest sister, the most beautiful of all as her wings

were hidden by the hunter. Her name was Manohra. This way,

Manohra was left alone beside the lake, abandoned by her six

sisters, until the hunter came to rescue her and take her to the city

of Panjalanakorn. However, the more the hunter looked at

Manohra, the more he realized he could not possess such a greatcreature which can only belong to the highest caste. He changed

his path and proceeded to the grand palace, aiming to present

Manohra as a homage to Price Phra Suthon.

The Prince was overjoyed at the sight of the very beautiful

Manohra. He loved her instantly. The hunter in return was given a

rank, jewels, and money for his reward. King Arthitayawongsa and

Queen Chantradhewi were also happy to see their son in love.

They immediately announced the marriage between the couple.

Manohra, knowing nothing about love and not being human in the

first place, has later learned to love and developed a mutual feeling

for the Prince who took great care of her.

Not a year has passed, when there was a war between

Panjalanakorn and a rival city. The Prince had to become the field

marshal and lead the city’s troop. Thus Manohra was alone again.At this circumstance, the Brahman astrologist, a high ranking

noble who has secretly despised Prince Phra Suthon. Took this

opportunity to tell a false fortune to the King and Queen, informing


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that Manohra was an omen of bad luck for the city. Consequently,

she should be sacrificed in a sacred fire, to bring peace back to the

city.

The King and Queen did not agree. They knew well that this beautiful kinaree was the Prince’s favourite and she had never doneanyone any harm. Yet, the Brahman astrologist is a senior great

noble and should not be ignored. They at last managed the ritual of

sacrifice. Manohra agreed to sacrifice herself, but asked for a last

wish to have her wings back, so that she could do a sacrifice dance

as homage to the gods.

Her dance was spectacular. It captivated everyone and at this

chance, she flew away back to her home on Mount Krailas. On the

way, she thought of Prince Phra Suthon, afraid that he might try to

come find her when the path was so dangerous for ordinary human

beings. With these thoughts, she made a stop at a hermit’s namedKassapa. She asked him to give Prince Phra Suthon a ring as her

souvenir and pleaded him not to go find her again.

Prince Phra Suthon, came back home and found Manohra gone. He

became devastated and decided to leave immediately to find

Manohra at all costs. On his way, he found the hermit Kassapa and

asked for the way. The hermit, realizing this must be the prince,

gave him Manohra’s ring and told him a safe way to pass the poisonous forest, the giant bird, the fighting elephant, the twin

mountain, and the great giant, until he could reach at the Mount

Krailas.

Manohra, meanwhile, was being warmly welcomed by her family

in Mount Krailas. But as she had been living with the humans for a

long time, her father believed it made her dirty. So she had to stay

in a separate palace for seven days, waiting for a ritual of a

clarifying bath, cleansing the dirtiness of humans away.

Seven years, seven months, and seven days were the length of

Prince Phra Suthon’s journey. Fortunately, this length of timeequaled the seven days of Mount Krailas’s time that Manohra had


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been waiting for her ritual. At this time, the kinarees were

preparing seven golden pots of sacred water to bathe Manorah. The

Prince in hiding, placed the ring into the last pot. When this pot

was taken to bathe her, the ring fell magically on Manohra’s ring

finger. Thus, she knew of the Prince’s arrival. With much joy, sheinformed her father and mother.

King Tummaraj, father of Manorah, welcomed Prince Phra Suthon

to his palace. He greeted him with warm food and warm clothes.

But he also reminded him of the tests he would have to take. The

prince passed every test, not without difficulty, but from his

experiences of the last journey, he did well on fighting and archery.Yet, the last test awaiting him was the most difficult, the seven

sisters were dressed exactly alike and looked exactly alike, and the

Prince must be able to tell who is Manohra. The Prince could not

distinguish her from the others. So he prayed to gods for him to

give the right answer. He did.

Prince Phra Suthon with the father’s permission, takes Manohra back with him to Earth. They went back to Panjalanakorn, reignedthe city after the King and Queen, and lived happily ever after.


