*Note this story is in Bicol-Naga

“Nahahandal ako.”

“Dai kaipuhan, aki. Mangyayari an mga muya kan espiritu.”

“Ano an mangyayari sa sakuya?”

“Kitang duwa maduman sa puon kan Balete, asin babayaan taka duman. Matindog ka sa irarom kan puon sagkod dadarahun ka sa itaas kan kinaban pati na sa irarom kaini.”

“Tano?”

“Ngarig mabuhay kang liwat.”

“Makulugan daw ako?”

“Da… dai ko rumdom. Haluy na kan ako nag agi sa sakuyang reinkarnasyon. Pero dai ka maghandal, aki. Ipapahiling ninda saimo an kinaban.”

“Iyo ba iyan an rason kun tano ika nakakalayog?”

“Iyo, aki. Iyan sagkod kadakol pa. Hale ako sa kairaruman kan dagat pati na sa kalaog-laogan kan mga taho. Nakaulay ko na an mga kalag sa kinaban na ini asin sa minasunod pa. Nagbiyahe ako sa mga lugar na mayo ni isay ang makakahiling pa. Asin ako pagalun na.”

“Yaon na kita.”

“Danguga an mga kalag. Sinda an ma giya saimo arog kan pag giya ninda sa sakuya.”

“Maghilingan pa daw kita?”

“Sisay nakakaaram kun ano an itutugot kan mga espiritu? Paaram aki, ibabaya ko an sakong mga taho saimo.”

“Paaram, Lola.”

An duros dagos na nagtama sa aki habang siya nakatukaw sa irarom kan puon kan Balete. Mga aldaw na uminabot nin mga semana asin dai siya naghiro ni sarong pulgada. An mga inagihan siya, aram na dai dapat istorbohun an inaagi niya. Kan natapos an huring banggi para magtaong dalan sa bagong aga, tuminindog siya asin luhay na nagpasalamat sa mga espiritu.

An saiyang bagong mga mata lugod na nahiling an kinaban na nungka niya nahiling sa dati niyang buhay. Dai siya nakaisip mag ngirit.

Ugwa pa siyang gibo na kaipuhan matapos.

=—————————=

English Version

“I’m scared.”

“You don’t need to be, child. The spirits will do as they will.”

“What will happen to me?”

“We will both go to the Balete tree and I will leave you there. You will sit underneath the tree and be taken to the Skyworld and the Lower World.”

“Why?”

“To be reborn.”

“Will it hurt?”

“I…. don’t remember. It has been so long since I went through my initiation. Don’t be scared child, they will let you see a new world.”

“Is that why you can fly?”

“Yes, child. That and much more. I have been to the depths of the sea and inside the bodies of humans. I have spoken to the spirits in this world and the next. I have traveled to places that no human will ever see again. And I am tired.”

“We are here.”

“Listen to the spirits. They will guide you as they have guided me all my life.”

“Will I see you again?”

“Who knows what the spirits will allow? Goodbye child, I leave my people to you.”

“Goodbye, Lola.”

The winds buffeted the girl as she sat beneath the Balete tree. The days stretched into weeks and she did not move a single inch. Those that passed by knew better than to interrupt her journey. When the last night finally gave way to a new dawn she stood up and quietly thanked the spirits.

Her new eyes finally saw the invisible world that surrounded her old life. She did not think to smile.

She had work that needed to be done.

————————–————————–————————–—–

*Central Bicol, commonly called Bicol Naga, is the most-spoken language in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bicol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Sam Jornales
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Sam Jornales

Inspired by the Baylan initiation ritual as described in The Soul Book. Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.

Babaylan Illustration by emirajuju
IG: https://www.instagram.com/emirajuju/

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

*Note this story is in Bicol-Naga

Takoton akong marhay.

Nakabalik pa nanggad duman si Papa kaiba an maligno. Pinurbaran kong magin maisog asin nagdalagan sainda, alagad dai mayo akong magigibo. Saro sana man akong sadit na babaye na padagos na nanraraot sa buhay kan manga tawo. Mayo akong naginibong toltol.
Madiklomon na marhay an kadlagan para maagihan ko kaya nagtinir na sana ako sa sarong lugar. Pigsabi sakuya kadto ni Kuya na madudukayan ako kan mga tawo kun magtunong ako sa sarong lugar. An magigibo ko sana iyo an paghibi, Pagkatapos kan nangyari ki Aura, kun pa’no kulgan kan omboy si Mama, kun pa’no nawara si Kuya asin ngunyan, nagdudulag si Papa sa sarong maligno, dai ko sana aram kun anong igwa sakuya.

Ako sana man si Teleia, sarong sadit na babaye na dai kayang imantinir na ligtas an saiyang pamilya. ‘Kompleto’ an boot sabuton kan Teleia. Pinangaranan ako nin arog kaiyan kan sakong Mama ta sabi niya kan namundag daa ako, bilog na an pamilya mi, alagad sa hiling ko, niraot ko sana. Sa kaangutan ko nin marhay nagkua ako nin gapo dangan ginapo ko!

Nakadangog ako nin makusog na kurahaw dangan may kun anong nakakatakot na nagluwas sa mga poon. Garo ini aki, arog ko, alagad naglalakaw ini sa saiyang manga kamot. Madiklomon man kaini, garo gibo sa manga anino. Pinurbaran kong magdulag parayo, alagad nagpuon na magkulog an sakuyang manga piad. Makulugon. Dai ko mahiro an sakong mga piad, kaya nagpuon na sana ako gamiton an sakuyang manga kamot. Nangalas talaga akong marhay na ini madalion. Ni dai ko ngani kaidto magibo an wheel-carti-cartwheels! Alagad ngunyan, naglalakaw ako sa sakong manga kamot, talagang, marikason. Sa pagkarikas kong marhay, nakarayo na ako sa nakakatakot na bagay nin dai sa oras!

Amang-ugma ko. Sa hiling ko aram ko na an gigibuhon ngunyan. Magayunon kan kadlagan pag banggi. Maninigo kang magtago dawa sain! Kaipuhan ko sanang magpadagos sa paglakaw sa sakong manga kamot ta makulog pa nanggad talaga an sakuyang piad. Makulog talaga kun pupurbaran kong maglakaw nin normal alagad ayos lang. Arog ako kaini ngunyan!

Magigin maugma ini. Magigin marhay an sakuyang pamilya kun mayo ako. Naaraman kong maninigo akong magkaigwa nin manga bagong katood. Kaipuhan ko sanang maghiling nin bagong kakawat dangan makulog man an saindang mga piad! Asin malakaw sinda sa saindang manga kamot arog ko!

Maninigo akong magkaigwa nin kadakulon na bagong katood.

Kaipuhan ko sanang maghanap nin kadakol na aki na mapagkakalwagan.

=——————————————————-=

English Version

I’m so scared.

Papa’s still back there with the monster. I tried to be brave and run after them, but there was nothing I could do. I’m just a little girl who keeps ruining people’s lives. I can’t do anything right.

The forest is too dark for me to walk through, so I just stayed in one place. Kuya told me before that if I stay in one place then people can find me. All I could do was cry. After what happened with Aura, how the baby hurt Mama, how Kuya disappeared and now Papa’s running away from a monster, I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.

I’m just Teleia, the little girl that can’t keep her family safe. Teleia means ‘complete’. My Mama named me that because she said that when I was born it made our family complete, but I think I just tore it apart. I was so angry I took a rock and I threw it!

I heard a loud scream and something scary came out of the trees. It was like a child, like me, but it was walking on its hands. It was also very, very dark, like it was made of the shadows. I tried to run away, but my knees started to hurt. It was so painful.

I couldn’t move my legs, so I just started using my hands. I was really surprised that I found it so easy. I couldn’t even do wheel-carti—-cartwheels before! But now I was walking on my hands, really, really fast. I was so fast that I was away from the scary thing in no time!

I was so happy. I think I know what to do now. The forest is so nice when it’s night. You can hide anywhere! I just need to keep walking on my hands because my legs still really hurt. It’s really painful if I try to walk normal but it’s ok. This is how I’m gonna be now!

It’s going to be great. My family’s going to be fine without me. I found out I can make new friends. I just need to look at a new playmate and their legs will hurt too! And they’ll walk on their hands just like me!

I can make so many new friends.

I just need to find more kids to play with.

————————–————————–————————––

Story continued from the Harimodon’s Tale

*Central Bicol, commonly called Bicol Naga, is the most-spoken language in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bicol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Joseph Villanueva Ciudadano
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joseph Villanueva Ciudadano

Inspired by the Bugsok entry in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010..

Bugsok illustration by Nia Cortezano
Tumblr: http://niakawa.tumblr.com/

*Note this story is in Bicol-Naga

Tano ta kinakatakutan mo ang kagadanan?

Maistorya ako saimo.

Kaidtong haloy nang panahon may mayaman na babaye nakaistar harane sa dagat.  Habo siya ning manga bisita ta husto na sana ang katuninongan dulot kan saiyang dakulang harong.  Aldaw-banggi yaon siya sa baybayon, sinasaro-saro an mga bituon siring man ang tipasi kan baybay.

Solomente ang amigo niya, bako ine ordinaryong persona, ta bako man tawo. Ini-ibahan siya ni anino ni kagadanan para maginhawaan ang saiyang kapungawan.  Enot na nagkatuparan ang duwa kan nagadan si ina kan babaye.  Dae arog sa kadaklan na tawo, mayong takot ang babaye na nagtaong-galang sa anino ni kagadanan.

“Tano ta dae ka nagdalagan sa takot?” Naghapot ang anino. “Ta ika parte sa pag-gibo nin kagayunan kan buhay.”

Nungka nadangog kan anino ni kagadnan na siya magayon o may gayon asin ine dae huminale sagkod na natapos ang larao. Iyan ang ritual na naproprotektar sa hawak kan ina o siisay man na gadan sa manga malaen o gustong mag-kulog kaine.  Namoot ang anino sa babaye ta siya pa sana na tawo ang nagtao nin totoong galang ki kagadanan.

Si anino ni kagadanan maselos asin gusto na masadire ang babaye.  Sinonod niya ang babaye sa baybayon asin pinagisipan na lunudon para sagkod pa man nakakugos saiya ang babaye.

Kaya lang bako man tonta ineng babaye.  Naaraman niya ang plano ni anino.  Naghale siya sa harong asin binisita ang saiyang lola.  Kawasa ang lola niya poderoso o may kusog na sinayumahan niya kaidto.  Paabot na si anino, dae nang padudumanan ang babaye.

Nangalas si anino kan na-abotan ang babaye.  Mayong kagadanan ang nagin ni babaye, mayo nang kugos ang makokomple ni anino.

Pero dae binayaan ni babaye si anino.  Aram-araman niya ang katikasan kan pigtiwalaan na amigo, asin mayo muna siya mapahingalo sagkod na makabalos. Kada mina-mayong galang ang kagadanan sa pa-agi nin larao, yaon ang babaye duman.  Ta ang magrapak iyo ang premio ni anino.

