the "lady of the mountain". Makiling: "crooked" or "bent" As for the word "Makiling", it has been noted that the mountain rises from Laguna de Bay "to a rugged top and breaks into irregular hills southward, thus 'leaning' or 'uneven.'''" The Tagalog word for "leaning" or "uneven" is "makiling". This corresponds with the common belief that the profile of the mountain resembles that of a reclining woman, from certain angles. A less often mentioned possible origin for the name of the mountain is that the name describes the mountain as having plenty of the bamboo variety known as "kawayang kiling" (Bambusa vulgaris schrad). By this etymology, the mountain would have been named after the bamboo and the lady named after the mountain. Appearance Descriptions of Maria Makiling are fairly consistent. She is a breathtakingly beautiful young woman who never ages. Lanuza describes her as having "light olive skin, long shining black hair, and twinkling eyes." It is said that the abundance and serenity of the enchanted mountain complements Maria's own persona. She is also closely associated with the white mist that often surrounds the mountain. While in just a few stories either her skin or hair is white, in most tales, it is her radiant clothing which makes people who have seen her think that perhaps they just saw a wisp of cloud through the trees and mistook it for Maria. Home on the mountain Unlike Maria Sinukuan and Maria Cacao who live in caves in their respective mountains, Makiling is often described as living in a humble hut. In some stories, this hut is situated in the village, among the people, where Maria Makiling lived before she fled to the mountains after having been offended for some reason. In other stories, the hut is up in the mountain and can only be found if one is allowed by Maria to find it. Legends of Maria Makiling Because stories about Maria Makiling were part of oral tradition long before they were documented, there are numerous versions of the Maria Makiling legend. Some of these are not stories per se, but superstitions. Superstitions about Maria Makiling One superstition is that every so often, men would disappear into the forests of the mountain. It is said that Makiling has fallen in love with that particular man and has taken him to her house to be her husband, to spend his days in