*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Hipos lang langga, kipota imo mga mata, indi ka magkabalaka.” Ginkapyotan sang babaye ang iya nga tiyan sang mahugot, ginasigurado niya na wala may matabo sa iya nga bata.
“Palihog indi ka magparehos sa imo nga tatay, indi ka magparehos sa mga makakululba-an nga mga lalaki, pirme lang ginapangita ang gusto nila pero baya-an ka kung nakuha na nila. ‘Mga lalaki, lalaki gid na’ pirme lang amo na ginahambal nila pero ang wala nila ginapanumdom na ang mga babaye ang pirme kagabaya-an.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Kabalo ko nga medyo ulihi na, pero himu-on ni mommy tanan ang dapat niya himu-on. Kailangan niya pahibalo-on sa mga demonyo nga mga lalaki nga indi lang basta-basta ginabaya-an ang mga babaye. Kapintas sang kalibutan kag may ara ako ginreserba nga espesyal nga kapintason para sa ila.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Mangindapat na para sa ila. Ila ini garuk nga nagsulod sa akon. Isa lang ako ka inosente nga dalaga kung sa diin madamo ako sang handom para sa akon kabuhi, kag sa subong amo na ko ni. Amo na ni kita. Gindungan kita lubong kag mag-ulopdanay kita liwat sa katapusan pero kung kailangan nga maging amo ko ni, indi lang ako ang dapat mag-agwanta.
Kuha-on ko ang pinaka-importante nga bagay nga ara sa ila. Ang ila nga ginahigugma nga pagkalalaki kag malingaw ako samtang ginalantaw ko sila gadululugo.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Shhh, shhh. Wala ko gintuyo nga hadlukon ta ka. Pero sige lang, ari lang diri si mama. Siguraduhon niya nga hilway ang kalibutan nga wala sila. Kabalo ka buhi pa tani kita? Kung indi lang ni tunggod sa ila. Tani ulopdanay pa kita duwa, kita indis sa kalibutan nga kung sin-o nag amo ni sa aton.
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Hipos anay! May nakita ko nga lalaki nga gapadulong. Indi magkabalaka, indi ni magdugay. Pagkatapos ni makahampang ka liwat upod kay mama ha? Sa subong paghipos lang anay kay kadtu-an ko siya.”
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English Version
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Hush little child, close your eyes, don’t worry we will be alright.” The woman holds her belly tight, making sure that her child is safe.
“Please don’t be like your father, don’t be like any of those hideous men, always looking for one thing then leaving when they get it. ‘Boys will be boys’ they always say, but they never realize that girls are always going to be the ones left behind.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“I know it may seem late, but mommy’s going out to do what she has to do. She has to let all those evil men know that you can’t just leave women behind. It’s a cruel world out there and I reserve a special kind of cruelty for them.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Because they deserve it. It was their filth that entered me. I was just an innocent young woman, with her whole life ahead of her, and now here I am. Here we are. We were buried together and we will be together until the end of time, but if I have to be this way, then I will not suffer alone.
I will take what they think is the most important thing that they have. Their precious ‘manhood’ and I will enjoy watching them bleed out.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Shhh, shhh. I didn’t mean to scare you. But it’s okay, mama’s here. She’ll make sure the world is safe from those cruel men. We could have lived you know? If not for them. We could have been together just you and me, against the world that made us what we are.”
WAAAAH! WAAAAAAH!
“Now hush! I see a man on his way. Now don’t worry this won’t take long. And afterwards you can play with mama alright? Now stay quiet while I go say hello.”
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*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 Seyrah
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Seyrah
Inspired by the Mantiyanak legends from Mindanao
Mantiyanak illustration by Julia Kristen Delos Santos
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