*Note this story is in Ilocano

Idi un-unana a panawen, kas insarita dagiti panglakayen, adda agnaed a maysa a nakabutbuteng nga ayup iti Amianan. Daytoy dakkel nga animal ket nailadawan a maysa nga uleg nga addaan payak nga agtaytayab iti ngato dagiti ulep. No aggaraw,makaluban ti dakkel nga anniniwanna ti lubong a mangipakdaar kadagiti tattao ditoy baba nga umadanin ti peggad.

Awan ti makadangran iti dragon. Saan a matudok dagiti siksikna babaen kadagiti igam ti tao ket dagiti maag, wenno dagiti natutured a manggandat a mangkarit iti animal.

Naglabas ti panawen ket sagpaminsan laengen a makita dagiti tattao ti animal.  Babaen laengen kadagiti sarsarita nga insalaysay dagiti naglabas a kaputotan a napagtalinaed a sibibiag ti estoriana.

Awan ti makaammo no ania ti nagbalinan ti dragon, ken adda pay ketdi dagidiay arasaas nga adda natured a bannuar a nangpapatay kadaytoy, nupay pulos a di mapaneknekan.

Ket ngarud, naglabas ti panawen ket nagtultuloy ti biag dagiti tattao. Adu a panagbalbaliw ken riribuk ti inyeg dagiti siglo iti Amianan. Ti baro a pammati ket nangiyeg kadagiti templo a bato. Dagiti obra ti asero ken alambre ti nagkukuros iti daga.

Dimmakkel ken immadu dagiti tattao. Iti baet dagitoy, nagulimek ti dragon.

Agingga a dagiti ginggined ti nangyugyugyog iti Amianan a nangrippuog kadagiti pasdek,  nangdadel kadagiti ili ken nangbingay iti daga. Adu ti naipadamag a nasugatan ket nagtalinaed dayta a trahedia iti panunot dagiti tattao kadagiti sumaganad a tawen.

Kalpasanna adda dagidiay mamati a daytoy a pasamak ket pakdaar manipud iti Mannakabalin-amin. Narebba ti maysa a lugar a pagdaydayawan ket nagsurat dagiti agbabawi  iti Apoda nga agpakpakaasi iti pammakawan.

Maysa kadagitoy ket ti agtutubo nga agnagan Mariano. Minatmatanna dagiti narba iti sanguananna ket nagkararag tii rosario bayat ti panangidatagna iti insuratna a nota a mangipakpakaasi iti panangibabaet kadagitoy a narikut a panawen.

Bayat ti panangikararagna  iti maika-20 nga Ave Maria, nakigtot iti panagdisso ti maysa nga ima iti abagana. Dayta ti maysa a baket a dina am-ammo.

“Hello lola, ania kadi ti maitulongko?” sinaludsod ni Mariano.

Blangko laeng ti pinangmatmat ti babai kenkuana.

Napukawka kadi? Addaka kadi ditoy a kaduam ti pamiliam? Makatulongak kenka a mangsapul kadakuada.”

Bigla nga iniggaman ti baket ti takiag ni Mariano ket pinerrengna dagiti matana.

“Nagsubli,” kinunana.

“Ania ti nagsubli?” Mariro ni Mariano, awan ti maawatanna nga ibagbaga ti baket.“

Ti dakkel a phantom. Ti higante nga espiritu. Ti nakabutbuteng.”

Nagtuang ti baket iti takiag ni Mariano. Narabaw ti panagangesna, ken nakapsut ti pulsona.

Nagpukkaw ni Mariano ti tulong ket naayaban ti ambulansia.

Kabayatan ti panagdengngegna iti angesna, nabaelan daytoy iti nangiarasaas, “Olimaw.”

Inserrek dagiti paramedics ti baket iti ambulansia ket nabang-aran ni Mariano. Impagarupna a nalpasen.

Iniggamanna ti rosariona ket intuloyna ti panagbantayna. Sumagmamano pay la a minuto idi nadlawna nga adda naiduma. Sabali ti narikna dagiti ramayna. Kinita ni Mariano ti rosariona ket nadlawna a nabaliwan dagiti nalinis a kuentas iti nakersang a kakasla bato. Minatmatanna ti rosario ket pinampanunotna no kasano koma a napasamak dayta.

Iti dayta a kanito adda anniniwan a nangsallukob kenkuana. Kimmita iti langit ket awan met ti nakitana no di laeng maysa a grupo dagiti ulep nga apagapaman a nangkalob iti init.

Pinampanunotna ti maipapan iti baket ken no ania ti imbagana.

Nalagipna iti kinaubingna idi intugot da lolo ken lolana iti parola idiay Cape Bojeador.

Ti langit ket maysa a tapestry a naabel manipud iti lawag ti bituen. Di pay nakakitkita ni Mariano ti kastoy iti napalabas.  Intudona ti nagduduma a konstelasion ket isalaysay ti lolona ti tunggal estoriada.

Iti ngudo ti isasarungkarda, idi naladaw unayen a siririing ti maysa nga agtawen iti innem, intudo ni Mariano ti bulan ket kiniddawna iti lolo-na nga isalaysayna kenkuana ti pakaestoriaan daytoy.

Immannugott ti lolona ket sinaklotna ni Mariano iti luppona. Isun ti damo a pannakangngeg ni Mariano ti sao nga ‘Olimaw’  ket kabayatan ti pannakailibayna, imbaga kenkuana ti lolona nga awan ti nakakita iti uleg iti adu a siglo. Natalged ti bulan ken dagiti tattao ti Amianan manipud kadagiti pangana.

Idi dayta.

Kadagiti simmaruno a lawas kasla lallalo nga ngimmisit ti langit iti rabii. Kasla aglemlemmeng dagiti mismo a bituen iti di makita a mangraut. Ti lawag ti bulan ket saan a marikna dagidiay immay a mangnamnama kadagiti lumamiis a sinamarna.

Iti las-ud dagitoy, umaw-aweng iti lapayag ni Mariano amin a balikas ti baket.

“Olimaw.”

Iti panaglabas ti ginggined, naglukat ti higante a rengngat iti asideg ti Simbaan ti Paoay. Yamanpay  ta nailasat ti simbaan iti pannakadadael a napasamak iti dadduma pay nga estruktura, ket nangted kenni Mariano iti gundaway a mapan sadiay tapno agkararag.

Makunkuna a naisadya a naaramid ti simbaan tapno makibagay iti ginggined a mapaspasamak iti Pilipinas. Makita daytoy kadagiti nakadkadlaw a buttress iti aglawlaw ti simbaan

Iti sabali a kanito,agsidsiddaw koma ni Mariano iti arkitektura, ngem iti daytoy a gundaway adda sabali a rason ti kaaddana ditoy.

Siaannad nga immasideg iti higante a regkang a dina ammo no ania ti masarakanna. Minarkaan dagiti opisial ti lugar kas napeggad a disso ken imbagada iti publiko nga umadayoda, nupay saan a nainget a naipatungpal daytoy.

