DISCUSSION what's your favorite legend?

[nikoru]

hey everyone! im curious to hear about your favorite legends or folk tales that youve come across. maybe it's an ancient myth passed down through generations, or a local tale rooted in the history and culture of your region. these stories have such a captivating way of sparking our imaginations and connecting us to our roots.

mine is the legend of the mayon volcano

Spoiler

it's seriously such a tragic but beautiful love story.

so there was this gorgeous maiden named magayon who lived with her dad makusog, the tribe chief. she was literally so stunning that men would travel from far and wide just to catch a glimpse of her beauty.

one of magayon's many admirers was this warrior dude named pagtuga. he was head over heels in love with her and kept trying to win her over with lavish gifts of gold and jewels. but the poor guy didn't realize magayon's heart already belonged to her one true love, pangaronon.

it all started when magayon was bathing in the river and slipped on the rocks. she couldn't swim and started drowning until pangaronon heard her screams and came to her rescue! from that moment on, magayon and pangaronon fell deeply in love and he asked her dad for her hand in marriage. makusog could see how smitten they were and gave them his blessing.

but then obsessive pagtuga just couldnt let it go. when he found out about the wedding, he actually kidnapped makusog and told magayon she had to marry him instead or he'd kill her father. magayon agreed to marry pagtuga to save her dad's life.

on magayon's supposed wedding day to pagtuga, pangaronon showed up ready to fight for his love. it turned into this crazy battle between the two warriors. pangaronon took down pagtuga but then magayon got struck by a poisoned arrow. as pangaronon held his dying soulmate, one of pagtuga's men stabbed him too.

out of respect for their undying devotion, makusog buried the couple together. and get this: the ground where they were laid to rest is where the iconic mayon volcano formed over many years. locals say when the volcano rumbles, it's because the jealous pagtuga is still bothering magayon from the afterlife. but when it's peaceful, that's pangaronon and magayon embracing in eternal love.

so, whats your favorite legend? did it originate from your ancestral homeland or the place you grew up? was it a grand, sweeping epic or a local folktale passed through oral tradition? id love to hear the stories that have captured your imagination. share away!!

 

[Lyrikai]

Oh what is this? A place perhaps where I can announce to everyone that I am a total massive King Arthur nerd? Yesssss

Honestly, Arthurian legends have always been one of my absolute favorites! I always loved me a good story about dragons and knights saving fair maidens and wizards and castles! Which, of course, all those tales of King Arthur and his knights have by the boatload!
Though I'm not from England nor have I ever been there, I would absolutely love to visit one day 'cause the land just looks absolutely beautiful and I would love to visit an old castle!

I've collected so many Arthurian tales by now that I've just got a massive stack of books and could probably recite some of the stories by heart at this point

 

[densagara]

I've heard a lot of interesting folktale or legends in my time. The different gods are def up there on the top list but I'm not an expert on those and don't follow it as religiously.

I think if I were to pick one and only one out of all that I know, it would be the Journey to the West. Their journey was just one grand adventure with a lot of interesting characters and plots/challenges/obstacles they had to face. I actually tried to read an english version of the tale once, the translation didn't really sit well and I got bored. Watched a Chinese series that I think tried to stay close to the source and that was more interesting at least.

Also interesting is the fact that there's been so many media adaptations or even non-adaptations based on/inspired by the legend, even to this day, so it doesn't appear to be anywhere close to dying out or fading away. Sun Wukong is just a very interesting character XD

 

[PaulaVonMalotki]

I really love the story/legend of "Parzival" (Eschenbach Version)

 

[Flip]

I've heard a lot of interesting folktale or legends in my time. The different gods are def up there on the top list but I'm not an expert on those and don't follow it as religiously.

I think if I were to pick one and only one out of all that I know, it would be the Journey to the West. Their journey was just one grand adventure with a lot of interesting characters and plots/challenges/obstacles they had to face. I actually tried to read an english version of the tale once, the translation didn't really sit well and I got bored. Watched a Chinese series that I think tried to stay close to the source and that was more interesting at least.

