*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
“Graaah” Nagngurub ang buwaya
“Hipos, maabot lang na ang pagkaon sa indi madugay, dayon makakaon na kita nga duwa” Ang mahigugmaong tugda sang Aswang sa iya nga alaga.
Tumalagsahon na lamang kun maglinabat ang mga buhi nga kalan-on, mga biliktimahon. Nakahibalo na ang mga tawo nga ang ini nga sapa-sapa, puno sang mga aswang kag iya alaga, ugaling indi ini upang sa pagpangita sang buhi nga kalan-on.
“Kinahanglan lang natonmagpalapit sa mga panimalay, kag mangin maayo na ang tanan,” Nagngurub liwat ang buwaya kag ginhambalan lamang siya sang aswang.
“Kabalo guid ko sina, makakita guid kita sang bata, kabalo guid ko nga nanamian ikaw sang sabor sina”
Nag ikol-ikol ang ikog sang buwaya nga may kalipay kay binulan na sang ulihi siya nakatilaw sang bata.
“Huo, lakat kita, palapit kita sa mga panimalay kag mabutang sang siod. Puwede guid naton masiod ang mga nagalangoy sa suba.”
Naglakat ang aswang sa pangpang sang suba kaupod ang iya nga buwaya.
Nagutom na guid siya kag ang iya nga buwaya, tungod sa paghalong sang mga tawo, iwat na guid ang pagkaon. Ang manugpangisda nga nagtalang sa dulunan sang sapa-sapa ang ulihi nila nga nakaon, Palakpalakan kag nagabato, paniyapon nga wala nila napasaboran.
Nagayuhum ang aswang. Kabalo siya nga damo guid sila madakpan sini. Nagasalig siya sa kusog sang iya nga buwaya para sa pagdakop sang ila nga kalan-on, indi siya angay sang iban nga aswang nga nagalupad kag nagapangpahog sang mga tawo sa mga panimalay.
Isa siya ka Agalon Hayopan, isa ka aswang nga nagasagod sang buwaya para magsiod sang mga biliktimahon para sa iya. Gina sunlog sila sang iban nga aswang nga tamaran, ugaling wala sila kabalo kun ano kabudlay magsagod sang isa lamang ka buwaya halin sa itlog.
Nagngurob liwat ang iya nga buwaya kag nagkadlaw. Tinuig na ang ila pag-updanay, halin oa sang gamay pa ini. Kabalo guid siya sang mga gagmay nga butang nahanungod sa iya nga buwaya, amu man ang buwaya sa iya. Indi sila masipak, kabalo guid siya nga kun may yara siya sang kalan-on, mabalik ang iya nga pagkatamaran.
“Ari n akita, nagtindog sila nga duwa sa pang-pang sang suba.
“Oras na para magkuha sang pagkaon”
“Grraahh” Nagangurub nga sabat sang buwaya.
=———————=
English Version
“Grrrah,” The crocodile groaned.
“Hush now, the food will come by soon, then we will both have something to eat.” The aswang said lovingly to her pet.
Prey was hard to come by these days, the humans knew that this place in the swamp was the hunting ground for the aswang and her pet, but that wasn’t about to stop her from finding a meal.
“We just have to go closer to the village, and then everything will be better,” The crocodile grunted again and the aswang reassured him. “I know, we’ll find some children, I know how much you like the taste of those.”
The crocodile wagged its tail with joy; it had not had that treat in many months.
“Yes, let’s go nearer to the village and set a trap. We can catch the ones swimming by the river!” The aswang walked alongside her pet to the riverbank.
She was hungry, and so was her pet. Due to the human’s caution, food was hard to find. The last meal they both had was a fisherman that strayed too far into the swamp. He was stringy and tough, not a dinner that either of them savored.
The aswang was all smiles though. She knew that prey would be plentiful. She had always relied on the strength of her pet to catch their meals, she was not like the other aswang who would fly around the village terrorizing the humans.
She was an agalon hayopan, a kind of aswang that would raise crocodiles to hunt their prey for them. The other aswang would often jeer and call their kind lazy, but they would never know the hardship one would take just to raise a single crocodile from an egg.
Her pet grumbled again and she laughed. They spent years together and she had raised this one ever since he was a hatchling. She knew his quirks and quips just as well as he knew hers. They were inseparable. She knew that once he had something to eat, he would change back to his lazy self.
“We’re here,” The aswang and her pet stood by the river.
“Time to get some food.”
“Grrrah,” replied her pet.
=———————-=
*The Hiligaynon language, also colloquially referred often by most of its speakers simply as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, mainly in Western Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN, most of whom belong to the Visayan ethnic group, mainly the Hiligaynons. It is the second-most widely spoken language and a member of the so-named Visayan language family and is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Hiligaynon translation by Rocky Nicor
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Rocky Nicor
Inspired by the Agalon Hayopan legend from Bicol: Filipinas Volume 12, Page 53, Filipinas Pub., 2003
Agalon Hayopan Illustration by NightmareSyrup
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