*Note this story is in Waray

“Poyde mo ba bistahon an ilarum han akon katre?” Maluya na an tingog ni Jess tungod ha mga tambal. Parte na ini han iya kahiaraan kada gab-i tikang han pagkanhi namon ha ospital, tungod kay kumbinsido hiya nga mayda butang ha ilarum han iya katre nga hinungdan han iya pagin masakitnon.

Ha luyo han tulo kabulan nga mga test ngan medisina, waray la gihapon mag-upay iya kamutangan. Maaram ak nga diri man gud patas an kinabuhi kundi unom katuig la hi Jess. Waray unta bata nga angay umagi ha inadlaw nga pagtusok han dagom ngan tubo nga waray gihap bisan ano nga kabatunan. Diri ini patas.

Ngumisi ako ngan ginharukan ko an iya agtang. “Waray aswang ha ilarum han imo katre, pahuyaw na. Kinahanglan mo han kusog para ha mga test buwas.” Ngumisi si Jess ha akon ngan hinay-hinay nga kumaturog. Nakakabilib gud an kamadig-on han kabataan, ha luyo hini nalaum ako nga masadang ini agud malapayan niya an usa pa kaadlaw.

Waray iton sumadang. Namatay hi Jess hiton nga gab-i. Nakaturog ako ha sapit niya, nagmata ako nga adi na an mga doktor ngan nars, nagdadagmit ngan naguliat. Kinahanglan ako pugngan han usa ha mga nars tungod kay ginpipirit ko makit-an kun ano an nahitatabo.

Gindara ako han nars ngadto ha purtahan ngan didto ko na nakita. Ha syahan, kahuna ko usa iton ha mga tubo nga nakabutang kan Jess, kundi may diri asya didto. Dako iton ura-ura agud magin kable o anuman nga kapareho hiton, ngan nautod ha katapusan han katre.

Amo la an akon nahinumduman tikang hiton nga gab-i ngan damo pa kaupay an nahitabo nga diri ordinaryo kahuman hiton. “Nawara” an patay nga lawas ni Jess samtang ginbabyahe ngadto ha punenarya, an sering ha morge waray man kuno problema ha pagbyahe, kundi waray makaabot didto an patay nga lawas.

Ginhihimo ko yana an ngatanan agud mahibaruan kun ano gud an nahitabo kan Jess. An sering han mga nars, mayda kuno pakawat nga sumulod ha ikatulo nga balitang han ospital ha naglabay nga bulan, bangin konektado iton ha pagkawara ni Jess.

Babawion ko hiya.

Bisan kun iglulubong ko nala hiya.

=———————————=

English Version

“Can you check under my bed?”  Jess’ voice was weak from the treatments. It had been her routine every night since we moved to the hospital, she was convinced there was something under her bed that kept making her sick.

Three months of tests and medicine and she still hasn’t gotten any better. I know life’s not supposed to be fair but Jess is only six years old. No child should have to go through days of needles and tubes and still not getting any answers. It wasn’t fair.

I smile and I kiss her forehead. “There aren’t any monsters under your bed, now go get some rest. You need your strength for the tests tomorrow, alright?” Jess smiles at me and drifts off to sleep. The resilience of youth never failed to impress me, but I hoped that it would be enough to get her through one more day.

It wasn’t. Jess died that night. I had fallen asleep next to her and the next thing I knew doctors and nurses were rushing in and shouting. One of the nurses had to restrain me because I kept trying to see what was happening.

The nurse lead me to the door and I that was when I saw it. At first I thought it was one of the tubes that was attached to Jess, but there was something off about it. It was too big to be a wire or anything like that and it ended at the bottom of the bed.

That’s all I remember from that night and there were too many strange things that happened after. Jess’ body was “lost” en route to the funeral home, the morgue says there was nothing wrong with the transport, but the body never got there.

I’m doing all I can now to find out what happened to Jess. The nurses said that there was a break-in a month ago on the third floor of the hospital, maybe that’s connected to Jess’ disappearance.

I will get her back.

If only to bury her.

=————————————-=

*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian

Story inspired by the Balbal description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Balbal Illustration and Watercolor by Nightmaresyrup
Tumblr: http://nightmaresyrup.tumblr.com/

*Note this story is in Waray

Waray iba nga nakakakilala ha imo sugad han pagkakilala ko ha im.

