*Note this story is in Pangasinan

“Grrrah,”  Inmakis so buwaya.

“Mampainawa ka la, magano lan onsabi so naakan, pian walay naakan tayon dua.” Maaron inkuan na aswang ed alaga to.

Mairap so mananap na ayep ed sarayan agew, amta na totoo a sayan pasen ed katakelan so pasen a panaganen na aswang tan say ayayep to, balet ag-itan makapangigapo ed sikato a mananap na naakan.

“Kaukolan tayo labat so onasingger ed baryo, tan mas onaligwas so amin a bengatla,” Say buwaya so nanngulngul lamet tan pinaseguroan na aswang.  “Amtak, makalmo kami na pigaran ugugaw, amtak ya labalabay yo so panangan na saratan.”

Malikeliket ya inmawet so ikol na buwaya; pigay bulan to lan ag-agawa itan.

On, onasingger itayo ed baryo tan manggawa na patit. Naerel tayo iramay manlangoy ed gilig na ilog! Akiulop si aswang ed ayep to diad gilig na ilog.

Sikatoy narasan, tan ontan met so alaga to. Lapud panag-alwar na totoo, mairap so pananap na tagano. Say unor a panangan da et sakey a managsigay a dinmalan ed kaarawi na katakelan. Sikatoy mabisbiskeg tan maruksa, ya ag-itan labalabay na balang sakey ed sikara.

Say aswang et amin a imis balet. Amta to a dakdakel so naala ton ayep. Sikatoy lawas nanmatalek ed biskeg na ayayep to pian narel so tagano ra, agto singa arum ya aswang a mantikyab ed kaliberliber na baryo pian manaktakot ed saray totoo.

Sikatoy sakey ya agalon hayopan, sakey a klase na aswang a mamapabaleg ed saray buwaya pian mananap ya nabuwag da. Mabetbet a babalawen tan tatawagen na arum ya aswang a mangiras iray kapara ran totoo, balet agda amta so irap a kaukolan na sakey pian napabaleg labat so sakey a buwaya manlapud sakey ya iknol.

Nampalner lamet so alaga to tan inmelek. Pigay taon iran nankakasakey tan pinabaleg to iyan buwaya manlapu la’d inkaugaw to. Amta to iray ugali tan ugali to a singa met ed sikato. Sikara so agnibiig. Amta to a no walay kanen to, magmaliw lan mangiras.

“Wadia kami la,” so aswang tan say alaga to so akaalagey ed gilig na ilog.

“Panaon la pian mangala na naakan.”

“Grrrah,” so ebat na alaga to.

=—————————–=

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.

=——————–=

*Pangasinan (Salitan Pangasinan) – sometimes called Pangasinense is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pangasinan, on the west-central seaboard of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, the northern portion of Tarlac and southwestern La Union, most of whom belong to the Pangasinan ethnic group. Pangasinan is also understood in some municipalities in Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, and by the Aeta or Aeta of Zambales.

Written by Karl Gaverza

Translation by Nelmar A. Mallari, MDC
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Nelmar A. Mallari, MDC

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 Ilocano

Buaya

Daytoy ti disso.

Ginaw-at ni Miguel ti umuna a nakalapanna sa  immanges ti nauneg. Maysa a dakkel nga ikan, banag a mabalinna nga ipagpannakkel kadagiti dadduma a mangngalap, ngem makauray ti sabali nga aldaw dayta panagpasindayag.

Ar-aramidenna ti panangyatang ket saan a mabalin a madistorbo.

“Nono*,” idatagko daytoy a regalo kenka. Sapay ta awatem daytoy datonko.”

Naguray ni Miguel, masapul a respetuenna ti tradisyon babaen ti panangimatangna iti panangibus daytoy iti nakalapanna.

Limmabas ti maysa nga oras, isun ti pannakakitana iti kahon. Ti daton ket inawatna sa nagsubli daytoy iti adalem tapno nanamenna ti kanenna.

Saan nga ammo ni Miguel ti nangruggian dayta a tradisyon. Kanayon idi a masmasdaaw no apay nga ited dagiti mangngalap dagiti umuna a maalada, uray kasano ti kadakkel daytoy.

Ammona nga dayta a buwaya ket gayyem ti aswang ken makipagbagi met iti lasag ti tao no nakaro ti bisinna, ngem ti simple a panagbuteng ket saan nga umanay a mangiladawan iti panagiyatang.

Daytoy ket panagdaydayaw, awan mulitna ken nanumo. Adda banag iti buwaya nga mangawis ti panagdaydayaw. Napanunotna ti rason no apay a maawagan iti lilong ti buwaya.

Siguro ket dati daytoy a tao, nga inlunod dagiti didiosen, ket sapulenna ti panagraem dagiti kaputotanna.