Awan ti tao iti aglawlaw idi intuloy ni Mariano ti panagsukisokna. Iti uneg ti 50 metros nasarakanna ti sapsapulenna. Dakkel a nangisit a siksik a kas kadakkel ti bagina. Simmilap daytoy iti panagdisso ti rimat ti init. Napanganga ni Mariano ket inruarna ti rosariona. Nagkararag tapno kumalma ti nerbiyosna ket iti panagpampanunotna, saannan a nadlaw nga nagdara dagiti dakulapna.

Bayat ti panagtinnag dagiti tedted ti dara iti daga maysa daranudor ti  naggapu iti regkang. Insardeng ni Mariano ti kararagna, nagparintumeng sa inabbonganna ti ulona. Inkidemna dagiti matana ket ninamnamana a bassit laeng daytoy nga aftershock.

Saan a nagbayag ti panagginggined ket idi linuktanna dagiti matana, ti nalamuyot a silnag ti nangpunno iti panagkitana.

Iti sanguananna ket kasla adda maysa a tao, numanpay naabungotan iti lawag. Intudo daytoy ti siksik.

“Aniaka?” sinaludsod ni Mariano.

Imisem ti lalaki ket intudona ti rosario ni Mariano. “Maysaak kadagita,” kinunana.

“Ania ti kayatmo a sawen?”

“Iti napalabas a panawen, maawaganak koma iti naindaklan nga espiritu, wenno uray—”

“Maysa a Dios.”

Immisem ti lalaki ket nagtung-ed.

“Dios met kadi ti Olimaw?”

“Kadagiti dadduma.”

“Adda ditoy saan kadi? Nakulong? Mabalin kadi a maikulong manen?”

Ti lalaki ket kimmita iti langit.“Mabalin,” kinunana.

“Saanto nga agsardeng, di ngata?”

Nagngilangil ti lalaki.

“Ania ti masapul nga aramidek?”

“Ti naaramidmon.” Intudo manen ti lalaki ti rosario.

“Agkararag?”

“Mapanka iti pagtulidan dagiti ulep ket aramidem ti inaramidmo.”

“Agurayka! Ania ti kayatmo a sawen—-”

Ket iti apagdarikmat, nagpukawen  ti lalaki.

Minatmatan ni Mariano ti rosario; namantsaan iti darana. Ammona no sadino ti masapul a papananna, ngem saanna nga ammo no  ania ti rumbeng nga aramidenna.

Kabigatanna, nagtakder ni Mariano iti igid ti rangtay Gilbert. Nayanninaw ti karayan Laoag ti natayengteng a kahel ti umad-adanin a ilelennek ti init. Manipud ditoy makitana ti kabambantayan ti Apayao ken ti baybay dagiti ulep nga agtaytayab iti nagbaetan dagiti pantok.

Inur-urayna ti panagtayengteng ti sipnget, inton rumkuas ti uleg iti nagbaetan dagiti ulep ket pagbalinenna a kasta unay ti kinasipnget ti rabii.

Nagpigerger dagiti ramay ni Mariano nga mangig-iggem ti rosariona.

Bayat ti panaglennek ti init iti baba dagiti bantay, rimmuar daytoy. Marikna ti natan-ok a talugading daytoy, maysa nga ari a dragon nga agtaytayab iti langit iti rabii, nga agsalsala iti nagbaetan dagiti ulep.

Oras nan.

Inrugi ni Mariano ti “‘Amami” a mangnamnama nga adda maaramidanna. Tudoken dagiti natadem a batbato ti rosario dagiti dakulapna bayat ti panangpetpetna kadagiti dakulapna.

Kaskasdi a nagsala ti dragon.

Nagparintumeng ni Mariano. Ania ti pagimbagan ti kararag ditoy? Awan ti mabalin a mangpasardeng iti uleg. Aglalo ti panagmaymaysana.

Kimmita iti bulan ket  nakitana ti sipnget  a nangabbong kadayta. Di agbayag awanton ti mabati, maysanto  laengen  a canvas a nangisit.

Idi kuan, adda nalagipna.

Saan laeng a ni Olimaw ti adda kadagiti sarita ni lolona.

Impukkawna iti nakapigpigsa, “Amman! Saguday! Cabuyaran! Revenador! Anianihan! Bulan!”

“Pangngaasiyo, denggendak!”

Nangrugi a nagparang ti nalamuyot a puraw a silnag iti aglawlawna. Kalpasan ti sumagmamano a kanito, nagparang ti maysa a babai iti sanguananna ket iniggamanna dagiti imana. Apaman nga inaramidna, immimbag dagiti dakulapna.

Iti dayta a kanito,  ammonan nga adda iti sanguanan dagiti didiosen.

Nakitana ida nga agtayab nga agturong iti dragon ken inusarda ti nalamuyot a silnag ti bulan a nangbalkot iti daytoy. Ti narungsot nga angin ken panagdaranudor ti gurruod ti nangiduron iti uleg a mangibbet iti bulan.

Natinnag ti uleg iti lubong ket nagkintayeg ti daga. Nagtalinaed ni Mariano ti ayanna ket inurayna ti panagtalna ti aglawlawna.

Pinunno ti lawag ti bulan ti tangatang ket nagdisso iti agyamyaman a rupa ni Mariano.

“Agyamanak,” kinunana iti langit.

Intakderna ti bagina ket inwagsakna ti dadagsen ti napalabas a sumagmamano a lawas manipud kadagiti abagana.

Saan a nabirukan ni Mariano ti rosariona ket iti maminsan, saan daytoy a napateg.

Ammona itan ti agkararag.

*Anianihan ti dios ti apit, Cabuyaran ti diosa ti panangagas, Saguday ti dios ti angin, Revenador ti dios ti gurruod ken kimat, Amman ti dios ti init (ti init ti matana) ket ni Bulan ti dios ti kappia.

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English Version

Long ago, as the elders have said, there lived a monster in the North. This great beast was said to be a winged serpent that flew above the clouds. When it moved a huge shadow was cast on the earth giving warning to the people below that danger was looming.

Nothing could hurt the dragon. Its scales could not be pierced by human weapons and only the very foolish, or the very brave would even think of challenging the beast.

Time passed and the beast was seen less and less by the people of the North. It was only through the tales told by the fading generations that its story was kept alive.

No one knew what became of the dragon, and there were even those that whispered that some brave hero had slain it, though it could never be proven.

And so, time passed and people moved on. Centuries brought much change and upheaval to the North. A new faith brought with it temples of stone. Works of steel and wires crisscrossed the land. People grew and multiplied.
Through all of this the dragon remained silent.

Until shocks rocked the North destroying buildings, damaging towns and splitting the earth. Many casualties were reported and it was a tragedy that would stay in people’s minds for years to come.

