The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales

By Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales is a collection of 18 folktales from Laos (Hmong), the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Sumatra, Bali, India, China, Korea. This children's book was originally published in 1995, as a project of PAWWA (Philippine American Women Writers and Artists) a small group of Filipina writers in Southern California. The group used a grant from the California Arts Council to fund the publication of two books: this one and an earlier book entitled, Seven Stories from Seven Sisters: A Collection of Philippine Folktales (also reprinted by PALH in 2022).

 

The writers who retold the folktales in The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales include: Ceres S. C. Alabado, Valorie Slaughter Bejarano, Mariko Kitamura Bird, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Fe Panalingan Koons, Susan N. Montepio, Cecilia Caguinguin Ochoa, and Marianne Villanueva.

The artist who did the 18 illustrations is Estela Ocampo Fernandez.

 

PRAISE

"The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales" is an excellent educational resource not only for the younger generation but also for everyone whose hearts and minds are willing to embrace the uniqueness of each individual in their midst. There is a refereshing theme in each of the stories, many of which evoke the value of hard work, persistence, respect for elders, neighbors, among others." ~ Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

 

"This collection presents a wealth of materials to inspire our children to appreciate their culture and those of others around them … truly a gift to the diverse population of Los Angeles!" – State Senator Hilda Solis

 

"This fine collection of folktales reminds us of another please and another time – a commonality of themes from Asian cultures resonate of family, tradition, and belief. Such themes are a must-read to be shared with our video generation children to balance their daily video inputs with a compelling collection of Asian myths, missed with a hard dose of superstition and mysticism."  Honorable Casimiro U. Tolentino

• Language: English
• Publisher: PALH
• Release date: Sep 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781953716293

Book preview

CONTENTS

Introduction

In 1991, a small group of Filipina writers in Southern California formed Philippine American Women Writers and Artists (PAWWA). Aside from supporting each other, the group wanted to help other Filipina writers and artists, as well as to provide community service. Since then, PAWWA has cosponsored literary events, presented readings and lectures, encouraged the organization of PAWWA chapters outside Southern California and, in conjunction with the Writers’ Program of UCLA Extension, sponsored Filipina writers in a Community Access Scholarship Program.

PAWWA has distinguished itself by receiving a three-year Multicultural Entry Grant from the California Arts Council. This grant has helped fund the publication of two book projects: this book and the 1994 Directory of Philippine American Women Writers and Artists.

One of the first projects that PAWWA took on was to write, edit, and publish a children’s book entitled, Seven Stories From Seven Sisters: A Collection of Philippine Folktales, released in June 1991. The book was warmly received, not only by the Filipino American community, but by educators hungry for multicultural materials.

Warren Furutani, then President of the Los Angeles Board of Education recommended the book saying, "I hope that every school system in the United States will have a collection of folktales like Seven Stories From Seven Sisters to enrich their multicultural programs, reflecting the rich tapestry of our society."

Jackie Goldberg, member of the Los Angeles City Council and former President, Board of Education also spoke highly of the book saying, "Seven Stories From Seven Sisters will help keep alive the rich storytelling Filipino heritage while allowing ‘outsiders’ to appreciate and understand Filipino culture as well."

Within a year the book went into its second printing. Buoyed by this success, PAWWA decided to work on its second children’s book, The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales. Many questions and concerns presented themselves at the planning stage of this project: How can we ensure that the different countries and cultures of Asia are fairly represented? What kind of stories (in terms of genre and subject matter) should we include? What criteria should we employ in the choice of stories to include? Who is the intended audience? What is the purpose of the book?

The answer to the last two questions determined the overall editorial policy regarding selection and organization. The decision to write a book for children determined the language, style and subject matter of the collection. The stories aim to entertain as well as transmit the values and wisdom of the culture and instill a sense of right and wrong. They come from the contributors’ own memories, from friends and family, both young and old, and in some instances from published works. These folktales deal with universal human situations and problems that transcend place and time.

Availability determined what countries and genres to include in this book. The stories come from Bali, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos (Hmong), Malaysia, Philippines, Sumatra, and Vietnam. We made it a policy to use oral sources as much as possible, but we did not summarily reject a good story just because it is a retelling of a published tale. The number of stories from each country was primarily determined by availability and quality of the story.

The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales brings together a wealth of well-loved stories that have inspired the values and beliefs of various Asian cultures. The gathering of these stories was a pleasant experience in itself and for some of us, even meant self-discovery. It was a wonderful journey through time as we, the editors took turns reading the stories to one another over tea and coffee; stories that re-acquainted us with familiar heroes and heroines of our childhood.

The same virtues of obedience, perseverance, humility, respect for elders, kindness especially to strangers in need, and other virtues resonate over and over in this collection. Indeed, the stories bind us not only as immigrants from one region, but more so as storytellers and as human beings. Finding this common past, rediscovering a common bond—this is what this book is celebrating, and what we, in PAWWA, have to offer to our adopted country.

In line with PAWWA’ s goal of highlighting women writers and artists all contributors and the illustrator of this book are women. Part of PAWWA’s vision is that this book give pleasure to the young (and young at heart) and at the same time be a useful multicultural tool to educators. The Editors hope they have succeeded.

The Editors

Valorie Slaughter Bejarano

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Susan N. Montepio

Cecile Caguingin Ochoa

THE BEGINNING

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

This story is adapted from "The Beginning of the World: People, Grains and