*Note this story is in Cuyonon

Ako ang barasolon sa tanang natabo.

Ingpanemdeman na kong sadin nagimpisa ang tanan. Klaro ron da nga lagi ang manga sinialis datong ona pa lamang; dan lamang, mas naintindian na i’ dogang ang tanan dadi. Nagapangamoyo tana sa Dios adlaw-adlaw nga kabay pang loasen tana sa anang kabedlay nga dia. Matod nga paloa lamang ang tanan, maski papanarien tana ren i’ ang Ginoo, ang anang leba indi kapameyeng asta indi na matapos ang anang pinitinsia.

Dorong ka silinsio ang apon datong nagbalik anang asawang babai. Ingsogata na anang asawa sa airport  nga maambeng ang leba. Datong sa impayangat pa ang anang asawa, pirming nasasambit i’ anang asawa sa anang manga solat kong moro i’ ramig sa pamati ang klima doto. Ang ramig kono mara sa molto nga midiong agasedep sa imong lawas asta sa imong ogat.

Ingpaoliolian na anang leba i’ anang asawa. Mabael nga pagantos don ang ingsoprir i’ anang asawa ig anang aliagan lamang ang magtinir den lamang anang asawa sa andang balay. Maski ara na pa nababati ang intirong istoria alin sa anang asawa, naelaman na nga ara ibang andem anang asawa kong indi ang lipatan den lamang ang tanan.

Sa oring solat nga anang narisibi alin sa anang asawa, ingistoria ‘ang babai kong pasamoro nga indi tana ren maliag nga kaparaye pa i’ oman sa anang pamilia. Nagsigondar tana, madali lamang manda pangitaen ang koarta. Mas maayad pa nga makaimbeng na anang asawa agod magbaskeg ig maeget pa andang pagtarabidan bilang pamilia.

Dato anang kalaem.

Nagapamaso ang singsing nga anang ingsosot. Nabereng tana kong ayamo ingsosot na pa dia, agpanemdem ang anang painoino mintras nasisirakan ang singsing i’ ang bolan nga nagamora. Nagileng-ileng tana ig ingsamitan na nga biringen anang pagirisipen sa ibang betang. Ingpangita na ang anang asawa sa apat ka manga bario nga basipang maabotan na pa tana bago tana pa magpalagiaw i’ oman.

Anang kalaem ang ona mapepegengan na anang asawa bago tana magkatinir i’ bagong biktima tenged madali tana lamang sagiapen. Dan lamang, sa primirong bolan anang pagsaragiapen kanana, kaministiran nang risiben sa anang sadili ang pira ka manga betang.

Mas mabaskeg anang asawa kisa kanana. Mas madasig anang asawa.

Ig mi kaakig anang asawa nga indi na nged mapainoinoan.

Pamatian na mas nagbegat ang singsing sa anang alima piro anang singgat nagapademdem kanana i’ ibang betang. Dia maman anang kros nga kaministirang pasanen ig mi darwa lamang ka pamaagi agod dia matapos.

Pagkatapos ang saka dominggo nga pagpanari, datong madora ren ang pilay i’ ang biahi, nagimpisa tana ren i’ tabang-tabang  sa manga orobraen sa balay. Nalilipay andang manga batang lalaki tenged nagbalik den andang nanay. Ara i’ pedped nga aminado ang asawang lalaki nga kakapamaray-baray tana nga makita anang asawa nga napakigonotan sa anang manga bata.

Datong ingrisibi ’anang asawa ang oportonidad nga magobra sa impayangat, andang manga bata doro pang kairintek agod maintindian ang sakripisio na anang boboaten. Ang adlaw nga maggalin tana, ingkepkepan na i’ maiget anang manga bata ig nagtipan tana nga magabalik tana ra nga lagi. Nagkon tana nga mamalen na sanda i’ ang bogos sa anang tagiposon asta’ inoro.

Ang oring ingpakitaw na sa anang asawa ang magtipan tana nga maski anong matabo, titipigan ig papalanggaen na andang manga bata.

Ara i’ pagdarwang isip nga nagtipan da anang asawang lalaki.

Nagkaway-kaway sanda nga nagapaelam sa isara mi isara  ig nagpadayon sa andang bagong kaboi, nagaelat kong inoro ang timpo nga makokomplito sanda reman i’ oman.