In the aftermath there were those that believed this event was a warning from the Almighty. A place of worship was shattered and its penitents wrote letters to their Lord begging for forgiveness.

One of these was a young man named Mariano. He stared at the rubble before him and prayed the rosary as he set down a handwritten note pleading for intercession in these trying times.

As he said his 20th Hail Mary, he was startled by a hand that rested on is shoulder. It was that of an old woman that he did not know.

“Hello lola, can I help you?” Mariano asked.

The woman just stared blankly at him.

“Are you lost? Are you here with your family? I can help you look for them.”

Just then the old woman grabbed Mariano’s arm and stared into his eyes.

“It is back,” she said.

“What is back?” Mariano was confused, he didn’t understand anything the old woman was saying.

“The great phantom. The giant spirit. The terror.”

The old woman crumpled into Mariano’s arms. Her breathing was shallow, and her pulse was weak.

Mariano shouted for help and an ambulance was called.
As he listened for her breath, she managed to let out a whisper, “Olimaw.”

The paramedics ushered the old woman into the ambulance and Mariano breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was over.

He grasped his rosary and continued on with his vigil.

A few minutes in he noticed something was different. His fingers felt a different texture. Mariano looked at his rosary and noticed that the smooth beads had been changed to rough, almost rock-like ones. He stared at the rosary and wondered how that could have happened.

In that moment a shadow was cast over him. He looked towards the sky and saw nothing but a group of clouds temporarily blocking the sun.

He wondered about the old woman and what she said.

It took him back to his childhood when his grandparents brought him to the lighthouse at Cape Bojeador.

The sky was a tapestry weaved out of starlight. Mariano had never seen anything like it before. He pointed towards the different constellations and his lolo would tell each of their stories.

At the end of their visit, when it was getting far too late for a six-year-old to stay awake, Mariano pointed towards the moon and asked his lolo to tell him a story.
His lolo obliged and put Mariano on his lap. It was then that Mariano first heard of the word ‘Olimaw’ and as he drifted to sleep, his lolo told him that no one had seen the serpent in centuries. The moon and the people of the North were safe from its jaws.

That was then.

In the weeks that followed the night sky seemed to grow darker. It was as if the very stars were hiding from an unseen predator. The moon’s light was left unfelt by those that had come to expect its cooling rays.

And through it all the words of the old woman ringed in Mariano’s ears.

“Olimaw.”

In the wake of the earthquake a giant fissure opened near Paoay Church. Thankfully the church was spared the damage that had befallen so many other structures, and Mariano took the time to go there to pray.

It was said that the church was specifically made to adapt to the seismic conditions of the Philippines. This was obvious with the striking buttresses around the church.

At any other time, Mariano would have marveled at the architecture, but this time he was here for a reason.
He approached the gigantic fissure with care, not knowing what he was going to find. Officials called the area a safety hazard and had told the public to stay away, though this was not strongly enforced. There were no people around when Mariano went on with his reconnaissance.

50 meters in he found what he was looking for. A large black scale the size of his torso. There was a shine to it when the sunlight hit. Mariano gasped and took out his rosary. He prayed to calm his nerves and he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize his palms were bleeding.

As the droplets of blood fell to the ground a tremor went through the fissure. Mariano stopped his prayers, knelt down and covered his head. He closed his eyes and hoped that this was just a small aftershock.

The tremor didn’t last long and when he opened his eyes a soft glow filled his vision.

Before him was what seemed to be a man, though he was covered in light. He pointed towards the scale.
“What are you?” Mariano asked.

The man smiled and pointed to Mariano’s rosary. “I am one of many,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“In times long past, I would have been called a great spirit, or even—“

“A god.”

The man smiled and nodded.

“Was the Olimaw a god too?”

“To some.”

“It was here wasn’t it? Trapped? Can it be trapped again?”

The man looked towards the sky. “Maybe,” he said.

“It won’t stop will it?”

The man shook his head.

“What must I do?”

“What you have already done.” The man pointed to the rosary again.

“Pray?”

“Go to where the clouds roll by and do as you have done.”

“Wait! What does that mean—-”

And in an instant the man vanished.

Mariano stared at the rosary, stained with his blood. He knew where he had to go, but not what he had to do.

The next afternoon Mariano stood at the edge of the Gilbert bridge. The Laoag river reflected the dark orange of the impending sunset. From here he could see the Apayao mountain range and the sea of clouds that floated between the peaks.

He waited for dusk to settle in, when the serpent would burst through the clouds and make the night just that much darker.

Mariano’s fingers quivered has they tried to grasp his rosary.

As the sun nestled itself below the mountains, it emerged. It had a certain sense of majesty about it, a regal dragon swooping across the night sky, dancing in between the clouds.

It was time.

Mariano started with an ‘Our Father’ hoping that it might do something. The sharp stones of his rosary were digging into his palms as he clenched his fists.

Still the dragon danced.

Mariano fell on his knees. What good was prayer here? There was no way to stop the serpent. Not when he was alone.

He looked to the moon and saw that darkness was covering it. Soon there would be nothing left, only a canvas of black.

And then he remembered.

The Olimaw was not the only being in his lolo’s stories.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Amman! Saguday! Cabuyaran! Revenador! Anianihan! Bulan!”

“Please, hear me!”

A soft white glow started to appear around him. After a few moments a woman appeared in front of him and grasped his hands. As soon as she did his bloody palms healed.

In that instant he knew he was in the presence of the gods.

He saw them fly towards the dragon and use the soft glow of the moon to envelop it. A fierce gust of wind and peals of thunder led the serpent to release its grip on the moon.

The serpent fell towards the earth and the land shook. Mariano held his ground and waited until he was sure it was over.

Moonlight filled the sky and settled on Mariano’s grateful face.

“Thank you,” he said to the sky.

He picked himself back up and shrugged the weight of the past few weeks off his shoulders. Mariano couldn’t find his rosary and for once it didn’t matter.

He knew now how to pray.

——————————————————

*Anianihan is the god of the harvest, Cabuyaran is the goddess of healing, Saguday is the god of wind, Revenador is the god of thunder and lightning, Amman is the god of the sun (the sun is his eye) and Bulan is the god of peace.

*Ilocano is the third most-spoken local language of the Philippines.An Austronesian language, it is related to such languages as Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian), Tetum, Chamorro, Fijian, Maori, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Paiwan and Malagasy. It is closely related to some of the other Austronesian languages of Northern Luzon, and has slight mutual intelligibility with the Balangao language and the eastern dialects of the Bontoc language.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Ilocano translation by Maria Jesusa Villaruz
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Maria Jesusa Villaruz

Story inspired by the Oilmaw description in
Gelade, George P. I993. Ilokano-English dictionary. Quezon City, Philippines: CICM Missionaries, Inc.

Olimaw Illustration by Manuel Liwanag
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The post Olimaw – Ilocano Translation appeared first on Philippine Spirits.

