*Note this story is in Tagalog
“Ang gutom ay maaaring mag-udyok sa sinoman na gumawa ng mga ‘di magagandang bagay.” Lumalakas ang apoy habang hinahanda ni lolo ang aming pagkain.
Hindi ko kailanman nagustuhan ang labas, pero mapilit si lolo na turuan ang kanyang mga apo ng mga kasanayan sa pamumuhay na alam niya. Ngayong araw, ako na, at ang pangangaso para may makain ang kailangan naming gawin.
Sinisiguro lagi ni lolo na tatratuhin niya nang may respeto ang pagkain namin. Nakahuli siya ng usa at pinakita niya sa akin kung paano ito gilitan ng leeg sa paraang hindi magtatagal ang paghihirap ng hayop.
“Hindi dapat tayo kumuha nang sobra,” ang sabi ni lolo habang niluluto niya ang usa sa apoy. “Ang usang ito ay isa sa mga matatanda, at ang mga bata naman ay maaaring magparami sa susunod na panahon.
“Nakikita mo ba iyon?” Tumuro si lolo sa langit. “Alam ng mga bituin ang mga pasakit ng gutom.”
“Nagugutom ba ang mga bituin, lolo?”
“Hindi, pero maraming mga bagay ang nasa langit bukod sa mga bituin. Nabanggit ko na ba sa’yo ang tungkol sa gutom na alakdan?
“…….”
“Kapag bilog ang buwan at nakalabas ang mga butuin, saka iyon nanghuhuli. Walang nakakaalam kung saan iyon nanggaling o kung bakit nito sinusubaybayan nang palihim ang gabing kalangitan, pero hindi na iyon mahalaga. Dinudurog ng mga binti nito ang mga bituin sa ilalim niya para makapunta sa kanyang biktima.
“Ano ang hinuhuli niya, lolo?”
“Lagi itong ginagabayan ng liwanag ng buwan papunta sa biktima nito. May ibang gabi na nahuhuli nito ang buwan, unti-unting nilalamon sa malalaki nitong mga panga, pero kahit gano’n may ilan pa rin namang nananatiling mapagbantay.
Alam ng mga tao na hindi dapat kumuha nang sobra o wala nang matitira sa hinaharap, pero ang mga halimaw gaya ng gutom na alakdan ay tanging pansariling gutom lamang ang alam. Kung sakali mang mabusog ito sa buwan, ang mundo ay malulubog sa kadiliman, at ang alakdan, pagkatapos nitong mapagtanto na nakain na niya ang tangi nitong pagkain, ay magugutom ulit.”
“At ano ang kanyang kakainin, lolo?”
Kinuha ni Lolo ang mga lutong piraso ng usa at inilagay sa harapan ko.
“Kung ano ang natira,” sagot ni lolo.
=————————————————————————————–=
English Version
“Hunger can make one do terrible things.” The fire was getting stronger as Lolo started to prepare our meal.
I never liked the outdoors, but Lolo was adamant that he teach his grandchildren the survival skills he knew. Today was my turn and hunting for food was on the agenda.
Lolo always made it a point that he would treat our food with respect. He had caught a deer and showed me how to slit its throat in a way that would minimize the animal’s suffering.
“We must never take too much.” Lolo said as he cooked the deer on the fire. “This deer is one of the older ones, and the young can breed for the next season.”
“Do you see that?” Lolo pointed towards the sky. “The stars know the terrible burdens of hunger.”
“Do the stars get hungry lolo?”
“No, but there more things in the sky than just the stars. Have I ever told you about the hungry scorpion?”
“…….”
“When the moon is full and the stars are out, that is when it hunts. No one knows where it came from or why it stalks the night sky, but it doesn’t matter. Its legs crush the stars beneath it to get to its prey.”
“What does it hunt, Lolo?”
“The moonlight always leads it to its victim. Some nights it can catch the moon, slowly engulfing it in its massive jaws, but even then there are those that remain vigilant.
Humans know that you should never take too much or there won’t be any left for the future, but beasts like the hungry scorpion only know their hunger. If it ever fills its belly with the moon, then the world will be plunged into darkness, and the scorpion, after realizing it had eaten its only meal, will hunger again.”
“And then what will it eat Lolo?”
Lolo took the cooked pieces of deer and set them in front of me.
“Whatever’s left.” Lolo answered.
=————————————————————-=
*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Tagalog translation by Catherine Britania
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Catherine Britania
Story inspired by Tambanakaua (Manobo) myth in Garvan, John M. (1931) The Manobos of Mindanao. Memoirs of the National Academy of Science, vol. 23, 1st Memoir. Washington: Government Printing Office
Tambanakaua (Manobo) Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
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