Articles

Chapter (1)

The Origin of the Natural World

Kayaw Traditional Mythic Poetry

Phithûlu, na abōlò, na nā wa lāthỗpi,
Lumu sera, hè kèlèhti na khuli pôhò, ô èkòpho.

“Within a cocoon-like horizon, Phithulu abided.
At the time when the dawn light first appeared, the god named Phithulu gazed upon the outer world, with long hair, a long beard, and long tusk-like teeth.”

The Beginning of Heaven and Earth — Phithulu

According to the ancient poems of the Kayah, Kayaw, and Kayan peoples, in the very beginning of creation there was nothing at all throughout the entire universe. Everything was covered in darkness and absolute silence. This primordial era is called Molumothu by the Kayaw people.

During this age of darkness, opposing forces such as cold (male) and cold (female), ignorance (male) and ignorance (female), naturally came into being. When these opposing elements first came into contact with one another, movement arose. As they swirled and drifted from place to place like a whirlwind, a cocoon—called Thulu—was formed. From within this cocoon, Phithulu, the creator of all things, was born.

Kayaw poetic verse:

Taō haō, dō taō toō
Tathina do tathînā haō
Tāma cûmu kèwa thûlu
Hōmôkhu Môkhū taō, kèwa rili
Lò hāko, hajā tao, ghāthu ghājô
Lègû klè tōbō khuli môlûmôthu.

The Creation of the Sky

Phithulu wished to create the sky, the earth, the world, the sun, the moon, and the stars within the vast emptiness of the universe. Before creating these, Phithulu first created a man and a woman of different sexes named Phibi and Phikrd, who would dwell together with him.

When Phibi and Phikrd lived together as husband and wife, they gave birth to two sons named Tai and Mei. To assist them, Phithulu next created one goddess and six gods.

To build the sky, Tai established the celestial palace Thiluko as the central point of the cosmic dome. From the eight directions, the red star, yellow star, white star, and the goddess Bomo were commanded to spin the sky’s threads, like a spider spinning its web.

Phithulu then assigned duties to the six gods:

1. Trānā Sinophā was tasked with weaving the sky into a single continuous surface.
2. Trānā Ghohtaphā was to smooth and level the sky’s surface.
3. Trānā Noniphā was ordered to compress and solidify the sky.
4. Trānā Thundphā was to adjust the width and breadth of the sky evenly.
5. Trānā Tötophā was assigned to inspect the beauty and elegance of the sky.
6. Trānā Ghlopha was charged with inspecting the sky’s edges for neatness and order.

It is said that the gods and goddess took fifteen days to complete the construction of the sky.

The Creation of the Earth

Kayaw poetic verse:

Môri lose o khotòhtò, teghetoghô
Môri lòse ố khòtòlò, lòsedimoinhat
Môkhu htŭthǎ gòkhrò gāwā…

“The northern sky-pillar bends, while the southern sky-pillar connects to the earth’s axis.
It is like walking upon layers of clouds.
In the beginning, the sky was too thin, and the earth was uninhabitable.”

After completing the sky, Phithulu traveled across it and reached its edge. Looking downward, he saw nothing at all. Therefore, he resolved to create the earth directly beneath the center of the sky.

Before forming the earth, Phithulu first created a balance scale to measure the land and a carrier (Pyapadu) to transport soil. The carrier brought red soil, yellow soil, white soil, and black soil.

Phithulu then assigned Mei to construct the earth. Mei placed Dimothso Mountain, the central axis mountain, directly beneath Phithulu’s palace. At the eight directions, she placed Marui, the roots of the sky, upon eight mountains. Goddess Bomo again spun the earth’s threads, stretching them outward like a spider’s web.

