*Note this story is in Bikol
Kinuwâ ni Leyana an saiyang bag asin duminalagan nganing habulon an saiyang mga barkada. Maduruman pâno sinda sa dagat sa sunod na semana asin iyo na sana pirmi an saindang tig-uururunan. Mas tigpaparaurunan pa ngani ninda kun ano an saindang susuuton asin an saindang mga kukuwaan nin litrato kaysa sa mga sanga-sanga kan mga puno na tiga-agihan ninda.
Dae ninda natînuhan an mapayatun asin maitomon na halimaw na may nagakubogkubog na bitis asin dakulaong mga kasukasuan na nag-sabat sainda. An saiyang kakanusan napapailing lalo nin saiyang ngimot asin dakulaong lusî na nakalaylay sa baba.
Napabuntong-hininga an mga babayi asin binaliktad an saindang mga badô, an saindang mga dudô naiiling na. Nakatindugon an lusî kan halimaw na sa sobrang dakulâ, natatakluban na an saiyang pangiling. Nagduruderecho sana sa pagururon an mga babayi na garo man sana warang nangyari.
Si Leyana sana an may tinaram manongod sa nangyari, “Nauuyam ako ta pirmi ta na sana uto gigibo pagnagpaparasunod yan satuya.”
“Eh, aram mo naman sana yang tambaloslos,” simbag ni Divine, “dangag man yang halimaw na yan, kayâ kun pirming arog kâan an posisyon nya pag tiga-iling kita, dae nya man kita aanuhon.”
“Iyo nganî kaya maski purupano, naiirak na ako saiya, ta sarô-sarui na sana nganî an aram nyang gibuhon, dae nya pa nagigibo,” sabat ni Dana.
“Ano man an gigibo nya?” apot ni Gina.
“An aram ko pati mga manok asin urig, tiga biktima pa kaan,” taramon ni Divine.
“Kairak man palan kan mga manok.” Ulok ni Gina. Su ibang babayi nagbalik sa tigaururunan ninda manongod sa beach trip, kayâ nalingawan na su nangyari kasubâgo sa halimaw, pero dae pa natutunawan si Leyana.
“Dapat dae ta tiga-pailing an lawas ta pagnasasabatan ta yang tambaloslos ta nakakababa yan nin istima ta.”“Ano pa man an magiginibo ta? Nyata, mas maray saimong magahasa?” prankahon si Divine kaya kilala sya nin iba na maurag magtao nin opinyon pag an mga kaiba nya dae kayang makataram.
“Syempre dae! Pero dapat tatao kita kun pâno protektahan an sadiri ta na dae na kailangang iluwas an satuyang dudô!”
“Leyana, duman ka na sana sa pinaka madali, dae ka man aanuhon kan tambaloslos ta dae ka man kaan maiiling. Pirmi mo na sana tigpaparadipisilan an buhay mo!” Muya na ni Ginang magbalik sa tiguururunan ninda kun ano an susuoton ninda para sa group shot asin padiit diit na syang nauuyam.
“Parâ an punto ko man sana, baka igwa pang ibang pwedeng gibuhon imbis maprotektahan ta an sadiri ta.”“Pero an pagpailing kan dudô ta, pagprotekta na uto. Dae ta man tigapayagan an tambaloslos na may gibuhon satuya.” Padiit diit namang nagkakainteres si Divine kun pasain na an tiguururunan ninda. “Dae ta man kailangan makilaban kun dae man sya malaban.”
“Pero bako uto tamâ!”
“Garo man su may magiginibo ka pa, bakô man yan tawo. Dae man kaan maiintindihan kun ano an persepsyon ta kaya mas maray kun gibuhon ta na sana an dapat tang gibuhon asin magdalagan na sana, arog kan gigibo nin iba,” taramon ni Divine.
“Nyatâ bayâ importantehon yan saimo?” An uyam sa tono kan boses ni Gina, mas halata na.
“Abo ko na kayâ na arog na sana kâto pirmi. Aram mong an ibang lalaki tigpaparaalat pa an tambaloslos ngani sana mailing kitang nakauba? Insulto ito para satuyang mga babayi.”