Saben dato ron ang oring timpo nga tana tao pa.

Datong primirong nagpalagiaw anang asawa, pagkatapos ‘ang natabo, ingboat na ang tanan-tanan agod elamen kong ano enged ang natabo sa anang ingpakonang logar. Indi tana man kapakon doto piro naelaman na nga mi komonidad i’ ang manga Pilipino kong adin nagaistar anang asawa.

Nagsolat tana kananda ig makakakelba andang sabat.

Andang kon, ara tana enged iistoria ang natetenged sa anang agalen. Kada mi ponsia obin pagtirimes, kadagmitan nagaboat tana i’ lompia ig nagaistoria ang ibang betang kapario ang anang pamilia nga nasala ig kong pasamoro tana ren nanaidlaw kananda. Isara sa manga Pilipino doto ay nars kanodaya ig nasambit manda ang nars nga dato nga midio sa mi iba sa anang manga mata. Maski moro kono tana nagapatikaseg nga itago dia, masasalamin pa ra enged ang kaadlek.

Nagbales i’ solat ang nars kong anono ang anang naelaman natetenged sa agalen i’ anang asawa. Primiro, isara tanang Pilipino nga nakadangat i’ kaayadan sa ibang nasion, dan lamang beken tana kono i’ sigorado sa anang nabati. Anang bilin kono nga marigen i’ ang agalen, kaministiran Pilipina ang nars nga magasirbi kanana sibayang magaobligar tana pa magbayad mabael nga kantidad.

Ang iba nagakon nga kaministiran konong magalin sa Pilipinas i’ ang agalen anang asawa tenged tana mi anang pamilia nagomon sa manga iligal nga nigosio. Ang iba i’ na nagakon nga ang asawa ‘ang agalen napatay nga lagi bago magdarwa kadagon sandang kinasal, nagalin tana agod kapalagiaw sa manga sospitsa. Mi manga maayad dang istoria kapario ang nagpakon tana kono sa ibang nasion agod tawan i’ matinlong kaboi anang pamilia.

Indi katabang ang manga nagasoroagan nga manga istoria.

Maski ang natabo indi maintindian.

Pasamoro naboat i’ ang babai dato sa pamilia nga anang inggegegman?

Ori tana ren.

Pirmi tana lamang nanaori.

Dadi i’ na, isarang pamilia nga mi tatlo ka mimbro ang anang biktima. Bataen pa ang magasawa ig andan mi matinlo pang paaraboton. Andang manga lawas nga naimpisan den i’ kabkab ay nakitang nagwarasag-wasag sa andang salas. Kong seselengen, midio nagbatok pa ang tatay;  dan lamang, anang malalabeg nga koko ang nagteray-teray kanana.

Matapos ang pira kadagon nga tola’diang natatabo, naanad tana ren animan pamatian na ara tana ren mi nasisintian.

Ingbilang na oman ang patay ig ingdogang na sa mas nagatas pang nomiro.

147.

147 nga manga inosinting kaboi.

147 ka manga tao nga andang dogo nagamantsa sa anang manga alima.

Naelaman na nga padayon pang magatas ang manga nomiro poira ren lamang kong taposon na kong anoman ang ingimpisan i’ anang asawa.

Makakakadlaw kong isipen nga madali tana lamang andan matoman. Ara na moro isasari i’ tagoan anang pali. Anang dalanen nagarombo sa Panay ig sa onan pang manga logar. Ori tanang nakita sa Tuguegarao, Cagayan de Oro, Mindoro, ig Puerto Princesa. Anang istoria nabati i’ ang manga bastek nga ingpapaandam i’ andang gorang-gorang nga kong sanda magpasotil ngani, sanda bebelen na labi pa kong gabi.

Naelaman na nga maski magdaeg tana man, ang istoria natetenged sa anang asawa indi ren madora.

Dan lamang indi ren makilala ‘ang manga tao ang nalipatan deng karakter sa istoria.

Ang tatay nga nagasagiap i’ kaloasan paagi sa pagpamales, ang asawang lalaki nga ara nga lagi ipalaman sa manga sinialis, ang lalaki nga ara ibang andem kong indi ang makomplito i’ oman anang pamilia.

Mainstras nagatindeg tana sa dogo i’ ang bagong biktima i’ anang asawa, nagapainoino tana kong ading kataposan ang magadaeg. Ang kanana o sa anang asawa?

