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The Story of An Orphan Girl

The story is about an orphan Subanon girl who is protected from the Manamat, a supernatural giant, by the son of a widow. When the sultan hears of the beautiful orphan girl, he wants the widow's son to marry her, but he refuses because marriage in their culture requires parental consent. This highlights aspects of Subanon culture like their belief in supernatural beings, patriarchal society led by the sultan, and the women's skill in weaving.

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Arvi Chua
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611 views1 page

The Story of An Orphan Girl

The story is about an orphan Subanon girl who is protected from the Manamat, a supernatural giant, by the son of a widow. When the sultan hears of the beautiful orphan girl, he wants the widow's son to marry her, but he refuses because marriage in their culture requires parental consent. This highlights aspects of Subanon culture like their belief in supernatural beings, patriarchal society led by the sultan, and the women's skill in weaving.

Uploaded by

Arvi Chua
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE STORY OF AN ORPHAN GIRL

The story of an orphan girl is another folktale in the Philippine


literature. This folktale speaks on one of the tribes in Zamboanga which is
the Subanon. The author of the story is Emerson B. Christie who is an
ethnologist.

The plot revolves in an orphan girl and the widow’s son who protects
her over Manamat and the Sultan’s power. The story started when the girl
dreamed of the Manamat. The orphan girl decided to move from her place
to protect herself from the Manamat. On her journey from escaping the
Manamat, he met the widow’s son. The young man defends her to the giant.
When the sultan of the neighboring town heard of the beautiful orphan girl,
the sultan wanted the widow’s son to marry the girl but the man refuses
the idea. With that, the sultan ordered the death of his son but the spirit of
the wise man in Mecca came to resolve the issue between the Sultan and
the young man.

Subanen society is patriarchal. In the story, the sultan takes the


power in the place. He is the absolute ruler in the territory. On the other
hand, marriage in Subanen is through parental arrangement that is why
the widow’s son refused the order of the sultan because he wanted to ask
the permission of her relatives since her parents are already dead. The
sheriff is the one responsible for performing the wedding ceremony during
that time.

The people of Subanon are also known for being adept in weaving.
The women shape round baskets from materials of different colors, such as
the nito vine, split rattan, bamboo, and sometimes wood or tree bark. The
sultan got a news that aside from being beautiful, the orphan girl is also
good in weaving. The orphan girl represents one of the skills of the women
in Subanon.

The Subanon tribe also believed in supernatural being such as the


Manamat who is one of the characters in the story. The Manamat, is a
maleficent being of gigantic size who dwells in the deep forests. In one of
their performing arts, the puluntuh, a dance in memory of the dead, the
Manamat is invoked and given offerings so that they might keep away the
other Manamat from the festival.

This folktale is an avenue to highlight and remind everyone on the


rich culture of the Subanon especially on today’s generation.

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