Nakila na ak ha im antes ka pa ig-anak. Usa nga mahusay nga babayi an imo iroy. Agsub hiya magpalipas han oras ha may salog, ginkukulawan an pag-agos han tubig ngadto ha abot han iya pagtan-aw. Aadto ako han gin-agda han imo amay, usa nga ginoo, nga magpakasal an imo iroy. Ginbuhat niya iton didto ha may puno.

Han guti nga sanggol ka pa, giayuni mo nga mag-uyas ha tubig. Ginbabantayan ka syempre, pirme ginseseguro han imo kag-anak nga ayos ka. Waray man hira angay ikabaraka, kay tubtub nga aadto ako waray bisan ano nga malain an mahitatabo ha imo.

Dumako ka nga aada an salog ha imo sapit. Han unom katuig ka na, usa ka nga pilyo nga bata. Agsub mo mulayan an mga lagas nga padi ngan madalagan ka ngadto ha salog kun diin diri ka nira madadakop. Usa ka nga maupay gud nga manlalangoy. Waray bisan usa ha imo mga sangkay an akos dumungan ha imo kalaksi. Tungod hiton, puno gud hin kadasig an akon kasingkasing ha imo pagin batid ha katubigan.

Aadto ako ha imo syahan nga kapakyasan ha paghigugma. Ayos la iton kay giupayi ka man ura-ura para hiton nga babayi. Nahinumduman ko kun tiunan-o mo gin-intindi an nahitabo. Katutnga na han gab-i ngan lipuyok an bulan han ginbiling ka han imo mga kag-anak. Bisan ano nga panalinguha nira, waray ka nira mabilngan tungod kay aadto ako agud seguruhon an imo pag-iinusaan. Nagmata ka ha sunod nga adlaw, waray bisan usa nga kalmot, ngan umuli ha imo kag-anak.

Dumako ka nga usa nga maupay nga ulitawo, madasig an kalawas ngan guwapo. Agsub ka tumambay ha may salog samtang nagsusurat han imo mga siday, nga imo ginsasaysay danay ha iba nga okasyon. Nakakakalma an imo tingog. Amo iton an akon pampakaturog kada gab-i.

Duha kabulan an naglabay, ginbasa mo an usa ha imo mga siday. Mahitungod ini ha kinabuhi, kun tiunan-o ini hilarum nga nahiwa ngadto ha kalag han kada tawo. “Sugad han kutsilyo ngadto ha kalag,” an usa ha mga linya tikang ha imo siday. Humiwi ngan umagos an salog agud dumungan ha imo pagsaysay. Hiton nga takna, maaram ak kun ano an angay himuon.

Han magtupo an aton mga mata, inabat mo liwat, di ba? Kun tiunan-o kita ginpagtupo han tadhana para ha kada tagsa. Tumindig ka didto, madig-on ha tuna samtang padayon kita nga nakatukod ha kada tagsa ngan kumanta an salog. Hinitaas iton tubtub nga maabot an imo mga mata ngan nakit-an mo ako kun ano ako.

Natigdaan ka, syempre. Kadam-an han mga tawo sugad an inaabat kapag nakikit-an an akon tinuod nga postura. Waray mo mareyalisar nga nagsul-ot ako han mga butok han banwa ngan mga yapi han saging agud igtago an katunga han akon lawas. Nahusayan ka gud ha akon ngan ako, ha imo. Nakit-an ko an karuyagon ha imo kalag. Diri importante kun itom ngan gray an akon panit o kun putos ini han mga tunok, naruruyag ka ha akon ngan amo la an importante.

Tubtub yana, ginsusumpa ko pa gihap an imo mga kag-anak. Tiunan-o nahibaro an usa nga tawo kun tiunan-o gumamit hin bolo ngan tigbason an tubig gamit an krus? Igintago unta ini nga kahibaruan ha mga tawo.

Ah diri ak angay magpakulaw hin kaluyahan ha imo, akon gugma.

Diri na mag-iiha, magkakaupod kita. Tubtub nga naagos an salog, ha imo la an akon kasingkasing.

Bug-os nga kinabuhi.

-=————————-=-

English Version

Nobody knows you like I do.

