ASIAN MYTHOLOGY

JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY (EAST ASIA)

-embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion
-explains of the origin of the imperial family which has been used historically to assign godhood
to the imperial line.
The Legend of Prince Yamato Takeru
The legendary son of the legendary 12th emperor Keiko, Yamato Takeru was supposedly
responsible for expanding the territory of the Yamato court. His adventures appear in th4e
chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. In one of the stories, he subdued two uncouth Kumaso
warriors by cleverly disguising himself as a woman. Prince Yamato put on the rich silk robe his
aunt, who was high priestess of the Ise shrines, had given himself a good luck. To complete his
disguise, Prince Yamato let down his hair, struck a comb, and decked himself with jewels.
Mingling among the servants he entered his enemies tent during a banquet where Kumaso
warriors were feasting and drinking. Kumaso beckoned to the prince disguised as a fair serving
woman, bidding him to serve wine as quickly as possible. When Kumaso had become drunk,
the prince stabbed the two Kumaso warrior brothers to death. As the brother of Kumaso lay
dying, he demanded to know who the prince really was, and the bandit then bestowed upon the
prince that the title Yamato Takeru, meaning The Bravest of Yamato.
Prince Yamato Takeru is today revered as a folk hero for his courage and ingenuity. His
tomb in Ise is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.

PAKISTANI MYTHOLOGY (SOUTH ASIA)

- focuses on the sacred narratives of the culturally and linguistically related groups of ancient
people. who inhabited the ancient Pakistan and its borderlands
The Folktale of Heer Ranjha
One of the popular tragic romances of the Punjab is the tale of two young lovers Heer
and Ranjha. It recounts how Ranja, forced to flee his ancestral home and village because of
cruel treatment by his ancestral home and village because of cruel treatment by his jealous
sisters- in-law, falls in love with Heer at first sight .
Mesmerized by his flute playing, she hired him as a cow herder on her fathers rich
estate. They began meeting secretly, but Heers uncle Qaido discovered them and in an effort to
avoid any shame, the family hastily arranged Heers marriage to a wealthier, older man. With
great difficulty and after much suffering, Heer eventually obtained her parents consent to marry
Ranjha. Her uncle, however, cannot accept her disobeying the strictures of a patriarchal society
that emphasize parental choice in marriage. Believing that by falling she has destroyed the
family honor, he poisoned her on what would have been the lovers wedding day. Ranjha arrived
too late to save her as she had already eaten the poison and died Brokenhearted once again,
Ranjha took the poisoned laddu which Heer had eaten and died by her side. Heer and Ranjha
are buried in Heers hometown, Jhang.

ARABIAN MYTHOLOGY (WEST ASIA)

-is the set of ancient, pre-historic beliefs held by the Arab people prior to Islam.
The Arabian Camel Killer
On a Arabian island, people come to get food resources for Algeria. However some
never come back. This is because a monster lives on the terrain. It's called the Antihirrus This
was no orindary animal. It was reptilian, bird and mammal. It has a small gut so most people
and camels survive from a terrible death. The algerian king, Saddam Kellou, told his son,
Adeem, to slay the beast. "How would I do that?" Adeem asked. "You must carry your best
sword to kill this monster" Saddam answered. Or in the future their will be no more food left, you
must tell your Libyan friends to come and take you to the monster's habitat". So he set sail to
the island. Behind a rocky cliff, movement torroised the ground. "It's the monster! Adeem
gasped. The Antihirrus leaps up and stared at Adeem with it's reptilian beady eyes. It charges at
Adeem, but Adeem cuts the snout of the beast. The beast roar in pain. It uses it's great wings
and grabs and throws Adeem with it's talon. Adeem runs to the stomach of the Antihirrus and
pulls it out. The gigantic beast slumps to the ground. Adeem runs - he doesn't know the path
back to the ship. Hes stranded there. A figure comes out in the light, it's his friend. He goes on
to the ship hen suddenly a massive rock destroys the ship and the people. They try to escape,
but they can't. This Arabian myth tells you the story of the way the Arabian sea got it's name.

