*Note this story is in Tagalog

1. ‘Yung batang babae sa palengke. Hindi maayos ang pagkakabalot niya sa mga gulay.
2. ‘Yung buntis na sumakay sa pinapara kong taxi. Nagkamali ka, pero hindi ibig sabihin noon ay pagbibigyan na kita.
3. ‘Yung tsuper ng dyip na muntikan nang makasagasa sa ‘kin. Hindi siya nararapat na magmaneho.
4. ‘Yung babaeng sumingit sa pila sa tren. Dahil lang mayroon siyang bag na Louis Vuitton, akala niya puwede na niyang gawin ang kahit anong gusto niya.
5. ‘Yung batang lalaking hindi tumitikom ang bibig. Sumakit ang ulo ko sa kakadaldal niya.
6. ‘Yung tinedyer na umubo sa tabi ko. Malay ko ba kung anong mga sakit ang puwedeng dala niya. Dapat siyang turuan ng magandang asal.
7. ‘Yung sekyu sa istasyon ng tren. Silipin mo na lang ang bag ko nang mabilis tayong matapos. Muntikan na akong maiwan ng tren dahil sa kaniya.
8. ‘Yung nagbebenta ng fishball. Sobrang mahal ng presyuhan niya.
9. ‘Yung batang babaeng ‘yon. Akala niya sa kaniya umiikot ang mundo dahil lang maganda siya. Maghintay ka lang. Mamalasin ka rin balang-araw.
10. ‘Yung mga turista. Akala ba nila ay puwede silang mambastos sa bayan ko? Hindi ko ‘yon papayagan. Malalaman nila na kailangan muna nilang magbigay-galang bago sila galangin.

Ibinaba ng matandang babae ang kaniyang panulat at bumuntong-hininga siya. Talagang nakakapagod ang araw na ito. Sobrang daming taong sumubok sa pasensya niya, at, siyempre, nabigo silang lahat. Tumingin siya sa labas ng kaniyang bintana at inisip niya ang lahat ng pinagdaanan niya para lang makauwi. Baka mas maganda ang araw niya bukas.

11. ‘Yung batang lalaking may alagang aso. Hindi niya kayang kontrolin ang alaga niya, nalawayan tuloy ako.
12. ‘Yung mga batang nagtatatalon sa parke. Hinintay kong may mabagok sa kanila pero walang nangyari.
13. ‘Yung tumatakbo na nakabangga sa akin. Dapat niyang tingnan ang dinaraanan niya.
14. ‘Yung tsuper ng taxi na naghatid sa ‘kin pauwi. Ibinaba niya ang bintana at nanutsot ng babaeng dumaraan. Ang kapal!
15. ‘Yung deliveryman. Sabi niya, darating ang package ko nang alas kuwatro ng hapon at naghintay ako hanggang alas singko. Ang pangit ng serbisyo.

Palala na ito nang palala. Labasan lang dapat ng sama ng loob ang listahan kung saan niya maibubunton ang mga kagustuhan niya nang hindi kinakailangang gamitin ang kaniyang salamangka. Ngunit palagi na lang may mga taong nakakaabala sa kaniya. Mga taong walang laman ang mga ulo ngunit kung makaasta ay tila mas magaling sila. Mga tao na kung makaasta ay tila pag-aari nila ang mundo.

Siyempre, kinamumuhian niya silang lahat, maging ang mga taong walang ginawa sa kaniya. Dahil makakasalamuha niya sila ‘di kalaunan at kakailanganin niyang itikom ang kaniyang kamao para masigurong hindi niya maitataas ang kaniyang daliri. Napalayas na siya sa maraming bayan nang malaman ng mga tao kung ano talaga siya.

Hindi na iyon mangyayari muli. Pangako niya iyon sa kaniyang sarili. Daragdagan niya lang nang daragdagan ang laman ng listahan at mawawala rin katagalan ang kaniyang galit. Kailangang mawala iyon.