The eight mountains were:

1. Lobokhu
2. Klokhu
3. Thirokhu
4. Roso
5. Khothomo
6. Pralaiso
7. Prujukhu
8. Tananauso

Kayaw verse:

Ghòhta ròko ễng ỗ Dimo kôkhu - Èbabôni Khčhtu

Klokhu

È culò èlû, bòlò Ỗ Mòdo èghā - Èlò gôni Lỗboplỗkhu Èkohti

ge se Welo

Dimothso literally means “Axis of the Sky Mountain” (Di = axis, Mo = sky, So = mountain). The Kayah people regard Dimothso as sacred, believing that the souls of the dead gather there.

Completing the Earth

After the earth’s threads were woven, Mei summoned the same six gods and assigned further duties:

1. Sinophā bound the earth with white thread in the north, yellow in the south, black in the west, and red in the east.
2. Ghohtaphā placed 40 units of red soil in the east, 20 units of black soil in the west, 10 units of white soil in the north, and 10 units of yellow soil in the south.
3. Noniphā built a seven-tiered throne called Mokhi Cora for worship of Phithulu and established seven celestial villages: Mokhu, Mola, Moda, Modu-Kohti, Moplothu, Mothumotho, and Moso.
4. Thundphā adjusted the earth’s size by pulling the sky-earth axis.
5. Tötophā beautified the earth’s surface.
6. Ghlopha inspected the edges of the world for orderliness.

When their work was completed, Phithulu transformed them:

• Goddess Bomo became a spider,
• Sinophā became an earthworm,
• Noniphā became a hoopoe bird,
• Ghlopha became a small flying bird.

It is said the world was created from 5 parts earth, 30 parts water, and 500 parts air.

Kayaw verse:

Hakhū ōri tāma cumu - Trānă gûklè tōbỏ khūli Lǎhtů thǎhtilu ghata miti -Trană bèhtů môkhū hākhū Hti thākhā hajā jèkjā - Rili hākha

Rili tha o taghāla - Hākhū o tebe phi khô

Trānă blāhtu môkhūhākhū - È gè lò hājā wa gèlā.

“At the beginning of the earth, it was only about the width of a thumb, and the path on which the king of the gods walked was as thin as a strand of hair. At the beginning of the moon, it was only as small as a spark of fire. In the creation of heaven and earth, the king of the gods formed them with five parts earth, thirty parts water, and five hundred parts air.”

The Origin of the Sun

Though sky and earth existed, there was still no light. Darkness covered the universe, and humans and animals crawled on all fours. They relied only on the glow of fireflies to see.

Therefore, Epa, the father of humankind, pleaded with Phithulu for light. Phithulu threw down two radiant ruby stones, but they missed Epa and landed in the mountains.

When Epa asked again, Phithulu replied,

“I have already thrown them down. Go and find them.”

Epa found the glowing rubies in the mountains and brought them home, warning his family not to reveal them. He said that if they were shown to others, the stones would return to the sky.

Epa had three sons. He gave the shining ruby to his eldest son. When the younger brothers demanded to see it, the eldest finally showed them. Instantly, the ruby leapt up into the sky.

From that moment, the light of the two rubies illuminated the entire universe. The Kayaw people call the ruby that leapt into the sky Thelumu, meaning the Sun.

The Origin of the Moon

Kayaw poetic verse:

Phi Rii atolò lumu do lă - È khalo o juthīmi khu, Èpālo lumu do lǎ - Kāmǎ gèkû èkhophûtha belò wa Cōthǎbā “

“Grandfather Rii asked for the sun and moon;
thus the wishes of the mouse and the ground bird were divided between them.”

Lăli ropo, jûkho dônā - Jusû èmỗ, eriija o sökŎ Thelumu ūlòhtā hě tokho - He thō analòbû èlelu lǎbě bletho.

“On the full-moon day, the male mice stay hidden in their burrows, while the female mice curl up inside caves. As the sun’s light weakens, people must rely only on the moon.”

At that time, two suns existed in the sky. Because of this, the seas, oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds were close to drying up. Likewise, trees, bamboo groves, and flowering plants were on the verge of withering and being destroyed due to the intense heat of the suns.

