*Note this story is in Kapampangan
Anti ya mong istoryador i apu ku. Inyang migretiru ne minuli ya king balen mi king Siargao, pane yang atiu munisipyu mangalkal mamasang lumang libru. Gewa na ini angga king mete ya inyang milabas a bulan.
Ala kung makaying agaganaka kang apu ku. Marayu kami tuknangan anya mikikit kami mu patse atin okasyun, pero asno pangasanting ding istorya na. Ing pane kung agaganaka itang istorya ning kampanario ning Busay.
“Oryana ring pirata.” Antimo keng dimdam bosis. Yapin ita ing pekaburi ku king istorya na. Asne kabiasnan mamagbayung bosis i Apu anya makule ing pamag-istorya na. “Mimingat ka karing pirata.” Ing tauli nang linya king pamagkuentu. E ku buring pane lang manyambut ding marok king istorya na dapot ing kapupusan e ne man pin siguru mas maulaga king milyari libutad.
Ala kung obra pilang aldo anya migbiayi ku pa-Dinagat Islands, makanta ya pa mu rin, taimik, matunud, manyaman mimisip. Patse miglakad-lakad ka, amanan me ing kasalesayan. Makayawa ya.
Migdesisyun kung munta Busay para akit itang bito king istorya ng apu ku. Malati ya mu pala, dapot pane namang aliwa ing imahinasyun king katutuan. Kakwa kung retratu aganaka ke i apu ku. Ring mata nang kikinang patse inumpisan neng ikuentu itang pamanako dang kampana ring pirata bayu de inugse king bito, ampo ing alang pakalulu dang pamamate karing Dinagatnon. Ngeni ku mu apiunab ing lungkut ning istorya.
Mengadi ku lele ning bito bayu ku meko, para king apu ku ampo karing tau king istorya na. Kaluat nang migbante karing tau ning kampana. Magnasang king lalam nitang Bito, mipainawa neng masalese.
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English Version
My lola is a historian of sorts. After her retirement she went back to our small town in Surigao and spent her days going through the old books in the town hall. She did this until she passed away a month ago.
I don’t remember much about my lola. We lived so far away that I would only see her on the holidays, but she would always have the best stories. The one I would always remember was about the bell of Busay.
“The pirates are coming.” I could almost hear her say. That was the best part about the story. Lola had the talent of being able to change her voice when it suited her and this made her storytelling much more vibrant. “Be careful of pirates.” Was the last line from her story sessions. I never liked that the bad guys won in her story but I guess the ending wasn’t as important as the middle.
I had a few days off work so I took the trip back to Dinagat island and it was the same as it always was, quiet and tranquil, the perfect place to think. Walking around the area, you could feel the sense of history around you. It was almost infectious.
I decided to go to Busay and see the bito from my lola’s story. It was smaller than I imagined, but that’s always what happens when imagination meets reality. I take a picture and I think about my lola. About how her eyes would light up when she started on the part where the pirates stole the bell of the chapel and tossed it down this bito, and how they mercilessly slaughtered the Dinagatnons after. I never realized how dark that story was until now.
I say a little prayer by the bito before I leave, partly for my lola and partly for the people in her story. The bell spent so many years protecting people. Hopefully, at the bottom of that Bito, it can finally rest in peace.
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*A bito is a natural well
* Kapampangan, Pampango, or the Pampangan language is a major Philippine language. It is primarily spoken in the province of Pampanga, southern Tarlac, and northeastern Bataan. Kapampangan is also spoken in some municipalities of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, by various Aeta groups of Central Luzon, and in scattered communities within the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. The language is known honorifically as Amánung Sísuan (“breastfed, or nurtured, language”)
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Dana Jean Tapang
Story inspired by “The Bell of Busay” in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Magbalantay sa Linggaya sa Busay Illustration and Watercolor by Nightmaresyrup
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