Begenday

Among the people of Mayo it is said that in the beginning the limokon, although a bird, could talk like a man. At one time it laid two eggs, one at the mouth and one at the source of the Mayo river. These hatched and from the one at the headwaters of the river came a woman named Mag or Manway while a man named Begenday emerged from the one near the sea.

For many years the man dwelt alone on the bank of the river, but one day, being lonely and dissatisfied with his location, he started to cross the stream. While he was in deep water a long hair was swept against his legs and held him so tightly that he narrowly escaped drowning. When he succeeded in reaching the shore he examined the hair and at once determined to find its owner. After wandering many days he met the woman and induced her to be his wife. From this union came all the Mandaya.

A variant of this tale says that both eggs were laid up stream and that one hatched a woman, the other a snake. The snake went down the current until it arrived at the place where the sea and the river meet. There it blew up and a man emerged from its carcass. The balance of the tale is as just related.

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