Dae mo katakutan ang kagadanan.

Katakutan mo ang kasunod.

=———————————————————-=

English Version

Why should you fear death?

Let me tell you a story.

A long time ago, there was a rich woman who lived by the sea. She would not have any visitors, for she liked the quiet that her large house gave her. She would spend her days and nights by the beach, counting each star and each grain of sand.

She had but one friend, not like any person in the world, for it was not a person at all. The shadow of death would spend time with her to ease her loneliness. They first met when death’s shadow claimed the woman’s mother. She was not afraid as most people would have been and greeted the shadow politely.
“Why are you not running in fear?” The shadow asked. “You are part of what makes life beautiful.” The woman answered.

Death’s shadow had never been called beautiful before and it stayed until the woman finished the larao, the ritual ceremony to protect her mother’s body from those that would harm it after death. The shadow fell in love with the woman then, for it had never met a human who respected death such as she did.

Death’s shadow was a jealous thing and it wanted the woman all to itself. It had followed her to the seaside and had planned to drown the woman, so that she may be in death’s embrace forever.

The woman was no fool, though and knew what the shadow had planned. She left her house and visited her grandmother. For you see, the old woman had great power that was once rejected by her granddaughter. The woman had no choice, death’s shadow was approaching.

When the shadow caught up to the woman it was surprised. She had become deathless, she would never know the shadow’s embrace.

The woman would not leave death’s shadow though. She had known the betrayal of a trusted friend, and she would not rest until she had her revenge. Every time death was not respected through the larao, she would be there. Desecrating what would have been the shadow’s prize.

You should not fear death.

Fear what comes after.

=———————————————————————=

*Central Bicol, commonly called Bicol Naga, is the most-spoken language in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bicol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Patricia P. SanJose
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Patricia P. SanJose

Inspired by the Aswang (Capiz) description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Aswang (Capiz) Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

*This story is in Bicol-Naga

Dae nasunoan nin Lia an panahon kan bangging idto. Uminoran pa kan aldaw na nalingaw siyang darahon an saiyang payong asin ngonian, nahaha’dit siya sa saiyang pag-uli. May sarong oras na siyang naghahalat na magpundo an uran pero dae pa nanggad nin swerte. Nagdesisyon siya na mag-itsa nin sensilyo nganing maaraman kun masapalaran siya na mag-taxi dawa trapik o mahalat pa siya nin saro pang oras sa opisina ninda. Payo an nagluwas. Habo na niyang isipon pa kun manggura’no an plete sa taxi, girumdom niya pa an pangako niya sa mga magurang na mauli siya nin amay kaidtong bangging idto para sa anibersaryo kan mag-agom.

Pirang minuto lang an naglipas na nakakua tulos siya nin taxi dawa pa trapik. Naghagad siyang pasensiya sa drayber huli ta naglaog siya nin basa sa bandang urihan kan lunadan. Nagsabi man an drayber na ayos lang daa sabay ngisi saiya. Naogma naman siya na ngonian dawa parupa’no trapik na lang an pagpitiw niya. Dakul na beses na nasusuya siya sa mga drayber na siniswitik siya sa paghagad nin halangkaw na plete. Pig-su’lot niya an saiyang headphones asin nagpatugtog nin jazz para mag-gian an saiyang pagmati. Halawig an trapik kaya sabi niya tama lang na magtogrog-torog muna asin napapirong na siya.

Nasa kabangaan na siya sa kanta ni Louis Armstrong na “Summertime” kan nakadangog siya nin kurahaw. Nagmata siya asin nagpirok nganing maseguro niya na dae siya namumurawan. Pigtanggal niya an headphones niya asin naghiling sa palibot. Yaon siya sa madiklom na kwarto, purong semento an mga lanob, asin dakol na mataklaon na batbat dawa saen. Sa tahaw kan kwarto igwa nin sarong tukawan asin may babaeng nakatukaw.

Naka-su’lot siya nin puti na may mga mapulang dogta. Pigranihan niya an babae asin pighapot kun ayos lang siya. Nakaduko lang an babae kaya dae niya nahiling an lalawgon kaini pero dangog niya an pigsasabi kan babae.

“Dae ka magtiwala saiya, Dae ka magtiwala saiya, Dae ka magtiwala saiya.” Ini an pauro-otrong sinasabi kan babae. Pinirit ni Lia na makarani sa babae pero igwang nagpupugol sa saiya. Pigmamandohan niya an saiyang mga bitis pero dae ini nagtutubod saiya. Kaya nakatindog lang siya na nakahampang sa tukawan na garong nakayelo.

Igwa pa siyang nadadangog na ibang mga boses na pareho kan sinasabi kan babae. An saro pang boses naghahali sa saro pang babae na nakaputi sa may likudan kan nakatukaw na babae. Parasa’ an lalawgon kaini asin dae na mabisto. Gusto niyang magkurahaw pero habong magsunod kan saiyang boses siring man sa bilog niyang lawas.

An panduwang babae igwa nin lugad sa walang parte kan sentido sa may angog niya. Nagdudugo pa ini habang siya ngalalakaw pasiring sa gilid kan tukawan. An pantulong babae nagrani na nakagakod an mga kamot sa saiyang likudan, an saiyang maitom na halabang buhok nakatahob sa saiyang lalawgon. Gabos na mga babae may mga dogta nin dugo sa saindang mga bado.

Pighiling niya gabos an mga babae asin gabos ini nakatukdo sa babaeng nakatukaw sa tukawan. Pigtaas kaini an saiyang payo ta nganing mahiling ni Lia an saiyang lalawgon. Garo siyang naka-atubang sa salming. An babae kalalawgon niya asin garo siyang binubo ning malilipot sa bilog niyang hawak.

Nakahiling lang si Lia kan sinabi kan babaeng nakatukaw na kalalawgon niya nin saro pang beses, “Dae ka magtiwala saiya.”

Pangala kaidto napagmata na siya.

Nagtutugtog pa nanggad an “Summertime” kan iminuklat niya an saiyang mga mata. Naghiling siya sa palibot asin nahiling niya na dae pang gayo nakakarayo an taxi puon kan pagkalunad niya. Nagtatakig pa an saiyang mga kamot huli sa pangaturugan kan inabot niya an saiyang selpon para itext an saiyang mga magurang na dae na siya makaka-abot sa saindang anibersaryo.

Sinabi niya sa drayber na mababa na siya duman mismo. Dae na pigdangog pa ni Lia an pagpugol saiya kan drayber asin sinabi na lang niya na igwa siyang nalingawan na importantehon. Minabulos pa nanggad an uran kan pagbaba niya sa taxi asin duminalagan pabalik sa saindang opisina. Naghahadit siya na baka mapahalnas siya sa uran pero dae na siyang pakiaram.

Sa purmerong beses puon kan pagkapangitorogan niya, nakamati siya nin pagkaseguro.

=———————————————–=

English Version

Lia didn’t like the weather tonight. It just had to rain on the day when she forgot her umbrella and she was worried about getting home. She had already been waiting for an hour for the rain to stop, but there was no luck there. She decided to flip a coin to see if she would risk the traffic and get a taxi or to wait in her office for another hour. It was heads. She didn’t want to think about how much the taxi would cost and she promised her parents she would be home that night in time for their anniversary dinner.

It only took her a few minutes to get a cab, despite the traffic. Lia rushed into the back seat and apologized to the driver for the rain on the seat. He just smiled and said it was no problem. She was happy that he seemed nice enough and that it was just the traffic that she’d have to deal with. She was tired of getting the obnoxious taxi drivers, always trying to extort extra money out of her. Lia put on her headphones and played a little jazz to lighten her mood. The traffic was bad so it just made sense to take a nap and she closed her eyes.

She was halfway through Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s “Summertime” when she heard a scream. Lia woke up and blinked to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. She took off her headphones and looked around. It was a dark room, the walls were cement and there was rusted steel everywhere. In the middle of the room there was a chair and a woman sitting on it.

The woman was wearing white, though there were red stains all over her dress. Lia approached the woman and asked if she was all right. The woman’s head was facing downwards so Lia couldn’t see her face but she could hear something coming from the woman.

‘Don’t trust him.’ ‘Don’t trust him’ ‘Don’t trust him.’ The woman repeated the words over and over again. Lia tried to get closer but there was something stopping her. She told her legs to move but they wouldn’t obey. She just stood, frozen, in front of the chair.

She could hear other voices now and they were saying the same things. The first came from another woman in white, appearing from behind the chair. This woman’s face was battered beyond all recognition. Lia tried to scream but her voice was as uncooperative as the rest of her body.

The second woman in white had a wound on the left temple of her forehead; it was still bleeding as she walked to the side of the chair. The third woman approached with her hands tied behind her back and her long, black hair covering her face. There was blood on all of the women’s clothes.

She looked at all the women and they pointed to the one still in the chair. Her head moved up so Lia could see her face. I was like looking into a mirror. The woman had her face and Lia felt a chill go down her entire body.

Lia watched as the woman with her face said ‘Don’t trust him.’ One more time.

And then she woke up.

“Summertime” was still playing when she opened her eyes. Lia looked around and she realized that the taxi hadn’t moved much, she was still very near her office. Her hands were shaking from her dream and she reached for her phone and texted her parents that she was sorry that she was going to miss their anniversary.

She told the driver that she would get out at this street. Lia ignored his protests and said that she left something very important. The rain was still pouring when she got out of the taxi and ran to her office. Part of her was thinking that she might slip in the rain, but she didn’t care.

For the first time since her dream, Lia felt safe.

=——————————————————–=

*Central Bicol, commonly called Bicol Naga, is the most-spoken language in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bicol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Willie Villar
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Willie Villar

Inspired by the White Lady/ Kaperosa legends

White Lady (Kaperosa) Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen

Watercolors by Mykie Concepcion

IG: @mykieconcepcionart
Tumblr: http://mykieconcepcion.tumblr.com/

*Note this story is in Bicol-Sorsoganon

“Tabi tabi po.”

“Sabayi ako.”

“Tabi tabi po.”

“Dapat sabihun mo ina pag magi ka didi.”

“Bawal kita didi magsamhod, mama?”

“Bawal. Mayad kay narumduman mo.”

“Nano kay bawal? Saaton man ini balay.”

“Balay ta ini. Yadi an mga gamit ta. Pero sain ini nakatindog?”

“Sa duta?”

“An duta, an kinab-an, dili ina saaton.”

“Binakal ta ini na duta. Kabas-an ta ina! Didi pa ngani ako nagkakanam.

“Amu binakal ta ini. Igwa kitang mga papeles. Pero an duta dili saaton, may mga tagsadiri sada na dili ta nakikita.”

“Bakalon ta na lang sainda!”

“May mga bagay na dili nababakal. Awat na sinda didi nakaistar nan maistar sinda didi maski wara na kita. Kaipuhan ta makisama sainda.”

“Pano kung habo ko? Habo ko sainda. Pag dili kita nagtaram ‘tabi tabi po’ nan nagsilhig kita nagkakasakit kita. Habo ko sin arug sada.”