Also interesting is the fact that there's been so many media adaptations or even non-adaptations based on/inspired by the legend, even to this day, so it doesn't appear to be anywhere close to dying out or fading away. Sun Wukong is just a very interesting character XD

I love Journey to the West too! I actually first learned about it through my mom who grew up with a specific interpretation of the folktale. I mainly view the monk as my biggest idol though, since in the version told by my mom, he's the one who collected all three demons (Pigsy, Sandy and Sun Wukong) and helped them to overcome their traumas and past.

In fact, I've actually also been working on studying all the existing media adaptations of it from the 60s cartoon adaptation all the way to the latest Netflix adaptation. I've pretty much kept myself busy taking notes on how much it's changed over the years, and keeping track how common it is for modern Asian media (Chinese movies, animes, mangas, even dramas) to follow a structure similar to Journey to the West.

I also collected one English translation that fits the version she grew up with. It's legit too because it has an official note from the original creator of Journey to the West's best friend included in it as well as a synopsis of how the legend came to be! It's kind of ancient though but I'll gladly share the translator's name if you're interested!

 

[densagara]

I've heard a lot of interesting folktale or legends in my time. The different gods are def up there on the top list but I'm not an expert on those and don't follow it as religiously.

I think if I were to pick one and only one out of all that I know, it would be the Journey to the West. Their journey was just one grand adventure with a lot of interesting characters and plots/challenges/obstacles they had to face. I actually tried to read an english version of the tale once, the translation didn't really sit well and I got bored. Watched a Chinese series that I think tried to stay close to the source and that was more interesting at least.

Also interesting is the fact that there's been so many media adaptations or even non-adaptations based on/inspired by the legend, even to this day, so it doesn't appear to be anywhere close to dying out or fading away. Sun Wukong is just a very interesting character XD

I love Journey to the West too! I actually first learned about it through my mom who grew up with a specific interpretation of the folktale. I mainly view the monk as my biggest idol though, since in the version told by my mom, he's the one who collected all three demons (Pigsy, Sandy and Sun Wukong) and helped them to overcome their traumas and past.

In fact, I've actually also been working on studying all the existing media adaptations of it from the 60s cartoon adaptation all the way to the latest Netflix adaptation. I've pretty much kept myself busy taking notes on how much it's changed over the years, and keeping track how common it is for modern Asian media (Chinese movies, animes, mangas, even dramas) to follow a structure similar to Journey to the West.

I also collected one English translation that fits the version she grew up with. It's legit too because it has an official note from the original creator of Journey to the West's best friend included in it as well as a synopsis of how the legend came to be! It's kind of ancient though but I'll gladly share the translator's name if you're interested!

Oooooh that's interesting!! You're a much bigger fan than I am then, cause I just loved watching the fights and the monsters and seeing them figure out how to get out of trouble XD Not to mention you've been following every single media adaptation. I don't do that and just pick them up if I happen to feel in the mood at the time.

I wouldn't say I'm as invested in anything related to Journey to the West so I'll pass on the translation. But it's still cool to know that you found a translation of something close to the original.

If you're interested, you can look into studying how video games adapt it too. I've played one decades ago, called Saiyuki Journey West. Then there's the upcoming one called Black Myth Wukong.