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IX. Vietnam’s NGURU LANG-CHUC NU,

A VIETNAMESE STORY 9

Nguru Lang and Chuc Nu have worked in heaven. Nguru Lang is a

carabao boy and Chuc Nu is a fabric maker. Nguru Lang has towatch the carabao everyday, and weaving fabric is Chuc Nu's daily

job.

One time Nguru Lang saw seven fairies happily bathing in a

beautiful lake and he was incited by a male carabao. He decided to

hide the fairies' clothes. The fairies agreed that the youngest one,

which is the most beautiful had to go to find the clothes. The

youngest fairy's name is Chuc Nu, who is a fabric maker. Because

her nude body was seen by Nguru Lang, Chuc Nu had to accept

Nguru Lang's proposal and became his wife. Chuc Nu was a

wonderful wife and Nguru Lang was a good husband, they lived

happily.

Nguru Lang and Chuc Nu are in a very secure relationship. They

9 This narrative was provided by Nguyen Duc Trung and Doan Thi Thu Thuy National

University of Vietnam’s student-participants to UPCIS-SEASREP Asian EmporiumsProgram 2010 at UP Diliman.


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are so deeply in love and they spent a lot of time together. One day,

on a date, they were sunk in passion that they forgot their jobs

which they are supposed to do everyday: Nguru Lang forgot to

watch the carabao and it ate a lot of rice plants, Chuc Nu forgot to

weave the fabric.

The King of Heaven (Ngoc Hoang) was so angry and decided to

punish them. They were separated by the Milky Way. But after that,

Ngoc Hoang felt sorry for them. He decided to build a bridge

which can connect one side to the other side of the Milky Way so

that Nguru Lang and Chuc Nu can meet each other once a year. He

commanded a lot of workers to build the bridge.

But it didn't work. The workers fought against each other instead

of building the bridge. Once again, Ngoc Hoang was angry and

used his holy power to transform the workers into ravens.

And the ravens have to gather into a bridge shape cross the Milky

Way once a year. And since then, every year, in July 7th, NguruLang and Chuc Nu can meet each other on the raven bridge. When

they meet each other, they are not able to hold their emotion; their

tears shed and become what Vietnamese people call "Mua Ngau"

(July rain).

The interesting thing is in one version; it says that Ngoc Hoang

separate Nguru Lang and Chuc Nu in order to keep them focus on

their work instead of being in love.


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X. China’s The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver

Girl 10

This tale, which is at least 6th century BC old, starts its story in the

skies.

The Weaver Girl Star (织女星 ; zhī nǚ xīng), referring to the Vegastar and the Cowherd Star (牵牛星 ; qiān niú xīng), referring to theAltair Star, fell deeply in love with each other. However, in the

Heavens of the Chinese mythological world, it is against the

heavenly rules for these stars or deities to have romantic

relationships. Moreover, the Weaver Girl Star is the granddaughter

of the Heavenly Empress.

When word of their forbidden love reached the ears of the

powerful Heavenly Empress, she became furious and sent the

Cowherd Star down to Earth as a mortal. The Weaver Girl was

punished to weave non-stop in the sky. In the legend, clouds in the

skies were weaved by the Weaver Girl with magical silk and

weaving machine. Different colours were weaved according to

different times of the day and season.

10 http://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklore-cowherd-and-the-weaver-girl/


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One day, a group of fairies requested the Heavenly Empress for

permission to descend to the mortal world, to Bi Lian Lake (碧莲

池 ; bì lián chí), a lake which could beautify and whiten skin. The

Empress was in a good mood and agreed. The fairy girls taking

pity on the Weaver Girl for working so hard on her weaving,further requested for her to join them on the trip. Heavenly

Empress thought for quite a while, and gave in eventually.

On earth, when the Cowherd Star descended to the mortal world,

he was reborn into a farming family and named as Cowherd / Cow

Boy (牛郎 ; niú láng). After his parents passed away, he stayed

with his brother and sister-in-law, who treated him very badly.Eventually he was chased out of their home with only an old Ox

and a broken cart.

The Cowherd and the old Ox depended on each other and lived

through hardship together. They plowed and worked hard and in a

couple of years, managed to build a small house and make ends

meet.