“Pano kung habo man ninda na makiistar kita sainda?”

“…”

“Siguro dili mayad pag isipon o pagkitaon pero maging mabuot na lang kita sa kada saro. Pag mabuot kita sainda mabuot man sinda saaton. Nano ulit dapat ta sabihon?”

“Tabi tabi po.”

=—————————————————————————–=

English Version

“Kayu-kayu, madayu kayu.”

“Now say it with me.”

“Kayu-kayu, madayu kayu.”

“Good. Now remember, we always have to say that whenever we pass this place.”

“We also can’t sweep here right mama?”

“Yes, it’s good you remembered. I have such a smart boy!”

“But why do we have to follow these rules mama? I thought this was our house?”

“It is, it’s our place with all our things, but what is the house on?”

“….the ground?”

“Good job! Now the ground and all the earth, doesn’t belong to us.”

“But I thought this was our land? Isn’t this our farm? And isn’t this where I play?”

“Yes, yes, we bought this land, and we have all the papers to prove it, but then it gets complicated. See the land belonged to some other… people, long before we came here, before any humans started a town in this area.”

“But can’t we just buy it from those people?”

“There are just some things you can’t buy with money. This place is their home and always will be, long after you and I are gone. We have to learn to live with them.”

“What if I don’t want to? They seem mean. If we don’t say these things and if we just clean around our house we get sick. How is that fair?”

“How is it fair that they have to share their home with us?”

“…”

“It isn’t an ideal situation for either of us, but we have to learn to be kind to one another. If we are kind to them, they will be kind to us. Now what do we say?”

“Kayu-kayu, madayu kayu.”

“Good boy.”

————————–————————–————————

*Kayu-kayu, madayu kayu is Ilokano for “You there please go away.” (Kayo-kayo, malayo kayo)

*The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.

The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Sara Grace C. Fojas
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Sara Grace C. Fojas

Story inspired by Ansisit description in 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang. Samar. 2015

Ansisit Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

*Note this story is in Bicol-Legazpi

Paagi sa mabakawang lati, lagpas sa salog, igwang sadit na kadlagan. Ngunyan, kadaklan sa mga tawo, wara man maiiling na sala duman. Mas maaaraman pa ngani na igwang sala kun warang puno sa gilid nin salog.

Pag-iniling nindang maray, maaaraman ninda kun nyata makatakot an mga bangkay na ini. Kada sarong puno nakakaros an mga pandok kan tawong nagapururipot sa saindang pasakit. An balat kan puno tigapailing an saindang dinimalas na mga itsura.

An mga lokal na tawo, tigaapod nindang sumpa ini, asin an iba naggigibo nin maray nganing marayuan an mga punong ini.

Ugaring may sarong oragon an warang takot na tigharap an ilang nganing makahanap nin mga simbag na su mga puno sana an makaka-inging saiya.

Ini an saiyang istorya.

Abuonon ni Simeon Boñaga an saiyang pangaran. An saiyang kapangaran sarong bayani, an panghudyan na heneral na nag-suko kan panahon kan giyerang Pilipinas laban Estados Unidos, asin ini sana sya, sarong 27-anyos na sawi, an saiyang mga mararahay na aldaw tarapos na.

Sya an inot sa saiyang pamilya na makatapos sa sarong unibersidad. Ali sa sadit na baryo na dae ka mabubuhay kun dae ka manira, saro na utong dakulang tagumpay. Ugaring, sagkod uto kan pag pailing kan kinaban an saiyang makanos na itsura.

Sa dakulang multinational na kompanya an saiyang inot na trabaho pagkatapos sa unibersidad, saro uto sa mga lugar na pirmi nya nadadangod kaso dae sya nagkakaigwang oportunidad na mailing arani. Sakto sana an bayad saiya asin sakto man an mga oras, kaya sa pag-una nya yaon na saiya gabos.

Ugaring, pirming may boses sa saiyang payo na nag-nagtitikwil saiya. Gari gabat na nagbubutong saiya urualdaw. Natinuhan nya uto sagkod kan ika-limang bulan nya sa trabaho. Dae sya nakakaisip nin makaskas, dagitunon sya asin naiirita na sa saiyang mga katrabaho asin dae sya nakakaturog.

Una nya mawawara man sana uto, na saro man sana utong pangiturugan na magigimatahan nya. Saka uminabot an ikaduwang bulan asin paraot na nin paraot an mga bagay. An saiyang eyebags duminakulaon asin ilingunon kaya tigpapara komentaran ini kan mga tawo.

Huli kaito, mas naging marauton na lugod an itsura nya. Tig-baluan nyang dae tinuhon an mga chismis na nadadngog nya, ugaring an mga boses sa luwas kasing kusog man sana kan mga boses sa saiyang payo. Natinuhan ni Simeon na an saiyang mga katrabaho nagapuon nang magrayo saiya. Pagnaglalakaw sya paduman sa may pahingaluan, garo nagaarali gabos na tawo sa palibot nya.

Naapektuhan na kan saiyang kamugtakan an saiyang pag-trabaho. Sa puon pa sana kan taon, nagigibo nya pang mag asikaso nin mga spreadsheets asin sobra an tubod nya sa sadiri pag may mga presentasyon. Sa pag-agi kan panahon, mas naparayo si Simeon sa sadiri nya, pipaali an saiyang mga barkada na muya kutang magtarabang saiya.

Kun nag-agad kuta syang tabang kan atab pa, dae nya kuta nasuriyawan an saiyang amo. Kun tig tuga nya kuta na may igwa saiya, dae kuta sya nawaran nin trabaho. Kun bako kuta sya nagin ambugon, igwa pa kutang paagi nganing ipadagos an saiyang buhay.

Tig-hohorop-horop utong mga panahon ni Simeon habang nakailing sya sa salog arani sa arong nya. Abo nya man sana kuta mag-uli talaga sa probinsya, kaso pagkatapos kan ginibo nya, wara naman syang magiginibo.

Grabe an saiyang pagkamundo, nagtutukaw sana sya sa mga gapo asin tiga-iling an pag-agos kan tubig paduman sa kadlagan.

Dae man nasasabutan kan saiyang mga magurang kun ano an nangyayari sa saindang aki. Tinaraman pa ngani ninda ini na nasa utak nya man sana an gabos. Muya nya kutang sabihun, “iyo man talaga, nasa utak ko uto gabos, sa iling nindo nasain an alimantak ko?” pero bako naman uto kaipuahan. Ka-simple sana kan saiyang mga magurang, warang salak na medical jargon na naging bago nyang reyalidad.

Saro itong buhay na dae nya ma-aagad sa maski kisay.

Nagbuntong hininga sya asin nagpuon lakawon an arayong agihan paduman sa sunod na baryo. Abo ni Simeon na mag-saro kaiba an saiyang mga tig-iisip. Saro utong pagabat na kinaag sa saiyang mga abaga na sana kuta pwede nyang iinda na sana. Sa paglaog nya sa baryo, nailing nya an mga tawong nagtitiripon palibot sa may sentro. Sa kadiit na momento, nagpurunduhan an mga boses sa saiyang payo asin naka-pokus na sya sa nangyayari sa saiyang palibot.

Grabe sa pagpara-ibi an sarong babae na napandukan nya na si Aleng Norma. Suriyaw nya, “Angongolood! Angongolood!” habang daeng ribok na tigpaparairiling sya kan mga tawo.

Aram nya an alamat nanggad. Kada sarong tawo sa baryo, aram. Su higanteng garo gorilyang bakulaw na nambibiktima nin mga parasira sa may ngimot kan salog.

Gabos man sana uto mga pamahiin, mga istorya na ginibo nganing takuton an mga parasira na parayuon sa mga delikadong parte kan lati. Kaso garo si Aleng Norma tubudunon duman sa istoryang uto. Pirming marurumduman ni Simeon an pandok kan babaeng namarahan na nin luha, nagpaparaibi para sa saiyang agom.

“Jherick! Jherick nyata dae ka nag dangog?! Ano na an mangyayari samuya ngunyan? Nyata dae mo naisip an sadiri mong mga aki?!” An saiyang ibi nagaalingawngaw sa buong sentro kan baryo, mas kinusog pa ta grabeng silensyo kan mga tawong nakapalibot saiya.

Garo man sana nakontento an mga tawo sa pagiling kan nangyayari asin si Simeon dae mapugulan an sadiri na mairak sa mga tawo maski kay Aleng Norma. Bako man dapat arog kato an senaryo. Rinanihan nya si Aleng Norma nagtukro sa kataning nya, kinaag an saiyang kamot sa abaga nya.

Nakigkig si Aleng Norma sa kapot ni Simeon. Puminundo na sya sa pagibi asin nagbagsak sa saiyang mga takyag nin aloy.

Dae nya aram kun gurano kaaloy nya na tigkakaputan si Aleng Norma. Nag-arali na su mga tawo, padiit-diit sagkod an natada na sana sina Simeon asin Aleng Norma pati an ibang mga paralaw lakaw sana.

Iniling ni Aleng Norma si Simeon na may pagal sa mata. Tigpakaray nya an sadiri nya asin tigpasalamatan sya para sa pag-konsolar saiya. Tinaraman ini ni Simeon na wara man uto, Ugaring dae si Aleng Norma nagtutugot. “Wara man lamang may makusog na boot na magrani sakuya kan naaraman nindang nawawara na an sakuyang agom. Salamat.”

Dae aram ni Simeon an saiyang tataramon. Dae nya mataram sa babae na nagiibi man sya burubanggi arog kan pag-ibi nya. O pano nagkaigwang bagyo na nagpaparatalibong sa saiyang payo asin nakatabang man an pagtabang nya sa iba nganing malingawan nya an paglala kan emosyon nya na diit n asana masabog na.

Inapot nya si Aleng Norma kun nyata sa iling nya angongolood an nagkuwa kan saiyang agom asin sinimbag nya, “Nagduman sya sa may mga puno.”

“Aring mga puno?” apot ni Simeon.

“An kupo kan angongolood igwang lason pagnadutan ka, sisay man an madakop sa saiyang mga takyag magiging makanuson na mga puno,” taramon nya, may mga bagong luha an nagtururo sa saiyang mga mata.

“Aram ko maiiling man sana ninda yan.”

“Dae na man. Udyan na gabos. Sobrang udyan na.” Iniling ni Aleng Norma si Simeon sa mata asin an saiyang mapanasong iling natamaan an saiyang kalag. “Dae ka magduman sa lati, warang maray an maitatao kan lugar na uto.”

Nagtindog sya asin binayaan si Simeon na nakatindog magsaro sa tahaw kan sentro kan baryo. Tigrumdum nya an mga taramon kan babae asin na-iro sya kan saiyang garantiya na an pagkawara kan saiyang agom konektado sa sarong bakulaw kan alamat. Ugaring si Simeon sarong lalaking nagtutubod sa lohika. Igwang sarong bagay o sarong tawo an responsable digdi.

