“Nahadlok ako”
“Ayaw kahadlok, Inday. Kun ano an karuyag han ispiritu, bubuhaton nira”
“Anon mahihitabo ha akon?”
“Babayaan ta ikaw didto ha puno han balete. Lingkod didto ngan dadad-on ka ha langit ngan ha ilarom hin tuna.
“Kay-ano?”
“Para ha bag-o nga kinabuhi”
“Maul-ol ba to?
“Diri ko na mahinumduman. Maiha na nga naglabay an akon panahon. Ayaw kahadlok, Inday. Dadad-on ka nira ha bag-o nga kalibutan.
“Kay amo ito nga nakakalupad ka”?
“Oo, Inday. Paglupad ngan damo pa. Sumangpot na ako ha pinakahalarum hin dagat, ha mga sulod hin lawas han tawo. Nakaka-istorya ko an mga ispiritu dinhi ngan ha iba nga kalibutan. Nakaabot na ako ha mga lugar nga diri na makakadtuan hin mga tawo. Gingugul-an na ako.”
“Anhi na kita.”
“Pamati ha mga ispiritu. Tutut-duan ka nira sugad han ira pag tut-do ha akon.”
“Magkikita pa ba kita?”
“Diri kita maaram kung ano an karuyag han mga spiritu. Lakat na, Inday. Igbibilin ko na an mga tawo ha imo”
“Makadi na ako, Lola.”
Kumusog an hangin palibot han bata nga nakalingkod ha may balete. Naglabay an adlaw ngadto ha sinama nga waray kikiwa an bata. An mga tawo maaram nga diri pwede hiya pwede labtan ha iya ginbubuhat. Ha amagahon han bisperas han gab-i, tumukdaw an bata ngan nagpasalamat hin waray saba ha mga ispiritu.
Nakit-an na han iya mga mata an iya daan nga kinabuhi. Malain na iya pamati.
Mayda pa hiya trabaho nga kinahanglan buhaton.
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.
**Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Hiligaynon translation by Elle Bee
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Elle Bee
Inspired by the Baylan initiation ritual as described in The Soul Book. Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.
Babaylan Illustration by emirajuju
IG: https://www.instagram.com/emirajuju/
Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/