Unknown to the Cowherd, the old Ox was originally the Golden

Ox Star (金牛星 ; Jīn niú xīng). One day, the Ox suddenly spoke,to the Cowherd’s surprise. The Ox said to him, ―Go to Bi LianLake today. You will find the dresses of some fairies by the rocks,

while they are bathing in the lake. Take the red dress and the fairy

will become your wife.‖

Shocked and thrilled, the cowherd took the advice, for he has been

alone and yearns a companion. He hid near the lake and sure

enough, true to the Ox’s words, fairies flew down from the sky.The fairies placed their dresses by the rock and stepped into the

Lake.

Seeing his chance, the Cowherd ran out and grabbed the red dress.

The fairies were frantic to find there was man around. Wearing

their dresses in haste, they flew back to heaven. Only one fairy was


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left in the lake, for the Cowherd was holding onto her dress. She

was none other than the Weaver Girl Star.

The Cowherd walked forward and asked the Weaver Girl to be his

wife, in exchange for her dress. At this moment, the Weaver Girlrecognized him as the Cowherd Star whom she was still deeply in

love with. Shyly but happily, she accepted his marriage request and

became his wife.

Life on earth for them was wonderful. They bore a son and a

daughter and lived happily as a family.

However, their joy and peace did not last forever. For when the

Heavenly Empress knew of this matter, she stormed in rage! She

immediately deployed heaven guards and soldiers to bring the

Weaver Girl back for punishment.

Back on earth, the Cowherd ran back home in the midst of his

plowing day with sad news that the old Ox has passed away. Hetold the Weaving Girl that the Ox spoke before it died. It asked

him to keep his ox hide well. One day, he will be able to cape the

hide and fly into the sky. Upon hearing this, the Weaving Girl

realized that the Ox was once the Golden Ox Star, who was also

punished to the mortal world when he tried to speak in favour for

the Cowherd Star. Sadly, they peeled the hide and gave the Ox a

burial.

Right at this moment, the heaven guards and soldiers came! In an

instance, they grabbed the Weaving Girl and flew off. Sad as she

may be, the Weaving Girl could do nothing about it. Helplessly,

she flew in the skies with the guards to the heavens.

―Weaver Girl, wait for me!‖ The Weaver Girl heard the Cowherd’svoice. Looking back, she saw him flying behind them, wearing themagical Ox hide with each hand holding a basket and their two

children in them.


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The gap between them became closer and closer. Soon, Weaver

Girl could see the adoring faces of her children and hear their cries

for her. Just when they were almost reunited, the Heavenly

Empress appeared and with a wave of her hairpin, created a galaxy

(the Milky Way) between them, forming an impenetrable barrier.

The couple and their children gazed helplessly across the Milky

Way at each other. Emotionally torn, they cried and cried. Fairies

and gods who heard their cries all felt pity for them and pained that

the loving family had to be separated. Soon, even the Empress

soften her heart. She allowed the family (including the 2 children)

to stay in the sky and remain as stars, permitting them to meet onceevery year on the 7th day of the 7th month.

On that day of the year, countless magpies (喜鹊 ; xǐ què) wouldform a bridge to reunite the Cowherd, the Weaving Girl and their

two children in the skies.

This day is then commemorated by Chinese people as Qi XiFestival.


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XI. India’s The Mahabharata 11

"My father Kanwa, in answer to that Rishi's enquiries, said,

'Viswamitra, of old, having been engaged in the austerest penances

alarmed Indra, the chief of the celestials, who thought that themighty ascetic of blazing energy would, by his penances, hurl him

down from his high seat in heaven.' Indra, thus alarmed,

summoned Menaka and told her, 'Thou, O Menaka, art the first of

celestial Apsaras. Therefore, O amiable one, do me this service.