May saro dapat na mag-iro asin igwang mapiritong boses sa saiyang payo na sya daw uto. An namamatian nya uminagi nanaman asin nagging alipin nanaman si Simeon kan saiyang emosyon. An pagmati nya kan puro kamunduan uminuran saiya asin dae nya marumduman kun nyata yaon sya sa baryo.

“May saro dapat na mag-iro,” tigtaram nya sa sadiri nya sa pagpuon nya maglakaw sa arayong agihan pauli.

“Buwat na! Maaga na!”

Nakabungkaras si Simeon huli kan saiyang ama. Dae nya namumuyahan an pagmatang atabunon. Tinaraman sya kan saiyang ama na kaipuhan nindang dakol na oras magkaibahan, na maggibo nin tapat na trabaho, asin puminayag man si Simeon. Arog man kaini an nangyari kan aki pa sya, an ama nya tigpaparamata sya sa kinaagahan asin parehas sinda maluwas paduman sa may salog nganing makadakop nin labas na mga sira.

Priniparar ninda an mga silo asin nag-agab si Simeon sa pag-guyod ninda kan bangka paduman sa tubig.

Magayunon sa pangiling an mga bakawa sa irarom kan aldaw asin pareho sinda daeng ribok na nagsagwan paarayo. An am ani Simeon bako talaga maribok na tawo asin dae nya mataram nin maray an mga muya nyang taramon. Sa bilog na pagbangka ninda, binalo kaurunon si Simeon kan saiyang ama na magbalik sa syudad asin maghanap nin trabaho, kun pano kamarhay an mga gigibo nya asin baka oras na na i-balo nya liwat.

Dae sya tig-tino ni Simeon. Ano an aram kan saiyang ama sa saiyang tig-aagihan, ano an aram kan iba? Tigrumdom nya an ika-hudyan nyang parabulong sa payo na tig-dudumanan nya. Mas may pakiaram pa sya sa sadiri nya kaysa sa kamugtakan ni Simeon asin dagit pa nanggad sya ngunyan na nagpara gastos sya para sa mga sesyon na mas pinadipisil pa an gabos.

Asin igwa pang mga bulong. Minsan namamatian ni Simeon na garo sya sombi na minasabay sana sa agos kan buhay. Dae sya nakakaisip nin tanos, pirmi syang paha asin nasusuka asin dae uto nakatabang sa saiyang padusa burubanggi.

Siguro mabalik sya sa syudad para maghanap nin saykayatrista na makakatabang nanggad saiya, ugaring makakaalat man sana uto. Ngunyan an oras para sa pagdakop nin mga sira.

Tinapok ninda an mga silo asin nag-alat na may makukuwa sindang maray, maski tuna sana. An pagdakop ninda medyo bigo, ta puro man sana mga saraday na sira asin naglipat n asana sinda sa kabilang parte kan salog. Tigpaparaulit ninda ini nin pirang oras, wara pa nanggad sindang nakukuwa sagkod nauuyam na si Simeon.

Nagsagwan sinda arani sa may lati na aram nindang dae sindang may makukuwang maray na kuha. Baka saro sana ini sa mga paagi kan ama nya nganing magkaigwa sindang sadiring oras na magkaiba, kaso dae man ini namuyahan ni Simeon.

Abo nya man digdi, bako sa saiyang baryo, bako sa saiyang pamilya. Nagpaparapangadyi si Simeon na makasuriyaw kuta sya sa bilog na kinaban, ugaring aram nyang wara man madangog. Kaipuhan nya pang magtios sa katahimikan asin magsulog pa kan itsurang ‘ayos’ sana sya. Muya nya sa gabos an masabutan sya maski kan sarong tawo sana, maski sisay.

Tuminalikod sya sa saiyang ama asin nag-angos. Turo kan saro sa saiyang mga parabulong na an pag-angos nakakatabang mabawasan an saiyang pagparahadit. Tulong ararom na angos asin makakayanan nya na gabos, tigaasahan nya man.

Kan priparado na sya, tuminalikod liwat sya nganing ampangon an saiyang ama. Mas kalmado na sya ngunyan. Una nya ngani madadagit an saiyang ama, dae man pano nasasabutan kan saiyang ama an kamugtakan nya, kaya mas kaipuhan nya mag-sabot.

Kan pagtalikod nya, nakigkig sya ta wara na an ama nya. Kinuskosan ni Simeon an mata nya nganing makasigurado na dae sya nangingiturugan o saro utong utik sa saiyang mga tig-iinom na bulong, ugaring wara talaga asin paros na sana an igwa sa kabilang parte kan bangka.

Inapod nya an ama nya, nagsusuriyaw sagkod magkaparaos. Kaso wara man nangyari, tanog sana kan kalikasan an nagsisimbag saiya.

Magsaro na sana si Simeon.

Madali sana asin taimtim an serbisyo.

Sarong taon na an nakaagi puon kan nawara an saiyang ama asin panahon na nganing pahingaluan an saiyang memorya.

Daeng pundo an pag-ibi kan in ani Simeon sa burol. Dae nya mailing sa mata si Simeon arog kan dati bago mangyari an insidente. Naiiling nya sa mata kan ina nya na sana sya na sana an nawara.

Bako marahay an taon para kay Simeon. An pagkawara kan saiyang ama mas nadara sana sya paarayo sa kinaban. Sa pagkakaaram nya, wara naming igwa sa luwas kan apat na kanto kan saiyang kwarto.

Kun mas may pakiaram kuta sya, mas nasabutan nya kuta na an saiyang mga tigipunan paubos na asin kaipuhan nya nang mag-hanap nin ibang trabaho. Kaso, dae sya makaali sa lati na yaon sa sadiri nya. Mas nagpaparakusog an mga boses sa saiyang payo asin tigpangadyi nya sana may paagi pa nganing ma-aali ini gabos sa payo nya. An mga bulong dae naman naggagana saiya asin naisip nyang magpundo na sana sa pag inom kan mga uto.

Muya nya sana mailing an saiyang ama liwat. Muyang sabihon ni Simeon sa saiyang ama na nagaagad sya nin tawad ta dae sya naging maray na aki asin dinara nya pa an kasusupgan sa pamilya ninda. Muya nyang mag agad nin tawad para sa saiyang kamugtakan, maski garo na inda pag dangugon. Muya nya sana maging normal.

Dae naman uto mangyayari ngunyan, bibaba na ninda an kabaong sa saiyang lubungan. Dae na ninda naaram o nailing an ama nya.

May mga chismis, syempre. An mga gurang sa baryo, tigiiring-ing ninda na angongolood daa ta sigi nang dakol an mga nawawara.

Ugaring wara man labot si Simeon.

Pagmati nya, garo sya naglalakaw sa dugi. An mga simple sanang mga bagy arog kan paglimpya kan arong o pagbuwat sa igdaan, padipisil nin padipisil para saiya. Tiga-iling uto kan ina nya na saro nanamang kaugakan, sarong pagabat na kaipuhan nya mang darahon.

Para saiya, madayaon gabos. Nawara saiya an padaba nya sa buhay asin an saiyang aki nagrarayo na sa reyalidad. Aram nyang may dapat syang gibuhon.

Sarong aga sa pagsakat kan aldaw, kinuwa nya an bangka kan agom nya asin duminuman sa may lati.

Nagimata si Simeon asin una nya maiiling nya an ina nyang nagpipriparar nin pamahawan. Naghuna sya kun nyata wara sya duman. Kan pag-iling nya sa luwas asin naaraman na nawawara an bangka, aram nya kun sain nagduman an ina nya.

Madali man sana kuta para kay Simeon na dae uto intindihon, na magpakalugmok sa saiyang kamunduan asin magluksa sa saiyang sadiring ina. Naka-anap sya nin kusog dae una nya wara sya, asin nagduman sa saiyang kapitbahay nganing magsubli nin bangka para hanapon an saiyang ina.

Sa pag-sagwan nya pairarom sa salog, tigsunggaban kan takot an saiyang puso. Dae nya aram an saiyang gigibo, hahanapon nya an saiyang ina tapos ano? Nyata man nanggad nagduman sa lati an ina nya? Nganing hanapon an ama nya?

Dae sya priparado na kaurunon an saiyang ina na mag-uli, ugaring uminangos sya asin duminerecho. Nawara nya na an ama nya, dae nya na mawawara an saiyang ina.

Nakuwa ni Simeon an bangka na ginamit kan saiyang ina sa may mabakawang lati. Wara utong laog asin garo duminerecho pa an ina nya sa kadlagan na naka bitis.

Nagbaba sya sa bangka nya asin sinundan an bakas na nawalat kan ina nya.

Makapalon an paros asin naglalagkit asin nagpupuon namang madumog nin daplos si Simeon. An pag-agi nya sa may lati, narurumduman nya an mga tig-agihan nya buong buhay. Pagduman nya sa may mamarang daga, pagmati nya na kada tungtong nya digdadara sya asin namamatian nya na bako na sya komportable.

Wara na syang oras mag-horop-horop mangongod duman, ta nadangog nya na an maluway na pag-ibi sa inutan nya.

An nailing nya, sarong makagirabong ilingon. Sarong puno na may pandok kan saiyang ama, nagapuripot sa kulog, asin an saiyang ina nag-iibi sa irarom kan punong uto.

“Dae ka na kuta nagdigdi,” taramon kan ina nya habang nag-iibi.

Warang simbag si Simeon, makasakason an mga nangyayari. Dae nya masabutan kun nyata may pandok an puno kana ma nya, naka-karos sa balat kaito.

Nagpawalat sinda duman nin pirang oras sagkod nagkaigwang kusog nin buot si Simeon na aputon an saiyang ina na magsabay na saiya pauli.

“Nyata nagdigdi ka?” apot ni Simeon.

“Muya kong maaraman.”

Buminalik sinda asin sa pagbaba kan aldaw, dae sana sindang ribok, muyang makuwa an saktong mga taramon na makakadiskribiha sa nailing ninda.

Kan naka-antos sinda sa saindang bangka, nailing ninda uto. Sa madikom, garo sya tawo, alangkaw asin dakulang lalaking nakadungaw sainda. Aram ni Simeon kun ano uto, asin preparado na sya.

“Kwaon mon a ining bangka, mag-uli ka na,” taramon nya sa ina.

“Dae ta ka babayaan.”

“Kaipuhan ko ining gibuhon.”

Nagrani sya sa bakulaw na nakabukas an mga kamot. Ini an saiyang tig-papara alat. An ikahudyang paglaya sa priso na tiga apod nyang buhay.

Nagsuriyaw an ina nya nganing magpundo sya. Pero dae sya nagmati.

Sa pagkupo kan halimaw kay Simeon, namamatian nya na an pagtagas kan saiyang balat asin an saiyang mga bitis nagigi nang mga ugat.

Nakakurit na sa balat an nakangirit nyang pandok.

Sa wakas, malaya na sya.

