PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY MEME | [1/4 LEGENDS + 1/3 LOCATION] THE LEGEND OF MARIA MAKILING + HER MOUNTAIN

PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY MEME | [1/4 LEGENDS + 1/3 LOCATION] THE LEGEND OF MARIA MAKILING + HER MOUNTAIN DOMAIN

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. Maria Makiling is the guardian spirit 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.

The most common 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.