 

[RiverNotch]

because this legend is so old, i really like it:

it's the legend of yo mama

---

there's definitely an interesting intersection between legend and what one has to consider fact if one chooses to believe in the unbelievable. like, as legends, i really like a lot of the tales of the christian saints, but i also kinda have to respect those stories as more-than-legends (at least, those tales that are actually affirmed in church services)? so is it right for me to actually treat them as legends, especially in a non-academic context like this, or not? the question is one to navigate quietly, of course, and not in this thread xD

outside of that, i'm a pretty basic greco-roman myth fan. i like the stories of perseus and psyche because they're such fairy tales -- as much as i love, say, the odyssey, because it's so sweeping in scope it's not really in the same category as "legends" -- but, as a filipino, i also have to give it to some of our local legends, of which mount mayon has already been mentioned.

well, not the legend of mount mayon per se, because i've never actually been to mount mayon. of the places i've gone with such associated legends, the one where i felt the air of legend most strongly is probably mount makiling, as it was also where i first did field work for my college program outside of our actual campus. i like the legend as told by our hero, jose rizal, where makiling was once into a beautiful farmer....eh, the story is related better than i could manage in wikipedia, while here's a translation of what mr. rizal actually wrote: http://www.theipps.info/Presentations/makiling.pdf

i think i once wrote a thing about the mountain legends i knew -- mayon, lantoy, makiling, and arayat -- of which the realest connections i have are with makiling and arayat (the latter, because one of my grandparents came from near there). another mountain legend i've since come to appreciate is the appearance of jose rizal, after his death, on mount banahaw, but that legend (or rather set of legends) is tied to the new religious movements that soon popped up on the mountain itself, so it can't quite be my favourite. maybe i'll repost that thing in my showcase thread xD

 

[Flip]

I've heard a lot of interesting folktale or legends in my time. The different gods are def up there on the top list but I'm not an expert on those and don't follow it as religiously.

I think if I were to pick one and only one out of all that I know, it would be the Journey to the West. Their journey was just one grand adventure with a lot of interesting characters and plots/challenges/obstacles they had to face. I actually tried to read an english version of the tale once, the translation didn't really sit well and I got bored. Watched a Chinese series that I think tried to stay close to the source and that was more interesting at least.

Also interesting is the fact that there's been so many media adaptations or even non-adaptations based on/inspired by the legend, even to this day, so it doesn't appear to be anywhere close to dying out or fading away. Sun Wukong is just a very interesting character XD

I love Journey to the West too! I actually first learned about it through my mom who grew up with a specific interpretation of the folktale. I mainly view the monk as my biggest idol though, since in the version told by my mom, he's the one who collected all three demons (Pigsy, Sandy and Sun Wukong) and helped them to overcome their traumas and past.

In fact, I've actually also been working on studying all the existing media adaptations of it from the 60s cartoon adaptation all the way to the latest Netflix adaptation. I've pretty much kept myself busy taking notes on how much it's changed over the years, and keeping track how common it is for modern Asian media (Chinese movies, animes, mangas, even dramas) to follow a structure similar to Journey to the West.

I also collected one English translation that fits the version she grew up with. It's legit too because it has an official note from the original creator of Journey to the West's best friend included in it as well as a synopsis of how the legend came to be! It's kind of ancient though but I'll gladly share the translator's name if you're interested!

Oooooh that's interesting!! You're a much bigger fan than I am then, cause I just loved watching the fights and the monsters and seeing them figure out how to get out of trouble XD Not to mention you've been following every single media adaptation. I don't do that and just pick them up if I happen to feel in the mood at the time.

I wouldn't say I'm as invested in anything related to Journey to the West so I'll pass on the translation. But it's still cool to know that you found a translation of something close to the original.

If you're interested, you can look into studying how video games adapt it too. I've played one decades ago, called Saiyuki Journey West. Then there's the upcoming one called Black Myth Wukong.

Yeah, it's cool! I'm actually just invested in it bc it's directly connected to my culture. It's pretty fun looking into it since I can kinda see how it influenced certain parts of Asia including the region that my family comes from (I've honestly only seen some surface-level influence lately like similar morals or adopted tropes). Only thing stopping me from doing anything with this ridiculously specific interest is my college studies. I hardly have any time to actually do much with it after studying up on Journey to the West lol.

Ooo, I've actually been having trouble tracking down video game adaptations especially when I've heard rumors and controversy surrounding some like Black Myth Wukong. I'll check out Saiyuki Journey West when I can though!