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English Version

Through the mangrove ridden swamps, past the riverbanks, lies a small grove of trees. Now, most people would find nothing strange about it, they would probably find it stranger if there weren’t any trees by the riverside.

As they look closer, they can see what makes this copse so horrifying. Each tree is etched with the face of a person, twisted in agony. The bark of the tree outlines their wretched visages.

Locals call the area cursed and most do well to avoid these trees.
But one brave soul dared to brave the wilderness to seek answers that only the trees can whisper.

This is his story.

Simeon Boñaga always hated his name. His namesake was a hero, the last general to surrender during the Philippine-American war and here he was, a 27-year-old burnout, whose best days were behind him.

He was the first of his family to graduate university. Coming from a small town where you either became a fisherman or starve, it was a big accomplishment. That is, up until the real world turned its ugly head.

His first job after university was in a large multinational company, the kind of place that he had always heard about but never got the opportunity to see up close. The pay was good and the hours were reasonable, he finally felt he had it all.

But there was always that voice in his head that nagged him. It was like a weight that slowed him down every day. He noticed it after the fifth month of work. His mind didn’t think as fast, he was angry and irritable to his coworkers and he couldn’t sleep.

He thought it would pass, that it was just a bad dream he would wake up from eventually. Then the second month came and things started to get worse. His eyebags got so big and obvious that people couldn’t help but comment on them.

That made him feel more terrible. He tried to ignore the gossip floating around, but the voices outside were just as loud as the voices in his head. Simeon noticed that his officemates started to avoid him. Whenever he would walk up to the lounge people seemed to disperse.

His mood affected his performance at work. At the start of the year he could glide through spreadsheets and was confident with presentations. As the months went by Simeon retreated more into himself, pushing away even his friends that tried to help.

If he had gotten help early maybe he could have avoided shouting at his boss. If he admitted that there was something wrong, he could have kept his job. If he wasn’t so prideful, there would have been a way to continue the life he was living.

Simeon thought back to those days as he stared at the river by his home. He didn’t want to have to go back to the province, but after what he did there was no choice. He felt alone now more than ever, sitting by the rocks and watching the water flow through the forest.

His parents didn’t understand what was wrong with him. They told him it was all in his head. He wanted to reply, “of course it’s in my head, where do you think my brain is?” but that would be unnecessary. His parents were simple people, far removed from the medical jargon that became his new reality.

It was a life he wouldn’t have wished on anyone else. He sighed and started the long to the nearby town. Simeon hated being alone with his thoughts. It was a burden put upon his shoulders that he wished he could just shrug off.
As he entered the town, he saw people gather around the square. For a few brief moments the voices in his head quieted down and he was able to focus on what was happening before him.

A woman who he recognized as Aling Norma was sobbing hysterically. She shouted, “Angongolood! Angongolood!” as the crowd watched silently.
He knew the legends, of course. Every person in town did. The giant gorilla-like beast preying on fishermen at the mouth of the riverbank.

It was all just superstition, a story made up to scare fisherfolk away from dangerous areas in the swamp. But it seemed like Aling Norma believed every word of it. Simeon would always remember the look on her tear-stained face as she cried out for her husband.

“Jherick! Jherick why didn’t you listen?! What will happen to us now? Why didn’t you think about your children?!” Her cries echoed through the town square, made even louder by the silence of the bystanders.

It seemed that people were just content to watch the spectacle and Simeon couldn’t help but feel pity for the crowd as well as Aling Norma. This scene wasn’t meant to turn out like this. He walked towards Aling Norma and bent down beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Aling Norma was surprised by Simeone’s touch. She stopped crying long enough to crumple into his arms.He didn’t know how long he held Aling Norma. The crowd dispersed, bit by bit until the only people left were Simeon and Aling Norma as well as a few stragglers.

Aling Norma looked at Simeon with tired eyes. She composed herself and thanked him for comforting her. Simeon said it was nothing, but she disagreed. “No one would even come near me when they found out my husband went missing. Thank you.”

Simeon didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell her that he would cry himself to sleep every night the way she did. Or how there was a storm brewing inside him and it helped to be of help to others to forget the emotional buildup that threatened to burst.

He asked Aling Norma why she thought it was the angongolood that took her husband and she replied, “He went to the trees.”

“What trees?” Simeon asked.

“The angongolood’s embrace is poison to the touch, anyone caught in its arms is twisted into a horrible tree,” she said, new tears forming in her eyes.
“I’m sure they’ll be able to find him.”

“They won’t. It’s too late. Far too late.” Aling Norma looked Simeon in the eye and her piercing gaze shot to his soul. “Do not go out to the swamp, nothing good can come from that place.”

She stood up and left Simeon standing alone in the town square. He thought back to her words and he was moved by her assurance that her husband’s disappearance was tied to a mythical beast. But Simeon was a man of logic.
There had to be something or someone responsible. Someone had to do something and there was a persistent voice in his head that it should be him. The feeling passed though and once again Simeon was a slave to his emotions. The feeling of ennui showered over him and he couldn’t even remember why he went to the town.

“Someone else has to do something,” he said to himself as he started the long walk home.

————————————————————————

“Get up! It’s nearly sunrise!”

Simeon was jolted awake by his father. He didn’t appreciate being woken up this early. His father had said that they needed to spend more time together, to do honest work, and Simeon reluctantly agreed. It was like this when he was younger, his father waking him up at the break of dawn and both of them going out to the river to get a fresh catch.

They got ready with their nets and Simeon yawned as they pushed out into the river.

The mangroves were radiant in the morning sun and they both were silent as they went upriver. Simeon’s father was a man of few words and he couldn’t express as much as he would like to. Throughout the boat ride his father had tried to talk Simeon into going back to the city and finding work, how he was doing so well and it was about time he tried again.

Simeon ignored him. What would his father know about what he was going through, what did anyone know? He thought back to the last therapist he was seeing. She cared more about herself than she did Simeon’s well being and he was still mad that he spent too much money on sessions that made things more difficult.

And there was the medicine. Half the time Simeon felt like a zombie going through the motions of life. He couldn’t think straight, he was always thirsty and nauseous and it didn’t help with his night terrors.

Maybe he would go back to the city to find a psychiatrist that would help, but that would have to wait. Now was the time for fishing.

They cast out the nets and hoped that they would find something good, maybe tuna. The catch was disappointing, nothing but small fish and they moved on to another area. They repeated this for hours, finding nothing all while Simeon was getting frustrated.

They had drifted near the swamp where it was sure they wouldn’t get a good catch. Maybe this was his father’s way of giving them some alone time, though Simeon didn’t appreciate it.

He didn’t want to be here, not in this town, not with his family. Simeon wished so hard that he could scream out into the world, but he knew no one would listen. He had to suffer in silence and put on a façade of being ‘alright’. More than anything he wanted to be understood by someone, anyone.
He turned his back to his father and tried to breathe. One of his older therapists had taught him breathing exercises to minimize anxiety. Three deep breaths and he would be able to handle things, or so he hoped.

When he was ready, he turned back to face his father. He was calmer now. He had expected his father to be angry, his father never understood anything about his condition, so he had to be more patient.

He turned and was surprised to find his father missing. Simeon rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming or a trick of his medication, but there was nothing more than empty air on the other side of the boat.

He called out for his father, screaming until his lungs gave out. It didn’t matter though, there was only the sounds of nature that answered him.
Simeon was alone.

————————————————————————–

The service was brief and solemn.

It had been a year since his father had disappeared and it was time to put his memory to rest.

Simeon’s mother didn’t stop crying through the funeral. She never looked at Simeon the same way since the incident. He could see in her eyes that he should have been the one that vanished.

The year was not kind to Simeon. His father’s disappearance only led to him retreating from the world. As far as he was concerned there was nothing outside the four walls of his room.

If he had cared more, he might have realized that his savings were dwindling and he would have to look for a job soon. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move past the mire he found himself in. The voices in his head were getting louder and he wished he could find some way to make them stop. The meds weren’t working anymore and he had decided a few months ago to stop taking them.

He just wanted to see his father one more time. Simeon wanted to tell him that he was sorry he was a bad son and that he brought shame upon the family. He wanted to apologize for his condition, as strange as it sounds. He just wanted to be normal.

That would never happen now, as they slowly lowered an empty casket into the grave. They hadn’t even found a trace of his father.

There were rumors of course. The elders in town would whisper of the angongolood as more disappearances happened.

But that didn’t matter to Simeon.

He felt like he was moving through mud. The simplest things like cleaning the house or getting out of bed were getting more and more difficult for him. His mother saw it as laziness, a burden that she had to bear as well. To her, nothing was fair. She had lost the love of her life and her son was retreating from reality. She knew that something had to be done.

One morning as the dawn began, she took her husband’s boat and made her way to the swamp.

Simeon woke up and expected to find his mother making breakfast. He was puzzled why she wasn’t there. As soon as he looked out and saw the boat was missing, he knew where she had gone.

It would have been easy for Simeon to just ignore it, to wallow in his own sadness and grieve for his missing mother. Where he found strength, he didn’t know, and he went to his neighbor’s house and asked to borrow their boat to find his mother.

As he delved deeper into the swamp fear gripped his heart. He didn’t know what he was doing, he would find his mother and then what? Why had she gone to the swamp in the first place? To find his father?

He wasn’t prepared to talk his mother off that ledge, but he breathed in deep and pushed forward. He lost his father, he wouldn’t lose his mother too.
Simeon found the boat his mother used by the mangrove trees. It was empty and it looked like she had gone deeper into the swamp on foot.

He got out of his boat and followed the trail that she left.The air was thick and humid and Simeon began to sweat through his shirt. Trudging through the bog reminded him of how he felt every day. Moving through rough terrain, feeling like every step forward took everything within you and being uncomfortable through it all.

He didn’t have time to reflect on that as he heard soft sobbing ahead of him.
What he saw was a macabre sight. A tree with the face of his father, twisted in pain, stood with his mother weeping under it.

“You shouldn’t have come,” his mother said through the tears.
Simeon had no answer, things were happening too fast. He didn’t understand why the tree had the face of his father etched in its bark.

They stayed there for hours until Simeon was brave enough to ask his mother to go back home.

“Why did you come here?” he asked.

“I needed to know for sure.”

They made their way back and as the sun set, they sat in silence, desperately trying to find the words to describe what they had seen.

As soon as they reached their boats, they saw it. In the dark it looked almost human, like a tall, burly man hunched over. Simeon knew what it was, and he was prepared.

“Take the boat and go home,” he told his mother.

“I won’t leave you.”

“This is what I have to do.”

He walked towards the creature with open arms. This was what he was searching for. A final release from the prison he called life.

His mother screamed for him to stop. He didn’t listen.As the monster embraced Simeon, he could feel his skin harden and his legs turn to roots.
The bark etched his face in a solemn smile.

Finally he was free.

=————————————————————————————————-=

*The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.

The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages.

Written by Karl Gaverza

Translation by Jeremiah Cordial

Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Jeremiah Cordial

Based on the Angongolood description in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010.