*Note this story is in Cebuano

Sa ibabaw sa langit ug sa kawanangan, ang mga bitoon makadungog sa imong mga pag-ampo.

Nagpabilin sila ingon nga hilom nga mga saksi sa pagbusikad sa kasaysayan apan bisan sila, kinahanglan nga mobarug sa daplin sa diha nga ang Makagagahum magpakita sa Iyang gahum.

Ang mga bitoon wala magtagad. Sila nagpatigbabaw sukad sa kabatan-onan sa kalibutan ug ang katawhan usa lamang ka silaw sa mata sa Makagagahum.

Ang mga bitoon nagpabilin ug sila molahutay.

Nagsugod ang atong istorya sa usa ka gitubag nga pag-ampo.

Ang naga kay hakog. Wala kiniy kalooy sa mga tawo nga nagpuyo sa iyang teritoryo. Adunay mga haligi nga gasiga nga mogawas sa iyang mga mata, nga mosunog sa tanan nga iyang tukbonon. Ang hilo nga nag-agas gikan sa siyam ka sanga nga dila niini mikaylap sa walay kaluoy sa iyang mga biktima.

Tulo na lang ka mga kalag ang nahabilin human gilamoy sa mangtas ang dautan, usa ka inahan, amahan ug anak.

Ug ang ilahang pag-ampo ang gidungog sa mga bitoon.

“Labawng Makagagahum luwasa kami gikan niining dakong naga, ikaw lamang ang adunay gahom sa pagpahunong niini,” hangyo sa amahan.

Gitubag ang ilang pag-ampo apan dili sa Labawng Makagagahum.

Ang mga bitoon nagtan-aw samtang ang dakong naga nagtabyogtabyog sa iyang ikog ug nagpadala og usa ka makalilisang nga unos ngadto sa magtiayon.Ilang nakita ang kabukiran nga nangurog sa kahadlok sa gahom sa mananap. Dili kini motugot nga mabuhi ang mga tawo, ang kabangis sa naga dili motugot niini.

Gilibotan sa kapungot ug kalayo ang pamilya, bisan ang yuta daw naghilak sa kasakit. Nagsubay ang kaalaot ug pag-antos sa agianan sa naga, ang nangadugmok nga mga lawas sa iyang mga biktima nagpasad sa agianan sa mangtas hangtod nga ang dakong mananap niatubang sa iyang katapusang biktima.

“Kung mao kini ang kabubut-on sa Labawng Makagagahum, ato kining pagadawaton,” pagbakho sa inahan. Hugot niyang gigakos ang iyang pamilya, ang bugtong kahupayan nga nahabilin sa ilang kahimtang.

Ang naga nilukso ngadto sa langit ug niabri iyang dakong baba.

Ang pamilya nipiyong sa ilang mga mata ug gihuwat ang dili kalikayan, pero ang Labawng Makagagahum nakadungog sa ilang mga pangamuyo ug nagpakita sa iyang kaayo.

Nilukso ang bakunawa, pero wala kini makaabot sa iyang puntarya. Nisaka kini sa kalangitan, lapas sa mga panganod ug didto sa ginsakpan sa mga bitoon, mga dagkong alisngaw ug aso ang nagsunod niini.

Sa diha nga ang naga daw dili na makapadayon og saka, mihunong kini, gisuspinde sa taliwala sa mga bitoon ug gilibutan sa kalayo niini.

Nagpasalamat ang pamilya sa Makagagahum sa Iyang kaluoy, sa kahangturan gihinumduman ang adlaw nga naluwas sila sa kabangis sa mananap.

Ug kumusta ang mga bitoon?

Ilang gitugyan ang tanan sa Labawng Makagagahum, gidawat ang bag-ong dapit sa naga taliwala sa ilang gingharian.

Apan bisan sila nahibalo nga kini dili molungtad.

Kay ang mga bituon makadungog sa mga hunghong sa naga. Naghulat sila sa katapusan sa mga adlaw nga ang dragon mosibat ngadto sa yuta ug lamyon ang tanan nga daotan nga mga kalag nga wala motuman sa Labawng Makagagahum.

Ug busa ang mga bitoon nagpabilin nga mapailubon hangtud nga ang mga langit ilaha na usab.

• Sa mito nga Samal ang milky way nakita nga usa ka higante nga dragon nga natanggong.

=—————————————-=

English Version

Over the sky and in the firmament, the stars hear your prayers.

They stay as silent witnesses to the unfolding of history, but even they must stand aside when the Almighty displays His power.

The stars do not mind. They have prevailed since the world was young and humanity was but a glimmer in the Almighty’s eye.

The stars remain and they endure.

Our story begins with an answered prayer.

The naga was ravenous. It did not show mercy to the humans living in its territory. From its eyes shot pillars of flame, incinerating all those that it considered prey. The poison flowing from its nine forked tongue spread through its victims without pity.

There were only three souls left after the monster had devoured the wicked, a mother, a father and a son.

And it was their prayer that the stars overheard.

“Almighty deliver us from this great naga, only you have the power to stop it,” the father implored.

Their prayer was answered but not by the Almighty.

The stars watched as the great naga swung its tail and sent a terrible gale towards the couple. They saw the mountains shiver in fear at the beast’s power. It would not allow the humans to survive, the naga’s cruelty would not allow it.

Fury and flames surrounded the family, even the earth seemed to cry out in pain. In the naga’s path trailed misery and suffering, the broken bodies of its victims littered the monster’s passage until the great beast came face to face with its final prey.

“If this is the Almighty’s will then let it be so,” the mother sobbed. She held tight her family, the only comfort left in their plight.

The naga leapt into the sky and opened its titanic maw.
The family closed their eyes and waited for the inevitable, but the Almighty heard their pleas and showed his benevolence.

The dragon leapt, but it did not meet its target. It rose high into the heavens, past the clouds and into the realm of the stars, gigantic gouts of flame and smoke trailing in its wake.

When it seemed the naga could not go higher it stopped, suspended between the stars and surrounded by its blaze.

The family thanked the Almighty for His mercy, forever remembering the day they were saved from the savagery of the beast.

And what of the stars?

They surrendered to the will of the Almighty, accepting the naga’s new place betwixt their realm.

But even they know it will not last.

For the stars hear the naga’s whispers. They await the end of days when the dragon will sweep towards the earth and devour all those wicked souls that do not obey the Almighty.

And so the stars remain patiently until the heavens are theirs once again.

————————–————————–————————

• In Samal myth the milky way is seen as a gigantic trapped dragon.

*The Cebuano language, alternatively called Cebuan and also often colloquially albeit informally referred to by most of its speakers simply as Bisaya (“Visayan”, not to be confused with other Visayan languages nor Brunei Bisaya language), is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 21 million people, mostly in Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas and most parts of Mindanao, most of whom belong to various Visayan ethnolingusitic groups, mainly the Cebuanos. It is the by far the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages, which are in turn part of wider the Philippine languages. The reference to the language as Bisaya is not encouraged anymore by linguists due to the many languages within the Visayan language group that may be confused with the term.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cebuano Translation by Joy Gabales
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joy Gabales

Adapted from ‘The Dragon’ in Sulu Studies 2. Rixhon ed. 1973.

