*Note this story is in Cebuano
Dili na makahulat pa si Chinhok. Karong adlawa ang maong adlaw. Siya nakakita og daku kung itandi sa kasagarang usa ug dili niya mahimong palabyon ang maong higayon. Wala na’y pagbiaybiay, wala na’y pag-insulto. Iyang pamatud-an sa katawhan, labi na sa iyang uyoan, nga siya usa ka tinuod nga mangangayam. Mapakyas ang mga espiritu.
Gipunting niya ang usa. Nilabay ang 2 ka oras nga pag-áyam niini ug nakakita siya’g klarong tira. Pila ka bulan siya naghulat nga maabot kining higayon ug ang iyang kaugmaun sa pangayam mibutyag sa iyang atubangan. Kini dili mahimo niyang masipyat, apan aduna’y lahi nga ideya iyang pana. Pagbuhi niya sa pana, tanan mihunong. Ang mga dahon sa kahoy nga nangahulog nikaging, nihunong ang usa samtang nagtutok sa pana nga wala naglihok.
“Dili matinahuron ang pagkuha sa mga butang nga dili imoha.” Si Chinhok mitalikod ug giatubang sa mga gipanabi nga nagpuyo diri: usa ka pula nga babayi ug puti nga lalaki. Kahibalo siya kinda—o unsa sila. Ang Tahamaling ug ang Mahomanay, mga magbabantay sa mga hayop sa lasang, ug sa pagkakaron, ang iyang mga kabalaka natinuod.
“Unsa atong buhaton ani niya?” ingon ni Tahamaling, iyang tingog malamdag ug makapadasig. “Kinahanglan nato buhaton ang angay buhaton. Nanguha siya nga wala’y gihatag pangbaylo.” Kalma ang Mahomanay, halos wala’y emosyon nga nitubag. Nakadungog si Chinhok ug mga storya mahitungod sa kalipay sa mga Espiritu ug ilang pagtabang sa mga tawo, apan nakahinumdom siya nga kini inig human lamang sa paghalad.
“—-” Dili makatingog si Chinhok. Kahibalo siya unsa iyang nabuhat. Kahibalo pud siya nga wala siya’y mabuhat aron mapasaylo sa mga Espiritu. Nagpakaluoy si Chinhok kang Pamulak Manobo nga himuong paspas ang iyang kamatayon.
Nagpatalinghug ang mga espiritu.
Nakit-an ni Bitil ang lawas sa iyang pag-umangkon mahuman ang 3 ka adlaw nga pagpangita niini. Namatay kini sa kaugalingong pana, makaguol nga kapalaran sa usa ka mangangayam. Kahibalo si Bitil nga imposibleng mapana ni Chinhok iyang kaugalingon, ug nabati niya nga naglagot ang mga espiritu sa pagkawala’y pagtahod sa batan-on.
Naghalad si Bitil og bonga para sa mga espiritu alang timaan sa paghinulsol. Aduna’y mga igsuon si Chinhok ug gusto lamang ni Bitil nga sila makat-on gikan sa sayop ni Chinhok s dili pagpaminaw sa mga espiritu. Ang bukid ug ang lasang kay dili mahimong maangkon sa mga tawo, kini iyang nahibaw-an.
Iyang gialsa ang lawas ni Chinhok ug gisugdan ang paglakaw pabalik sa balangay.
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English Version
Chinhok couldn’t wait anymore. Today would be the day. He spotted a larger than usual deer and he couldn’t miss this chance. No more taunts, no more insults. He would prove to everyone, especially his uncle that he was a real hunter. The spirits be damned.
He took aim at the deer. After 2 hours of tracking it, he finally got a clear shot. Months of anticipation boiled down to this moment and his future as a hunter was laid out in front of him. There was no way he could miss this, but his arrow had a different idea. The moment he let loose his arrow, everything stopped. The leaves stood frozen falling from their branches, the deer was silent as it stared at the arrow that didn’t move.
“It isn’t polite to take things that aren’t yours.” Chinhok turned behind him and he was faced with stories from the fireside: A red-skinned woman and a white skinned man. He knew who—or what they were. The Tahamaling and the Mahomanay, guardians of the beasts in the forest, and as of now, his worst nightmares come to life.
“What should we do with this one?” said the Tahamaling, her voice lustrous and soothing. “We must do as we must. He has taken without giving.” The Mahomanay was stoic, almost emotionless as he spoke. Chinhok would hear stories of the spirits being happy and helpful to humans, and then he remembered that was only after the offerings were given.
“—-“ Chinhok’s voice stopped at his throat. He knew what he had done. He also knew there was no way to ask forgiveness from the spirits. Chinhok prayed to Pamulak Manobo that his death would be quick.
The spirits may have listened to that small mercy.
Bitil found his nephew’s body after 3 days of searching. The boy was killed with his own arrow, a sad fate for any hunter. Bitil knew that it was impossible for Chinhok to shoot himself, and he sensed that the spirits were angered at the youth’s indiscretion.
Bitil offered the betel nut that he kept with him to the spirits as a small token of remorse. Chinhok had brothers and Bitil only hoped that they would learn from his failure to listen to the spirits. The mountain and the forest will never belong to people, that much he knew.
He took Chinhok’s body and began the long walk back to the village.
=——————-=
*The Cebuano language, alternatively called Cebuan and also often colloquially albeit informally referred to by most of its speakers simply as Bisaya (“Visayan”, not to be confused with other Visayan languages nor Brunei Bisaya language), is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 21 million people, mostly in Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas and most parts of Mindanao, most of whom belong to various Visayan ethnolingusitic groups, mainly the Cebuanos. It is the by far the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages, which are in turn part of wider the Philippine languages. The reference to the language as Bisaya is not encouraged anymore by linguists due to the many languages within the Visayan language group that may be confused with the term.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Cebuano Translation by Jane Danielle Fabula
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Jane Danielle Fabula
Story inspired by Mahomanay description in The Maiden of the Buhog Sky. Manuel (1958) in Philippine Folk Literature:The Epics. Eugenio. 2001. And Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.
Tahamaling Illustration by Laura Katigbak
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