*Note this story is in Waray
An bulan, hadlok idayag an iya lamrag, umatras ha luyo han mga dampog.
Kaupay. Pinsar ni Sonja. Hinaot unta waray pa hira magtikang samtang waray pa ako.
Natikakusog an mga natahuban nga tingog ha sakob han bag, kundi waray bisan ano an diri maaayad han usa nga malaksi nga banyak. Maaram hiya nga poyde hiya gumamit hin mahika agud pakaturugon an mga adto ha sulod han bag kundi waray niya ini gamiton. Pirme napipinsar ni Sonja nga an guti nga kahadlok, nakakaupay gud han nanam.
An kiritaan amo an kagurangan ha ligid han syudad. Tikang han panahon han mga kadaan nga kahadian, nagkikirigta hira ngan nagsasaro ha pista. Usa nga makatarawa nga butang nga an pista kadungan han kaadlawan han anak han birhen.
Gindanas ni Sonja an sako ngadto ha sarakban han kagurangan. Bug-os nga gab-i an pista ngan nadiri hiya nga sumugal ha anuman nga risgo. Ginbilin niya an iya mga tiil ha kagurangan ngan nagselebrar bug-os nga gab-i
Usa nga mangingilaw an bantay yana ha kagurangan. “Kahirayo mo ha im urukyan,” sering ni Sonja.
“Napakadto ako kun hain ak gin-imbitar,” baton niya.
“Ano an im dara?” Ginlabay ni Sonja an bag ngadto ha tiil han higante.
“Mga hilaw.”
“Syempre, mao an karuyag han mga sugad ha imo. Urhi na ba ako?”
“Sulod, manananggal, waray pa kami magtikang.”
Nakaginhawa hi Sonja. An pangabre nga seremonya amo an pinakamaupay nga parte. Ginbilin niya an iya mga tiil ha hirani nga puno ngan linupad.
Inupod hiya ha iba pa, naglinupad-lupad ha bawbaw han mga puno.
Diri maihap an alibadut, abat, kubot, alan, bannog, magkukutud, kalibadut ngan iba pa nga makaharadlok nga mananap an inapi. Ha kawaray han lamrag tikang ha bulan, pangabat la an ira giya ha ira malain nga sayaw.
Kadungan hini an makusog ngan malain nga kulaog han mga halimaw nga bisita han gab-i. Nakiduyog an mga tingog han bungisngis, kiwig ngan kulukupap, kaupod an damo nga iba pa ha selebrasyon.
Nahuman an seremonya han liningkod an hadi han mga mambabarang ha trono han mga tul-an ngan dugo.
Nasorpresa hi Sonja ha kun ano kaorganisado an tanan, kada grupo mayda kalugaringon nga espasyo ha kagurangan agud magtirok han karne para ha pista.
Karuyag niya tilawan an magkadirudilain nga mga halad ngan diri maaram kun diin magtitikang. Naglaway hiya tungod ha baho han dugo tikang ha parte han mandurugo, an tunog nga tikang ha palayok han pirotso nga amo an pangilal-an han lab-as nga kabataan, mayda koleksyon han mga ulo an mga saga-ih nga bug-os pa an mga unod.
Mayda liwat mga ‘moderno’ nga paghaum ha mga kadaan: Maragumo nga dinuguan nga mayda pinirito nga tinae, tudlo, bulalo han mga mata ngan nakaladkad nga mga puso nga mayda utak nga sabaw.
Ha kada minuto nga nalabay, dugang nga nagugutom hi Sonja ngan ginpili niya an puwesto ha sapit niya kun diin natindog an usa nga tigabulak. Natindog ini ha atubangan han usa nga lamesa nga mayda dako nga tadtaran ngan puthaw nga kutsilyo. Naaningal tikang ha sako ha luyo han tigabulak an mga tangis nga naaro hin bulig, nga nagdurot hin sobra nga karayhak kan Sonja. Marasa gud an sugad kalab-as nga karne nga gin-andam han tibulak, ginpapili pa gud niya hi Sonja kun hain nga bata an iya karuyag.
Han natudlok hiya ha usa nga guti nga bata nga haros lima katuig, usa nga kasamukan an binuto hirani ha iya.
Nagsering an tigabulak, nga klaro ha nawong an kauyam, “Hin-o an nag-imbitar ha iya ngadi?”
Linupad hi Sonja agud makit-an kun ano an nahitatabo ngan dagmit niya nga nakilal-an an mamam, nga pirit nga nasulod ha pista.
Tikang han panhitabo pira kabulan na an naglabay, nagdesisyon an ngatanan nga madarahug nga igtago an mga pista ha mamam, ha kahadlok nga mahimo nga kasamukan an selebrasyon.
Gin-atentaran han iba nga higante sugad han mangingilaw ngan timu-timu nga pugngan ini, kundi diri napaulang an mamam labina kun aada na ha iya atubangan an pagkaon. Diri iton maundang bisan kun an kontra igkasi halimaw.
Nakit-an ni Sonja nga haros ngatanan naeskapo na, dara an bahin nira ha pista. Ngan bisan hi Alan, nagdadagmit nga gumikan dara an usa nga guti nga bata.
Subay ha pangabat ni Sonja kinahanglan na niya dumalagan ngadto ha hirayo ngan dumalagan hin dagmit, kundi waray niya mahimo nga diri tumukod ha nalalain nga halimaw.