=————————————-=

English Version

It’s all my fault.

He thinks back to when it all started. The signs were obvious, but he had the benefit of hindsight to guide him now. He prayed every day that God would deliver him from this labor. That was just for show of course, even if the lord told him to stop, in his heart he couldn’t go on until he fulfilled his penance.

It was a quiet afternoon when she came back. He met her at the airport with all the warmth he could muster. During her stay abroad, she would always write about how the cold made her feel. She described it as the chill becoming a ghost, doing everything possible to find a way into your veins.

He told her it didn’t matter. She had gone through a great ordeal and he wanted to get her settled in their home. He still hadn’t heard the whole story from her, but he could see in her eyes that she just wanted to forget. In the last letter she sent she wrote about how she couldn’t be away from her family anymore. He agreed, money be damned. He would see his wife through this and their family would come out stronger.

At least that’s what he believed.

The wedding ring on his finger burned. He wondered why he still wore it, considering the memories that played through his mind when it reflected the moonlight. He shook his head and tried to focus. He tracked her here through four different barrios and hoped that he could get to her before she ran away.

In the beginning, he foolishly thought that he would be able to stop her before she claimed another victim, after all she was easy to spot. In the harsh light of day that followed his first month of pursuing her, he had to admit to himself.

She was stronger. She was faster.

She possessed more cruelty than he could ever understand.

The ring felt heavy in his hand, but its glint reminded him of something else. This was his cross to bear, and there were only two ways it could ever end.

After a week of readjustment, she had fixed her jet lag and began to help around the house. The boys were thrilled to have their mother back. He wasn’t afraid to admit that the sight of her, playing with the children she had left, brought tears to his eyes.

When she accepted the offer to go abroad their children were too young to understand the sacrifice she was about to endure. That day, she hugged them tight and promised them that she would be back as soon as she can. She told them she would love them forever.

The last thing that she asked of him was to give his word that he would take care of their children.

There was no hesitation when he made that oath.

They waved goodbye and settled into their new lives, waiting for the day they would be complete again.

Maybe that was the last time she was truly human.

When she fled the first time, after the incident, he did all he could to find out what really happened abroad. He couldn’t travel there himself, but he knew that there was a community of Filipinos where she had stayed.

He wrote to them and their answers were troubling.

They said she never talked about her employer. During their gatherings she would make lumpia and talk about other things like her family back home and how much she missed them. One of the Filipinos there was an old nurse and she mentioned that there was something in her eyes. No matter how hard she tried to mask it, she was afraid.

The nurse wrote back about what she knew about the employer. First that he was a fellow Filipino that gained success abroad, though through which channels she wasn’t sure. He had specifically requested a Filipina be his caregiver and he was willing to pay a good amount of money for it.

Apart from that the nurse only had rumors that weren’t much help. Some said that he had to leave the Philippines because his family was involved in illegal ventures. Others say his wives never lived past two years of marriage and he left to avoid suspicion. There were kinder stories where he left to give his family a better life.

All these conflicting stories made no sense.

What happened made no sense.

How could she do that to the family she loved?

He was too late.

He was always too late.

This time it was a family of three, a young couple that had a bright future ahead of them. Their half-eaten corpses scattered around what remained of their sala*. It looked like the father tried to fight her off but her claws ripped through him easily.

After years of this game he was already numb to all emotions but one.

He counted again and added it to the growing number.

147.

147 innocent lives.

147 people whose blood was on his hands.

He knew that number would not stop growing, not until he finished what she started.

It was almost funny that she was so easy to track. She didn’t even try to hide the scar. Her path cut through the towns of Panay and even beyond. She was seen in Tuguegarao, Cagayan de Oro, Mindoro and Puerto Princesa. Her story was heard by children whose parents warned them that she would take them in the night if they were disobedient.

He knew that even if he succeeded, her legend would live on.

But they would never know of the forgotten character of the story.

The father seeking redemption in revenge, the husband that ignored the warnings, the man that only wanted his family to be complete.

As he stood over the blood of her latest victims, he wondered which ending would prevail?

His triumph?

Or hers?

