*Note this story is in Bicol-Naga
“Nahahandal ako.”
“Dai kaipuhan, aki. Mangyayari an mga muya kan espiritu.”
“Ano an mangyayari sa sakuya?”
“Kitang duwa maduman sa puon kan Balete, asin babayaan taka duman. Matindog ka sa irarom kan puon sagkod dadarahun ka sa itaas kan kinaban pati na sa irarom kaini.”
“Tano?”
“Ngarig mabuhay kang liwat.”
“Makulugan daw ako?”
“Da… dai ko rumdom. Haluy na kan ako nag agi sa sakuyang reinkarnasyon. Pero dai ka maghandal, aki. Ipapahiling ninda saimo an kinaban.”
“Iyo ba iyan an rason kun tano ika nakakalayog?”
“Iyo, aki. Iyan sagkod kadakol pa. Hale ako sa kairaruman kan dagat pati na sa kalaog-laogan kan mga taho. Nakaulay ko na an mga kalag sa kinaban na ini asin sa minasunod pa. Nagbiyahe ako sa mga lugar na mayo ni isay ang makakahiling pa. Asin ako pagalun na.”
“Yaon na kita.”
“Danguga an mga kalag. Sinda an ma giya saimo arog kan pag giya ninda sa sakuya.”
“Maghilingan pa daw kita?”
“Sisay nakakaaram kun ano an itutugot kan mga espiritu? Paaram aki, ibabaya ko an sakong mga taho saimo.”
“Paaram, Lola.”
An duros dagos na nagtama sa aki habang siya nakatukaw sa irarom kan puon kan Balete. Mga aldaw na uminabot nin mga semana asin dai siya naghiro ni sarong pulgada. An mga inagihan siya, aram na dai dapat istorbohun an inaagi niya. Kan natapos an huring banggi para magtaong dalan sa bagong aga, tuminindog siya asin luhay na nagpasalamat sa mga espiritu.
An saiyang bagong mga mata lugod na nahiling an kinaban na nungka niya nahiling sa dati niyang buhay. Dai siya nakaisip mag ngirit.
Ugwa pa siyang gibo na kaipuhan matapos.
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English Version
“I’m scared.”
“You don’t need to be, child. The spirits will do as they will.”
“What will happen to me?”
“We will both go to the Balete tree and I will leave you there. You will sit underneath the tree and be taken to the Skyworld and the Lower World.”
“Why?”
“To be reborn.”
“Will it hurt?”
“I…. don’t remember. It has been so long since I went through my initiation. Don’t be scared child, they will let you see a new world.”
“Is that why you can fly?”
“Yes, child. That and much more. I have been to the depths of the sea and inside the bodies of humans. I have spoken to the spirits in this world and the next. I have traveled to places that no human will ever see again. And I am tired.”
“We are here.”
“Listen to the spirits. They will guide you as they have guided me all my life.”
“Will I see you again?”
“Who knows what the spirits will allow? Goodbye child, I leave my people to you.”
“Goodbye, Lola.”
The winds buffeted the girl as she sat beneath the Balete tree. The days stretched into weeks and she did not move a single inch. Those that passed by knew better than to interrupt her journey. When the last night finally gave way to a new dawn she stood up and quietly thanked the spirits.
Her new eyes finally saw the invisible world that surrounded her old life. She did not think to smile.
She had work that needed to be done.
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*Central Bicol, commonly called Bicol Naga, is the most-spoken language in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bicol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Sam Jornales
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Sam Jornales
Inspired by the Baylan initiation ritual as described in The Soul Book. Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.
Babaylan Illustration by emirajuju
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Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
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