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Description

The Minokawa
Coffee and ink
18 cm x 12.5 cm
2020
I bet most of you haven’t heard of The Minokawa, a fearsome dragon-like bird from Philippine mythology. More specifically, it hails from the legends of the Bagobo people which is a tribe from Mindanao, Southern Philippines.

The monster is said to have a beak of steel, eyes like mirrors and feathers that are razor-sharp like swords!

The Minokawa is so big that it is able to devour the Sun and the Moon. Hence it is responsible for the occurence of solar and lunar eclipses. The most frightening part is that it can devour the Earth!

The beast would hide at the Eastern horizon where it would wait for its prey the moon. The Eastern horizon has eight holes in it for the moon to enter and also eight holes at the Western horizon for it to escape.

The bird would chase the moon and tries to swallow the Earth, but if this happens the Minokawa would result in devouring not only the men but the women and the children as well!

Therefore, the Bagobo would make some loud noises such as screaming and beating gongs so that the Minokawa would look down to hear the sound while the moon swiftly escapes the beast’s grasp.

The counterpart to the Minokawa is the serpentine-dragon Bakunawa which is responsible for natural disasters. Another beast that I would add into the “Myths and Legends of South East Asia”.

Description

The Minokawa
Coffee and ink
18 cm x 12.5 cm
2020
I bet most of you haven’t heard of The Minokawa, a fearsome dragon-like bird from Philippine mythology. More specifically, it hails from the legends of the Bagobo people which is a tribe from Mindanao, Southern Philippines.

The monster is said to have a beak of steel, eyes like mirrors and feathers that are razor-sharp like swords!

The Minokawa is so big that it is able to devour the Sun and the Moon. Hence it is responsible for the occurence of solar and lunar eclipses. The most frightening part is that it can devour the Earth!

The beast would hide at the Eastern horizon where it would wait for its prey the moon. The Eastern horizon has eight holes in it for the moon to enter and also eight holes at the Western horizon for it to escape.

The bird would chase the moon and tries to swallow the Earth, but if this happens the Minokawa would result in devouring not only the men but the women and the children as well!

Therefore, the Bagobo would make some loud noises such as screaming and beating gongs so that the Minokawa would look down to hear the sound while the moon swiftly escapes the beast’s grasp.

The counterpart to the Minokawa is the serpentine-dragon Bakunawa which is responsible for natural disasters. Another beast that I would add into the “Myths and Legends of South East Asia”.