*Note this story is in Masbatenyo
“Nahadlok ako.”
“Ayaw kahadlok, anak. Hihimuon san mga kalag an pagbuot ninda.”
“Nano an mangyayari sa akon?”
“Makadto kita na duwa sa puno san Dalakit kag ibilin ta ikaw didto. Magaingkod ka sa sirong san puno kag dadarahon ka sa Kahitaasan kag sa Kahidaluman.”
“Kay nano?”
“Para ipanganak utro.”
“Masakit ba ina?”
“Dili ko madumduman. Dugay na pano na panahon tuna san pagsulod ko. Ayaw kahadlok, anak. Ipapakita ninda sa imo an usad na bago na kinab`an.”
“Amo ba ina an rason kun nan okay nakalupad ka?”
“Oo, anak. Amo ina kag damopa. Hali na ako sa kahidaluman san dagat kag sa sulod san lawas san mga tawo. Nakaistorya ko na an mga kalag sani na kinaban kag san maabot pa. Nakakadto na ako sa mga lugar na wara’n sin`o man na tawo an makakita utro. Kag ako ginakapoy naman.”
“Adi na kita.”
“Mamati ka sa mga kalag. Gigiyahan ka ninda pareho san paggiya ninda sa akon sa bilog na buhay ko.”
“Magakita ba kita utro?”
“Malay naton basi magtugot an mga kalag. Paaram, anak. Ginabilin ko sa imo an akon mga tawo.”
“Paaram, Lola.”
Ginparasuntok san mga hangin an babayi san magingkod siya sa sirong san Dalakit. Nagligad an mga adlaw, inabutan san mga semana, kag wara siya’n hiwag-hiwag. An mga nagralabad mas nakaaram na dili dapat pugungan an iya paglakaton. Pagkaaga san lain na gabi, nagtindog siya kag puyo na nagpasalamat sa mga kalag.
Nasayudan san bago niya na mga mata an dili nakikitan na kinab`an na nakapalibot sa iya kagurangon. Wara siya makaisip maghiyom.
May hirimuon siya na kinahanglan tapuson.
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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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*Masbateño or Minasbate is a Bicol-Visayan language spoken by more than 600,000 people, primarily in the province of Masbate in the Philippines. It is very close to Capiznon, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo and Waray-Waray, all three spoken in Visayas. It is considered a Bisakol language, meaning a language intermediate between Visayan languages and Bicolano languages.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Masbatenyo translation by Sherwin Balbuena
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Sherwin Balbuena
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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