Why There Are Earthquakes

Enok was a very strong giant who lived at the foot of a mountain. He never harmed the people who lived in the mountain because they supplied him with grain, animals, fowls, and other things to eat. The people saw to it that Enok never went hungry for fear that he might devour them if he had nothing to eat.

There was one thing that delighted Enok very much. It was the knowledge that people feared him. He knew that the mere mention of his name would make people tremble with fear. Enok believed that he was the most powerful being on earth.

One day there was an awful thunderstorm. The lightning flashed here and there. The people were afraid of the lightning. They closed all their doors and windows and covered themselves in fright. This angered Enok. He did not like people to be afraid of the lightning for that would show that the lightning was also powerful and was therefore his rival. So he thought of doing something. He chased the lightning and tried to hold it and strangle it but it was too fast for him. It disappeared near the mountain top where Enok was. Enok tripped and fell headlong into a deep, deep hole.

After sometime, Enok got up, shook himself, and tried to climb out of the hole, but he could not get out. In his struggle the earth shook. The more he struggled, the more the earth shook. Rocks rolled down the mountain and the people were scared. Enok soon felt tired. He sat down to rest and fell asleep. When he woke up he struggled again to get out but he could not do anything. Again the earth shook.

They say that Enok is still in the deep, deep hole in the mountain. Whenever he wakes up, he struggles to get out of that hole. That causes the earthquake. When he is too weak to struggle, it causes slight earthquakes. When he sleeps for a long time, there are no earthquakes.

When Enok will get out of the hole, no one knows, but as long as he there, there will always be earthquakes.

 

 

Reference  

Maddumba, Anita. “Why There are Earthquakes.” In Folk Tales of Mountain Province: Retold for Children-Grade V, 1^st ed. Baguio City: n.p., 1960, 16-17.

 

Notes

This folk tale was produced by Area - - A during a Division Curriculum Workshop held in Baguio City, Philippines on February 9-17, 1960. The workshop’s theme was “Enriching the Curriculum Through the Development of Local Materials.” 

“Division” in Division Curriculum Workshop refers to a schools division of the Department of the Education. It could have been then the “Mountain Province Schools Division.” (YBelen,6December2014)