A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Kabigat is the Moon represented as a woman shaping a large copper pot while the metal remains as pliable as clay. A stone supports its inner surface while she works the outside with a wet wooden paddle. When a son of Chal-chal stops to watch, she suddenly strikes off his head with the paddle. His father restores him and declares that people will thereafter cut off one another’s heads. Cole credits an earlier recording to A. E. Jenks, whose separate edition has not been inspected here. The episode is an origin narrative recorded in a historical collection, not independent proof of how warfare began.

Moon woman whose pot-making episode explains head-takingPublic traditional narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Philippines; Igorot account as grouped by Cole

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant story, collection preface, regional introduction and attached notes directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Philippine Folk Tales

    Mabel Cook Cole, compiler and annotator · 1916

    Igorot, How the First Head was Taken, pp. 111–112 and notes 13–14

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1916)

Igorot section. Igorot, How the First Head was Taken, pp. 111–112 and notes 13–14

Complete tale and attached notes read. Exact source-specific identities, narrative ending and limits retained. Earlier recordings credited by Cole have not been independently inspected for this entry.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical collected narrative and editorial notesCole, Philippine Folk Tales (1916), Igorot, How the First Head was Taken, pp. 111–112 and notes 13–14Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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