*Note this story is in Bicol
Gabos iniisip na istorya lang an mga birradali. Dai lang kami nagpapahalata, pwera sa sarong okasyon, sarong oras, saro sa mga kaibahan mi an nagtuga. Aram nindo, kaming pitong magturugang, inbababa namun an bahaghari sa kinaban para tangkason an samuyang plata na pakpak, magpahuway nan magkakarigos sa burabod.
Sarong aldaw, may isad na tawo an nakahiling kan pakpak namun sa doot. Pighadlok niya kami na aagomon niya. Kami na anom na pinakamagurang sa magturugang may dunong na kaya pigtago namun an pakpak namun sa harani. San nagpapaduman na sa amun an tawo, insul-ot uli namun an pakpak nan nagluyap na kami pabalik sa kalangitan. Alagad an pinakabatit namun na tugang, indudulag an pakpak niya kaya naagaw lugod nan nakalit kan lalaki.
An biraddalli dai basta nagpapadaog. Sa una, naging halas an tugang mi, nagkakamang padulag alagad an lalaki sarong paradakop kaya nadakop niya an halas nan nilaom sa kulungan. Sunod, naging saro siyang uyang asin nagtago sa irarom kan ingod kan kadlagan. Alagad malinawon an mata kan lalaki kaya nahilingan siya na nagigibo agihan pairarom.
Sunod, naging saro naman siyang aluhipan, nagpapahitaas sa mga sanga kan puno para makatakas. Pero makaskas an lalaki, pinondo siya sa saro na sanga. Sunod, wara na kan iba na magigibo an tugang namun kay habang wara sa iya an pakpak, padiit diit man na manluluya an kapangyarihan niya.
Nagtugot na lang an tugang namu na maging agom kan lalaki. Nag-upod siya sa lalake alagad pig-aabangan pa man niya an pagkakataon na makuha liwat an plata na pakpak nan magluyap pabalik sa bahaghari, paduman sa kalangitan. Kaming mga ate niya dai matugot na duman lang siya sa kinaban kaupod an lalaki.
Inlilikayan namu na madakop man kan lalaki. Kaya naghuring kami sa hangin, nagsasarig na an saro sa samuyang mga hinuring makaabot sa tugang namun.
Huminuring kami manungod sa kadlagan nan mga puno. Pigtaram mi sa iya na nilubong kan lalake an saiyang plata na pakpak sa irarom kan puno na kaabay san salog. Huminuring kami manungod sa katalingkasan asin paglaom. Huminuring kami na nalalangkag na kami sa iya.
Sarong aldaw, nabati niya kami. San wara an lalaki sa harong, tuminakas sya asin nagdalagan paduman sa kadlagan. Dai pa nagkaigwa san mas makaskas na briddali, asin dai pa naaraman san maski sino na anghel kun nano an nguya kan katalingkasan.
Gabos mahona na leyenda asin inimbento lang an mga briddali, niyan na aram na namun kung nano na karaotan an kaya san mga tawo. Dai nanggad na may maski sino na makaagaw samuya kan sa among pakpak. Dai na nanggad magkakaigwa san saro samuya na makaaram kan kahadlokan kan pagkabihag sa kinaban. Dai na nanggad na maski saro samuya magkaaram kan padusa na lain kami kompleto.
Magigin buhay kami sa mga leyenda kan mga tawo nan sa gayon kan bahaghari. Niyan, magpasano pa man.
English Version
Everyone thinks the biraddali are myths on earth, we’re just too careful to let ourselves be seen. Except for one occasion, one time when one of us let our guard down. You see, us seven sisters take the rainbow down to earth to remove our silver wings and relax and bathe in the fresh mountain springs.
One day, a human saw our wings on the ground and threatened to make us his wives. We eldest sixsisters were wise enough to keep our wings close and when he got near, we put on our wings and flew back to the heavens. But the youngest sister kept her wings further away and the man stole them from her.
A biraddali will not back down. The youngest sister changed into a snake at first, slithering away, but the man was a hunter and trapped the snake in a cage. The youngest then changed into a scorpion and hid amongst the forest floor, but the man’s vision was great, so he saw her scuttling away. The youngest then changed into a centipede, going up the tree branches to escape his advances, but the man was quick, he stopped the centipede at a branch. Finally, the youngest had no choice, without her wings the biraddali’s power was fading.
The youngest acquiesced to being the man’s wife, and she stayed with him, waiting for the day she could get her silver wings and fly back on the rainbow towards the heavens. We elder sisters would not let the youngest remain on earth with the man.
We did not want to risk getting captured by the man ourselves, and each one of us was scared of getting our wings clipped, so we carried our whispers on the winds, hoping that one would reach our trapped sister.
We whispered of the forest and of the trees, telling her that the man buried her silver wings under a tree beside the river. We whispered of freedom and hope. We whispered that we missed her.
And one day, we were heard. The youngest sister escaped the man’s house while he was away and dashed towards the forest. Never had there been a swifter biraddali, and never had any angel knew what freedom had meant.
Everyone will think the biraddali are myths, for we know the cruelty that man can possess. Our wings will never be taken from us. Never again will one of us know the fear of being shackled to the earth. Never again will the rest know the misery of knowing that we are not complete.
We will remain alive in the myths of men and in the beauty of the rainbow. For now, and forever.
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*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
Bicol Translation by Krishna Shai Azurin
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Krishna Shai Azurin
Inspired by “The Seven Angels.” in Sulu Studies 2. Rixhon ed. 1973.
The Seven Biraddali Sisters Illustration and Colors by Elise Mendoza.