*Living room

*Cuyonon is a regional Visayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan, and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cuyonon Translation provided by Elyn Grace S. Bagalay & Ryan D. Ibañez
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Elyn Grace S. Bagalay & Ryan D. Ibañez

Inspired by the Maria Labo Urban Legends

Maria Labo Illustration by Sandra Sison

*Note this story is in Cuyonon

Agasilabong sa angin ang paamot maintras ingboboat i’ ang padis nga pakpakan ang andang katengdanan. Agoroli ren ang mga agaloksa, agpamatbat den i’ mga pangadi ang imam, inglebeng den sa logta ang lawas apang mi isarang bagay pa ang dapat boaten.

Mabedlay andang obra, ang kamatayen pirming katabid sa kaboi. Kondan kita ingboat i’ ang Makagagaem. Ara sanda ren ipapalaman sa pilosopiang tiolohikal. Dapat boaten nanda andang katengdanan, ig kong tapos don ngani dato, boboaten nanda oman tegka maglongbos don ang adlaw ‘ang pagokom.
Akapakon sanda ren sa lebengan ‘ang mga pobri ig mga adi, sa mga mi pagtoo ig sa ara. Doto nanda nasapoan ang karoyaan i’ tao. Kong ara ang tulkin indi enged kasasabat ang minatay apang kaisan maski mi tulkin den mi iba nga indi pa ra maliag agsabat.

Nakakita sanda ren i’ mga rilihiosong mga tao nga ingpapasipalan tenged sa andang mga kakorangan ig agtaw sanda ren i’ langitneng katorog para sa mga tao nga mategas ang leba sa paneleng ‘ang ibang tao.

Sakep nanda ang pagtoo ig kamatayen. Dengan sandang agatindeg sa kilid ‘ang minatay nga ingpapatogpoan i’ ang silot ‘ang Makagagaem.
Dia maman ang kabegatan nga papasanen nanda sa maayad nga leba.
Kong parapit sanda ren ngani sa lebengan, ang minatay agamata ig agabangon. Agpakiman i’ mga pangotana ang padis ig ara ipedped sa pagsabat ang minatay.

Ingostoan sanda sa anang sabat. Pagkatapos dadi, ingpadayon nanda ren ang minatay sa anang pagparanarien. Ara iboay ingtawag sanda reman.
Dadi’ na, ang lebengan ara masiadong kaministirang logta nga itampek. Sayod sanda nga matamang loa ang agtororo para sa taong dia apang matenten sanda pa ra sa andang katengdanan.

Agbangon ang minatay ig agatobang sa mga imbistigador i’ ang Makagagaem.
Agpakiman sanda ren i’ andang mga pangotana ig agalaem sanda ostong sabat andang dadawaten. Kong sosogon, boboaten nanda andang katengdanan. Apang ara sanda ra iaangot nga tomanen ang bet ‘ang Makagagaem labi pa sa mga taong tolad kanana.

Bago na sabaten andang mga pakiman, agpakiman tana anay i’ anang pangotana:

“Ayamo ingbayan ‘ang Makagagaem nga matabo kanaken dia?”
Ara isabat ang mga anghil. Ara sanda sa logar para maglimeg para sa Makagagaem. Dian sanda para boaten andang katengdanan, ara reng iba pa. Agpakiman sanda oman i’ mga pangotana ig ingsabat da ‘ang babai nga tolad da sa mga minatay nga mi pagtoo.

Ingsalan anda ang minatay nga babai sa anang langitneng pagkatorog ig agsaka sanda ren sa langit. Ingtawag sanda oman nga magtogdon sa logta para boaten andang katengdanan.

Dadi’ na, agabatok ang minatay. Ang minatay nga dia ara’ paggalang sa anang pagtoo ig ingtabonan na ang talinga sa tulkin. Ang erang i’ ang mga minatay aganingal sa anang lebengan piro ara mi saka bilog doto nga magatabang kanana. Dan ang bales i’ ang pagkaignoranti.

Agsaka sanda roman sa langit ig ingtawag roman sa logta. Ara sanda itatakes andang obra basi sa oras, ay kapaiwan da ang oras sa mga katolad kananda?
Sa paglebas ‘ang tanan, adedemdeman nanda ang kada kalag, ang kada isara nga agpadayon sa andang katorog tegka sa Adlaw ‘ang Pagokom ig ang kada isara nga agaantos i’ kakori sa impirno.

Ingaatobang nanda andang katengdanan kong anono ang oyon sa mga anghil.