Mabalin a daytoy ket agpaspasyar nga espiritu a mangted iti nawadwad a makalapan kadagiti makalagip  ti tradisyon.

Mabalin a maysa a mawaw ti dara nga animal a masapul a mapakan sakbay a mapanna biruken ti anupenna.

Ngem ania dayta kahon iti likodna? Idulinna ngata dagiti biktimana dita sakbay a kanenna ida, wenno adda nakarkaro a misterio nga aggungunay?

No aniaman dagiti sungbat, makagin-awa ni Miguel nga awan isuna iti uneg ti kahon, ken naragragsak ta makaawiden.

“Agpakadaak pay, Nono, agingga iti sumaruno,”inyarasaasna iti karayan.

*Kayatna a sawen lilong wenno aswang

=——————————-=

English Version

“This is the spot.”

Miguel reached for his first catch and breathed deep. It was a large fish, something that he would be proud to show to the other fishermen, but pride could wait another day.

He was performing the panangyatang and he would not be disturbed.

“Nono* I present this catch to you. Please accept my offering.”
Miguel waited, he had to respect the tradition by witnessing it finish eating his catch.

An hour passed, then he saw the box. The offering had been accepted and it would be going back to the depths to enjoy its meal.

Miguel didn’t know when the tradition started. He always wondered why fishermen would give up their first catch, no matter how big.

He knew that the buwaya was a friend to the aswang and partook of human flesh when it was particularly hungry, but simple fear wasn’t enough to explain the panangyatang.

This was respect, pure and simple. There was something about the buwaya that commanded reverence. He thought to the reason why the buwaya was called ‘grandfather’.

Maybe it was human once, cursed by the gods, and it seeks the respect of its descendants.

Maybe it is a wandering spirit bringing a bountiful catch to those that remember the traditions.

Maybe it is a bloodthirsty beast that needs to be fed before it seeks out human prey.

And what of the box on its back? Does it just keep its victims there, until it is time to feed, or is there something more mysterious at work?

Whatever the answers, Miguel was glad not to be in that box, and even gladder that he was on his way home.

“Goodbye nono*, until the next time,” he whispered softly to the river.

*Means grandfather or ghost

————————–————————–————————–————

*Ilocano is the third most-spoken local language of the Philippines.An Austronesian language, it is related to such languages as Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian), Tetum, Chamorro, Fijian, Maori, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Paiwan and Malagasy. It is closely related to some of the other Austronesian languages of Northern Luzon, and has slight mutual intelligibility with the Balangao language and the eastern dialects of the Bontoc language.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Ilocano translation by Maria Jesusa Villaruz
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Maria Jesusa Villaruz

Inspired by the buwaya description in El Folk-lore Filipino. Isabelo de los Reyes, trans. Dizon and Peralta-Imson. 1994. (Original Spanish Manuscript Printed 1889)

Buwaya Illustration by Kael Molo of Agla – The Graphic Novel

*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/

“This is the spot.”

Miguel reached for his first catch and breathed deep. It was a large fish, something that he would be proud to show to the other fishermen, but pride could wait another day.

He was performing the panangyatang and he would not be disturbed.

“Nono* I present this catch to you. Please accept my offering.”
Miguel waited, he had to respect the tradition by witnessing it finish eating his catch.

An hour passed, then he saw the box. The offering had been accepted and it would be going back to the depths to enjoy its meal.

Miguel didn’t know when the tradition started. He always wondered why fishermen would give up their first catch, no matter how big.

He knew that the buwaya was a friend to the aswang and partook of human flesh when it was particularly hungry, but simple fear wasn’t enough to explain the panangyatang.

This was respect, pure and simple. There was something about the buwaya that commanded reverence. He thought to the reason why the buwaya was called ‘grandfather’.

Maybe it was human once, cursed by the gods, and it seeks the respect of its descendants.

Maybe it is a wandering spirit bringing a bountiful catch to those that remember the traditions.

Maybe it is a bloodthirsty beast that needs to be fed before it seeks out human prey.

And what of the box on its back? Does it just keep its victims there, until it is time to feed, or is there something more mysterious at work?

Whatever the answers, Miguel was glad not to be in that box, and even gladder that he was on his way home.

“Goodbye nono*, until the next time,” he whispered softly to the river.

*Means grandfather or ghost

————————–————————–————————–————

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the buwaya description in El Folk-lore Filipino. Isabelo de los Reyes, trans. Dizon and Peralta-Imson. 1994. (Original Spanish Manuscript Printed 1889)

Buwaya Illustration by Kael Molo of Agla – The Graphic Novel

“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.

————————–————————–———————–

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

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/