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

Overview

Tau Tana appears from below the earth while Melu is shaping people and insists on assisting despite an argument. He makes the noses upside down, and the two makers whip the completed forms until they move. Tau Tana returns below; Melu later corrects the noses when rain puts the people in danger. The tale supplies no horns, animal form or further punishment, and does not explicitly identify Tau Tana with the unnamed nose-making companion in the adjacent alternative creation story.

Being from beneath the earth who helps complete the first humansPublic traditional narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Philippines; Bilaan accounts 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

    Bilaan, The Story of the Creation, pp. 139–140 and notes16–18

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)

Bilaan section. Bilaan, The Story of the Creation, pp. 139–140 and notes16–18

Complete relevant account(s), notes and section introduction read. Source-specific actions and variant sequences preserved; modern anatomy, identity equations and transmission histories not inferred. Original paraphrase.

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), Bilaan, The Story of the Creation, pp. 139–140 and notes16–18Research 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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