*Note this story is in Maguindanaon
Uwaaah! Uwaaaah!
“Telen ka den o wata ku. Tulog ka den ka di ka man mangandam.” Bageypun nu babay su tiyan nin, ka endu pakatelen su wata nin.
“Pangeniyn ku sa leka i dala ka magiging sa kani ama nengka, dika milingi i mga mama a dala tapek nin, a bangalap bu sa mapiya, na mengka makuwa nin den na matading den sekanin. Mamagidsan bun man i mga mama banya, dili nilan gapagitong i mga babay a gapasangan mengka pedtagaken nilan.”
Uwaaah! Uwaaaah!
“Katawan ku i mawli den inya a penggulan ku, ugeyd na enggulan ku bun i deyt a enggalbeken ku. Ipailay ku sa mga mama banya dala gatagan nin i dili nilan asalen bu managak i mga babay. Mapasang man i dunya, ugeyd na mas pakapasangan ku i mga mama.”
Uwaaah! Uwaaaah!
“Kagina deyt bun sa kanilan inya. Silan bun i nadsabapan na nanggula ku. Dala pan geyd sabut ku a babay, madakel pan i galinyan ku penggula, ugeyd na saguna na nabinasa aku. Saguna na nabinasa na duwa. Nakalebeng ta duwa endu seketa bun den taman sa taman, ugeyd na semuli ta, kagina kena bu deyt a sekita i gapasangan.
Kuwan ta sa kanilan i bagingatan nilan geyd banan a aden silan. Namba ipedsandag nilan geyd banan a kamama nilan, endu ta gailay i gabpulogo nilan.”
Uwaaah! Uwaaaah!
“Shhh,shhhh. Kena man wata, di ka man kagilek. Nya bun man si ina nengka. Di ko seka padtadeyn sa mga mamba a mga mama endu mga taw. Bibyag ta pun basi u kena sabap sa lekaniyan. Tagapeda ta bun basi a maninideg sa mga taw a dala nakagkapiya nin sa lekita duwa.”
Uwaaah! Uwaaaah!
“Na telen ka den man wata. Na, aden gailay ku a mama a pakauma. Di ka pan a ka san ka den mun. Embalingan aku bun ah, malegan bu geyd. Lenek ka, ka ubeyn ku pan sekanin.”
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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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**Maguindanao or Maguindanaon is an Austronesian language spoken by majority of the population of Maguindanao province in the Philippines. It is also spoken by sizable minorities in different parts of Mindanao such as the cities of Zamboanga, Davao, and General Santos, and the provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, as well as Metro Manila. This was the language of the historic Sultanate of Maguindanao, which existed before and during the Spanish colonial period from 1500–1888.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Traslation by Norhana Maguid
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Norhana Maguid
Inspired by the Mantiyanak legends from Mindanao
Mantiyanak illustration by Julia Kristen Delos Santos
FB: JKTD
