*Note this story is in Waray
“Abaadaw kay kabog gud adto! Waray na gud iba. Nakit-an ko adto lahos han bintana ngan may ada hini dagko nga mga pako, lugaring maaram ako kun ano’t kabog.”
“Lurong ka, tuko adto. Nakit-an ko an pula nga mga mata hadto tikang pira ka milya an kahirayo. May ada ulo hin tuko ngan daw usa hadto’n nakakalupad. Diri adto kabog uy! ngan siring mo pa, likod la hadto an imo nakit-an!”
“Nga duha kamo sayop, nakit-an ko an mga kamot hadto ngan makakasiring gud ako nga amu adto.”
“Bungaw ka.”
“Mamaupay na la kontra hit’ sayop.”
“Mga kaupdanan, may ada la hito nag-iinintrimis ha aton. Nakit-an ko an mga tiil hadto nga kanan tawo, ngan nakit-an man naton an ikog di ba nga daw sugad hin hilaba nga buhok hin babayi. Bangin ada may ada la karuyag manhadlok ha aton tikang han mga babayi.”
“Maaram ako kun ano an akon nakit-an ngan waray bisan hin-o nga makakalupad sugad hadto.”
“Bangin may nagbunlot ha ira gamit hin higot o kun ano man.”
“Diri gud kamo natuod ano?”
“Ah! waray dadangatan inin aton pagrinungag!”
“Man, nakit-an ta na an aton nakit-an, puyde adto kabog, puyde adto tuko o amu, puyde liwat nga may ada gud nag-iinintrimis ha at’. It importante, waray na ini, adto na.”
“Asya na. Unta. Kun ano man adto, baadaw kay napangirhat nga gayod.”
“Mga kaupdanan?…”
“Hunahunaa daw niyo kun nga tanan kita sakto? Kay puyde man liwat nga adto nga binuhat kay naghahalo nga tuko-kabog-amu?”
“Tinuyaw na iton, kay ano ka maghuhunahuna hin sugad?”
“Kitaa daw ha igbaw.”
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English Version
“It was a bat! That’s the only thing it could be. I saw it through a window and it had huge wings, but I know a bat when I see it.”
“You’re crazy it was a lizard. I could see the red in its eyes from a mile away. It had the head of a lizard and it was probably one of those flying ones. There’s no way it could have been a bat, besides you only saw it from behind!”
“You’re both wrong, I saw its hands and I can definitely say it was a monkey.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Better than being wrong.”
“Guys it was someone playing a prank. I saw the thing’s feet and it was human, besides we all saw the tail anyway and it looked like a woman’s long hair. Probably one of the girls wanted to scare us or something.”
“I know what I saw and there’s no way someone could fly like that.”
“Maybe they pulled themselves up on a string or something.”
“You really don’t believe that do you?”
“This arguing is getting us nowhere!”
“Look we all saw what we saw, it could have been a bat, it could have been a lizard or a monkey or someone pranking us. What matters is that it’s gone.”
“Yeah I hope so. Whatever that thing was it gave me the creeps.”
“Guys?”
“You think we could all be right? Like the thing could be a weird lizard-bat-monkey hybrid?”
“That’s crazy, what makes you think that?”
“Look up.”
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*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Hiyom Labon Buhi
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Hiyom Labon Buhi
Inspired by the Mansalauan description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.
Mansalauan Illustration by Jowee Aguinaldo.