Usa kaoras na tikang han pagtikang han pananamok han mamam. An mga duguon nga patay nga lawas han bungisngis ngan ogro an pamatuod han panmatay. Naato ha tikaperdi nga agway iton mga nagpabilin agud depensahan an ira mga pagkaon.
Waray ginkikilala nga kaugop an mamam labot ha kagutom.
Aswang man o tawo, ginkaon la niya ngatanan.
Nakit-an ni Sonja an mga wais nga mga tawo nga ginsingabot an kasamukan agud talwason an kalugaringon. Usa nga burod an nakakadto ha guba samtang nalilibang an wak-wak nga nagdakop ha iya.
Waray kusog o mahika an makakapugong ha mamam. Ginsugo han hadi han mga mambabarang nga pasul-an an halimaw kundi baga dugang la iton nga nagutom. Duha nga mambabarang an namatay han gintulon hira han mamam.
Ha katapusan, natindog an mamam. Waray patay nga lawas, waray tul-an nga nagbilin hin pangilal-an han iya ginbuhat.
Waray na mahimo hi Sonja sanglit ginkarawat nala niya an panhitabo ngan linupad ngadto ha iya mga tiil, waray sulod an iya tiyan ha gab-i han pista.
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English Version
The moon, afraid to shine its light, retreated behind the clouds.
Perfect. Sonja thought. I hope they didn’t start without me.
The muffled voices inside the bag were starting to get louder, but nothing a swift kick wouldn’t fix. She knew there was magic that she could use to put them to sleep, she decided against it though. Sonja always thought that a little fear did wonders for flavor.
The meeting spot was in a grove in the outskirts of the city. Since the days of the old kingdoms they would meet and share in the feast. It was an amusing irony that the feast was on the same day as the birth of the virgin’s child.
Sonja dragged the sack to the entrance of the grove. The feast would take all night and she didn’t want to take any risks. She would leave her legs inside the grove and celebrate throughout the night.
Guarding the grove this time was a mangingilaw. “You’re far from home,” Sonja said.
“I go where I am invited,” he replied.
“What did you bring?” Sonja tossed the bag to the giant’s feet.
“Something raw.”
“Of course, that’s what your kind likes. Am I late?”
“Enter, mananaggal, we have not yet started.”
Sonja sighed with relief. The opening ceremony was the best part. She left her legs by a nearby tree and soared upwards.
There she joined the flock, swirling above the trees.
Countless alibadut, abat, kubot, alan, bannog, magkukutud, kalibadut and other flying horrors moved in tandem. Without moonlight they only had their intuition to guide their sinister dance.
Accompanying this was the raucous roar of the terrestrial guests of the night. The bungisngis, kiwig and kulukupap, among many others, lent their voices to the celebration.
The ceremony ended as the king of the mangkukulam took his place on the throne of bones and blood.
Sonja was surprised how orderly everything was, each group had their own space in the grove to gather meat for the feast.
She wanted to try the different offerings and didn’t know where to start. The scent of blood from the mandurugo corner made her salivate, the clang from the pirotso’s pot signaled fresh children, there was a collection of heads by the saga-ih complete with the flesh intact.
There were also more ‘modern’ takes on the classics: Crispy dinuguan with deep fried lamang-loob, finger and eyeball bulalo and sizzling hearts with brain sauce.
Sonja was getting hungrier by the minute and she chose the spot beside her where a tigabulak stood. He was standing in front of a table with a large cutting board and a cleaver. Cries of help were echoing from the sack behind him, filling Sonja with glee. Such fresh meat prepared by a tigabulak would be quite a delicacy, he even let Sonja choose which child.
As Sonja was pointing to a small girl, about five years old, a commotion was thundering near her.
The tigabulak, visibly annoyed, said, “Who invited that here?”
Sonja flew up to see what was happening and she immediately recognized the mamam, pushing its way through the feast.
Ever since the incident many moons ago, all of the horrors decided to hide the feast from the mamam, lest the celebration turn into disaster.
The other giants like the mangingilaw and timu-timu were trying to hold it off, but the creature was unstoppable once food was placed in front of him. It would not even stop against a fellow halimaw.
Sonja could see that most were already trying to escape, taking their share of the feast with them. An alan even darted past her, carrying a small child.
Instinct told Sonja that she should run far and run fast, but she couldn’t take her eyes away from the spectacle.
It had been an hour since the mamam started its rampage. The bloodied corpses of the bungisngis and ogro decorating the slaughter. Those that stayed to guard their food were fighting a losing battle.
The mamam knew no allegiance apart from hunger.
Aswang or human, it ate them all the same.
Sonja could see clever humans taking advantage of the chaos and running for their lives. A pregnant woman even managed to slip into the forest while her wak-wak captor was distracted.
No might or magic could stop it. The king of the mangkukulam had his witches try inflicting pain on the creature but that only seemed to make it even hungrier. Two mangkukulam met their end when the mamam swallowed them whole.
In the aftermath the mamam stood. No corpses, no bones to mark the trail of its passing.
Sonja took in the carnage and fled to her legs, her stomach empty on the night of the feast.
*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
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian
Inspired by the Mamam description in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010.
Mamam Illustration by Jesus Miguel Ofalsa
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