Humans and all living beings were unable to find a way to reduce the sun’s heat. Therefore, they pleaded with Phithulu for help. Through divination—by breaking bones and consulting omens—it was revealed that one of the two ruby suns must be shot down with a crossbow.

As a result, a highly skilled crossbow marksman named Tomdokla (Tómdkla) was chosen and entrusted with this task. The arrows needed to shoot the sun were made by Phithoko (Phithōk6), a bamboo craftsman. Using a type of bamboo called Huthu, he spent months making arrows, eventually using up an entire grove of bamboo.

When the arrows were ready, Tomdokla shot at the sun continuously for seven months, and at last one of the two male suns was struck. Because it was hit, the great sun became blind, and its heat diminished. The blinded sun is called “La” by the Kayaw people and “Le” by the Kayah people. La (Le) means “the veiled one,” indicating that it is covered by clouds.

From the moment one sun was struck and blinded, the heat lessened. Humans and animals were then able to work and live properly. Afterward, humans and animals consulted one another about bringing the blinded sun down to the earth and selected a powerful being to do so.

Among the animals, the rabbit, known for its cleverness and wisdom, was sent. The rabbit reached the place where Le was, but since it could not carry it, the rabbit remained on the moon. Next, a great banyan tree was sent, but it too found the place extremely cool and chose to stay there. Finally, an old man was sent. He met the rabbit and the banyan tree, became their companion, and never returned.

It is believed that the rabbit, the banyan tree, and the old man still live on the moon today. The rabbit is considered wise and cunning, capable of deception, and it is believed that the banyan tree and the old man trusted its words and therefore continue to dwell on the moon.

Kayaw-language poems:

“Tòmòklahỗ kha lumū dỗ là – È kha lô hūthu tổngô”

“The great archer shot at the two suns with a bow, using up arrows equal to an entire grove of bamboo.”

“Èplāgo mě děûthā – È kehō thāmā ỗ khỏthủ – Èjûlò thûjû èlā.”

“The wise rabbit was able to deceive the crocodile in the water, telling it to climb onto land to see the banyan leaves on the moon.

The Origin of Day and Night

The Sun and the Moon once existed together in the sky, shining upon the world at the same time. In that era, there was no division of time known as day and night. Because day and night did not yet exist, humans and animals had only time to work and to search for food. Even when they became exhausted and wished to sleep, they were unable to rest because of the constant light of the sun.

Therefore, humans and animals gathered together to find a solution to this problem. They appointed as their leader and king a bird known in the Kayaw language as the Ground Bird. The Ground Bird was exceptionally wise and skilled in judging disputes, resolving many cases on behalf of all beings. As a result, he became severely sleep-deprived. Due to lack of rest, he frequently overslept and failed to resolve other matters in time.

When humans and animals grew angry with their king, the Ground Bird said,

“If things continue this way, not only will I fail in my duties, but I myself will face great trouble.”

Thus, he arranged a general assembly.

At this assembly, humans and animals agreed that the problem to be resolved was that the light of the Sun and the Moon should not shine on the world at the same time, but instead should take turns. Everyone agreed to ask the Sun to rise gradually from the east and to define the times of dawn, sunrise, mid-morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, dusk, midnight, cockcrow, and early dawn, thereby clearly establishing the cycle of day and night as one full day.

At the meeting, the Mouse proposed that after day and night were established, the Moon should also be divided into phases: waxing moon, full moon, waning moon, and dark moon. It was requested that from the crescent to the eighth day of the waxing moon, and from the full moon to the second day of the waning moon—fourteen days in total—each month should differ from the next.

This was to ensure that humans and animals would not dominate or oppress one another while searching for food. If the moon were always full in the sky, animals would face great difficulty in foraging. Therefore, it was requested that the moon be divided into full and dark phases, making each month different from the next. In addition, all creatures agreed to define twelve months as one year.

However, the Ground Bird, being a creature that slept excessively, proposed that there should be one year of night and one month of day. This proposal angered the Bat, who slashed the Ground Bird’s mouth with a knife. From that time onward, it is said that the Ground Bird has had a wide mouth.