*Note this story is in Tagalog
“Ililigtas nila ako.”
Tumama ang mga alon sa ibabaw ng ulo ng mangingisda. Sinubukan niyang lumangoy sa tubig ngunit hindi ito pinatawad ng bagyo. Inulan nang napakalakas sa walang hugis na karagatan, ngunit alam niya na lilisan rin ito. Hindi nila pinabayaan siya dito para malunod, at kailangan niya lang magtiwala hanggang sa dulo.
Naaalala niya ang mga luha sa mata ng kanyang ina nang itapon niya ang kanyang rosaryo. Natatakot ang ina para sa kanya, pero mas natatakot ito para sa kanyang kaluluwa. Ang mangingisda ay ang anak ng kanyang ama at dala-dala nito ang paniniwala sa mga lumang gawi dahil dumadaloy sa dugo niya ang tubig ng karagatan.
Nagmakaawa ang ina sa kanya na magtiwala nalang sa kanyang manliligtas, sa manliligtas nila. Yaong siyang kinalakihan niya sa pagmamahal at liwanag, ngunit hindi niya pinakinggan ang ina. Hinding hindi maintindihan ng ina ang buhay nila sa dagat, ang mga sarili nilang tagapagligtas.
“Aswang ng dagat” – iyan ang tawag sa kanila. Sabi nila na inaakit ng mga nilalang na ito ang mga mangingisda sa tubig sa pamamagitan ng kanilang mga kanta para lunurin at kainin sila. Ikinagugulat niya pa rin na naniniwala pa rin ang mga tao sa kasabihang iyon. Alam ng mga mangingisda ang mga kwentong iyon ay tila isang pagkubli sa dami ng taong nagdaan dulot ng respeto at hanga sa mga nilalang.
Ngunit wala na siyang magagawa dito. Dumaan ang mga taon at nagbago ang mga pangangailan ng tao. Wala nang pag-alay sa dagat, o kahit anumang dasal sa mga alon. Ang natira na lamang ay siya. Ang huling anak ng isang nakalimutang paniniwala.
Nanghihina na ang braso ng mangingisda. Bumibigay na ang kanyang katawan sa walang tigil na galit ng alon at ulan. Inalala niya ang kanyang ina, at nanindigan sa kanyang paniniwala. Isang huling dasal ang binulong ng mga labi bago siya lamunin ng mga alon:
Ang tubig ay ang daan pauwi
Maniniwala ako sa’yo
O mga nilalang ng bagyo at dagat
Ang karimlan ay magiging liwanag
Kakalma ang alon
Makakasama ko na ang dagat
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English Version
“They will save me.”
The waves crash over the fisherman’s head. He tries to tread water but the storm will not let up. Thousands upon millions of raindrops batter the ocean’s shapeless form, but he knows they will pass. They did not lead him here to drown and he will trust in them until the end of his days.
He remembers the tears in his mother’s eyes when he tossed her rosary aside. She was scared for him, but more concerned for his soul. The fisherman was his father’s son and carried on believing in the old ways because the water was in his blood.
His mother begged him to trust his savior, their savior. The one she had raised him to remember in love and light, but he couldn’t listen to her. She could never understand the life they had at sea, the guardians that protected them.
“Aswang ng Dagat” – that’s what they called them. They say that the spirits lured fishermen into the water with their songs to drown and eat them. It still surprised him how long that lie had lasted and how many people still believed in it. The fishermen knew those stories for what they were: a brush used to paint over the centuries of respect and admiration of the spirits.
There was nothing he could do though. The years had changed what people turned to in their times of need. There were no more offerings by the sea, or prayers to the waves. What was left was him. The last son of a dying belief.
The fisherman’s arms are getting weak now. His body is finally surrendering to the endless onslaught of the waves and the rain. He thinks back to his mother and stays firm in his conviction. His lips release one final prayer before his head goes beneath the waves:
The water will lead me home
I will trust in you
O spirits of storm and sea
The darkness will turn into light
The waves will calm
I will be with the sea
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*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.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Tagalog Translation by Miguel Carlos Lazarte
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Miguel Carlos Lazarte
Inspired by the Magindara entry in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010.
Magindara Illustration by emirajuju
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Watercolor by Mykie Concepcion
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