Hear what I say. This great ascetic Viswamitra like unto the Sun in

splendour, is engaged in the most severe of penances. My heart is

trembling with fear. Indeed, O slender-waisted Menaka, this is thy business. Thou must see that Viswamitra of soul rapt in

contemplation and engaged in the austerest penances, who might

hurl me down from my seat. Go and tempt him and frustrating his

continued austerities accomplish my good. Win him away from his

penances, O beautiful one, by tempting him with thy beauty, youth,

agreeableness, arts, smiles and speech.' Hearing all this, Menaka

replied, 'The illustrious Viswamitra is endued with great energyand is a mighty ascetic. He is very short-tempered too, as is known

11 The Mahabharata , Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhi Parva: Section LXXI- LXXII

taken from http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01073.htm


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to thee. The energy, penances, and wrath of the high-souled one

have made even thee anxious. Why should I not also be anxious?

He it was who made even the illustrious Vasishtha bear the pangs

of witnessing the premature death of his children. He it was who,

though at first born as Kshatriya, subsequently became a Brahmana by virtue of his ascetic penances. He it was who, for purposes of

his ablutions, created a deep river that can with difficulty be forded,

and which sacred stream is known by the name of the Kausiki. It

was Viswamitra whose wife, in a season of distress, was

maintained by the royal sage Matanga (Trisanku) who was then

living under a father's curse as a hunter. It was Viswamitra who, on

returning after the famine was over, changed the name of thestream having his asylum from Kausik into Para. It was

Viswamitra who in return for the services of Matanga, himself

became the latter's priest for purposes of a sacrifice. The lord of the

celestials himself went through fear to drink the Soma juice. It was

Viswamitra who in anger created a second world and numerous

stars beginning with Sravana. He it was who granted protection to

Trisanku smarting under a superior's curse. I am frightened toapproach him of such deeds. Tell me, O Indra, the means that

should be adopted so that I may not be burnt by his wrath. He can

burn the three worlds by his splendour, can, by a stamp (of his

foot), cause the earth to quake. He can sever the great Meru from

the earth and hurl it to any distance. He can go round the ten points

of the earth in a moment. How can a woman like me even touch

such a one full of ascetic virtues, like unto a blazing fire, and

having his passions under complete control? His mouth is like unto

a blazing fire; the pupils of his eyes are like the Sun and the Moon;

his tongue is like unto Yama himself. How shall, O chief of the

celestials, a woman like me even touch him? At the thought of his

prowess Yama, Soma, the great Rishis, the Saddhyas, the Viswas,

Valakhilyas, are terrified! How can a woman like me gaze at him

without alarm? Commanded, however, by thee, O king of the

celestials, I shall somehow approach that Rishi. But, O chief of thegods, devise thou some plan whereby protected by thee, I may

safely move about that Rishi. I think that when I begin to play

before the Rishi, Marut (the god of wind) had better go there and

rob me of my dress, and Manmatha (the god of love) had also, at


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thy command, better help me then. Let also Marut on that occasion

bear thither fragrance from the woods to tempt the Rishi.' Saying

this and seeing that all she had spoken about had been duly

provided, Menaka went to the retreat of the great Kausika.'"

Kanwa continued, 'And Sakra, thus addressed by her, then

commanded him who could approach every place (viz ., the god of

the wind) to be present with Menaka at the time she would be

before the Rishi. And the timid and beautiful Menaka then entered

the retreat and saw there Viswamitra who had burnt, by his

penances, all his sins, and was engaged still in ascetic penances.

And saluting the Rishi, she then began to sport before him. And just at that time Marut robbed her of her garments that were white

as the Moon. And she thereupon ran, as if in great bashfulness, to

catch hold of her attire, and as if she was exceedingly annoyed

with Marut. And she did all this before the very eyes of

Viswamitra who was endued with energy like that of fire. And

Viswamitra saw her in that attitude. And beholding her divested of

her robes, he saw that she was of faultless feature. And that best ofMunis saw that she was exceedingly handsome, with no marks of

age on her person. And beholding her beauty and accomplishments

that bull amongst Rishis was possessed with lust and made a sign

that he desired her companionship. And he invited her accordingly,

and she also of faultless features expressed her acceptance of the

invitation. And they then passed a long time there in each other's

company. And sporting with each other, just as they pleased, for along time as if it were only a single day, the Rishi begat on Menaka