“Ilinga, kun muya kan mga lalaki maging mga manyak, bahala sinda, makadiri naman sinda kayâ warâ naman sindang rason na bako sinda halimaw.” Nararamdaman ni Divine na may igwa jan sa sinabi nya. “Leyana, ano man nanggad ang kikahaditan mo?”
“Magtugâ kamo, dae nindo sasabihon sa iba?” Nagtarango gabos.
“Kan naka-aging semana pâno kan naglalakaw ako paulî alî sa iskwilahan, tigsundan ako kan tambaloslos arog kan gigibo nya pirmi, ugaring may igwa pa akong napansin. Si Rico, su taga higher batch baga. Nararamdaman ko an saiyang mga mata palibot sakuya kan inali ko an blawsa ko.”
Nawâran nin ribok pagkatapos kan tigamin ni Leyana. Sarong pagkakasarabutan an nabuo sa alingawngaw kan saiyang mga tinaram.
“Dae ka na maglakaw na solo sa sunod, sarabay na lang kita pirmi, bakô man arayô an arong nindo samuya.” Nagngirit si Gina, imbis dae na marumduman ni Leyana su nangyari.
“Manyak man sya. Taramon mo dapat uto saiya.” Kinupô ni Divine si Leyana “Dae mo man kailangan maagihan an mga yan.”
Nagtururô an luha kan duwang babayi asin nakatindog sana sindang duwa sa kasilensyuhan sagkod kan dinisturbo nanaman sinda kan halimaw giraray.
May labi-labing urî nin dagit. An iba, nagpupuon sa kasilensyuhan, nag-aaloy muna bâgo makaluwas. Ugaring igwa man na iba, su yaon na talaga dyan asin tigakurumungan na an mga puso kan tawo sagkod magsabog ini sainda.
“Pabayai na sana kami!” Tinapok ni Divine an saiyang bag sa tambaloslos.
“Sagad na kami saimo!” Tig-sipâ ni Gina an tambaloslos sa saiyang mga baglang parte kan lawas.
“Dae ka na nanggad magranirani sakuya!” binungag ni Leyana ini sa pandok, an saiyang sadit na kamao tuminama sa butog kâning ngudoy.
Nakigkig an tambaloslos sa pagpailing kan pagkabayolente ninda saiya asin buminwelta ini paduman sa mga puno nganing magtago.
Pinamara kan mga babayi an saindang mga luha asin tigpurot an saindang mga gamit.
Sa pagkagimata ninda sa nangyari, nagkaraputan sinda nin kamot asin nag-aralî sinda na igwang kamurawayan.Bakô pasil mag-istar sa sarong baryong igwang tambaloslos. Mas dipisil maging babayi tâ pirmi mong papaalion utong halimaw asin an mga lalaki na unâ ninda makaka saro sinda.
Aram ni Leyana na an mga halimaw yaon sana maski sain-sain kayâ kailangan mong labanan yan sa sadiri mong paagi, bako sa iba.
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English Version
Leyana picked up her schoolbag and ran to catch up with her friends. They were going to the beach next weekend and that was all they could talk about. The conversations about what they would wear and what pictures they would take took precedence over the cracking branches from the trees next to the girls.
Without warning a lanky, black creature with wobbly legs and big joints ambushed the girls. Its ugliness was amplified by its big mouth and huge penis that dangled to the ground.The girls sighed and turned their clothes inside out, exposing their breasts. The creature’s penis erected so much it covered its vision and the girls continued with their conversation as if nothing happened.
Only Leyana commented on the incident, “I hate that we have to do that every time it comes by.”
“Well you know the tambaloslos,” Divine replied, “it’s a stupid creature, and as long as it sees us in that position, it can’t do anything.”
“Yeah I almost feel bad for the thing, it only knows how to do one thing and it fails more often than not,” Dana chimed in.“What does it even do?” Gina asked.
“I heard it even victimizes chickens and pigs,” Divine said.“Poor chickens.” Gina laughed.