16. ‘Yung pusa na gumising sa akin. Tuwing umaga na lang, nang-iistorbo siya.
17. ‘Yung mga hangal kong kapitbahay. Ayaw nilang tumigil sa pang-uusisa sa buhay ko. Hindi ba nila puwedeng tantanan ang isang matandang babae?
18. ‘Yung naglalako ng taho. Ayaw niyang tumigil kakasigaw sa umaga. Masahol na nga na palaging dumadalaw ‘yung pusa, problema ko pati siya.
19. ‘Yung mga misyonaryong may dalang Bibliya—————-

Tama na. Tama na ito. Ni hindi niya kayang malampasan ang umaga nang hindi kumukulo ang dugo niya sa poot. Marahil ay isa itong pahiwatig mula sa nasa ibaba. Kailangan niyang ibalik ang dati niyang pagkatao, kumawala sa gumagapos sa kaniya, at ipaalam sa mga tao na mas mababa sila.

Binuksan niya ang pinto at itinaas ang kaniyang kamay nang nakaturo sa kalangitan ang isang daliri.

Magsisimula siya sa pusa hanggang sa matapos niya ang pinakakinamumuhian niya.

=————————————————————-=

English Version

1.The girl at the market. She didn’t pack the vegetables right.

2.The pregnant woman that took the taxi I was hailing. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean I have to bow to you.

3.The jeepney driver that almost ran me over. He doesn’t deserve to drive.

4.That woman that cut the line at the train. She thinks that just because she has a Louis Vuitton bag that she can do what she wants.

5.That little boy that wouldn’t stop talking. His incessant yapping gave me a headache.

6.That teenager that coughed beside me. Who knows what kind of diseases he might have. Someone should teach him manners.

7.The security guard at the train station. Just look through my bag and be done with it. Because of him I nearly missed my train.

8.The fishball vendor. His prices were robbery, plain and simple.

9.That girl. Thinking she can own the world because she’s beautiful. Wait and see, one day you’ll get what’s coming to you.

10.Those tourists. Thinking that they can be rude in my town? I will not let that happen. They need to know that respect begets respect.

The old woman put her pen down and sighed. Today was so tiring, there were so many people that tested her patience, and, of course, all of them had failed. She gazed outside her window and imagined all the things that she had to go through just to get back home. Maybe tomorrow would be better.

11.That boy with the dog. He couldn’t keep his animal under control and it slobbered all over me.

12.Those brats that were jumping around at the park. I waited for the moment one of them would crack their skulls but it never came.

13.That jogger that bumped into me. She should look where she’s going.

14.The taxi driver that brought me home. He rolled down the window and catcalled a woman passing by. The nerve of him!

15.The deliveryman. They said my package would arrive at 4pm and I waited until 5. Such shoddy service.

It was getting worse. The list was supposed to be an outlet, one way where she could sublimate her desires and release them without resorting to her magic. But day in and day out there were those that got in her way. Those that thought they knew better even if there wasn’t anything inside their heads, those that thought the world belonged to them.

She hated all of them, of course, even the ones that did nothing to her. Because eventually, they would cross her path and she would have to ball her hand into a fist to make sure she didn’t raise her finger. She had been chased out of many towns when the people found out what she was.

It wouldn’t happen again. That’s what she promised herself. Just keep adding to the list and all the anger would eventually stop. She needed it to stop.

16.That cat that woke me up. Every single morning it’s there.

17.My stupid neighbors. They won’t stop snooping into my life. Can’t they just leave an old woman alone?

18.The taho vendor. He won’t stop shouting in the morning.
Bad enough the cat is there, I have to deal with him too.

19.Those Bible bearing missionaries—————-

Enough. It was enough. She couldn’t even make it though the morning without boiling over in rage. Maybe this was a sign from down below. She needed to be herself again, to let loose and make the humans know their place.

She opened the door and raised her hand, one finger to the sky.

She’d start with the cat and work her way up from there.

=——————————————————————————————=

**Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.

Written by Karl Gaverza

Translation by Maui Felix
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Maui Felix

Inspired by the Tagalog Hukloban legends

Diwata Illustration by Kristienne Amante
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*Note this story is in Bicol-Sorsogon

Nanu kay hadlok ka magadan?

Isturyahan ko ikaw.