The Imprisoned Naga Illustration by Julius Arboleda

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*Note this story is in Hiligaynon

O marcupo, marcupo, sa imo harianon nga padong

O marcupo, marcupo, sa imo pugad nagatambong

Sa labing taas nga bukid  sa dumaan nga kadutaan

Sa tunga sang Marapara kag Canlaon ang ginapuy-an

Ambahanon mong’ nagapanglakaton sa mga suba kag linaw

Ang imo tulunggon nagatay-og sa adlaw nga masinaw

O marcupo, marcupo, ano nga manggad ang imo gina-alinga

Sa halapunan mong’ taas, ngaa natrangkahan ang puerta

Kilala ko ang imo pakaisa, kon anong’ dalit ang yara sa iya

Kay sa idalom sang puno, kumari ang iya mga biktima

Nagtener sa ila aliwansan, isa ka puno kon kabigon

Ginhingadlan Kamandag, kon diin ginkabig sila nga tulokbon

O marcupo, marcupo, ngaa bala, ang dalit nga kalangil-aran

Nahulom sa mga sanga agud ang kalag mahingalayuhan

Ang ambahanon mo nagtunong, sa kagat mo napa-idalman

Nagtulin sa mga ugat sang kasulgan sang kapulakan

Marcupo, marcupo, ambaha sa amon ang ambahanon mo

Magtener ka lamang sa kahoy nga puluy-an mo

Ang imo dila kag sungay ipaiway, wala na sang agsik sang dugo

Ihilayo ang imo bangkil kag ikog kag padong sa imo ulo

Bangud kami dili mangin imo daga

Sa imo kahoy, kalayo ang igadala

Kag amon tupukon tubtob sa wala ka na

O,marcupo, marcupo, ini amon ginapanumpa

=————————————=

English Version

*The Hiligaynon language, also colloquially referred often by most of its speakers simply as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, mainly in Western Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN, most of whom belong to the Visayan ethnic group, mainly the Hiligaynons. It is the second-most widely spoken language and a member of the so-named Visayan language family and is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Hiligaynon translation by Juriel Ong
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Juriel Ong

The post Marcupo – Hiligaynon Translation appeared first on Philippine Spirits.

*Annotation

=—————————————————————-=

*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.

**Baybayin (Tagalog pronunciation: [baɪbaˈjɪn]; also incorrectly known as alibata) is a Philippine script. It is an alphasyllabary belonging to the family of the Brahmic scripts. It was widely used in Luzon and other parts of the Philippines prior to and during the 16th and 17th centuries before being supplanted by the Latin alphabet during the period of Spanish colonization.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation and Transcription by Rosella S Moya-Torrecampo
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation and Transcription Copyright © Rosella S Moya-Torrecampo

Adapted from ‘The Moon and the Bacunawa’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths. Eugenio. 2001.

Watercolor by Tara Singson
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*Note this story is in Pangasinan/ Pangasinense

Aray danum na dayat et simmiling na singa sakey na butil tan abetag ng alahas (dyamante), singa apoy o parlang tan silew na bitwin.

Natan na labi, singa kaparyas ya amin na labi, say getma to, aya et otet la, dyad panaon na pankokoegip to tan say entitilek ed linawa tan nonot to et arom, ed saman na oras et sarag ton likumen say nipakna ed likna to.

Wala ney sakey na pasen na abong, imbaga tod ina to na amin na istorya to wala ney panaoy pan alis alis daray antokaman na totoo ed san aney na pasey isla. Balet say oras et naoputan la. Simmilip tan nimmingning dyad arapay patar, na dakel iray taga byek taew (turista) na immaalis nipeg na anengneng day irap na bilay ed saman na lugar.

Nen saman ayan lugar et sakey na masanting na isla na dakel na too na manbibilay, natan singa la malapatey o malainatey na lugar ya alaes la, ya naantaan ya aray arom na too na taga biyek taew (turista) na asubraan iray pinan gamit ed saman na lugar.

Immagos tan timmerter so akes to ed lupa simmabi anggad kainepan na saray pakaanta.

Tinepetan toy sarili to, “aya amo so kapalaran ya totoo dyad pasen me”.

Abalang tan abayag ya irmen so limmad pasen da.

Inpikit toy mata to tan imingas ya dagew ed kalabian to, inkarga toy lima to dyad banday ulo to ed anlimek na pasen na bwer, intokotok tod sarili to anggap napano na aliwan nonot tan kanonotan to.

Abangon tan nanpainawa, insekder totan anonotan to na aliwa so limmad kanonotan to.

Saray bitwen aga simmilew ed dayat, agto alikas so pitang daray arom na bulan.

Alikas ton amin, no amin iray too to ed saman na pasen no walay getma (posilidad) da, tan enla irad saray paka bilayan da, pero andi, abalang so limmipas na getma tan abalew to.
Pimmawel dyad abong to tan dyad saray ateng to tan apater dyad bilonget na bilay to.
Aga angiter na nipeg na panirapan tod loob to, ta anta tod sarili to na amin na too to ed unoener ed sikato dyad angadngad bilay to.
Say bilonget tan liwawa na nanpegleyan tod sikato et anggapoy akira parad sikato.

Anggad dyad patar na dayat et aliber tan abalkot lay irmen.

Anggad say pamilya to et nipeg lan enkerew na pikakasi.

Immeyag, pan nadayew tan nataktakot iray kasubeg to ya sakey na ginatinan tan biktima nen saman na agew.

Endadaloy ed dala to eray dalay totoo to tan kakaiba ton totoo.

Pero say irmen tan bilonget et pimmayagpag ed lugar da.

Pinulyanan ton laed dad oleg na agew, apatalimukor ed pweg to tan timmerter tan immagos so akes to tan apaktak ed kipapasen na ambilonget.

————————————————————

English Version

The sea glistened like a field of crushed diamonds, reflecting the soft light of the stars.

Tonight, as in all nights, was her ritual. It was late, the time when dreams fluttered in the minds of others, and it was this time that she could collect her thoughts.

There was little left for her in what should have been her home. Her mother had told her stories of when her people would move as nomads all over the island, but those times were long past. She looked at the beach, now filled with tourists escaping the drudgery of city life. This place was once a paradise for her people to live, now it was a hollow shell of its former self, chipped away at the ends by the consumption of man.

A soft tear made its way down her cheek, and her sorrow reaches its peak. How did it come to this, was this really the destiny of her people? Forever lost, forever wandering for their place in the world?

She closes her eyes and breathes in the night air. She lays her head on the soft sand, letting the thoughts fly through her mind until darkness fills her.

She awakens, rested and ready, yet something is not right.
The stars are not reflected on the sea, she cannot feel the warm glow of moonlight.