a daughter named Sakuntala. And Menaka (as her conception

advanced) went to the banks of the river Malini coursing along a

valley of the charming mountains of Himavat. And there she gave

birth to that daughter. And she left the new-born infant on the bank

of that river and went away. And beholding the new-born infant

lying in that forest destitute of human beings but abounding with

lions and tigers, a number of vultures sat around to protect it from

harm. No Rakshasas or carnivorous animals took its life. Those

vultures protected the daughter of Menaka. I went there to perform

my ablution and beheld the infant lying in the solitude of the


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wilderness surrounded by vultures. Bringing her hither I have

made her my daughter. Indeed, the maker of the body, the

protector of life, the giver of food, are all three, fathers in their

order, according to the scriptures. And becauseshe was surrounded

in the solitude of the wilderness, by Sakuntas (birds), therefore,hath she been named by me Sakuntala (bird-protected). O

Brahman, learn that it is thus that Sakuntala hath become my

daughter. And the faultless Sakuntala also regards me as her

father.'

"This is what my father had said unto the Rishi, having been asked

by him. O king of men, it is thus that thou must know I am thedaughter of Kanwa. And not knowing my real father, I regard

Kanwa as my father. Thus have I told thee, O king, all that hath

been heard by me regarding my birth!'"


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XII. Japan’s The Robe of Feathers12

Once there was a fisherman who lived all alone on a tiny island in

Japan. He was very poor and very lonely. Early one morning, he

started toward his boat; there had been a bad storm the night before,

but now the sun was shining brightly. As he walked along, he sawsomething hanging on a branch of one of the pine trees along the

beach. It was beautiful and shining. He took it down from the

branch and found that it was a wonderful robe made of feathers.

The feathers were of all different colors, as lovely and soft as the

rainbow, and they shined and sparkled in the sunlight like jewels.

It was the most beautiful thing the fisherman had ever seen in all

his life. ―Oh, what a beautiful robe!‖ he said. ―It’s certainly a pricelesstreasure. There’s no one else on my island so it can’t belong toanyone. I’ll take it home and keep it always. Then my poor homewill be beautiful and I can look at the robe whenever I’m lonely.‖Holding the robe very carefully in his rough hands, he turned and

started to carry it home.

Just then a beautiful woman came running after him. ―Mr.Fisherman, Mr. Fisherman,‖ she called, ―that’s my robe of feathers

12 Florence Sakade, Japanese Children’s Favorite Stories Book Two (Singapore: TuttlePublishing, CD edition 2005) 21-24.


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that you’re taking away. Please give it back to me.‖ She went on toexplain that she was an angel from heaven and that the robe of

feathers was actually her wings. While she was flying through the

sky, the storm had come and wet her wings so that she could not

fly. So she had waited on this island until the sun came out andthen had hung her wings out to dry on a pine tree, where the

fisherman had found them.

―So you see,‖ she finished, if you don’t give my wings back to me,I’ll never be able to fly back to my home in heaven again.‖ Thenthe woman began to weep.

The fisherman felt very sad for her. ―Please don’t cry,‖ he said.―Of course I’ll give you your robe of feathers. If I’d known it belonged to anyone, I would never have touched it.‖ And he kneltdown before her and handed her the robe.

The angel began at last to smile and her face was shining with

happiness. ―oh, thank you very much, Mr. Fisherman.‖ she said.―You’re such a good man that I’m going to dance the angel’s

dance for you.Then the angel put on the robe of many-colored feathers and began

to dance there before the fisherman. It was certainly the most

beautiful dance the fisherman had ever seen, and probably the most

beautiful dance that she had ever danced anywhere on this earth,

since angels usually dance their angel’s dance high up in theheavens. The air was filled with heavenly music, and the feathered

robe sparkled in the sunlight until the entire island was wrapped inrainbows.

As the angel danced, she rose slowly in the air, higher and higher,

until finally she disappeared far up in the blue sky. The fisherman

stood watching the sky and remembering the beautiful dance he’dseen. He knew that he’d never be lonely or poor again— not withsuch a beautiful memory to carry always in his heart.

Celestial Maiden Narratives of Southeast Asia

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