San sadto, may mayaman na babaye na nakaistr harani sa dagat? Wara saiya nagbibisita. Gusto niya pirmi lang mahilom sa dako niya na balay. Pirmi siya nasa dagat, nagbibilang san mga bituon, san mga baybay.

Saro lang an amiga niya nan dili idto tawo. An anino san kamatayan an pirmi noya kaupod sa saiyang kamunduan. Nakilala niya san namatay an ina niya. Dili siya nahadlok san nakita niya siya.

“Nano kay dili ka hadlok saakon?” hinapot siya san anino. “Pinapagayon mo an buhay.” Simbag niya.

An anino kan kamatayan naugma sa sinabi niya. Dili niya binayaan an babaye hanggang sa matapos niya an ritwal para sa proteksyon san mama niya pagkamatay niya. Namuot saiya  an anino san kamatayan. Niyan lang siya nakakakilala san arug niya.

Madali magselos an anino san kamatayan. Gusto niya saiya lang an babayi. Pirmi siya nakasunod saiya.

An babayi aram an plano san anino san kamatayan. Naghali siya sa balay ninda nan nagadto sa lola niya na may kapangyarihan. Hinatagan siya san kapangyarihan. Batog sadto dili na mamamatay an babayi.

Pero dili binayaan san babayi an anino san kamatayan. Gusto niya magbalos sa amiga niya. Nawara an respeto niya sa kamatayan.

Dili ka dapat mahadlok sa kamatayan.

Mahadlok ka sa puwede mangyari pagkatapos mo mamatay.

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.

*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 Aswang (Capiz) description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Aswang (Capiz) Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
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The air was thick with perfume as the winged pair went on with their duty. The mourners had gone to their homes, the imam had recited the prayers, the body had been lowered to the grave, yet one more thing still had to be done.

Theirs was a tedious task, death was ever present with life. It was something to do with the Almighty’s design. They wouldn’t concern themselves with theological philosophy. They needed to do their duty, and when that was done, they would do their duty again, until the day of judgment had passed.

They had been to the graves of paupers and kings, of the faithful and the faithless and it was there they learned of humanity’s frailness. Without the tulkin the dead would not be able to answer them, and even with the tulkin there were those that refused to answer their questions.

They had seen seemingly pious men and women tortured for their failures and they had given blessed sleep to those that others would deem hard of heart.

Faith and death were their domains. Together they would stand beside the recently passed and rain the Almighty’s judgment upon them.

It was a burden they were both willing to bear.

As they approached the grave the dead awoke and took its position. The pair asked their questions and the dead replied without hesitation.

The pair was satisfied with his answer. They let the dead continue his rest and it was not long before they were called again.

This time the grave didn’t need much earth to cover it. They could tell that many tears were shed for this one, but they were steadfast in their duty.

The dead rose and faced the Almighty’s investigators.

They asked their questions and hoped that they would receive the proper answers. If they were asked, they would do their duty, but they took no pleasure in pursuing the Almighty’s will, especially on one such as this.

Before she would answer their questions, she asked them one of her own:

“Why would the Almighty let this happen to me?”

The angels would not answer her. It was not their place to speak for the Almighty. They were there to do their duty and nothing more. They asked their questions again and she answered them, as one that died in the faith.

They left her with blessed sleep and ascended into heaven. Again, they were called down onto earth to do their duty.
This time they were met with hostility. The dead did not respect his faith in life and closed his ears during the tulkin. The screams of the dead echoed in his grave, but there was no one there to help him. Such was the price of ignorance.

Again they ascended and again they were called down. They did not measure their duty in time, for what was time to those such as them?

Through it all they remembered each soul, each one that continued their sleep until the day of judgment and each one that faced tortures in the realms of hell.

They faced their duty as angels should.

All for the will of the Almighty.

*The Tulkin the set of special instructions in preparation for the dead’s investigation toward his or her final judgement

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Story inspired by the descriptions in Munabi. Narrated by Mullung.Voices from Sulu A Collection of Tausug Oral Traditions. Rixhon (ed). 2010.

Nakir Illustration by emirajuju
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