Angongolood Illustration by Justine André Villapa

Instagram: @art.justineandrev

*Note this story is in Bicol – Sosogon

“Grrrah,” sabi san buwaya.

“Ssssh, ayaw lang kay pag-abot san pagkaon ta mawawara na ina na gutom,” sabi san aswang sa alaga niya.

Mapagal niyan ang paghanap san pagkaon. Aram san mga tawo na didi pirmi naghahanap an aswang san pagkaon ninda san buwaya pero wara makapugol sa gutom niya.

“Pag harani na kita sa mga balay makakakuwa na kita pagkaon.” Sobrang gutom na san buwaya pero an aswang dili mapabaya saiya. “Makakakita man kita batit taud taud. Paborito mo baga an mga batit.

Hiwag hiwag man an buwaya san ikog niya sa ugma. Awat na siya lain nakakaon batit.

“Marani kita sa mga balay tapos dadakopon ta an mga naglalangoy harani sa salog!” sinabihan san aswang an buwaya habang naglalalkat sinda sa gilid san salog.

Grabe na an gutom na namamatean ninda san buwaya. Nag-iingat na ang mga tawo na nakaistar harani sainda kaya mapagal maghanap pagkaon. An urhi ninda na pagkaon san may nakita sinda na parasira na naglubog sa salog. Payaton an parasira, dili lamang sinda nabusog.

Pero niyan maugma an aswang. Aram niya na may makakaon sinda niyan. An buwaya an madakop san pagkaon ninda kay habo niya manhadlok sa mga tawo.

An tawag saiya “aglapon hayopan,” o aswang may alaga na buwaya para magdakop san pagkaon niya. Sabi san iba na aswang hugak daw siya pero dili man ninda aram na mapagal magpadako buwaya.

Nagrereklamo na an buwaya, natatawa na lang siya. Awaton na sinda mag-upudan batog pa san bunay pa lamang an buwaya. Kilalahunon na niya an mga namamatean niya. Kilalahunon na ninda an kada saro. Makakaon lang an buwaya, mabalik na ini sa kahugakan niya.

“Yadi na kita,” sabi san buwaya.

“Madakop na kita san kaunon ta.”

“Grrrah,” simbag san buwaya.

English Version

“Grrrah,” The crocodile groaned.

“Hush now, the food will come by soon, then we will both have something to eat.” The aswang said lovingly to her pet.

Prey was hard to come by these days, the humans knew that this place in the swamp was the hunting ground for the aswang and her pet, but that wasn’t about to stop her from finding a meal.

“We just have to go closer to the village, and then everything will be better,” The crocodile grunted again and the aswang reassured him. “I know, we’ll find some children, I know how much you like the taste of those.”

The crocodile wagged its tail with joy; it had not had that treat in many months.

“Yes, let’s go nearer to the village and set a trap. We can catch the ones swimming by the river!” The aswang walked alongside her pet to the riverbank.

She was hungry, and so was her pet. Due to the human’s caution, food was hard to find. The last meal they both had was a fisherman that strayed too far into the swamp. He was stringy and tough, not a dinner that either of them savored.

The aswang was all smiles though. She knew that prey would be plentiful. She had always relied on the strength of her pet to catch their meals, she was not like the other aswang who would fly around the village terrorizing the humans.

She was an agalon hayopan, a kind of aswang that would raise crocodiles to hunt their prey for them. The other aswang would often jeer and call their kind lazy, but they would never know the hardship one would take just to raise a single crocodile from an egg.

Her pet grumbled again and she laughed. They spent years together and she had raised this one ever since he was a hatchling. She knew his quirks and quips just as well as he knew hers. They were inseparable. She knew that once he had something to eat, he would change back to his lazy self.

“We’re here,” The aswang and her pet stood by the river.

“Time to get some food.”

“Grrrah,” replied her pet.

————————–————————–———————–

*The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.

The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Bicol Translation by Sara Grace C. Fojas
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Sara Grace C. Fojas

Inspired by the Agalon Hayopan legend from Bicol: Filipinas Volume 12, Page 53, Filipinas Pub., 2003

Agalon Hayopan Illustration by NightmareSyrup
Tumblr: http://nightmaresyrup.tumblr.com/

*Note this story is in Bikol

Kinuwâ ni Leyana an saiyang bag asin duminalagan nganing habulon an saiyang mga barkada. Maduruman pâno sinda sa dagat sa sunod na semana asin iyo na sana pirmi an saindang tig-uururunan. Mas tigpaparaurunan pa ngani ninda kun ano an saindang susuuton asin an saindang mga kukuwaan nin litrato kaysa sa mga sanga-sanga kan mga puno na tiga-agihan ninda.

Dae ninda natînuhan an mapayatun asin maitomon na halimaw na may nagakubogkubog na bitis asin dakulaong mga kasukasuan na nag-sabat sainda. An saiyang kakanusan napapailing lalo nin saiyang ngimot asin dakulaong lusî na nakalaylay sa baba.

Napabuntong-hininga an mga babayi asin binaliktad an saindang mga badô, an saindang mga dudô naiiling na. Nakatindugon an lusî kan halimaw na sa sobrang dakulâ, natatakluban na an saiyang pangiling. Nagduruderecho sana sa pagururon an mga babayi na garo man sana warang nangyari.

Si Leyana sana an may tinaram manongod sa nangyari, “Nauuyam ako ta pirmi ta na sana uto gigibo pagnagpaparasunod yan satuya.”

“Eh, aram mo naman sana yang tambaloslos,” simbag ni Divine, “dangag man yang halimaw na yan, kayâ kun pirming arog kâan an posisyon nya pag tiga-iling kita, dae nya man kita aanuhon.”

“Iyo nganî kaya maski purupano, naiirak na ako saiya, ta sarô-sarui na sana nganî an aram nyang gibuhon, dae nya pa nagigibo,” sabat ni Dana.
“Ano man an gigibo nya?” apot ni Gina.

“An aram ko pati mga manok asin urig, tiga biktima pa kaan,” taramon ni Divine.

“Kairak man palan kan mga manok.” Ulok ni Gina. Su ibang babayi nagbalik sa tigaururunan ninda manongod sa beach trip, kayâ nalingawan na su nangyari kasubâgo sa halimaw, pero dae pa natutunawan si Leyana.
“Dapat dae ta tiga-pailing an lawas ta pagnasasabatan ta yang tambaloslos ta nakakababa yan nin istima ta.”“Ano pa man an magiginibo ta? Nyata, mas maray saimong magahasa?” prankahon si Divine kaya kilala sya nin iba na maurag magtao nin opinyon pag an mga kaiba nya dae kayang makataram.
“Syempre dae! Pero dapat tatao kita kun pâno protektahan an sadiri ta na dae na kailangang iluwas an satuyang dudô!”

“Leyana, duman ka na sana sa pinaka madali, dae ka man aanuhon kan tambaloslos ta dae ka man kaan maiiling. Pirmi mo na sana tigpaparadipisilan an buhay mo!” Muya na ni Ginang magbalik sa tiguururunan ninda kun ano an susuoton ninda para sa group shot asin padiit diit na syang nauuyam.

“Parâ an punto ko man sana, baka igwa pang ibang pwedeng gibuhon imbis maprotektahan ta an sadiri ta.”“Pero an pagpailing kan dudô ta, pagprotekta na uto. Dae ta man tigapayagan an tambaloslos na may gibuhon satuya.” Padiit diit namang nagkakainteres si Divine kun pasain na an tiguururunan ninda. “Dae ta man kailangan makilaban kun dae man sya malaban.”
“Pero bako uto tamâ!”

“Garo man su may magiginibo ka pa, bakô man yan tawo. Dae man kaan maiintindihan kun ano an persepsyon ta kaya mas maray kun gibuhon ta na sana an dapat tang gibuhon asin magdalagan na sana, arog kan gigibo nin iba,” taramon ni Divine.

“Nyatâ bayâ importantehon yan saimo?” An uyam sa tono kan boses ni Gina, mas halata na.

“Abo ko na kayâ na arog na sana kâto pirmi. Aram mong an ibang lalaki tigpaparaalat pa an tambaloslos ngani sana mailing kitang nakauba? Insulto ito para satuyang mga babayi.”

“Ilinga, kun muya kan mga lalaki maging mga manyak, bahala sinda, makadiri naman sinda kayâ warâ naman sindang rason na bako sinda halimaw.” Nararamdaman ni Divine na may igwa jan sa sinabi nya. “Leyana, ano man nanggad ang kikahaditan mo?”

“Magtugâ kamo, dae nindo sasabihon sa iba?” Nagtarango gabos.
“Kan naka-aging semana pâno kan naglalakaw ako paulî alî sa iskwilahan, tigsundan ako kan tambaloslos arog kan gigibo nya pirmi, ugaring may igwa pa akong napansin. Si Rico, su taga higher batch baga. Nararamdaman ko an saiyang mga mata palibot sakuya kan inali ko an blawsa ko.”

Nawâran nin ribok pagkatapos kan tigamin ni Leyana. Sarong pagkakasarabutan an nabuo sa alingawngaw kan saiyang mga tinaram.
“Dae ka na maglakaw na solo sa sunod, sarabay na lang kita pirmi, bakô man arayô an arong nindo samuya.” Nagngirit si Gina, imbis dae na marumduman ni Leyana su nangyari.

“Manyak man sya. Taramon mo dapat uto saiya.” Kinupô ni Divine si Leyana “Dae mo man kailangan maagihan an mga yan.”

Nagtururô an luha kan duwang babayi asin nakatindog sana sindang duwa sa kasilensyuhan sagkod kan dinisturbo nanaman sinda kan halimaw giraray.

May labi-labing urî nin dagit. An iba, nagpupuon sa kasilensyuhan, nag-aaloy muna bâgo makaluwas. Ugaring igwa man na iba, su yaon na talaga dyan asin tigakurumungan na an mga puso kan tawo sagkod magsabog ini sainda.
“Pabayai na sana kami!” Tinapok ni Divine an saiyang bag sa tambaloslos.
“Sagad na kami saimo!” Tig-sipâ ni Gina an tambaloslos sa saiyang mga baglang parte kan lawas.

“Dae ka na nanggad magranirani sakuya!” binungag ni Leyana ini sa pandok, an saiyang sadit na kamao tuminama sa butog kâning ngudoy.
Nakigkig an tambaloslos sa pagpailing kan pagkabayolente ninda saiya asin buminwelta ini paduman sa mga puno nganing magtago.

Pinamara kan mga babayi an saindang mga luha asin tigpurot an saindang mga gamit.

Sa pagkagimata ninda sa nangyari, nagkaraputan sinda nin kamot asin nag-aralî sinda na igwang kamurawayan.Bakô pasil mag-istar sa sarong baryong igwang tambaloslos. Mas dipisil maging babayi tâ pirmi mong papaalion utong halimaw asin an mga lalaki na unâ ninda makaka saro sinda.
Aram ni Leyana na an mga halimaw yaon sana maski sain-sain kayâ kailangan mong labanan yan sa sadiri mong paagi, bako sa iba.