Instinctively she knows.

It is early, when her people would tend to the fields and go about the means of their survival, but no, she corrects herself, the old ways are gone.

The darkness fills her vision until nothing is left.

Until the beaches are covered with concrete.

Until the forests are drowned by the mines.

Until her family has to resort to begging.

She knows she has to shout, to make the sun fight back against its victimhood. It is in her blood, the blood of her people.

Yet silence reigns.

“Let the serpent take the sun.” She falls on her knees and her tears fall into the darkness.

——————————————————————————

*Pangasinan (Salitan Pangasinan) – sometimes called Pangasinense is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pangasinan, on the west-central seaboard of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, the northern portion of Tarlac and southwestern La Union, most of whom belong to the Pangasinan ethnic group. Pangasinan is also understood in some municipalities in Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, and by the Aeta or Aeta of Zambales.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Joelson Dalioan Nazam
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joelson Dalioan Nazam

Story inspired by the Sawa description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Sawa Illustration by Patricia Zulueta
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Long ago, as the elders have said, there lived a monster in the North. This great beast was said to be a winged serpent that flew above the clouds. When it moved a huge shadow was cast on the earth giving warning to the people below that danger was looming. 

Nothing could hurt the dragon. Its scales could not be pierced by human weapons and only the very foolish, or the very brave would even think of challenging the beast. 

Time passed and the beast was seen less and less by the people of the North. It was only through the tales told by the fading generations that its story was kept alive. 

No one knew what became of the dragon, and there were even those that whispered that some brave hero had slain it, though it could never be proven. 

And so, time passed and people moved on. Centuries brought much change and upheaval to the North. A new faith brought with it temples of stone. Works of steel and wires crisscrossed the land. People grew and multiplied.
Through all of this the dragon remained silent. 

Until shocks rocked the North destroying buildings, damaging towns and splitting the earth. Many casualties were reported and it was a tragedy that would stay in people’s minds for years to come. 

In the aftermath there were those that believed this event was a warning from the Almighty. A place of worship was shattered and its penitents wrote letters to their Lord begging for forgiveness. 

One of these was a young man named Mariano. He stared at the rubble before him and prayed the rosary as he set down a handwritten note pleading for intercession in these trying times. 

As he said his 20th Hail Mary, he was startled by a hand that rested on is shoulder. It was that of an old woman that he did not know.

“Hello lola, can I help you?” Mariano asked.

The woman just stared blankly at him.

“Are you lost? Are you here with your family? I can help you look for them.”

Just then the old woman grabbed Mariano’s arm and stared into his eyes.

“It is back,” she said.

“What is back?” Mariano was confused, he didn’t understand anything the old woman was saying.

“The great phantom. The giant spirit. The terror.”

The old woman crumpled into Mariano’s arms. Her breathing was shallow, and her pulse was weak. 

Mariano shouted for help and an ambulance was called.
As he listened for her breath, she managed to let out a whisper, “Olimaw.” 

The paramedics ushered the old woman into the ambulance and Mariano breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was over. 

He grasped his rosary and continued on with his vigil. 

A few minutes in he noticed something was different. His fingers felt a different texture. Mariano looked at his rosary and noticed that the smooth beads had been changed to rough, almost rock-like ones. He stared at the rosary and wondered how that could have happened. 

In that moment a shadow was cast over him. He looked towards the sky and saw nothing but a group of clouds temporarily blocking the sun. 

He wondered about the old woman and what she said. 

It took him back to his childhood when his grandparents brought him to the lighthouse at Cape Bojeador. 

The sky was a tapestry weaved out of starlight. Mariano had never seen anything like it before. He pointed towards the different constellations and his lolo would tell each of their stories. 

At the end of their visit, when it was getting far too late for a six-year-old to stay awake, Mariano pointed towards the moon and asked his lolo to tell him a story. 
His lolo obliged and put Mariano on his lap. It was then that Mariano first heard of the word ‘Olimaw’ and as he drifted to sleep, his lolo told him that no one had seen the serpent in centuries. The moon and the people of the North were safe from its jaws.

That was then. 

In the weeks that followed the night sky seemed to grow darker. It was as if the very stars were hiding from an unseen predator. The moon’s light was left unfelt by those that had come to expect its cooling rays. 

And through it all the words of the old woman ringed in Mariano’s ears. 

“Olimaw.”

In the wake of the earthquake a giant fissure opened near Paoay Church. Thankfully the church was spared the damage that had befallen so many other structures, and Mariano took the time to go there to pray.

It was said that the church was specifically made to adapt to the seismic conditions of the Philippines. This was obvious with the striking buttresses around the church.

At any other time, Mariano would have marveled at the architecture, but this time he was here for a reason. 
He approached the gigantic fissure with care, not knowing what he was going to find. Officials called the area a safety hazard and had told the public to stay away, though this was not strongly enforced. There were no people around when Mariano went on with his reconnaissance. 

50 meters in he found what he was looking for. A large black scale the size of his torso. There was a shine to it when the sunlight hit. Mariano gasped and took out his rosary. He prayed to calm his nerves and he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize his palms were bleeding.

As the droplets of blood fell to the ground a tremor went through the fissure. Mariano stopped his prayers, knelt down and covered his head. He closed his eyes and hoped that this was just a small aftershock. 

The tremor didn’t last long and when he opened his eyes a soft glow filled his vision. 

Before him was what seemed to be a man, though he was covered in light. He pointed towards the scale.
“What are you?” Mariano asked.

The man smiled and pointed to Mariano’s rosary. “I am one of many,” he said. 

“What do you mean?”

“In times long past, I would have been called a great spirit, or even—“

“A god.”

The man smiled and nodded. 

“Was the Olimaw a god too?”

“To some.”

“It was here wasn’t it? Trapped? Can it be trapped again?”

The man looked towards the sky. “Maybe,” he said. 

“It won’t stop will it?”

The man shook his head.

“What must I do?”

“What you have already done.” The man pointed to the rosary again.

“Pray?”

“Go to where the clouds roll by and do as you have done.”

“Wait! What does that mean—-”

And in an instant the man vanished.

Mariano stared at the rosary, stained with his blood. He knew where he had to go, but not what he had to do. 

The next afternoon Mariano stood at the edge of the Gilbert bridge. The Laoag river reflected the dark orange of the impending sunset. From here he could see the Apayao mountain range and the sea of clouds that floated between the peaks. 

He waited for dusk to settle in, when the serpent would burst through the clouds and make the night just that much darker. 

Mariano’s fingers quivered has they tried to grasp his rosary. 

As the sun nestled itself below the mountains, it emerged. It had a certain sense of majesty about it, a regal dragon swooping across the night sky, dancing in between the clouds. 

It was time. 

Mariano started with an ‘Our Father’ hoping that it might do something. The sharp stones of his rosary were digging into his palms as he clenched his fists. 

Still the dragon danced. 

