*Note this story is in Kapampangan
Kabyasa nang apu ku ken kasalesayan. Kayari nang meg-retire, minuli ya ken balen na king Surigao; kanita, ala yang aliwang gewa kung ali mamasang mangatuwang libru keng munisipyu. Makaniti ya mu kanu dapat, anggang ning mete ya ning tawling bulan.
Ala kung dakal a agaganaka king mangubiyeng apu. Malaut kami keng karela, miyayakit kami mu istung bakasyun. Ing atatandanan ku, marakal ya masasanting a istorya. Metung kareti itang amlat nitang batingting ning Busay.
“Paratang na la reng pirata,” ana kanita. Yapin ita ing pekamakatula keng pamag-istorya na. Agyu na kasi ning apu ku ya piyaliwa-liwa ing kayang boses, bang masaya ing kayang pamagkwentu. Oneng lagi mu pin mayayari keng, “Mimingat kayu kareng pirata.” Gang kapilan, e ku aburi ya manyambut la reng marok a tau kareng istorya. Siguru mu pin, ali ku na mu iisipang mayalaga ya pa makananu ya meyari ing istorya.
Atin ku mung inaring obra bayu ku megbyai papuntang Dinagat Island. Ala yang pamig-aliwa, makaniti ya pa rin kapayapa, pwede kung mipagdatun keni. Kung lumibut ka pin keni, apansinan mung sagana ya king kasalesayan. Mayayawa na ku pin man.
Apagdesisyunan kung munta keng Busay. Peyntunan ke itang bito manibat keng istorya ning kanakung apu. Malati ya pala, aliwa ya murin pala istung ikit mu ne ping arapan. Kinwanan keng litratu. Ayalala ke rugu ing mangubiye kung apu, nung makananu ya mangaragul mata istung kukuwentu na ne itang tungkul kareng piratang menako keng batingting nitang kapilya, nung makananu re inatsa keng bito, gang tang makananu da la pematen deng Dinagatnon. Ngeni ku mu antindyan makananu ya kalungkut itang amlat na niti.
Bayu ku meko ken bito, mengadi ku pa, para kareng mangubiye: para kang apu ku, ampong para kareng Dinagatnong mengamate. Itang batingting, malwat a panaun na neng lilingapan deng tau. Sana pin, keng lalam na niting bito, mipagdatun na la.
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English Version
My lola is a historian of sorts. After her retirement she went back to our small town in Surigao and spent her days going through the old books in the town hall. She did this until she passed away a month ago.
I don’t remember much about my lola. We lived so far away that I would only see her on the holidays, but she would always have the best stories. The one I would always remember was about the bell of Busay.
“The pirates are coming.” I could almost hear her say. That was the best part about the story. Lola had the talent of being able to change her voice when it suited her and this made her storytelling much more vibrant. “Be careful of pirates.” Was the last line from her story sessions. I never liked that the bad guys won in her story but I guess the ending wasn’t as important as the middle.
I had a few days off work so I took the trip back to Dinagat island and it was the same as it always was, quiet and tranquil, the perfect place to think. Walking around the area, you could feel the sense of history around you. It was almost infectious.
I decided to go to Busay and see the bito from my lola’s story. It was smaller than I imagined, but that’s always what happens when imagination meets reality. I take a picture and I think about my lola. About how her eyes would light up when she started on the part where the pirates stole the bell of the chapel and tossed it down this bito, and how they mercilessly slaughtered the Dinagatnons after. I never realized how dark that story was until now.
I say a little prayer by the bito before I leave, partly for my lola and partly for the people in her story. The bell spent so many years protecting people. Hopefully, at the bottom of that Bito, it can finally rest in peace.
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*A bito is a natural well
*Kapampangan, Pampango, or the Pampangan language is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is spoken in the province of Pampanga, most parts of Tarlac and Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some municipalities of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija and by the Aitas or Aeta of Zambales. The language is also referred to honorifically in the Kapampangan language as Amánung Sísuan, meaning “breastfed/nurtured language.” In 2012, Kapampangan was one of the major languages of the Philippines, taught and studied formally in schools and universities.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Kapampangan Translation by Joseph Argel Gania Galang
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joseph Argel Gania Galang
Story inspired by “The Bell of Busay” in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Magbalantay sa Linggaya sa Busay Illustration and Watercolor by Nightmaresyrup
Tumblr: http://nightmaresyrup.tumblr.com/