At the beginning of time there was only the sky with a great sea beneath it. In the sky lived the gods and the sea was the home of a mighty underworld dragon "Naga Padoha". The earth did not yet exist and human beings, too, were as yet unknown. All the surviving myths record that at the beginning of creation stands the god "Mula Jadi Na Bolon". His origin remains uncertain. A rough translation of the name is the "beginning of becoming". The creation of everything that exists can be traced back to him. "Mula Jadi" lives in the upper world which is usually thought of as divided into seven levels. His three sons, "Batara Guru", "Mangalabulan" and "Soripada" were born from eggs laid by a hen fertilized by "Mula Jadi". Two swallows act as messengers and helpers to "Mula Jadi" in his act of creation. Their functions vary in the different versions. "Mula Jadi" begets three daughters whom he gives as wives for his three sons. Mankind is the result of the union of the three couples. Besides the three sons of "Mula Jadi" there is another god, "Asiasi", whose place and function in the world of the gods remains largely unclear. There is some evidence that "Asiasi" can be seen as the balance and unity of the trinity of gods.