How Man Turned into a Monkey
Bagobo Myths (Journal of American Folk-Lore, vol. 26), in the Gutenberg collection "Philippine Folk-Tales", Laura Watson Benedict (1913) · Source
Laura Watson Benedict collected these Bagobo tales in Mindanao in 1907 to 1908. She uses "mythical" and "pagan" in her framing. The Bagobo are a living people with their own beliefs.
Before the world was made, the monkey looked like man, and was called manobo, and was actually human. But after the world and people were made, the monkey took its present form.
When people began to live in the world, they had many children. One man was called Lumabat. His father had a number of children, so that Lumabat had many brothers and sisters.
One day a brother of Lumabat was climbing up over the roof, and in his hand he had a long ladle made of cocoanut-shell. He held the ladle behind his back, at the base of his spine, until by and by a tail began to grow. The ladle had turned into a tail, and presently Lumabat's brother became a monkey. After that, a few other people turned into monkeys. But all this came about before Lumabat went to heaven.
Public domain. Laura Watson Benedict, Bagobo Myths (Journal of American Folk-Lore, vol. 26), in the Gutenberg collection "Philippine Folk-Tales", 1913.
Folklore is retold; versions differ.