Why the Tides Love the Moon

You do know that it is the moon that causes the tides in the sea to rise so high, don’t you? The folks in Philippines think this is why.

In the beginning, it was the gods who ruled the sky, the earth and the seas. Each of the realms had a different god and all was peaceful when our story begins.

The sun god ruled the skies. He had a daughter, Luna, the moon. Lovely Luna loved to roam the heavens in her silver chariot when her father retired for the day. Her father, of course, rode his golden chariot through the skies all day, surveying his kingdom.

One night, Luna drove her chariot through paths she’d never taken before. Further and further she wandered, until she reached the end of the road where the sky met the ocean. It fascinated her, the beautiful watery expanse that shimmered so like her own home.

As Luna stood transfixed, she became aware that someone was looking at her. A young man, golden-hued like her father, sat on a rock, watching her. Wary of the handsome stranger, she turned to go. ‘Wait!’ cried out the young man. Luna turned to look and saw he was smiling at her.

‘Where are you from, beautiful one?’ asked he. ‘I’m Luna, the daughter of the sky god, the sun . . . and who are you?’ she asked in return. He laughed. ‘I’m Mar, the son of the sea god. Why don’t you stay awhile and see our kingdom?’ That was the beginning of their friendship.

Mar told her many fascinating stories of the ocean and their lives. In turn, Luna shared with him the tales from the sky. They talked and talked until morning.

From then on, they met night after night. They never tired of telling each other the stories of their lives. Before long, they realized that they were in love. Luna had, until then, kept their meetings a secret but now she wanted to share her happiness.

So she confided in a cousin, whom she regarded a friend. Naively trusting, she told her about the young god from a different realm she had met and how she was now in love with him. ‘Mar! He’s so good, so gentle and kind. How I hate to return at dawn, leaving his company!’ she told her cousin, who listened in silence.

Now, the cousin was the last person she should have told her secret to because she promptly informed her uncle.

Predictably, the sun god became furious, his anger making his golden rays searing hot. He summoned his daughter. ‘How dare you, Luna, break the immortal laws? You are my daughter and we rule the skies! You are not to wander into strange lands and talk to common people!’

‘But Father! I love Mar, he is the son of a god too . . .’ she pleaded but the sun only glowed with anger. He shut her up in the garden and sent down a messenger to the sea god. When the sea god came to know of his son’s love, he was furious too. ‘Mar, you’re disobeying the laws! No more of this!’ he told his son and shut him up in one of the sea caves.

Luna and Mar pined for each other in their respective prisons. They just couldn’t bear to not see each other anymore. One night, Luna managed to break free from the garden and set out in her silver chariot towards the sea. Mar, from his cave, could see her silvery reflection in the waters and longed to break free and join her. Try as he might, he couldn’t break out of his prison cave but all his efforts caused a great unrest of the waves as they rose higher and higher.

Heartbroken, Luna returned at dawn to the heavens, not having had a glimpse of her beloved. There she remained, downcast and forlorn. Every time she thought of Mar, she would come rushing down in her silver chariot, hoping that he, too, would break free and come meet her. But he was never able to do so. As he tried in vain to escape, the sea would heave up and down. And that’s how the tides came to be.