——————————————————————————
English Version

Leyana picked up her schoolbag and ran to catch up with her friends. They were going to the beach next weekend and that was all they could talk about. The conversations about what they would wear and what pictures they would take took precedence over the cracking branches from the trees next to the girls.

Without warning a lanky, black creature with wobbly legs and big joints ambushed the girls. Its ugliness was amplified by its big mouth and huge penis that dangled to the ground.The girls sighed and turned their clothes inside out, exposing their breasts. The creature’s penis erected so much it covered its vision and the girls continued with their conversation as if nothing happened.

Only Leyana commented on the incident, “I hate that we have to do that every time it comes by.”

“Well you know the tambaloslos,” Divine replied, “it’s a stupid creature, and as long as it sees us in that position, it can’t do anything.”

“Yeah I almost feel bad for the thing, it only knows how to do one thing and it fails more often than not,” Dana chimed in.“What does it even do?” Gina asked.

“I heard it even victimizes chickens and pigs,” Divine said.“Poor chickens.” Gina laughed.

The other girls went back to the topic of their beach trip leaving their encounter with the creature behind, but Leyana wasn’t satisfied.
“We shouldn’t have to expose ourselves every time it comes by, it’s demeaning.”

“What else can we do? Would you rather be raped?” Divine was blunt and she was known for making points that other people would like to keep quiet.
“Of course not! We should be able to defend ourselves without having to let our breasts hang out!”

“Leyana, just take the easier way out, the tambaloslos won’t harm you if it can’t see you. Why are you making things so difficult?” Gina wanted to go back to asking about what the girls were going to wear for their group shot and she was starting to get annoyed.

“I’m just saying we can find another way to defend ourselves.”“But being exposed is defending ourselves, it’s not like we let it do anything to us.” Divine was starting to get interested with the way the conversation was going. “We don’t need to fight it if it can’t fight.”

“But it’s not right!”

“It’s not like we can reason with it anyway, it’s not human. It will never understand our point of view so we do what we need to do and run away, just like everyone else does,” Divine shot back.

“Why is this so important to you?” the exasperation in Gina’s voice was almost palpable.

“I’m just so sick of it. Do you know some of the boys wait for the tambaloslos just so that they can have a chance to look at us while we take our clothes off? It’s insulting to us as women.”

“Look if those boys want to be perverts it’s all on them, they’re disgusting in their own way and they don’t have the excuse of being a monster.” Divine could sense there was something behind this dialogue. “Leyana, what’s really bothering you?”

“Promise you won’t tell?”

All the girls nodded.

“It was when I was walking home last week from school. The tambaloslos followed me like it normally does, but there was someone else behind him. It was Rico from the higher batch. I could feel his eyes all over me when I took my blouse off.”

There was silence after Leyana’s confession. An unspoken bond of sisterhood was forged in the echo of her words.“Don’t walk alone anymore, let’s go together, your house isn’t that far from mine anyway.” Gina smiled, trying to get Leyana’s mind off what had happened.

“He’s an asshole. You should confront him.” Divine hugged Leyana “You shouldn’t have had to go through that.”The tears fell from both girls and they stood in silence until they were disturbed again by the black creature.

There are many kinds of anger. Some, borne from silence, take their time to reach the surface. But there are others, those that have lingered on and blanketed people’s hearts until they suddenly burst out in rage.
“Leave us alone!” Divine threw her schoolbag at the tambaloslos.

“We’ve been through enough!” Gina kicked the creature in its privates.
“Don’t you ever come near me again!” Leyana punched at the creature’s face, her small fists landing blows against its protruding lips.

The tambaloslos was shocked at the display of violence that came its way and made its way back to the trees to safety.The girls dried their tears and picked up their things.

In the wake of the attack, they held each other’s hands and basked in the silence only they could understand.

It wasn’t easy living in a village haunted by a tambaloslos. It was even harder being a girl having to fend off that monster and boys who think they could take advantage.

Leyana knew that monsters are everywhere and you had to fight them on your terms, not anyone else’s.

———————————————————-
*Igwang labi-labing isturya manongod sa tambaloslos. Sa ibang bersyon kan alamat, nangbubukod daw an Tambaluslos sa mga tawong naglalakaw-lakaw sa bulod. An saro sanang paagi imbis makatakas saiya, suluton mo sana an bado mong pabaliktad. Nagigiulok digdi an halimaw na uto asin maulok na grabe sagkod matakluban kan saiyang dakulang ngudoy an saiyang pandok, kaya dae nya naiiling an saiyang biktima na nagkakaigwa nang oras makadulag.

*There are many depictions of the tambaloslos. In some versions of the myth the Tambaluslos chases people who wander in the woods. The only way to escape it is to take off your clothes and wear them inside out. The creature finds this act very hilarious and it will laugh so much that its wide lips would cover its face, therefore preventing it from seeing the victim who in turn will have ample time to escape.

*The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.

The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages. 

Written by Karl Gaverza

Bikol Translation by Jeremiah Cordial

Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Jeremiah Cordial

Story inspired by the Tambaloslos myths from Bicol

Tambaloslos Illustration by Michael Sean B. Talavera

IG: @maykelshan
Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/isaneleach13

*Note this story is in Bicol

Tiga-sinagan kan bilog na bulan an mga gadan. Tiripontipong lawas nin mga tawo an nagtataralayan sa luwas na gari katayan nin orig, an mga pidaso nin mga buto asin mga nagtitios na suriyaw tigpapano an paros sa papag-atake kan halimaw sa sakuyang barangay.

Ugaring, aram kong sa sunod na bulan mapapasaiya na kami saiya. Pagnagsinag na an kabilogan kan buwan sa samuyang barangay, magi sana itong matinabang na diyos na nag-iiling sa samuyang mga pananom, arog kin sarong matibay na taga-bantay.

Pipagal na ako kaini.

Nyata pa kami kailangan mag-tios sa kadikluman nin banggi? Nyata pa ako kailangan mag-lubong kan saro pang miyembro kan sakong pamilya asin mag-agad nin grasya para sa saindang kagadanan? Nyata pa ako kailangan makadangog kan saindang mga suriyaw sa sakuyang pag-turog puripirmi, tig-iisip kun ano an sakuyang mga naitabang kuta para sainda?

Sa saindang “marahay-rahay” na itsura, gari man lang sinda kapandok ta, ugaring dae ako nagpapadara sa saindang pagbalat-kayo. Aram ko an saindang tunay na itsura, an saindang tig-sararong mata asin an saindang mga mapanasong pangil. Dae sinda makakatago sa saindang maray na itsura kun madara sana sinda kin digmaan sa sunod na pagpailing nin bulan.

Sa pag-sakat nin ba’gong bulan, ako minagibong pangako ngunyan.

Papatapuson ko an paulit-ulit na pasakit. Itataas ko an mga sandata laban sa libong na diyos na ini asin papatukruon ko siya pagnadaog siya.

Gigibuhon ko nanggad.

Nagluya na ako sa takot, sa mga maribokong suriyaw. Burubanggi an nailing ko sana, pandok kan sakuyang tugang na nakasa’bit sa ngimot kan tagamaling. Daeng kasagkuran ko marurumduman an saiyang natatadang suriyaw hanggang magadan ako.

Tig-sabayan ako nin iba pang mga taga-ngaso laban sa halimaw, gabos na sinda may nawarang padaba, amigo asin amiga, tugang o magurang sa saro sanang sa’ngab nin halimaw na ito. Gabos wara nang mawawara pa. Dae nang mawawara pa.

Kaya tigsusurat ko ining liham saimo, padabaon kong aki.Pirming maging makusog asin matibay pag nasa ampangan nin maraot, asin dae ipaaram maski kisay kun sisay o ano ka.

Paaram.

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English Version

The full moon lends its light to the carnage.

Piles of human flesh strung across the plain like an abattoir, the crunch of bone and the screams of pain filled the air as the monster ravaged its way through my village.

Yet, we knew that in the next month it would have our worship. When the light of the full moon extends over our village shall it become a beneficent deity, watching over our crops like stoic sentinels.

I’m tired of this.

Why must we suffer with the whims of the moon? Why must I have to bury another member of my family and then ask blessings of their murderer? Why must I hear their screams every time I sleep, wondering what I could have done to save them?

In their “benevolent” form they appeared much like we do, but that does not fool me. I know their true nature, their one eye and their terrible fangs. They cannot hide behind their facade of peace only to bring war the next time the moon rears its next full face.

With the rise of the new moon I make a vow.

I will end this cycle of torment. I will raise arms against this confused god and bring it down to its knees.

I will.

I have lost too much to the terror, to the screams. Each night I can only see the face of my brother as he hung from the mouth of the tagamaling. His last scream will haunt me until the end of my time.

I am joined by the other hunters, each has lost a lover, a friend, a sibling or a parent to the maw of the mad god. Each has nothing left to lose. Not anymore.
So I write to you this letter, my beloved son.

Always keep yourself strong in the face of evil, and never compromise who and what you are to anyone.

Goodbye.

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* The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.

The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages. 

Written by Karl Gaverza

Translation by Jeremiah Cordial

Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Jeremiah Cordial

Inspired by the Tagamaling description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Tagamaling Illustration by Jowee Aguinaldo.

*Note this story is in Bicol
Ali sa sinapupunan nin daga ako minatalubo Naga-kintab arog nin araw sa maagahonSa saimong kamot lilason ko an mga kalag Asin tiga-dara an mga tawo sa karaotanAno ako?

Ali sa sinapupunan nin daga ako minatalubo Naga-kintab arog nin araw sa maagahonSa saimong kamot lilason ko an mga kalag Asin tiga-dara an mga tawo sa karaotanAno ako?

“Mata na.”

“Anong..? Anong nangyayari?”

“Nagtataram ka nanaman kan turog ka pa.”

“Ah, pasensya na tabi. Nagpamatanga garo ako kasubanggi.”

“Nagpundo na baga su uran.”

“Nagpundo na? Maray yan ta nganing makakuha na kita nin mga maray na litrato.”

“Ma-ayos na ako. Ika mag-taga-ayos ka naman ta igwa pa kitang diit na oras nin liwanag.”

“Sige. Masanli muna ako. Sana man lamang matapos ta na ining shooting na dae tigaantala nin uran.”

“Oh wow.”

“Nyata?”

“May budlangaw sa likod mo.”

“Siguro bako man nanggad maraot ang panahon ngunyan.”

Malipot sa pakiramdamWara akong tunay na liwanagUgaring dae ako mawawaraAno ako? Na-gimata siyang daplusunon. Su pangiturugan niya nanaman kaya tungkol sa mga laad, su mga dilaw na kino asin su kakanusang maraot-raot. Tig-paalala niya sa sadiri niya na aloy na ito, mas dakul pang mga bagay an kailangan kan saiyang atensyon.