Tanan para sa bet i’ ang Makagagaem.

—————————————————————————–

English Version

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 hearted.

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 is the set of special instructions in preparation for the dead’s investigation toward his or her final judgment.

*Cuyonon is a regional Visayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan, and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

Written by Karl GaverzaCuyonon

Translation provided by Ryan D. Ibañez

Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Ryan D. Ibañez

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 emirajujuIG: https://www.instagram.com/emirajuju/

*Note this story is in Cuyonon

Mangalok nga Aligpotagan (Cuyonon)

Beken maraet nga nars si Clarissa, sa kamatodan ngani tana pa ang mas agaprosigir sa ospital nga dia, apang indi enged madora ang mga aniani. Moro’ na, ang tanang pasyinti nga ingeepetan na agakarapatay obos. Kaleba, beken da dato anang kasalanan, piro mi maibara lamang baya nga natatabo.

Alimbawa ren lamang si Mr Pasamba. Ordinariong appendicitis da lamang dato. Maayad ang ingboat nga opirasion poira lamang sa maiteng impiksion nga maririmidioan pa andan i’ antibayotiks. Sa mga agdarasong dominggo, indi na ren nasarangan ang mga komplikasion nga risolta i’ ang impiksion, nga mamang agbogto sa anang kaboi.
Nababati ni Clarissa ang mga aniani sa anang likod. “Wi, tana ang agboat i’ dan.” “Ingtawagan nandang lagi ang morgue datong masapoan nanda nga tana ang magaawid sa pasyinti.” “Bagong bikitima ni Clarissa nga ingsompa.” Piro ara naiwan si Clarissa. Naelaman na nga basta akakeb tana lamang ig boboaten na’ mayad anang obra ara tana ren i’ problima.

Mas pang agrake ang aniani sa natabo ki Mrs Bengzon. Karwa tana ren nadiagnose ig maroya ren tenged sa mga ara polos nga mga treatment. Isarang timprano, nakita tanang patay den sa anang katri sa ospital. Si Clarissa ang akadiskobri sa natabo.

Ara enged ibidinsia i’ foul play, ara makita ang autopsy. Ara ra ibasola si Clarissa tenged sa pagkamatay i’ anang mga pasyinti, ayamo manda? Akaton da lamang nga doto tana sa maling logar ig sa maling oras.

Animan agpadayon den lamang obra si Clarissa, ingpabayan na ren ang mga aniani tenged kanana. Basta boboaten na anang obra, ara tana’ problima.

Lamang, mi natabong insidinti ki Ms Villamor. Ara iaamblig si Clarissa animan nadakep tana i’ ang isarang nars sa anang matod nga porma, nga akasampaw sa anang tagomatayen deng pasyinti. Akaignek si Clarissa ig ingsopil na ang nars.

Indi na maelaman kong marasano iiksplikar kong ayamo mi darwang biktima, apang mi golping agsot nga idiya sa anang barot.

Agboat-boat i’ iksina si Clarissa, “Aroy, agbegat ingan ang leba i’ ang nars datong i-euthanise na si Ms Villamor. Ang nars ana, agpaneget.” Ingpametang na ang tanang imo-imo nga mga ibidinsia sa logar, ig ingparetan tana ra i’ ang ospital.

Clarissa nga Ingsompa den ang anang bansag. Mi mistirio pa rang agakapolit sa kamatayen i’ anang mga pasyinti piro kamalasan da lamang sigoro dato.

Maayad tana nga klasi’ nars. Ingboboat na’ mayad anang obra. Dato lamang ang dapat nga maelaman i’ ang ospital.

————————–————————–———————-

English Back Translation

Clarissa wasn’t a bad nurse, in fact she tried harder than anyone in the hospital, but whispers won’t fade away. You see, every patient under her care eventually expired. Maybe it’s not entirely her fault, but there was always just something that went wrong.

Clarissa could hear the whispering behind her back. “She’s the one that did it.” “They called the morgue once they knew it was her.” “Another victim of Clarissa the cursed.” Yet Clarissa was unscathed. She knew that as long as she kept her head down and did her job correctly she wouldn’t have a problem.

The whispering multiplied when something happened to Mrs Bengzon. She had been misdiagnosed twice and was weak from all the unnecessary treatments. She was found dead one morning in her hospital bed. Clarissa was the one who found her.