I’ve known you since before you were born. Your mother was such a beautiful woman. She would spend time by the river, watching it run into the horizon. I was there when your father, the gentleman, proposed. He did it right by that tree.

When you were a little baby you loved to play by the water. You’d always be watched of course, your guardians would hover around you to make sure you were alright. They didn’t need to worry, as long as I was there nothing would be able to harm you.

You grew up with the river by your side. At six years old you were a mischievous little boy. You would play tricks on the old priests and run away to the river where they couldn’t catch you. You were a great swimmer. None of your playmates could match your speed. It made my heart swell with pride knowing that you took to the water so well.

I was there during your first heartbreak. You were too good for that girl anyway. I remember you trying to find sense in what had happened. It was midnight and the moon full in the sky when your guardians came to look for you. Try as they might they couldn’t find you, of course, I was there to make sure you had your privacy. You woke up the next day, not a scratch on you, and went back home to your parents.

You grew into a fine young man, so dashing and handsome. You would stay by the riverside and write your poems, even orating them on some occasions. Your voice was so soothing and calm. It was my lullaby every night.

Two moons ago you spoke one of your poems out loud. It was about life, how it cuts deep into the soul of every person. “Like a knife through the soul”, that was one of the lines from your poem. The river bent and flowed to match your oration. It was then I knew what I had to do.

When our eyes met you could feel it couldn’t you? How we were meant to be together. You stood there, solid on the ground as we locked our gaze and the river sang. It rose higher until it reached your eyes and you saw me for what I was.

You were surprised, of course. Most humans are when they see my true form. You didn’t realize that I wore the bundle of rice straws and cluster of bananas to hide my lower half. You were enthralled by my beauty and I, by you. I could see the longing in your soul. It didn’t matter that my skin was black and grey or that it was covered with spines, you wanted me and that was all that mattered.

To this day I still curse your guardian. How did a human know to get a bolo and slash at the water with a cross? That knowledge should have been hidden from humans.

Ah but I should not show weakness in front of you, my love.

We will be together soon enough. As long as the river flows, my heart will belong to you.

Always and forever.

=————–=

*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian

Adapted from a story from Abra, Calaba River told by Guillermo Guillen Crisologo

Berberoka Illustration by Guillermo Guillen Crisologo

*Note this story is in Waray

Nagkamayda ka na ba sangkay nga may duha nga kinabuhi?

Mayda mga sikreto nga gintatago ang mga tawo, may iba nga diri mo ginlalauman ngan kun mahibaruan mo, kinahanglan mo pumili.

Mayda ba akos bag-uhon an sikreto?

Waray ko pa gihapon nabaton an sugad nga pakiana. Han mahibaruan ko kun ano hiya… diri na kapareho han naglabay an mga butang ha giutan namon. Yana baga hin diri ko gud hiya nakilala.

Nadiskubre ko samtang tiuli kami. Lahos na ha katutnga han gab-i ngan han makaabot kami ha baybayon han salog, nahibaro kami nga waray paragbugsay nga magdudul-ong ha amon ngadto ha tabok.

Karuyag ko hadto nga bumalik ha baryo, magbiling hin lugar kun diin poyde magpalipas han gab-i, kundi nag-insister an akon sangkay nga tumabok kami ha salog.

Han magpakiana ako kun tiunan-o, nagsering la hiya nga “Bubuhaton ko ikaw.”

Tumawa ako. Kahuna ko, nag-iintrimis la hiya.

Pero hiya diri, ngan an sunod nga nahitabo, nalupad na kami nga baga hin padis han mga tamsi. May parte ha akon hunahuna nga nahahadlok, samtang nalilipay an usa parte ha katalwasan nga makukuha la ha paglupad.

Ubos la kami mahulog tikang ha kahanginan tungod kay mayda mga limon ha akon bursa. An sering han kalagsan ha akon, epektibo nga armas ini kontra ha mga sugad ha ira. Baga hin magbug-at nga darad-on an mga limon para ha ira.

Usa nga aswang an akon sangkay.

Ginpabay-an ko nga mahulog an mga limon ngan ginbaba niya ako ha tabok han salog. Waray pa kami makag-istorya tikang hiton, kundi maaram ako nga sadang an iya pagtapod han akon agud igtago an iya sikreto.

Nagdesisyon ako nga diri igsumat bisan kanay, nakuha niya an akon pagtapod ha pagigin akon sangkay ngan diri ko iton tatrayduron.

Kundi danay, diri ak nahingangaturog ngan napapapinsar.

Tinuod ba hiya nga sangkay o ako an sunod niya nga pagkaon?

=———————————=

English Version

Did you ever have a friend that lived a double life?

There are secrets that people hide, some you would never expect and when you find out you have to make a choice.

Does the secret change anything?

I still can’t answer that question. When I found out what he was… well things haven’t really been the same between us. Now I don’t think I ever knew him.

I found out while we were on our way home. It was past midnight and when we reached the shore of the river we found that there was no boatman to bring us across.

I wanted to go back to the barrio, find someplace to stay the night, but my friend insisted that we cross the river.

When I asked how he just said “I’ll carry you.”

I laughed. I thought he was joking.

But he wasn’t and before I knew it we were flying through the air like a pair of birds. Part of me was scared out of my mind, while another enjoyed the freedom that only soaring through the winds could give.

We almost fell out of the sky because I had lemons in my pocket. The elders told me that they were an effective weapon against their kind. The lemons would feel like heavy weights to them.

My friend is an aswang.

I let the lemons fall and he dropped me off on the other side of the river. We haven’t spoken since, but I know my friend trusted me enough to keep his secret.

I decided not to tell anyone, he had earned my trust by being my friend and  won’t betray that for anything.

But sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder.

Am I really his friend or his next meal?

=—————————=

*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian

Based on “The Aswang of Baco’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.

Aswang (Tagalog) Illustration by Ysa Peñas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theonechitect/

*Note this story is in Waray

May usa nga babayi hadto nga nabuhi ha sakob han iya hunahuna, kun nakikit-an la han iba kun ano an adto ha sakob, maruruyag liwat hira nga didto umukoy. Waray kahumanan an iya napipinsar o naaabat. Kundi, hala, adto na hiya ha kalibutan nga diri hiya an naghimo.

Mayda mga lat-ang ini nga kalibutan. Lugar kun diin nasalakot an kalibutan ha iba ngan mayda mga partikular nga butang nga nakakaeskapo. Ini nga mga butang amo an ispirito han kangalas ngan kawaray, han kademalas ngan kahibang. Waray ini makit-an han babayi, kundi maaram hiya nga pirme la aada iton nga mga butang.

Maaram hiya nga diri gud hira mawawara, tungod kay mayda usa nga kamatuoran nga nahihingalimtan han kadam-an: Nga mas poderoso an mga diri tinuod tanding ha ungod, tungod kay an mga diri nakakaptan nga mga ideya, tuluohan ngan mga konsepto an nalastar. Nabasa niya ini ha usa nga libro, ngan maaram hiya nga mas malastar ini tanding ha dalan nga iya gin-aagian.

Sanglit, ginbuhat niya tanan nga akos niya himuon. Kada adlaw mangisi hiya ngan magpipinsar nga  bangin sadang na ini, ngan ha esensya, tukma hiya. Mag-upay la an iya nakikit-an ha mga tawo ha iya palibot ngan nananalinguha hiya nga makit-an an adto ha luyo han ira mga tahub. Ha kalibutan ha sakob han iya hunahuna, maaram hiya nga an mga tawo natago ha ira kalugaringon nga kawaray, nga amo an rason kun kay ano an ira suol pirme waray sulod. An pinakamakuri igtago amo an mga butang nga diri naeksister.

Kada higayon, nananalinguha an mga ispirutu nga kumapyot ha tanan nga poyde nira kap’tan. Naato an babayi ha nag-uusahay nga pamaagi nga batid niya. Gin-gagamit niya an iya kasingkasing komo giya ngan an iya mga pulong agud ipaabat an iya karuyagon nga makibahin ha anuman nga poblema. Ginlalantaw niya an kabubwason ngan pirme nahikikit-an an adlaw. Waray malain ha pagin positibo, tungod kay poyde hiya magtangis unina.

Sugad hini hiya nabuhi, ngan waray niya ini bag-uhon. Diri para ha ngatanan nga suol nga poyde abaton han mga tawo. Waray umundang an mga ispiritu, kundi bisan hiya diri maukoy. Usa iton nga pirmihay nga sumpakiay, kundi mao iton an kinabuhi para ha iya.

Tubtub ha adlaw nga an kalibutan magin sugad han kun ano an adto ha iya hunahuna, padayon hiya nga mananalinguha kada adlaw nga mahimo iton.

Usa nga problema kada higayon.

=—————————–=
English Version

There once lived a girl who spent her life in her own head, though if others could see what was inside, they would want to live there too. There was no end to what she could think or feel, or imagine. But, alas, she was in a world not of her making.

This world had spaces in between. Places where the world blended with another and certain things could escape. These things were spirits of anger and loss, of misfortune and ruin. The girl could never see them, but she always knew they were there.

She knew that they could never be banished forever, because there was one truth that most people forgot: That the unreal is more powerful than the real, since it is only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs and concepts that can last. She read that in a book somewhere and she knew them to be more lasting than the ground that she walked on.

So she did what she could. Every day she would smile and she thought, maybe, it would be enough, and in a sense she was right. She only saw the best in the people around her and she tried to see through their masks. In the world in her head she knew that people hide within their own emptiness, which is why their pain was always hollow. The hardest things to hide are the ones that aren’t there.

Every moment the spirits would take their time latching on to whatever they could. The girl fought the only way she knew how. She let her heart be her guide and used her words to share a burden. She would look to tomorrow and always see the sun. It never hurt to be optimistic, because she could always cry later.

This is the way she lived her life, and she never changed the way she could be. Not for all the pain that she knew people could feel. The spirits never relented, but neither would she. It was a constant struggle, but that’s what life was to her.

Until the day the world could be like it was in her head, she would spend every day trying to make it so.

One problem at a time.

————————–————————–————————-

*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian

Inspired by the Maligno myths and Marj

Watercolor by Tara Singson
IG: https://www.instagram.com/tarabell93/

*Note this story is in Waray

An bulan, hadlok idayag an iya lamrag, umatras ha luyo han mga dampog.

Kaupay. Pinsar ni Sonja. Hinaot unta waray pa hira magtikang samtang waray pa ako.

Natikakusog an mga natahuban nga tingog ha sakob han bag, kundi waray bisan ano an diri maaayad han usa nga malaksi nga banyak. Maaram hiya nga poyde hiya gumamit hin mahika agud pakaturugon an mga adto ha sulod han bag kundi waray niya ini gamiton. Pirme napipinsar ni Sonja nga an guti nga kahadlok, nakakaupay gud han nanam.

An kiritaan amo an kagurangan ha ligid han syudad. Tikang han panahon han mga kadaan nga kahadian, nagkikirigta hira ngan nagsasaro ha pista. Usa nga makatarawa nga butang nga an pista kadungan han kaadlawan han anak han birhen.

Gindanas ni Sonja an sako ngadto ha sarakban han kagurangan. Bug-os nga gab-i an pista ngan nadiri hiya nga sumugal ha anuman nga risgo. Ginbilin niya an iya mga tiil ha kagurangan ngan nagselebrar bug-os nga gab-i

Usa nga mangingilaw an bantay yana ha kagurangan. “Kahirayo mo ha im urukyan,” sering ni Sonja.

“Napakadto ako kun hain ak gin-imbitar,” baton niya.

“Ano an im dara?” Ginlabay ni Sonja an bag ngadto ha tiil han higante.

“Mga hilaw.”

“Syempre, mao an karuyag han mga sugad ha imo. Urhi na ba ako?”

“Sulod, manananggal, waray pa kami magtikang.”

Nakaginhawa hi Sonja. An pangabre nga seremonya amo an pinakamaupay nga parte. Ginbilin niya an iya mga tiil ha hirani nga puno ngan linupad.

Inupod hiya ha iba pa, naglinupad-lupad ha bawbaw han mga puno.

Diri maihap an alibadut, abat, kubot, alan, bannog, magkukutud, kalibadut ngan iba pa nga makaharadlok nga mananap an inapi. Ha kawaray han lamrag tikang ha bulan, pangabat la an ira giya ha ira malain nga sayaw.

Kadungan hini an makusog ngan malain nga kulaog han mga halimaw nga bisita han gab-i. Nakiduyog an mga tingog han bungisngis, kiwig ngan kulukupap, kaupod an damo nga iba pa ha selebrasyon.

Nahuman an seremonya han liningkod an hadi han mga mambabarang ha trono han mga tul-an ngan dugo.

Nasorpresa hi Sonja ha kun ano kaorganisado an tanan, kada grupo mayda kalugaringon nga espasyo ha kagurangan agud magtirok han karne para ha pista.

Karuyag niya tilawan an magkadirudilain nga mga halad ngan diri maaram kun diin magtitikang. Naglaway hiya tungod ha baho han dugo tikang ha parte han mandurugo, an tunog nga tikang ha palayok han pirotso nga amo an pangilal-an han lab-as nga kabataan, mayda koleksyon han mga ulo an mga saga-ih nga bug-os pa an mga unod.

Mayda liwat mga ‘moderno’ nga paghaum ha mga kadaan: Maragumo nga dinuguan nga mayda pinirito nga tinae, tudlo, bulalo han mga mata ngan nakaladkad nga mga puso nga mayda utak nga sabaw.

Ha kada minuto nga nalabay, dugang nga nagugutom hi Sonja ngan ginpili niya an puwesto ha sapit niya kun diin natindog an usa nga tigabulak. Natindog ini ha atubangan han usa nga lamesa nga mayda dako nga tadtaran ngan puthaw nga kutsilyo. Naaningal tikang ha sako ha luyo han tigabulak an mga tangis nga naaro hin bulig, nga nagdurot hin sobra nga karayhak kan Sonja. Marasa gud an sugad kalab-as nga karne nga gin-andam han tibulak, ginpapili pa gud niya hi Sonja kun hain nga bata an iya karuyag.

Han natudlok hiya ha usa nga guti nga bata nga haros lima katuig, usa nga kasamukan an binuto hirani ha iya.

Nagsering an tigabulak, nga klaro ha nawong an kauyam, “Hin-o an nag-imbitar ha iya ngadi?”

Linupad hi Sonja agud makit-an kun ano an nahitatabo ngan dagmit niya nga nakilal-an an mamam, nga pirit nga nasulod ha pista.

Tikang han panhitabo pira kabulan na an naglabay, nagdesisyon an ngatanan nga madarahug nga igtago an mga pista ha mamam, ha kahadlok nga mahimo nga kasamukan an selebrasyon.

Gin-atentaran han iba nga higante sugad han mangingilaw ngan timu-timu nga pugngan ini, kundi diri napaulang an mamam labina kun aada na ha iya atubangan an pagkaon. Diri iton maundang bisan kun an kontra igkasi halimaw.

Nakit-an ni Sonja nga haros ngatanan naeskapo na, dara an bahin nira ha pista. Ngan bisan hi Alan, nagdadagmit nga gumikan dara an usa nga guti nga bata.

Subay ha pangabat ni Sonja kinahanglan na niya dumalagan ngadto ha hirayo ngan dumalagan hin dagmit, kundi waray niya mahimo nga diri tumukod ha nalalain nga halimaw.

Usa kaoras na tikang han pagtikang han pananamok han mamam. An mga duguon nga patay nga lawas han bungisngis ngan ogro an pamatuod han panmatay. Naato ha tikaperdi nga agway iton mga nagpabilin agud depensahan an ira mga pagkaon.

Waray ginkikilala nga kaugop an mamam labot ha kagutom.

Aswang man o tawo, ginkaon la niya ngatanan.

Nakit-an ni Sonja an mga wais nga mga tawo nga ginsingabot an kasamukan agud talwason an kalugaringon. Usa nga burod an nakakadto ha guba samtang nalilibang an wak-wak nga nagdakop ha iya.

Waray kusog o mahika an makakapugong ha mamam. Ginsugo han hadi han mga mambabarang nga pasul-an an halimaw kundi baga dugang la iton nga nagutom. Duha nga mambabarang an namatay han gintulon hira han mamam.

Ha katapusan, natindog an mamam. Waray patay nga lawas, waray tul-an nga nagbilin hin pangilal-an han iya ginbuhat.

Waray na mahimo hi Sonja sanglit ginkarawat nala niya an panhitabo ngan linupad ngadto ha iya mga tiil, waray sulod an iya tiyan ha gab-i han pista.

=————————-=

English Version

The moon, afraid to shine its light, retreated behind the clouds.

Perfect. Sonja thought. I hope they didn’t start without me.

The muffled voices inside the bag were starting to get louder, but nothing a swift kick wouldn’t fix. She knew there was magic that she could use to put them to sleep, she decided against it though. Sonja always thought that a little fear did wonders for flavor.

The meeting spot was in a grove in the outskirts of the city. Since the days of the old kingdoms they would meet and share in the feast. It was an amusing irony that the feast was on the same day as the birth of the virgin’s child.

Sonja dragged the sack to the entrance of the grove. The feast would take all night and she didn’t want to take any risks. She would leave her legs inside the grove and celebrate throughout the night.

Guarding the grove this time was a mangingilaw. “You’re far from home,” Sonja said.
“I go where I am invited,” he replied.

“What did you bring?” Sonja tossed the bag to the giant’s feet.

“Something raw.”

“Of course, that’s what your kind likes. Am I late?”

“Enter, mananaggal, we have not yet started.”

Sonja sighed with relief. The opening ceremony was the best part. She left her legs by a nearby tree and soared upwards.

There she joined the flock, swirling above the trees.

Countless alibadut, abat, kubot, alan, bannog, magkukutud, kalibadut and other flying horrors moved in tandem. Without moonlight they only had their intuition to guide their sinister dance.

Accompanying this was the raucous roar of the terrestrial guests of the night. The bungisngis, kiwig and kulukupap, among many others, lent their voices to the celebration.

The ceremony ended as the king of the mangkukulam took his place on the throne of bones and blood.

Sonja was surprised how orderly everything was, each group had their own space in the grove to gather meat for the feast.

She wanted to try the different offerings and didn’t know where to start. The scent of blood from the mandurugo corner made her salivate, the clang from the pirotso’s pot signaled fresh children, there was a collection of heads by the saga-ih complete with the flesh intact.

There were also more ‘modern’ takes on the classics: Crispy dinuguan with deep fried lamang-loob, finger and eyeball bulalo and sizzling hearts with brain sauce.

Sonja was getting hungrier by the minute and she chose the spot beside her where a tigabulak stood. He was standing in front of a table with a large cutting board and a cleaver. Cries of help were echoing from the sack behind him, filling Sonja with glee. Such fresh meat prepared by a tigabulak would be quite a delicacy, he even let Sonja choose which child.

As Sonja was pointing to a small girl, about five years old, a commotion was thundering near her.

The tigabulak, visibly annoyed, said, “Who invited that here?”

Sonja flew up to see what was happening and she immediately recognized the mamam, pushing its way through the feast.

Ever since the incident many moons ago, all of the horrors decided to hide the feast from the mamam, lest the celebration turn into disaster.

The other giants like the mangingilaw and timu-timu were trying to hold it off, but the creature was unstoppable once food was placed in front of him. It would not even stop against a fellow halimaw.

Sonja could see that most were already trying to escape, taking their share of the feast with them. An alan even darted past her, carrying a small child.

Instinct told Sonja that she should run far and run fast, but she couldn’t take her eyes away from the spectacle.

It had been an hour since the mamam started its rampage. The bloodied corpses of the bungisngis and ogro decorating the slaughter. Those that stayed to guard their food were fighting a losing battle.

The mamam knew no allegiance apart from hunger.

Aswang or human, it ate them all the same.

Sonja could see clever humans taking advantage of the chaos and running for their lives. A pregnant woman even managed to slip into the forest while her wak-wak captor was distracted.

No might or magic could stop it. The king of the mangkukulam had his witches try inflicting pain on the creature but that only seemed to make it even hungrier. Two mangkukulam met their end when the mamam swallowed them whole.

In the aftermath the mamam stood. No corpses, no bones to mark the trail of its passing.

Sonja took in the carnage and fled to her legs, her stomach empty on the night of the feast.

*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian

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

Mamam Illustration by Jesus Miguel Ofalsa

FB: https://www.facebook.com/artsofperdiyo/

*Note this story is in Waray

Magigin maupay an ngatanan.

Nahampak an mga balod ha ulo han parupangisda. Nag-atentar hiya nga umabante ha katubigan kundi gin-ulang hiya han bagyo. Yukut kamilyon nga mga tarahiti an naigo ha waray korte nga kadagatan, kundi bisan sugad, maaram hiya nga maundang liwat ini. Waray hiya dad-a ngadto agud malumos, ngan matapod hiya ha ira tubtub ha iya kamatayon.

Nahinumduman niya an mga luha ha mga mata han iya iroy han ginlabay niya an rosaryo hini. Nahadlok ini para ha iya, kundi dugang nga nabaraka para ha iya kalag. Anak an parupangisda han iya amay ngan padayon nga natuod ha kadaan nga mga pamaagi tungod kay aada an tubig ha iya dugo.

Nakimaluoy an iya iroy nga tumapod hiya ha iya tagatalwas, ha ira tagatalwas. An pirme ginpapahinumdom ha iya samtang ginpapatubo hiya ha gugma ngan lamrag, kundi waray niya mahimo nga mamati ha iya iroy. Waray masabtan han iya iroy an ira kinabuhi ha dagat, an mga bantay nga naprotehir ha ira.

“Aswang han Dagat” – amo an ira tawag ha mga sugad. Sering nira, gin-aagda an mga parupangisda ngadto ha tubig pinaagi han ira mga kanta agud lumuson ngan kaunon hira. Nasosorpresa pa gihapon hiya kun ano kaiha na nga nalastar iton nga buwa ngan kun ano kadamo an mga tawo nga padayon nga natuod didto. Maaram an mga parupangisda kun ano iton nga mga istorya: usa nga pagkilala/paghatag hin kangaranan ha pira kasiglo nga pagrespeto ngan pagdayaw ha mga ispiritu.

Kundi waray na gud hiya mahihimo. Ginbag-o na han mga tuig an ginalalauman han mga tawo ha panahon nga nanginginahanglan hira. Waray na mga halad ha dagat, o mga pangadi ha mga balod. Hiya nala an nasalin. An urhi nga anak han natikamatay nga tuluohan.

Natikaluya na an mga braso han parupangisda. Nadadara na an iya lawas han waray kahumanan nga paghampak han mga balod ngan uran. Ginhinumdom niya an iya iroy ngan nagdig-on ha iya panindugan. Ginluwas niya tikang ha iya im-im an urhi nga dasal antes malumos an iya ulo ha mga balod:

An tubig an magdudul-ong ha akon ha balay

Matapod ako ha imo O ispiritu han bagyo ngan dagat

An kasisidman magigin lamrag

Makalma an mga balod

Magigin kaupod ako han dagat

Magigin maupay an ngatanan.

=—————————————–=

English Version

“They will save me.”

The waves crash over the fisherman’s head. He tries to tread water but the storm will not let up. Thousands upon millions of raindrops batter the ocean’s shapeless form, but he knows they will pass. They did not lead him here to drown and he will trust in them until the end of his days.

He remembers the tears in his mother’s eyes when he tossed her rosary aside. She was scared for him, but more concerned for his soul. The fisherman was his father’s son and carried on believing in the old ways because the water was in his blood.

His mother begged him to trust his savior, their savior. The one she had raised him to remember in love and light, but he couldn’t listen to her. She could never understand the life they had at sea, the guardians that protected them.

“Aswang ng Dagat” – that’s what they called them. They say that the spirits lured fishermen into the water with their songs to drown and eat them. It still surprised him how long that lie had lasted and how many people still believed in it. The fishermen knew those stories for what they were: a brush used to paint over the centuries of respect and admiration of the spirits.

There was nothing he could do though. The years had changed what people turned to in their times of need. There were no more offerings by the sea, or prayers to the waves. What was left was him. The last son of a dying belief.

The fisherman’s arms are getting weak now. His body is finally surrendering to the endless onslaught of the waves and the rain. He thinks back to his mother and stays firm in his conviction. His lips release one final prayer before his head goes beneath the waves:

The water will lead me home
I will trust in you
O spirits of storm and sea
The darkness will turn into light
The waves will calm
I will be with the sea

————————–————————–————————–—

*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian

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

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

Watercolor by Mykie Concepcion
Tumblr: http://mykieconcepcion.tumblr.com/