*Note this story is in Kinaray-a
“Nahadlukan ako.”
“Hindi pag hadluk, ga. Imawan kaw kang diya nga mga espirito.”
“Ano matabo kanakun?”
“Maagtu kita sa Lunok kag didto ta ikaw ibilin. Mapungko ikaw sa idalum ka kahoy nga diya kag didto ikaw nanda darhun sa kaharian ka kahawa-an kag sinauna nga kalupa-an.”
“Andot?”
“Para mag bag-ong tawo ikaw.”
“Masakitan ako kari-a?”
“H–hindi don ako ka dumdom kung sakit or bukot tungod lawid don ako nag agi sa amo kadya nga ritwal. Hindi mag hadlok, ga. Pakita kanimo ka mga espirito nga dya ang panibag-o nga kalibutan.”
“Amo ra ang rason nga maka lupad ikaw?”
“Huod, ga. Kag sobra-sobra pa dyan kara. Nakaagto ron ako sa lain-lain nga lugar kag nag sulod sa lain-lain nga klase ka lawas ka tawo. Naistorya ko don man ang lain-lain nga klase ka espirito sa dya nga kalibutan kag sa pihak nga kinabuhi. Kapoy don ako.”
“Rugya ron kita.”
“Pamati-i ang mga espirito. Imawan kaw nanda kadya pareho ka pag imaw nanda kanakun bilog ko nga kabuhi.”
“Makitaay ta pa ayhan?”
“Wra ta kamaan kung tugtan kita ka mga espirito. Mapanaw don ako, ga. I-bilin ko don kanimo ang mga katawhan ko.”
“Asta mag kitaay kita liwat, Lola.”
Nag gulpi baskog ang hangin samtang ang babayi nag pungko sa idalum kang Lunok. Ang inadlaw nag sinemana pero wra gid dya tana nag hulag-hulag maski isara ka pulgada. Naga tururok lang kana ang mga naga lubas kaysa istorbohon tana. Kang nag abot don ang adlaw nga gina hulat ka tanan, dya nag tindog kag nag pasalamat sa mga espirito.
Kita dun ka anang mga mata ang hindi na makita kauna. Wara tana maski mag yuhom lang.
May obligasyon pa tana nga inog tubangon.
=——————————–=
English Version
“I’m scared.”
“You don’t need to be, child. The sprits 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.
=——————————=
*The Karay-a language, or Kinaray-a is an Austronesian regional language spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique in the Philippines, Iloilo and other provinces on the island of Panay, as well as portions of the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. It is one of the Visayan languages, mainly along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon and Hiligaynon. As of 2015, there is an estimated 1,200,000 speakers of Kinaray-a with almost half of them are from Antique and Iloilo provinces.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Esther Ammy Mena
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Esther Ammy Mena
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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