Mariano fell on his knees. What good was prayer here? There was no way to stop the serpent. Not when he was alone. 

He looked to the moon and saw that darkness was covering it. Soon there would be nothing left, only a canvas of black. 

And then he remembered. 

The Olimaw was not the only being in his lolo’s stories. 

He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Amman! Saguday! Cabuyaran! Revenador! Anianihan! Bulan!”

“Please, hear me!”

A soft white glow started to appear around him. After a few moments a woman appeared in front of him and grasped his hands. As soon as she did his bloody palms healed. 

In that instant he knew he was in the presence of the gods. 

He saw them fly towards the dragon and use the soft glow of the moon to envelop it. A fierce gust of wind and peals of thunder led the serpent to release its grip on the moon. 

The serpent fell towards the earth and the land shook. Mariano held his ground and waited until he was sure it was over. 

Moonlight filled the sky and settled on Mariano’s grateful face. 

“Thank you,” he said to the sky.

He picked himself back up and shrugged the weight of the past few weeks off his shoulders. Mariano couldn’t find his rosary and for once it didn’t matter. 

He knew now how to pray. 

——————————————————

*Anianihan is the god of the harvest, Cabuyaran is the goddess of healing, Saguday is the god of wind, Revenador is the god of thunder and lightning, Amman is the god of the sun (the sun is his eye) and Bulan is the god of peace. 

Written by Karl Gaverza 
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Story inspired by the Oilmaw description in 
Gelade, George P. I993. Ilokano-English dictionary. Quezon City, Philippines: CICM Missionaries, Inc.

Olimaw Illustration by Manuel Liwanag
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Part 1 of Appeasing the Moon Serpents

Every night the bakunawas come.

It started a month ago. Our village was no stranger to the moon serpents, and we readied our gongs and our chants to safeguard the lunar light against the beasts. We rejoiced then, not knowing the hardship we would face. I think back to those happy times and weep.

We were not ready for this.

First, they came alone. The night after the first serpent came, another took its place. It was not unknown to our people that there would be multiple bakunawas in a month following each other. Their kind thought of the moon as a plaything, greedily swallowing it up when they could.

Our people knew of two kinds of moon serpent, differentiated by their bellies. One with a transparent stomach that, when it swallowed the moon, would cause a partial eclipse, and another with a thick-walled stomach that would cause the sky to darken completely.

After the first week we were exhausted. We forced ourselves to push through the pain, and there were even times when the serpents would slip past and gorge on the moon. We chanted twice as hard until we spat blood.

But they did not stop.

We consulted the spirit-talkers among us for answers. They sat beneath their Balete trees and communed with the spirits of sea and sky.

I still remember that night. The spirit talkers cried tears of blood and spoke in a voice of darkness. They told us that this was only the beginning. The bakunawas would come, until the world was completely drenched in midnight.

And there was nothing we could do about it.

I didn’t want to believe the spirit talkers. Maybe something was wrong with their visions. I know that something had to be done to rid our village, and the world of the moon serpents, at least long enough that our village could rest.

But I don’t know what to think now that it has been a month. Our village is tired and we pray to the sun that it would rid us of these loathsome beasts, yet no reprieve comes.
‘The serpents will come as harbingers of the dark. They will take everything from us and lead us into the end,’ the possessed spirit talker’s words echo in my head.

I will not take this lying down. There must be something I can do to stop the moon serpents. I gather my things, my kris, my lucky amulet and some provisions.

As children, we were warned not to stray in too far into the bamboo forest, for there are beings there that are not what they seem. Among these are the muwa, old men and women in one of their forms, and large, hairy creatures once they set aside their illusions.

The answer must lie with them, for if the spirits will not help us, maybe the monsters will.

*In Kinaray-a folklore there are two kinds of bakunawas, one that has a transparent belly, blamed for partial lunar eclipses and one with an opaque belly, blamed for total lunar eclipses
.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the bakunawa description in The Soul Book. Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.

Bakunawa (Kinaray-a) Illustration by Julius Arboleda
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Long ago, the island of Negros was ruled by a peaceful and kind-hearted king by the name of Laon.

One day heavy rains fell. The river overflowed and as time went on the water became neck-deep. The people went to their king to ask for aid.

Laon called for a meeting. He said that they should build a mound of earth that would overcome any flood. The people shouted, “We have no tools!” and the king waved his handkerchief and a spade and heavy hoe appeared. Still there was discontent. “How can we build this mound without stones?!” and Laon stomped his feet and stones magically appeared.

Together the people built a mound that reached six thousand feet above sea level. It was there that they took refuge until the water went away.

Everything seemed to be alright until one morning a great commotion woke the king from his sleep. A giant serpent with seven heads was approaching the village. Its red eyes and smoking nose frightened the villagers. At night, the snake would breathe fire damaging crops and killing the animals around the village.

It seemed impossible to challenge the serpent until one day a young man named Kan appeared. He told king Laon that he would kill the snake and the king was glad.

Laon said that he would reward Kan with riches and the hand of his beautiful daughter if Kan was successful in ridding the village of the serpent.

Kan was no ordinary man. He knew the languages of the birds and the beasts. And when it came time to fight the serpent he called on them for aid. The beasts bit the serpent’s body and the birds pecked its eyes. They gave Kan enough of an opening and the youth sliced off the serpent’s heads.

With the snake dead, Kan presented the seven heads to king Laon. There he was showered with riches and married the daughter of the king.

When king Laon died Kan became the king of the tribe. The mound that saved the villagers from the flood remains, called Kanlaon in memory of the brave youth and the kind king.

“And there we end our story.”

Loala Anding closed the book and watched her grandchildren fall asleep. Rhai was her favorite, always asking questions. He would probably be a scholar in the future. Lola Anding hoped that she would live to see that.

She reflected on the tale she told the children. The legend of Mount Kanlaon, such a romantic story! A brave youth fighting off giant serpents, a magical king and his village building a mountain, birds and beasts helping to fight off evil, all these things made her grandchildren’s eyes light up with wonder.
She wondered what each child would take from the story.

Rhai, of course, interrupted her a few times and asked her why things were the way they were. “Why did the king have magic?” “Why was Kan able to speak the languages of the animals?” “How long did the people take to build the mound?”
His inquisitive spirit was so evident in his questions, she wondered if he would fill in the blanks with his own imagination.

Now Faye was afraid of the story, she clutched her stuffed crocodile tight while Lola acted out the part of cutting up the serpent’s heads. Poor girl, she just wanted everyone to be friends. She asked, “If Kan could speak to animals, why couldn’t he speak to the serpent to go and leave everyone alone?”

Fernando shot back at her with his usual wit, “The serpent was evil and evil things need to be dealt with!” He swung his toy sword around and Lola Anding sighed. One day he would poke an eye out with that thing. His single mindedness was a sight to see. She wondered how long he would view the world in black and white. She shook her head, “The child deserves his innocence,” she whispered to herself.