There was never any evidence of foul play, at least none that an autopsy could find. Clarissa was never held liable for any of the deaths of the patients under her care, and why should she? She was just always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So Clarissa went on with her work, ignoring all the whispers. As long as she did her job, she wouldn’t have a problem.

That is, until the small incident with Ms. Villamor. Clarissa wasn’t careful and another nurse caught her in her true form, over the soon to be deceased form of her patient. Clarisse panicked and subdued the other nurse.

She didn’t know how she was going to be able to explain two victims, but then she had an idea.

Clarissa put on a show, “How terrible, the nurse felt so guilty euthanizing Ms. Villamor that she took her own life.” She had put all the necessary evidence in its place, and it didn’t take too long before the hospital believed her story.

So Clarissa the cursed followed through on her name, the patients she had still had mysterious circumstances attached to their deaths but that was just bad luck.

She was a good nurse. She did her job well. That’s all the hospital needed to know.

————————–————————–————————-

*Cuyonon is a regional Visayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan, and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cuyonon Translation provided by Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay

Inspired by the Aswang na Gala legends from Eastern Visayas

Aswang na Gala illustration by Lou Pineda
IG: https://www.instagram.com/blacknivalis/

*Note this story is in Cuyonon

Ang timpo datoanay, mi isarang tao nga kakonkon i’ kambing o isarang kambing nga kakonkon i’ tao. Ara tana ingboat kondi agpamadlek sa mga tao sa Bicol paagi sa anang oyeng makaradlek. Ang korimaw nga dia ingtatawag nga Laqui.

Isarang adlaw, mi isarang batang babai ang akabagat sa laqui. Ingsamitan nang panolayan ang bata por midio sa anang marimong oyen, tay agkadlaw lamang ang bata.

“Ara ako iaadleki kanimo!” makon ang bata. “Way, imong oyen pakadlaw!”

Indi maelaman i’ ang laqui kong anonong boboaten, ara tana pa kabagat i’ tao nga ara iaadleki sa anang oyen. Ingpanolayan ig ingadlek-adlek na pa ra ang bata apang agasabat lamang ang bata i’…

“Imong oyen pakadlaw ingan-ingan!” siagit i’ ang batang babai.

Indi pa ra maelaman i’ ang laqui kong anonong boboaten. Agisip tana i’ pamaagi agod maadlekan ang bata.

Screeeeeeeeee! Screeeeeeeeee!

Agsiagit i’ patorobabaw ang laqui. Ang tonog i’ dato aganingal sa bilog nga kageban. Ingsagiap i’ ang laqui ang bata, apang ingetekan tana datong masapoan nang doto pa ra nged ang bata.

“Aroy! Ang ka rimo ra imong bosis.” Ingpatererekan i’ ang bata ang laqui.

Agngereb ang laqui. Saken mi pamaagi nga aadlekan ang batang dia. Animan agboat tana i’ plano.

Nakita ‘ang laki ang maiteng kalipatpat nga agaoni sa anang katepad na pono, ingbe’ras na ang langgam ig ingpakita sa bata.

“Ang ka tinlong langgam!” Agyemyem ang bata.

Golping ingremekremek i’ ang laqui ang langgam sa anang siki, agporasik ang dogo sa oyen i’ ang batang babai.

AHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH!

Agbatikal ang ogiaw i’ ang pobring bata sa mga pono ig akaina’loy sa kalipay ang laqui. Dali-dali agdalagan ang bata nga agaogiaw paraye.

Ingnisnis i’ ang laqui ang anang siki sa pono ig agngirit.

Beken lamang isara ang pamaagi sa pagpanolay sa mga tao.

English Version

There was once a man that looked like a goat, or a goat that looked like a man. It spent its days trying to scare the people of Bicol through its frightening face. This creature was called the Laqui.

One day, a young girl happened to come across the laqui. It tried to scare her away with its ugly face, but the girl just laughed.

“I am not afraid of you!” said the girl. “I think your face looks funny!”

The laqui didn’t know what to do, it had never come across a human that was not afraid of its face. The laqui tried as hard as he could to scare the little girl but only got her words as a reply.

“Your face is so funny!” the little girl squealed.

The laqui still didn’t know what to do. It started to think about what it could to scare the little girl.

SCREEEEEEEE! SCREEEEEEEEE!