Alangkawon ang saiyang tindog, an saiyang garing na sungay maliwanagon an kintab sa kadikluman kan kwebang tiga-istaran niya. May mga yamang maiiling sa mga bulod na ini, asin kukuwaon niya gabos na kaya niyang dar’hon.

Ugaring may mga kislap man gilayon kan nakaagi na na dae naa-ali sa saiyang isip. Narurumduman niya an saiyang lumang pangaran asin kun pano an saiyang gayon nakakaapod kan iling maski kan mga pinakamakukusog na diyos. Tig-basang-basang niya ang pangaran ni Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan asin naglustab sa salog. Siguro kun bako dahil saiya, yaon pa garo ang gayon niya.

Pagnakuha niya na an saiyang kayamanan, magiging marhay na gabos. Mabalik na siya liwat sa dati niyang itsura. Dae na kailangan magpara-tambay sa kadikluman kan saiyang kweba. Dae na kailangan magpara-alat mag-uraw para makadakop nin mga hayop na makakaon. Dae na kailangan magpara-iling sa saiyang sadiring repleksyon asin marumduman na saro na palan siyang halimaw.

Sa kaarayuan, may nailing siyang kislap nin mga liwanag. Kayamanan? Dae kakayanun kan puso nya an kaugmahan niya. Nag-uraw na, ugaring dae na siya maalat sa saiyang manliligaw. Ta oras niya na para maghanap nin pagkaon.

Minasabay ako sa agosSa bilog na kinabanDae ako arayo sa kapangyarihanTa ako nanggad ang kapangyarihanAno ako?

An maliwanag na diyos nag-dungaw ali sa langit asin nag-himutok. Mamundo siya ta nagluwas nanaman su tig-liligawan niya na dae siya kaiba. Nakatukaw siya sa mga panginoron sa Mundong Itaas asin tiga-rumdom an mga nakaagawang selosong diyos.

Marahayrahay na hapon nin tag-init kan nangyari ito, an maliwanag na diyos tig-ta’wanan an babae nin kapangyarihang gamiton an saiyang prismatikong ilaw asin ginamit ini kan babae imbis masapawan an gayon nin mga diyosa. Ang kaherak na babaeng ini, mas dakol pa an kasakiman kaysa sa kadunungan, sa saiyang ka-ambugan naisipang kalabanon an sarong diyosa. Maswerte pa ngani siya, maski purupano. Ta kun si Ynaguinid an kinalaban niya, dae na siya mabubuhay para kwaon an mga napasang pidaso kan saiyang miserableng buhay.

Ugaring bako man iyan digdi o duman.

Ginibo kan maliwanag na diyos an gabos, syempre. Tig-tao niya liwat an saiyang kagayunan sa abot kan makakaya niya. Ugaring dae kayang madaog kan saiyang kapangyarihan ang sumpa kan babae. An diyosa nin ka-agasan may ugaling dae nagpapatawad ta arog kaito an saiyang kayang gibuhon.
Ka-itaasan kan iling. Kasakiman. Ka-ambugan. An mga diyos mas may pagkaparehas pa sa mga tawo kaysa sa pagtaram ninda nin totoo.

Kun dae sana luminampas an babaeng ini sa banal na gubat nin diyosa.
Kun dae niya sana nailing an mga dwendeng burubitbit an mga kayamanan.
Kun dae niya sana tig-ambog na siya an pinakamagayon.

Dae kuta mararaot an saiyang puso. Dawa ano pang mangyari, an saiyang pagpadaba sa babaeng uto, dae man giraray nasuklian. Nag-aasa man gilayon siya na kung matabangan niyang maibwelta an tunay na anyo kan babae, maiiling niya na an nararamdaman niya para saiya.

Ugaring dae niya kakaputan an saiyang pag-asa na arog kaito kaaloy. Naghimutok an maliwanag na diyos asin padikit-dikit binutasan ang saiyang ilaw paduman sa kinaban. Baka mailing niya na nanggad kun ano an tiga-hanap niya.

An sakuyang pangako sarong pangituruganNa may kabasoganAsin katiwasayanSarong testimonya sa maray na pagtiwala Ano ako?
“Nailing mo uto?!”

“Una ko baga ataason na kita para makailing pa king mga kabayo?!”

“Iyo baga, dae ko sana aram kun nyata yaon yan digdi.”

“Tig-iling mong maray?”

“Masyado siyang makaskas, kaso garo nakuha ko man sa kamera.”

“Mag-ali na kita ta abo kong maabutan kita pag nag-balik pa uto. Dae kaya ako sanay sa mga hayop.”

“Oh sige na. Bati prinsesahun ka pa. Sapat naman garo ining mga nakuha ta para pagpilian kan mga editor. Mag-palit ka na tapos mababa na kita. Makakaabot man garo kita bago mag-banggi.”

“Sige, madali lang ako.”

Igwa kutang makukuwang kayamanan, ugaring bako ito su tig-paparahanap niya. Madayaon man ini gabos. Nyata siya pa an tig-sumpa sa makanusong anyong ini? Su diyosa ngani magayunon kaso makauyam man. Nagbulos an saiyang luha sa dati niyang makinisong pandok habang sunod-sunod an tagiting nagtatagdo sa daga.

Aram kan maliwanag na diyos an sarong igwa sa sumpa na dae aram kan babae. Kinaganang ginto kan diyosa nin ka-agasan an mata kan babae imbis pirmi niyang pagparahanapon an kayamanang dae niya makukuwa maski nuarin. Saro ito sa natadang insulto saiya para madagdagan an sumpa niya. Gigibuhon man kan maliwanag na diyos an gabos, ta sa saiyang puso nagpapara-antabay siya sa saiyang presensya.

“Ayos ka na?”

“Iyo, pero mas maray kung alaton ta na lang na mag-uraw.”

“Abo ko lamang mag-agi sa madugi.”

“Dae ka na magpara-reklamo. Maray ngani ta may nakuha kitang mga magayong litrato.”

“Pailing daw…. Iyo, tama ka, maray ngani ta magayon an itsura ko jan. Alat, dae ko marumduman ining saro.”

“’Yan garo su kabayo. Makaulok lamang ta magkaparehas ang buhok nindo.”

“Tiga-apod mo akong kabayo?”

“Alo daw jan. Alaton ta na sanang mag-uraw-uraw an langit tapos maali na kita.”

Duminarusdos an dugi sa bulod sa pag-uli kan babae sa kweba niya. Sarong aldaw, mababalik man sana an saiyang gayon asin ipapailing niya sa gabos na mga diyos kun ano an nararapat para saiya.

English Version

Out of earth’s womb I grow
Glistening like the morning sun
In your hands I poison souls
And lead all men to ruin
What am I?

“Wake up.”

“Wha..? What’s happening?”

“You’re talking in your sleep again.”

“Oh, sorry. Must have been up too late.”

“It stopped raining.”

“Did it? That’s good we can finally take some nice pictures.”

“I’ll get everything set up. Get yourself ready, we still have a few more hours of sunlight.”

“All right. Let me get dressed. Hopefully we can finish this shoot without the weather getting in the way.”

“Oh wow.”

“What?”

“There’s a rainbow behind you.”

“Maybe the weather’s not so bad after all.”

Cold to the touch
I have no true light
Yet I will never be lost
What am I?

She wakes up with a cold sweat. It was that dream again, the flashes of light, the yellow field mice and the wretched ugliness that followed. She reminded herself that it was in the past, there were more important things that needed her attention.
She stood tall, her ivory horn shining bright in the dark cave that housed her. There was treasure to be found in these mountains, and she would take all that she could carry.

Still, flashes of the past crept into her thoughts. She remembered her old name and the way her beauty would inspire love in even the mightiest god. She cursed the name of Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan and spat at the floor. If it wasn’t for her she would still have her beauty.

Once she had her treasure all would be well, she would finally be whole again. No more passing time in the darkness of this cave. No more having to wait after the raindrops for her chance to hunt. No more looking at her reflection and staring into the monster that she had become.

In the distance she could see flashes of light. Treasure? Her heart could barely contain itself. The rain had stopped, but she would not wait for her suitor. It was time to hunt.

I flow in a current
Throughout the world
I am never far from power
For power is what I am
What am I?

The bright god looks down from the heavens and sighs. She has gone without him again. He sits among the clouds of the Skyworld and reminisces about old rivalries and jealous gods.

It had been a warm summer afternoon when it happened, the bright god had given the girl the gift of his prismatic light and she used it to make her beauty rival the gods’. The poor girl, more vain than wise, it was in her hubris that she thought to challenge a goddess. She was lucky, in a way. Had she offended Ynaguinid she would not be alive to pick up the pieces of her broken life.

But that was neither here nor there.

He did his best, of course. He gave her back what beauty he could. But there was no fighting the power of her curse. The goddess of greed was as prideful as she was powerful.

Pride. Vanity. Hubris. Maybe the gods had more in common with mortals than they would like to admit.

If only the girl had not passed by the goddess’ sacred grove.

If only she had not seen the dwarves carrying the sacks of treasure.

If only she had not claimed that she was the fairest.

His heart would still be broken. In the midst of everything his love was still unrequited. He hoped that if he could help her return to her true form she would finally see that they could be together.

But he would not hold out hope for that. The bright god sighed and set loose his light towards the earth. Maybe she would finally find what she was looking for.

My promise is a dream
Of full stomachs
And freedom
A testimony to good faith
What am I?

“Did you see that?!”

“I thought we were too high up for horses?!”

“We are, I don’t know what that thing is doing here.”

“Did you get a good look at it?”

“It was too fast, I think I got it on camera.”
“We should go, I don’t want to be here when it gets back. I’m not good around animals.”

“Alright, princess. I think we have enough shots for the editors to choose from anyway. Get changed and we can start hiking. I think we can make it down before sunset.”

“Fine, I’ll be fast.”

There was treasure to be had, but not what she had been looking for. None of this was fair. Why was she the one that was cursed to stay in this horrible form? The goddess was petty and despicable. Tears flowed from her once-beautiful face as the raindrops pattered on the ground.

The bright god knew one aspect of the curse that the girl did not. The goddess of greed blew gold into the girl’s eyes so that she would forever chase treasure that she could not find. It was a final insult to add to her injury. He would do what he could, for in his heart he longed to have her near.

“Are you good?”

“Yeah, but I think we have to wait for the rain to stop.”

“I’m not looking forward to the muddy trek.”

“Stop complaining, at least we got some good shots out of this trip.”

“Let me see…. Fine, you’re right, at least I look good. Wait, I don’t remember this one.”

“I think that was the horse. Funny, its mane almost looks like your hair.”

“Did you just call me a horse?”

“Relax. Let’s just wait for the clouds to clear and we can get out of here.”

Mud splashed though the mountain as the girl returned to her cave. Someday she would have her beauty back and then she would show all the gods what she truly deserved.

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The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.

The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages. 

Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Jeremiah Cordial
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Jeremiah Cordial

Inspired by the myth of the Anggitay and the Visayan goddess of greed, Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan.

Anggitay Illustration by Abe Joncel Guevarra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joncel/