Philippine Legend of the Snake Beneath the Mall

The basic story is this:
When a businessman's wife became pregnant with twins, everyone in the family became excited. However when the wife finally gave birth, only one of the twins was human, the other was a snake. Despite having a snake for a child, the parents still accepted him, but due to the situation, the businessman decided to hide the snake in a secret basement of their family business, a shopping mall. To keep up with the monster's large appetite, they installed a trap in the fitting rooms inside the mall, to imprison a victim for the snake to eat. As years went by, the businessman noticed his shopping mall becoming successful, and credited his snake son for the good luck, thus the snatching of victims continued.

The Robinson's Snake is still the most popular version though. During the 1980's, Gokongwei allegedly had twin girls, but one of them was a snake who lays golden eggs. There had been similar stories of the snake child way before the Robinson's one became known though. A strong one was from Davao city, in which the said snake was being transferred between branches once in a while to avoid suspicion. The same rumor has also been attributed to Cagayan de Oro's Gaisano Superstore. The odds of getting a snake child is getting better it seems haha.

When I asked my mother about this snake legend, she replied that the establishment was Jerry's Shopping Center. In the version she knew, the businessman suddenly died. Without the head of the family to take care of the snake, it soon starved and died alone. Its death brought down the good luck it had fostered when it was still alive. Now, only a few branches remained in Mindanao. She only heard it from somewhere, so again it's a rumor, but I enjoy the way this version ended the tale.

Iponan's Patron Saint: San Guillermo

Iponan is just one of Cagayan de Oro's many barangays. I've lived in this part of the city for more or less seven years. Like most towns in the country we have our own patron saint, San Guillermo in which our annual fiesta is held in his honor. I'm not a huge fan of fiestas though, they weren't the same way they used to be. however my interest was revived when I read about the city's legends of San Guillermo.

I was in our school library that day when I chance upon an extremely old book. Within it were stories and legends from Cagayan de Oro, all pages type written. Of course I searched for ones that is related to where I was currently living then. I wasn't disappointed, the barangay of Iponan has its own share of tales:

On the European Hair of the 18th Century

I borrowed a book from the school library yesterday titled "The Long and Short of it: Five Thousand Years of Fun and Fury over Hair" by Bill Severn (Best known for his books on magic tricks. Magic. Tricks.) It's an old hardbound, yet contains a very good history on the way people treat hair and hairstyles over hundreds of years. There are lots of satires, debates as well as preferences that went in and out as different hairstyles went by. What fascinated me most was reading on how 18th century European ladies styled their hair:

Helping in AncientLives

We could all dream to be like Indiana Jones once in a while, but to actually help in any archeological studies is not something anyone could have an opportunity of. However the online project of AncientLives is a great place to volunteer and somehow contribute to history is your own little way.

The papyri on displayed at this website were the product of the project's collaboration with various institutions like Oxford Papyrologists and Researchers, The Imaging Papyri Project, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project, the Egypt Exploration Society, etc. Plus these were discovered in Egypt were written many years ago. However, the collection proved to be so vast, it gave today's scholars such a drastically time-consuming job. The process of reading the papyri have been easier these past few decades due to the advancement of technology.. In Ancient Lives, and using the power of the internet, anyone could assist in this large-scale project. 

In the website, you could help by either transcribing ancient alphabet or measure the papyri. There are good tutorials you could use first before doing either work. The data gathered and combined from both human and computer intelligence would be most beneficial for identifying, translating and studying ancient texts and documents. 

Project director Dr Dirk Obbink said: 

"We aim to transcribe as much as possible of the original papyri, and then identify and reconstruct the text. No single pair of eyes can see and read everything. From scientists and professors to school students and ancient enthusiasts, everyone has something to contribute - and gain."

The project's overall goal is

"...To rapidly transform image data from papyri into meaningful information that scholars can use to study Greek literature and Greco-Roman Egypt; information that once took generations to produce."

So, if you've got any interest in history or ancient Egypt, this is about one of the best opportunities to be productive online.

A Dollhouse Everybody Lusts for

My first dollhouse was plastic and pink and I thought it was from Santa. Years came and go and I realized The Truth, but the magic of that dollhouse stayed with me. The last news I had of it was it's with a younger cousin somewhere. Now I'm in my teenage years, I am hoping to own another, but a more sophisticated dollhouse someday. Miniatures have always fascinated me and nothing could keep my eyes off The Queen's Dollhouse.

So what is it really?

Beslan School Massacre

It's been a while since I posted anything here but I just want to post about "Russia's 9/11". I've read about it from a history book a while ago in the library. I was horrified at the descriptions of the said event that I decided to make a little research online.

Top Three Places I Hope to Visit

...Because their coolness is just so awesome. When I was still a wee young thing, I only dreamed of Disney World, Disney Land, anywhere where I could find a real Snow White or Donald duck (I will always hate Mickey). Then I grew up and went into that phase of being a weeboe and dreamed of only going to Japan. Now I'm nineteen, I became philosophical about the world and losing interest in humanity, I decided to delve into history, Now I present to you the top three places I want to visit someday:

3.Potala Castle

Located at Lhasa, Tibet, the palace was intended for Songtsan Gambo's then fiance, Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty. The palace then went several rebuildings and expansions for many years. Over the past three centuries, the palace gradually became a place where the Dalai Lama lived. Nowadays, it has been turned into a musuem, with huge number of tourists coming to visit each day.

I just think it as an amazing castle, it is not the usual type, but it had stood firm, from old asian royalties, to Tibetan monks, to Chinese, it transcends time. Plus it looks grand, I could already imagine Uruk-Hai  marching from the distance XD

2. Mont St. Micheal

This tidal island is oozing with awesomeness and historical importance that it was part of UNESCO's World Heritage List.
There was this known legend about this place:
"Archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger"
I don't know if Micheal was truly as evil or whatever, but I sure want to go there ( Any other World Heritage site is worth visiting). *sigh

1.Neuschwanstein

Be-Cause. I mean just stare at this beotch. It's serious, it puts Disney Castle to second place by just being its main inspiration. Located in Bavaria, Germany. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for King Ludwig as well as a homage to composer Richard Wagner and his creations. However it was opened to the paying public immediately after the king's death in 1886.
Now it is one of the most visited places in Germany, as well as one of the most popular destination in all of Europe. The attention it truly deserves.

Royal Love Stories

When Diana had her fairy tale wedding, she looked every bit like Cinderella  The hair, the beauty, and all the lavish things the British Royal family could offer to the new couple. But forget not how that love story ended. Yep, not a happily ever after. This is Life anyway.

The past few months, I began to do a mini research on various Royalties from times long gone  A Royal couple, what comes to mind? Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII or Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI?? What surprised me is the treasure of romantic events that spun in and out the Kings, Queens and Princesses of all kinds, and some are almost quite unknown to the general public. I am now here to share three of my favorite tales: