*Note this story is in Bantoanon (Asi)

Usang gab-i, nagpaninggaha kag usang bugaw sa buho it puno. Kag rugos it uyan ay nahínà hastang tagithi yangey.
Sa ida kagusmak, ingrupa nida kag ida mga pakpak at nagyupar papagto sa mga sanga kung riin sida’y nakakahanap it aragiton.
Nagpananamgoey sida it primerong pagkaon sa kagab-ihon, ag indiey makahuyat nak ingga it mararagit ag makakaon. Naliyuhan sida sa paino-ino nak kali.
Ngasing, pagkaado’t panrungog kag bugaw, nak nasasagap nida aber kag pinakamaisot nak pahiwatig it hiwas agor hulihon kag ida inahingabot nak yadas.
Habang nayupar sida sa banwa it tawo ay ingga sida’t narungog nak pamilyar nak tunog.
Kag indi makamal-an nak ritmo it ‘kik kik kik’.
Puydi tan-ang wayaey kali gipansina it bugaw, pero nausyoso sida ag kag uyan ay natunaey nak magkusog. Siling it mga maguyang nak bugaw sa mga anak nak kag mga di-kabuhi nak kali ay waya gipapanghapros sa inra, pero sa tawo yang. Ingsiling ninra nak kali ay ingga’t mahabang rila, nak naapon sa k’yungan it mga bayay, ag nak kalilito kag tunog nak inra inahuman.
Nagpilot kag bugaw ag ingtinguha nidang hanapon kag inahalinan it tunog, inarumruman kung nio ka ida dapat hanapon.
Malagat-lagat ay nag-isogey sida nak nahanapey ay kag kung hariin kag nilalang.
Kada, nagtiner sida sa gaha ag ingmuyatan kag mga nahihinabo.
Inggwa it tatlong tawo nak magkaubay. Usang anak, usang sabak nak kabadi, ag usang kayaki.
Aber sa kusog it ragasras narurunggan nak gador it bugaw kag tunog it likido nak natúyò sa bituka it kabadi. Nakita it bugaw sidang nagtulay ag nagbutang it tabo mayungot sa ida. Nagsaydo kag kabadi ag naghanap it ibang akatuyugan, pero narurungog pa gihapon it bugaw kag nagtutuyo nak di-ritmong natama sa bituka it kabadi.
Gulping naghapros kag talinga it bugaw.
Hina ray. ‘kik kik kik’.
Kali ay ’pay halos halinghing yang, nak nupay kag tunog ay pagkayado it inghalinan bag-o nag-abot sa ida talinga.
Nagyamig ka rugo it bugaw.
Namungaw-mungawan kag kayaki ag anak sa inra narungog ag ragipon nak naghakbot it sunrang kag kayaki ag nagliwas.
Nagyupar kag bugaw sa atubangan it bayay agor mamuyatan kung nio ka ahimuon it kayaki.
Nag-ukaw kag kayaki: “Kung indi nimo pabad-an ka ak pamilya, insulip ay apagtuan ka nako sa imo bayay!” Habang inawasiwas kag ida sunrang sa uyan.
Ag sa nak raan, nagtungon kali, ag kag narurungog yangey it bugaw ay kag natulo nak uyan sa tungang gab-i.
Naghalin kag nilalang, pauli’t ukob nak waya nakarano it pagkaon, ag kag bugaw ay nagsiling yangey sa ida sarili nak buko mahihinabo sa ida kato ngasing nak gab-i.
Habang nayupar kag bugaw papagto kung riin sida gipapangragit, napatingaya sida.
Ayam bagang gador it ’tong kayaki kung riin giiistar kag tiktik?

=——————–=

English Version

One night, an owl poked its head out of its tree hole. The rain was weakening into a manageable shower.

Hungry as it was, it stretched its wings and flew to the perches where it could find prey.

It imagined its first meal of the night, how it couldn’t wait to crush their prey and swallow it whole. The thought made it positively giddy.

Now the owl had a very good sense of hearing, in fact it was adept at listening for even the slightest hints of movement to catch their quarry.

As it flew over a human village it heard a familiar sound.

The unmistakable cadence of ‘kik kik kik’.

The owl would have ignored it as it always had, but it was curious and the rain was starting to get stronger. The elder owls told the young that these creatures are harmless to their kind, only targeting humans. They described in detail the long tongue, perching on the roofs of human houses and their confusing sound.

Closing its eyes, the owl concentrated to find the source of the sound, remembering what it should be looking for.

After a few moments it was confident that it located where the creature would be.

So, it stayed by the window and watched the events unfold.

There were three humans sleeping side by side. One child, a woman that was clearly pregnant and a man.

Even through the noise of the raindrops the owl could clearly hear the sound of some liquid dropping on the stomach of the woman. The owl saw her stand up and put a dipper where she was. The woman moved and found another place to sleep, but again the owl could hear the same sound of droplets hitting her stomach in a familiar tempo.

And then the owl’s ears piqued.

There it was. ‘kik kik kik’

It was almost like a whisper, as if the sound traveled great distances to settle on their ears.

The owl’s blood ran cold.

The man and the child both woke up to the sound and almost through instinct the man grabbed a bolo and rushed outside.

The owl flew to the front of the house to see what the man would do.

The man shouted “If you don’t leave my family, I will go to your house tomorrow!” All the while swinging his bolo through the rain.

And in an instant, it stopped, the owl could only hear the pitter-patter of the drizzle as it washed over the midnight moon.

The creature left, unable to get its meal, and the owl scoffed and told itself that wasn’t going to happen to it tonight.

As the owl flew to its hunting grounds it wondered.

Did the man really know where the tiktik’s house was?

=—————–=

Bantoanon or Asi is a regional Bisayan language spoken, along with Romblomanon and Onhan, in the province of Romblon, Philippines. Asi originated in the island of Banton, Romblon and spread to the neighboring islands of Sibale, Simara, and the towns of Odiongan, San Andres and Calatrava on Tablas Island. The Asi spoken in Odiongan is called Odionganon, Calatravanhon in Calatrava, Sibalenhon in Concepcion, Simaranhon in Corcuera, and Bantoanon in Banton. The Asi language is closer to Western Visayan language like Karay-a than to Cebuano and Waray

Written by Karl Gaverza

*Note this story is in Bantoanon (Asi)

“Hina ray sinra.” Naghudot si Tanya sa bestida it ida hali. “Dapat nato sinrang tungnon.”

“Aya’g kalibog, waya ra sinra gipapanghapros. Ag pirmi rang siling ni lola nak wayang gador sinra gibabaoy it yabaw sa inra kinahangyan.” Nagkaway si Layla miyentras nagrayan kag mga maisot nak di kabuhi. “Kita? Kabuot ra sinra kung taw-an yang nimo it tsansa.” “Indi pa gihapon ako gipati nak maadong pabad-an yang sinra nak bay-on kag bugas,” Siling ni Tanya. Ingkuha nida kag usa sa inra ag ingpayungot kali sa ida uda. “Aunhon aboy ninra kag bugas? Inakaon baga ninra kato?”

“Tanya! Bab-an kina.” Inghakbot ni Layla kag nilalang nak nupay munyeka sa damot it ida hali. “Pasensya, bata pa sida.” Nagsauli si Layla sa ida hali. “Gihagar it patawar.”

“Ay asi? Sa atubangan nak gador nato sinra gipapangnakaw it ato bugas,” Matugas nak siling ni Tanya.

“Gustong gador baga nimo nak makita kung riin ninra inaraya kag bugas?” Ingpamidungan ni Layla kag ida hali.

Nahadlok si Tanya. Ngasing yang nida nakitang tuyar kag ida hali, pero naraog sida it ida kausyosohan. “Imaw.” kag sabat ni Tanya.

Ingsunran it maghali kag grupo it mga ugaw sa kayhasan ag patukar sa mga baguntor. Nagrali sinra it baktas, maisot ka mga ugaw, pero katulin ra gihapon sinra. Ingpiga ni Tanya kag ida sarili nak indi magpisok dahil hadlok sida nak sabaling sinra ay mawagit. Waya girali si Layla, nasunor yang sida sa likor it ida hali nak nauuna it pilang tikang.

Nag-abotey kag mga ugaw sa sementeryo, nak buko ra masyarong mayado sa baryo. Ingmuyatan ni Tanya sinra nak magplastar it kada busoy it bugas sa atubangan it yubnganan hastang nataposey sinrang tanan. Pagkatapos, naghaliney kag mga ugaw, papagto sa kayhasan.

Nagmuyat si Tanya sa ida hali, ag malagat-lagat bag-o nida nahantop kung riiney sida. “Kina kag yubnganan ni lola,” nasambit nida matapos it pilang minutos it him-ong.

“Mga amigo nida sinra.” Naghidom si Layla.

=———————–=

English Version

“They’re at it again.” Tanya grabbed her sister’s dress. “We should stop them.”

“Don’t worry about it, they’re not hurting anyone. Besides, lola always said these ones never take more than they need.” Layla waved as the small creatures walked by. “See? They can be friendly if you give them a chance.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea to just let them take the rice,” Tanya said. She grabbed one of the things and held it to her face. “What do they even need the rice for? Do they eat it?”

“Tanya! Put it down.” Layla grabbed the doll-like being from her sister’s hands. “I’m sorry, she’s young.” Layla turned to her sister. “Apologize to them.”

“Why should I? They’re stealing our rice right in front of us,” Tanya said adamantly.

“Do you really want to see where these things take the rice?” Layla looked at her sister sternly.

Tanya was scared. She had never seen her sister look that way, but her curiosity got the better of her. “Yes” was Tanya’s reply.

The sisters followed the group of ugaw through the forest and up the hills. They had to walk fast, the ugaw were small, but they were also swift. Tanya forced herself to not blink because she was afraid that they might disappear. Layla did not rush, she stayed a few steps behind her sister.

The ugaw ended their journey at the cemetery, which wasn’t far from the town. Tanya watched them set each grain of rice in front of a grave until they were all finished. Then, each ugaw walked away, heading towards the forest.

Tanya looked at her sister, it took her a moment before she realized where she was. “That’s lola’s grave,” she managed to say after a few minutes of silence.

“They were her friends.” Layla smiled.

=————————-=

Bantoanon or Asi is a regional Bisayan language spoken, along with Romblomanon and Onhan, in the province of Romblon, Philippines. Asi originated in the island of Banton, Romblon and spread to the neighboring islands of Sibale, Simara, and the towns of Odiongan, San Andres and Calatrava on Tablas Island. The Asi spoken in Odiongan is called Odionganon, Calatravanhon in Calatrava, Sibalenhon in Concepcion, Simaranhon in Corcuera, and Bantoanon in Banton. The Asi language is closer to Western Visayan language like Karay-a than to Cebuano and Waray

Written by Karl Gaverza

Story inspired by Ugaw description in Myth Museum. Medina. 2015.

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