Mother Mountain

In one of the islands in Batanes, a widow lived with her two daughters who only wanted to play the whole day. The only thing that the mother asked of her daughters was to have supper ready by the time she got home from working in the fields. One night, when she got home and her daughters were nowhere to be seen, she made dinner herself. When the girls returned and saw their mother busy in the kitchen, they decided to play some more. The mother could not take it anymore and calmly walked away from their house. Though the girls eventually followed her, it was already too late. The mother had taken the shape of a mountain, now called Mount Iraya.

“Mother Mountain” resonated with Ong “because it's a story that deals witha basic childhood fear: if you’re not good, your mother will leave.” It is also a wonderful tale about how a mountain that looks like a woman was formed.