She tucked them all in and gave them a kiss goodnight. They were off to fight their own serpents in their dreams, or in Faye’s case make friends with them.

Lola Anding smiled. She remembered the first time she heard this story from her own grandfather. In those days entertainment was hard to come by and she looked forward to these stories with an open mind.

And what did she get from it?

“In life you will fight serpents, and you will have to overcome them with your gifts. Use what you were given to face your challenges and you will be rewarded.”

She took those words to heart and never forgot what she fought for.

And was it worth it?

She looked at her sleeping grandchildren and gave a slight nod.

“Of course it was,” she whispered to herself.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Adapted from The Legend of Mt. Canlaon in Negros Oriental and Siquijor Island Legends, Beliefs and Folkways. Aldecoa-Rodriguez. 2000.

Kan’s Serpent Illustration by Paul Medalla
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“Stop me if you’ve heard this before. It’s a locked room, there’s one victim. All signs point to suicide. There’s a note left for family and friends. It all seems like an open and shut case, but there’s something that catches your eye. On the note there’s a circle, the same kind that you’ve found on another suicide weeks before. You think it’s a coincidence, but you see the same circle on a suicide case weeks after. You think that there may be something to this symbol, so you look over old case files then you find more notes with more circles. There’s no pattern that you can see, different ages, different backgrounds, but you know there has to be something that you’re missing, something that ties everything together.”

“Stop it Ernesto. I get it you don’t think there’s anything there—”

“You think it might be some sort of suicide cult, like what happened in Japan in the 70s. There’s just too much of a pattern that you can’t ignore. You spend all your free time digging through the cases, interviewing the families, reopening old wounds. Your superiors tell you to stop, but you can’t. There’s something driving you and it won’t let go. You turn over every stone, every shred of evidence you can find, but there’s still nothing solid, nothing that ties the suicides together.”
“Ernesto. Stop.”

“It slowly becomes your life. You take it home with you to the point where your wife can’t stand to talk about it. Every waking moment of your day is devoted to finding some kind of lead that will get you closer to solving the case.”

“Ernesto!”

“But there’s a part of you that doesn’t think the case can be solved. You think that it’s all been a waste of time. So what if there’s a random circle that happens to be on the suicide notes of some troubled people, it could just be some coincidence. There’s no way that these many people are all connected somehow. They’re just too different.”

“Please stop.”

“But there’s something that just keeps driving you. You know in your gut that the circle means something. Something that ties all of this together, but you just can’t figure it out. Your friends all tell you to stop, that this isn’t worth losing your job and your relationships, but you don’t listen. This is something bigger than you now, something that you can’t explain.”

“…..”

“You know, deep in your soul that everything is connected and that there’s something bigger that’s going on. You try to tell your friends and anyone that will listen, but they close their ears. They don’t want to listen to what you have to say. So you go online, spread the word to as many people as you can, it doesn’t matter that your wife left you, it doesn’t matter that your friends don’t call you back. People need to know what’s happening.”

“Please.”

“Now you’re in what’s left of your house, piles of papers surrounding you. Interview notes, stolen evidence, witness statements all around. You can’t let go of the feeling that something’s going to happen.”

“It will.”

“There’s nothing left except—“

“Shut up!”

“Except that feeling.”

“You don’t know what it’s like. To know that something will happen. To know that you’re the only one that can warn people about whatever it is. You don’t know what it’s like to sacrifice everything you have to make sure that people know something is coming!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s been another suicide. That makes four this month, all with no seeming connection except—“

“The circle.”

“It was on every note that the victims left.”

“You think that there’s something to it then?”

“I don’t know if I believe what you believe. All I know is that there have been more and more suicides and all of them have the same symbol left behind.”

“It must mean that it will happen soon.”

“What will? You’ve been at this for years and you still can’t tell me for sure what is going to happen.”

“It has to do with the circle.”

“But what does it mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well we have to figure it out.”

“’We?’”

“I still don’t know if there’s a pattern to all of this, but my gut is telling me I have to find out.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank me when we get answers.”

Jomar Gallante stared at the gun in his hands and thought about better yesterdays. It had been two weeks since the dreams started. The bags under his eyes were heavy and the empty coffee cups and energy drinks that littered his apartment were starting to smell.

He didn’t want to close his eyes. That’s when the dreams came. It was always the same. The days were the only solace he had against the onslaught of the terror.

He couldn’t remember what exactly happened in the dreams, though that might be a small mercy that the Lord gave him. He would wake up in a cold sweat, his throat dry from screaming. No matter what he took they always came. He looked at the broken alarm clock on the side of his bed and the scratches on his body.

He prayed that God would forgive him for what he was about to do.

“Ernesto look at this.”

“Quiet! I’m already in hot water for bringing you to a crime scene. I don’t want to get kicked out too.”

“Look at the pool of blood.”

“What about it?”

“The shape. It’s like the other suicides.”

“You’re sounding crazy, it’s all gravity. The blood just pooled that way.”

“It looks like it’s laughing.”

“I took a big risk bringing you here and you’re talking nonsense. Nothing is laughing at us. Let’s focus on what we know. This is the third suicide this week. The first victim was a 50 year old father of two, the next one a 26 year old call center agent and now—“

“35 year old single male. Lived alone in his apartment. The neighbors said that they could hear screaming from his room every night the week before his suicide. They said he had nightmares.”

“Were those nightmares bad enough to lead to all this?”

“Maybe. If only we saw what he did.”

“If we did we might have ended up like him.”

“Maybe.”
“There’s nothing connecting the victims. They lived in different areas, different socio-economic statuses. Their paths never crossed.”

“Except for the circle.”

“I’ve asked forensics to look through their computers and there’s nothing in their histories that looks like that symbol. Unless you count Google Chrome, but I don’t think it’s telling people to kill themselves.”

“….”

“It was a joke. At this point I don’t know what our next step is. It’s the same story and if you’re right and something big is going to happen then we have to act fast.”

“…”

“Hello? Arturo?”

“Sorry I was just looking at the moon.”

“First the crazy talk and now you’re getting distracted. You need to keep your head in the game.”

“Yes.. yes.. sorry. I don’t know what I was doing.”

“Well hurry up. We need to get out of here before anyone spots you.”

“Alright…alright.”

Ernesto couldn’t look Sarah in the eyes. Arturo had been missing nearly 5 days and he was running out of options.

“Ever since he became obsessed with that case I cut all ties,” she said.

He knew she was right. They hadn’t talked for nearly eight months. Ernesto sighed and thanked Sarah. She was his last lead, now he was out of options.

Had someone taken Arturo? Was it connected to the case? Or did his sanity finally break?

Ernesto looked at the night sky, the full moon hung in the air with a mocking glow.

He prayed his friend was alright, but there were other cases and crimes to think about.

He started his car and started the long drive home.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Bakunawa myths

Anggitay Illustration by Abe Joncel Guevarra
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