The laqui let out a high pitched scream. Its shrill sound echoed throughout the forest. The laqui turned to the little girl, but was disappointed to find that she was still there.

“Your voice isn’t very nice.” The little girl stared at the laqui.
The laqui grunted, surely there must be a way to scare off the little girl. So it hatched a plan.

There was a small songbird chirping in a tree nearby, the laqui grabbed the creature and showed it to the girl.

“What a cute little bird!” The girl smiled.

Without warning the laqui crushed the tiny bird in its hooves, blood from the creature splattered all over the little girl’s face.

AAAAHHHHHHH! AAAAHHHHHHH! AAAAHHHHHHH!

The screams of the girl ricocheted amongst the trees and the laqui let out a sigh of relief. The girl ran away, screaming as she went.

The laqui rubbed his bloody hooves against the bark of a tree and smiled.

There was more than one way to scare a human.

*Cuyonon is a regional Visayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan, and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cuyonon Translation provided by Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay

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

Laqui Illustration by Sofia Marie Cuarto
FB: Lavieja
IG: Instagram.com/laviejart

*Note this story is in Cuyonon 

Ingsasampok i’ ang daloyon ang olo ‘ang manigpangisda. Agakapaykapay tana apang indi enged agpadaeg ang bagio kanana. Rinibo-ribo ang orang agararamatak sa kadagatan nga ara’ korti ni anio, apang naelaman nang magapoas da dia. Tana ara nanda idaran digi agod malemes lamang ig magasarig tana kananda tegka sa teregkan anang kaboi.

Nademdeman na ang loa sa mata ‘ang anang ina datong pilakan na ang rosario. Ingaadlekan manda ang anang ina para kanana apang mas mi labet tana sa kalag i’ anang bata. Ang manigpangisda bata i’ anang ama ig agapadayon pa ra sa pagparet sa mga laging kinaogalian ay ang tobig dian sa anang dogo.

Agpakiloy anang ina nga magsarig sa anang manonobos, andang manonobos. Ingpakolay tana anang ina nga demdemen ang manonobos nga dato sa gegma ig sanag, apang ara tana ipamati kanana. Indi enged mamaramadan anang ina ang kaboi sa laod, ang mga manigbantay nga agprotiktar kananda.

“Mangalok ‘ang Dagat” –dato maman andang tawag kananda. Ingkakatikati kono i’ ang mga diwata ang mga manigpangisda paagi sa andang mga kansion. Malemes ngani ang mga manigpangisda sanda kono kakaenen den. Nabebereng tana kong ayamo boi pa ra ang botig nga dato ig ingpaparetan pa ra ‘ang matamang tao. Naelaman i’ ang mga manigpangisda nga ang mga istoriang dato mara sa trapo nga agaponas sa dinagon dong paggalang ig pagdayaw sa mga diwata.

Ara tana ra maboboat. Ingoman den i’ ang mga dagon kong kino magadarangep ang mga tao sa oras andang kaministiran. Ara reng mga alad sa dagat ig mga pangadi sa mga daloyon. Tana ren lamang ang nasala. Ang kaoriang bata i’ ang tagomatayen deng tinooan.

Ingroroyan den ang betken i’ ang manigpangisda. Magaampo ron ang anang lawas sa ara’ tadeng nga pagtampek i’ ang daloyong ig oran. Ingisip na anang ina ig agpanindegan tana sa anang pagtoo. Aganiani ang anang mga bibig i’ oring pangadi bago agtagbeng anang olo sa daloyong:

Ang tobig ang akeng gabayan paoli
Magasarig ako kanindo
O mga diwata i’ ang dagat ig bagio
Ang delem mamaimong sanag
Ang mga daloyong magalinaw
Magaimbeng ako sa dagat
ig magaayad ang tanan-tanan.

English Back Translation

The waves crush over the fisherman’s head. He flayed his hands but the storm will not let up. Thousands upon thousands of rain poured onto the shapeless ocean, but he know that this too shall pass. They did not bring him here to drown and he will trust them until the end of his life.

He remembers the tears in his mother’s eyes when he tossed her rosary. His mother was indeed scared for him, but she’s more concerned for her son’s 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 saviour, their saviour. She had raised him to remember that saviour in love and light, but he couldn’t listen to her. His mother could never understand the life at sea, the guardians that protected them.

