“Pic, pic, pic, tic, tic, tic, Look thou god of the air and lord of the birds. With only a peck of thy strong beak thou wilt give us freedom. Thou wilt be joyful at seeing us, and we shall thank thee with all our hearts.”

 

The sound came from the bamboo reed—persuasive and distinct. “Should I peck on the reed?” the cautious Manaul hesitated. At that very moment, the bird thought he saw a lizard scamper up the reed. Suddenly, as a reflex action, he jumped and pecked hard.

 

The bamboo cracked and slowly split open. Lo and behold, the first man and the first woman sprang from inside the hollow space of the bamboo node!

 

Sicalác, the male, was strong and handsome and was named Malakás, meaning strong. Sicabáy, the female, was beautiful and lovely and was named Magandá, meaning beautiful. Since then, men were called si Lalác or lalake, and women were called si Babay or babae.

 

—Penélope V. Flores, “Malakás at Magandá”

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

 

And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

 

And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

 

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

 

—Genesis 2:21–24