The other girls went back to the topic of their beach trip leaving their encounter with the creature behind, but Leyana wasn’t satisfied.
“We shouldn’t have to expose ourselves every time it comes by, it’s demeaning.”
“What else can we do? Would you rather be raped?” Divine was blunt and she was known for making points that other people would like to keep quiet.
“Of course not! We should be able to defend ourselves without having to let our breasts hang out!”
“Leyana, just take the easier way out, the tambaloslos won’t harm you if it can’t see you. Why are you making things so difficult?” Gina wanted to go back to asking about what the girls were going to wear for their group shot and she was starting to get annoyed.
“I’m just saying we can find another way to defend ourselves.”“But being exposed is defending ourselves, it’s not like we let it do anything to us.” Divine was starting to get interested with the way the conversation was going. “We don’t need to fight it if it can’t fight.”
“But it’s not right!”
“It’s not like we can reason with it anyway, it’s not human. It will never understand our point of view so we do what we need to do and run away, just like everyone else does,” Divine shot back.
“Why is this so important to you?” the exasperation in Gina’s voice was almost palpable.
“I’m just so sick of it. Do you know some of the boys wait for the tambaloslos just so that they can have a chance to look at us while we take our clothes off? It’s insulting to us as women.”
“Look if those boys want to be perverts it’s all on them, they’re disgusting in their own way and they don’t have the excuse of being a monster.” Divine could sense there was something behind this dialogue. “Leyana, what’s really bothering you?”
“Promise you won’t tell?”
All the girls nodded.
“It was when I was walking home last week from school. The tambaloslos followed me like it normally does, but there was someone else behind him. It was Rico from the higher batch. I could feel his eyes all over me when I took my blouse off.”
There was silence after Leyana’s confession. An unspoken bond of sisterhood was forged in the echo of her words.“Don’t walk alone anymore, let’s go together, your house isn’t that far from mine anyway.” Gina smiled, trying to get Leyana’s mind off what had happened.
“He’s an asshole. You should confront him.” Divine hugged Leyana “You shouldn’t have had to go through that.”The tears fell from both girls and they stood in silence until they were disturbed again by the black creature.
There are many kinds of anger. Some, borne from silence, take their time to reach the surface. But there are others, those that have lingered on and blanketed people’s hearts until they suddenly burst out in rage.
“Leave us alone!” Divine threw her schoolbag at the tambaloslos.
“We’ve been through enough!” Gina kicked the creature in its privates.
“Don’t you ever come near me again!” Leyana punched at the creature’s face, her small fists landing blows against its protruding lips.
The tambaloslos was shocked at the display of violence that came its way and made its way back to the trees to safety.The girls dried their tears and picked up their things.
In the wake of the attack, they held each other’s hands and basked in the silence only they could understand.
It wasn’t easy living in a village haunted by a tambaloslos. It was even harder being a girl having to fend off that monster and boys who think they could take advantage.
Leyana knew that monsters are everywhere and you had to fight them on your terms, not anyone else’s.
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*Igwang labi-labing isturya manongod sa tambaloslos. Sa ibang bersyon kan alamat, nangbubukod daw an Tambaluslos sa mga tawong naglalakaw-lakaw sa bulod. An saro sanang paagi imbis makatakas saiya, suluton mo sana an bado mong pabaliktad. Nagigiulok digdi an halimaw na uto asin maulok na grabe sagkod matakluban kan saiyang dakulang ngudoy an saiyang pandok, kaya dae nya naiiling an saiyang biktima na nagkakaigwa nang oras makadulag.
*There are many depictions of the tambaloslos. In some versions of the myth the Tambaluslos chases people who wander in the woods. The only way to escape it is to take off your clothes and wear them inside out. The creature finds this act very hilarious and it will laugh so much that its wide lips would cover its face, therefore preventing it from seeing the victim who in turn will have ample time to escape.
*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
Bikol Translation by Jeremiah Cordial
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Jeremiah Cordial
Story inspired by the Tambaloslos myths from Bicol
Tambaloslos Illustration by Michael Sean B. Talavera
IG: @maykelshan
Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/isaneleach13
