*Note this story is in Hanunoo
“magkadala ako”
“ Danga mag kadala, nak. Ti mga ispiritu buwaton nida kanda gusto.
“Uno ti mangyari aa kangko?”
“ Atag kita duwa sa luon balete bag o tayakan kawo niko ati. Mantukaw kawo sa arani bahe bag o bul on kawo tag sa tungod pag mundo ag sa sirung mundo.”
“Hayga”
“ para mabuhi maan.”
“Natay masakit hida?”
“ Ako…unman mag tanda. Dugay ye simula ako ay inmantag sa daniwan. Danga magkadala nak, ipakit nida sa kanmu ti bag o pag mundo.”
“ hida aw nakan kawo mag layang?”
“Ho, nak. Hida ngani bag o adok. Naktan ye niko ti sirung sirung dagat sa sulud tawo. Naka bagawan ye niko ti mga ispiritu sitay pag mundo ag kay kasunod. Naka atag ye ako sa lugar na ti tawo udye mag aktan. Ag napagod aku.
“Atay ye kita”
“ Pakidnog sa mga ispiritu. Mang alalay sida sa kanmu katida di man na inalalayan nida ako sa buong buhi niko.
“Maktan waya aw kawo niko?”
“Unman may alam no ti ispiritu payag?. Amt amat ye ako nak. Tayakan niko kang mga tawo sa kanmu.”
“ Ho paalam ye, idu.”
“ Ti arayhay maghampak sa bilog babaye habang nakatukaw siya arani sa puon balete. Ti sirang hanggan di naging linggo unman siya nangimot una di usa ka sukat inaina. Ti mga maglawoy alam nida kaysa labuton siya sa kanya pag mga lalakawon. Naan kapira ti uryan yabi in mapot ye hanggan di sa madlom surip siya ay nan tindog ag nagpasalamat sa mga ispiritu.”
“ Kanya pag bag o mata ay maghiling ye mga unman mag aktan tawo pag mundo na nakapalibot sa kanya pag gurangon buhay. Unman siya nangasari.
“May mga buruwaton waya siya na kailangan mabwat.”
=——————————————-=
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.
*Hanunoo, or Hanunó’o (IPA: [hanunuʔɔ]), is a language spoken by Mangyans in the island of Mindoro, Philippines.
It is written in the Hanunoo script.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Hiligaynon translation by Kevin Uybad
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Kevin Uybad
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
FB: Wildling Child
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