*Note this story is is Masbatenyo – Ticaoeño
Sa paglampas sa langit kag dampog, ginpapamatian san mga bituon an aton pangadyi.
Nagpapangamuyo lang sinda kag nagsasaksi sa pagligad san kinaagi, pero maski sinda kaipuhan maghigad ‘pag an Ginoo na an nagpapakita san kusog.
Dili man nakiaram an mga bituon. Ada na sinda san bata pa an kinab-an, kag san an katawuhan gindamgo pa lamang san Ginoo.
Nagtetenir an mga bituon kag nagdudugay.
An aton sigulanon nagtutuna sa usad na dili nasabat na pangadyi.
Gutom gayudon an naga. Dili siya nagpapakita sin kaluoy sa katawuhan na nag-iistar sa iya teritoryo. Sa iya mga mata naghahali an nagkakalayo na harigi para manirab san iya biktima.
Tulo na kalag na lang an nabilin san maurit siya na linalang — usad na iloy, usad na ama, kag usad na bata nga lalake.
Kag an inda pangadyi amo an ginbabati san mga bituon.
“Ginoo iharayo mo kami sa maburut-on nga naga. Ikaw lang an may kagahuman na magpaudong sa iya,” Pagmamakaluoy san ama.
An inda pangadyi kay ginpamati, pero dili san Ginoo.
Ginmasdan san mga bituon an pagtama san ikog san maburut-on na naga sa mag-asawa. Nakita ninda kun pan-o mangudog sa kahadlok an mga kabukidan unong sa kagahuman san naga. Aram ninda na dili siya matugot nga buhayon ang mag-asawa.
Ginpapalibutan sin dabdab kag kalayo an pamilya, maski an kalibutan nagatangis sa sakit na namamatyagan. Sa pag-agi san naga, nagsasabay an pagsapay kag pag-iwat. An mga lasog-lasog na lawas san mga biktima niya nagkaralat sa iya agihan, hasta sa masayudan niya an iya urhi na biktima.
“Kun amo na gayod ini Ginoo, sige na lang,” Pangamuyo san iloy. Ginkup-an niya an iya pamilya sin hugot, an tanda san nabibilin niya na pagpalangga.
Lumayog an naga sa kalangitan kag binuka an iya dako nga baba.
Piniyong na lamang san pamilya an inda mata kag ginhulat an inda katapusan, hasta sa mabati san Ginoo an inda pangamuyo kag ginpakita an iya pagpalangga.
Naglayog an naga pakadto sa iya kaunon pero dili niya nakuha. Naglayog pa siya lampas sa dampog kag kahitaasan hasta maabot niya an mga bituon, dagko na kalayo kag aso an iya gindara.
Kag san umabot siya sa pinakahataas na kaya niya abuton, umudong siya, nadakop siya san mga bituon kag nakulong sa iya sadiri na kalayo.
Nagpasalamat an pamilya sa Ginoo ka sa iya gahom. Ginhandum ninda hasta na lang an Iya pagsalba sa inda sa katapusan.
Kag nano man an nangyari sa mga bituon?
Nagpaubaya sinda sa Ginoo kag gin-akseptar an bag-o na lugar san naga sa inda kalangitan.
Pero maski sinda, aram ninda na dili ina madugay.
Kay ginpapamatian ninda an paghingaw san naga. Ginhuhulat ninda an katapusan san mga adlaw na malusad gihapon an naga sa duta, kag uubuson an kinab-an kag lalapaon an tanan na maraot an kasta kag dili nagsusunod sa Ginoo.
Kun kaya matimtim na ginhuhulat san mga bituon an adlaw na sa inda na lang gihapon an kalangitan.
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English Version
Over the sky and in the firmament, the stars hear your prayers.
They stay as silent witnesses to the unfolding of history, but even they must stand aside when the Almighty displays His power.
The stars do not mind. They have prevailed since the world was young and humanity was but a glimmer in the Almighty’s eye.
The stars remain and they endure.
Our story begins with an answered prayer.
The naga was ravenous. It did not show mercy to the humans living in its territory. From its eyes shot pillars of flame, incinerating all those that it considered prey. The poison flowing from its nine forked tongue spread through its victims without pity.
There were only three souls left after the monster had devoured the wicked, a mother, a father and a son.
And it was their prayer that the stars overheard.
“Almighty deliver us from this great naga, only you have the power to stop it,” the father implored.
Their prayer was answered but not by the Almighty.
The stars watched as the great naga swung its tail and sent a terrible gale towards the couple. They saw the mountains shiver in fear at the beast’s power. It would not allow the humans to survive, the naga’s cruelty would not allow it.
Fury and flames surrounded the family, even the earth seemed to cry out in pain. In the naga’s path trailed misery and suffering, the broken bodies of its victims littered the monster’s passage until the great beast came face to face with its final prey.
“If this is the Almighty’s will then let it be so,” the mother sobbed. She held tight her family, the only comfort left in their plight.
The naga leapt into the sky and opened its titanic maw.
The family closed their eyes and waited for the inevitable, but the Almighty heard their pleas and showed his benevolence.
The dragon leapt, but it did not meet its target. It rose high into the heavens, past the clouds and into the realm of the stars, gigantic gouts of flame and smoke trailing in its wake.
When it seemed the naga could not go higher it stopped, suspended between the stars and surrounded by its blaze.
The family thanked the Almighty for His mercy, forever remembering the day they were saved from the savagery of the beast.
And what of the stars?
They surrendered to the will of the Almighty, accepting the naga’s new place betwixt their realm.
But even they know it will not last.
For the stars hear the naga’s whispers. They await the end of days when the dragon will sweep towards the earth and devour all those wicked souls that do not obey the Almighty.
And so the stars remain patiently until the heavens are theirs once again.
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- In Samal myth the milky way is seen as a gigantic trapped dragon.
*Masbateño, Masbatenyo or Minasbate is a Bicol-Visayan language spoken by more than 600,000 people, primarily in the province of Masbate in the Philippines. It is very close to Capiznon, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo and Waray-Waray, all three spoken in Visayas. It is considered a Bisakol language, meaning a language intermediate between Visayan languages and Bicolano languages.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by M.A.C. Villamor
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © M.A.C. Villamor
Adapted from ‘The Dragon’ in Sulu Studies 2. Rixhon ed. 1973.
The Imprisoned Naga Illustration by Julius Arboleda