“Mangalok ‘ang Dagat” –that’s what they called them. They say that the spirits lured fishermen into the water with their songs. Once the fishermen were drowned they will then 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 are like rags that wiped the centuries of respect and admiration of the spirits.

There was nothing he could do though. The years had changed who people turned to in their times of need. There were no more offerings by the sea, or prayers to the waves. He was the only one left. 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 whisper one final prayer before his head goes beneath the waves:

The water is my life-saver as I go home.
I will trust in you
Oh spirits of sea and storm
The darkness will turn into light
The waves will calm
I will be with the sea
and everything will be alright.

————————–————————–———————

*Cuyonon is a regional Visayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan, and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cuyonon Translation provided by Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay

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/

*Note this story is in Cuyonon

“Ingaadlekan ako.”

“Ayaw ikaadlek, bata. Ang bet i’ ang mga diwata maman ang matotoman.”

“Anono ang matatabo kanaken?”

“Magapakon kitang darwa sa pono ‘ang Baliti ig doto ta ka ren sasalan. Magagorang kaw sa idalem ‘ang pono ig dadaraen kaw sa mga langit ig sa kaidaleman.”

“Ayamo kabay?”

“Agod mabata ka i’ oman.”

“Dato kabay masarakit?”

“Indi… ko ron mademdeman. Dinagon den da ang aglelebas datong ingboat ko dia. Indi kaw agadlek, ipapakita nanda kanimo ang isarang bagong kalibotan.”

“Animan gali kalelepad kaw?”

“Een, bata. Dato ig matama pang mga betang. Nasegkadan ko ron ang kadadalemen i’ ang dagat ig akaseled ako ron sa lawas ‘ang tao. Nakaampang ko ron ang mga diwata digi ig sa loyong kalibotan. Akapakon ako ron sa mga logar nga indi enged ikitaen i’ tao. Ig dadi ingpipilayan ako ron.”

“Digi kita ren.”

“Pagpamati sa mga diwata. Sanda ang magagia kanimo tolad ang ingboat nandang paggia kanaken.”

“Makikita ta ka pa kabay?”

“Indi ta maelaman ang bet i’ ang mga diwata. Ta! Ako maalin den, bata. Bala ka ren lamang sa mga tao.”

“Adios, lola.”

Ingbayo i’ ang angin ang batang babai maintras akagorang tana sa idalem ‘ang baliti. Aglelebas ang mga adlaw nga naimong mga dominggo apang ara tana enged ikaliek. Naelaman i’ ang mga taong agaaragi nga indi sanda dapat agpasamber sa anang biahi. Agmora ang kasasanagen pagkatapos i’ ang kaoriang gabi, agtindeg tana ig aganiani i’ pasalamat sa mga diwata.

Naboskad anang mga mata nga dadi kakikita ren sa tinagong kalibotan nga agaeleb sa anang kaboi kanodaya. Ara tana ingirit.

Mi katengdanan tana reng dapat boaten.

English Back Translation

“I am afraid.”

“Do not be afraid, child. The will of the spirits will prevail.”

“What will happen to me?”

“We will go to the Balete tree and I will leave you there. You will sit underneath the tree and you’ll be taken to the heavens and into the deep.”

“Why?”

“So you will be born again.”

“Is it painful?”

“I don’t remember. It has been years since I’ve done this. Do not be scared, they will show you a new world.”

“That’s the reason why you can fly?”

“Yes, child. That and a lot of things more. I’ve dived into the depths of the sea and entered human body. I have spoken to the spirits in this world and the next. I have been to places that no man will ever see. And now I am tired.”

“We are here.”

“Listen to the spirits. They will guide you like how they have guided me.”

“Will I ever see you again?”

“We don’t know the will of the spirits. So, I will go now, child. I will leave the people to you.”

“Goodbye, lola.”

The girl was pounded by the wind as she sat beneath the Balete. Days have passed and turned into weeks but she didn’t move. The people passing by knew that they shouldn’t interfere in her journey. The morning has broken after the last night, she stood up and whispered her gratitude to the spirits.

Her eyes were open and now she can see the hidden world that surrounds her past life. She didn’t smile.

She has a duty to fulfil now.

*Cuyonon is a regional Visayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan, and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cuyonon Translation provided by Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Ryan D. Ibañez and Elyn Grace Bagalay

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/