KAZAKHSTAN MYTHOLOGY (CENTRAL ASIA)

-embodies the mythos of Genghis Khan.
-focuses on religious freedom and tolerance wherein all the great religions of the world meet
regularly, working together for a better world.
Magic Garden of the Poor
Neighbors find a pot of gold and neither want to keep it. They take it to a wise man to
decide. He lets his students come up with ideas. One chooses to use the money to buy seeds
and make a garden for the poor. He is given the task to go to town and buy the seeds to build
his garden. On the way he saves some birds from being destroyed by using up all the gold. He
is disheartened by spending money that wasnt his and not accomplishing his task. However the
birds he saved repay his kindness by seeing his dream come true.

PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY (SOUTHEAST ASIA)

-include a collection of tales and superstitions about magical creatures and entities. Some
Filipinos even though heavily Christianized, still believe in these tales. The prevalence of belief
in the figures of Philippines mythology is strong in the provinces.
Si Malakas at si Maganda
A long time ago, there was no land. There were only the sea and the sky. A bird was
them flying in the sky. Soon she grew tired and wanted to rest. But she could not. As she was
smart, she made the sea throw rocks up at the sky. And the sky turned very dark and poured

down water. That was how the island came about. Now the waves break on the shore and can
never rise as high as the sky again.
Horrified by the unusual downpour of rain, the bird flew away as fast as she could. She
saw the land just created. And on that land, she could see tropical trees, throwing up their naked
shoulders. These green things were merely bamboos.
As the bird was flying all the time, she became thirsty. But she could not quench her
thirst with the salty sea water. She, therefore, looked for rivulets. Unfortunately, there was none.
Realizing that some water was stored in the bamboo joints, she alighted, and started to peck on
the bamboo clumps.
Peck harder, peck harder, a weak voice cried, the moment her bill struck the bamboo.
The bird was extremely frightened, and was about to fly away. But like a curious woman, she
restrained herself. She wanted to know that voice really was. Gathering her courage, she
pecked, pecked, and pecked.
Peck harder, peck harder, the weak voice complained again. The bird became he more
curious. She pecked and pecked with all her might. But as her pecking was ineffectual, she
snatched a piece of rock nearby and dropped it on the bamboo. The bamboo was broken and
split in two. In the wink of an eye, a man and a woman stepped out of the bamboo joint, the man
bowing politely to the woman. The woman gave recognition to the man; then they walked away
hand in hand.
The appearance of the human beings frightened the bird. She forgot her thirst and flew
away, hardly realizing that she saw the first human beings, and had a role in their creation.
The Legend of Mariang Makiling/Maria Makiling
Long ago,in Mount Makiling,there lived a beautiful goddess name Mariang Makiling. She is
beautiful, kindhearted and loving. She had a long shiny black hair and she often wear black
pearls and gold jewelry. She often shows off herself to people living at the foot of the mountain
as a human. Many times,people would climb up to the mountain and pick some fruits but when
they came down,fruits changed into gold. People thanked her for it.
But one day, some people robbed her jewelry. Some hunters climb up the mountain and hunted
for wild animals,cut down trees and left the forest at the top of the mountain denuded. At that
time,one of those hunters is a mortal which Mariang Makiling fell in love with. She discovered
that that hunter already have a mortal as his wife. After those things happened, Mariang
Makiling was very angry that it thundered and rained hard that night and her voice was heard by
all people leaving at the foot of the mountain saying "I have provided you food,treasures and
shelter but it wasn't enough for you!I have given you everything you want but still you aren't
contented. I loved you more than myself but still you searched for mortal love. Now,feel my
anger! And wait for my revenge! From now on,you shall stand on your own feet and you will
never see me again. I swear!" And she laughed so hard that it brought an earthquake.
After her large voice was heard, she never showed herself again to those mortals who abused
her kindness. Today,it is still believed that MAriang Makiling is still living there.