Legend of Maria Cristina Falls

Long time ago Lake Lanao ruled by Omaca-an, a giant monster eating human beings and animals and even fishes in the water. There were only few people around the lake because of the monster existence that ate everything he encountered. Years had passed when Rajah Indarapatra came with his beloved brother Rajah Solaiman. Rajah Solaiman was the first to come and he fought the giant but was killed. Rajah Indarapatra followed, looking for his brother Solaiman. Indarapatra encountered the giant Omaca-an and killed the giant man-eater. On land, he looked for the ring of his brother by asking the small and big animals he meet. On water, however, he went swimming everyday and gathered stones beneath the water. He stayed for several years along the shores of the lake, but to no avail of the ring. He constructed an irrigation system that went very far and covered a big distance which later became a river currently known as Agus River. The river had a portion which dropped down a deep ravine known now as the Maria Cristina Falls.

For number of years, there lived in the falls two loving sisters, namely: Maria the younger and Cristina the elder. These two beautiful ladies loved each other very much. Maria gaze everything she had to Cristina, her beloved sister. Many People knew they were the ones living near the falls. They also loved their neighbor as they loved themselves. Datus and Sultans came to ask for their hands in marriage but the sister refused. There was a man, however, son of a prominent Sultan living somewhere beside the Lake Lanao. For many years he was unhappy because he could not find a suitable partner. He roamed around the lake until he saw the two maidens of the falls. He fell in love with the two sisters but the two sisters did not know whom he really loved. Days had passed and Maria discovered that she loved him very much, which made her very sad and she went to the top of the falls and jumped. When Cristina found out that Maria was dead, she likewise went to the top of the falls and threw herself down the deep ravine. When the handsome young man discovered the situation and found the body, he buried them carefully under the falls. After the death of the two sisters, he never married until also died. He also named the falls, Maria Cristina after the two sisters he loved.