*Note this story is in Cebuano

Kahay imong gihunahuna na ang mga isda kanunay na ingon ana, ug sa pipila ka mga kaso ikaw sakto. Apan naay gainusarang isda sa tanan, siya ang Hari sa mga isda ug siya gapuyo sa lawom luyo sa mga bawod, gamit iyahang gahom aron magmando sa lawom nga tugkaran sa lawod.

 

Kadaghanan sa mga tawo nakalimot na ang Hari tahuron ug ilimod ang angay kaniya, apan sa kadugayan ilang nakat-unan na wa’y pagbali sa pagpanumpa aron mahimong tahuron.

Adunay usa ka magtiayon na ginganlang Juan ug Juana nga nakat-unan pag-ayo ang pagtulun-an. Nagpuyo sila sa baybayon ug nagpaabot sa paglabay sa panahon nga grasyahan sila og anak.

Sa wa magdugay, mipahiyom ang swerte sulod sa pipila ka mga tuig ug mapun-an usab ang ilahang pamilya.

Atol sa pagmabdos ni Juana nangala kini ug bangus aron kan-on. Si Juan nga maalagaron nga bana muadto og layong lawod aron makapanagat sa isda nga gipangita sa iyang asawa.

Unya miabot ang adlaw na wa’y kuhang bangus sa iyang pukot si Juan. Galingkod sa iyang bangka, gasagmuyo naghunahuna nga wa’y bitbit alang sa iyang asawa.

Gawas sa kahilom usa ka tingog ang mitawag kang Juan. Milingi kini ug sa iyang pagkatingala Nakita ang usa ka bangus nga gasul-ob og korona.

Nagpaila ang bangus sa kaugalingon isip Hari sa mga Isda ug nangutana nganong bangus lamang ang gipangita ni Juan. Natingala kini og nganong nagkaminos ang mga sakop niini sa lawod.

Pagpatim-aw ni Juan nga mabdos ang iyang asawa ug nangala kini og bangus kada adlaw. Iyaha pu’ng giasoy ang kasubo mahitungod niini.

“Ayaw kabalaka,” asoy sa Hari sa mga Isda, “Hatagan tika sa tanang bangus nga imong kinahanglan, apan suklian nimo kini sa paghatag sa imong anak pag-edad niini ug pito ka tuig.”

Makita sa nawong ni Juan ang pagkakugang. Tinuod di niya mahatag ang iyang anak ngadto sa Hari sa mga isda, apan iya pu’ng gihunahuna ang iyang asawa, destrosar na walay bitbit. Tempo pa nga nihit ang bangus ug walay kasayuran si Juan nga makakuha ba kini og bangus nga siya ra ug walay tabang gumikan sa Hari sa mga Isda.

Sa kataposan, misugot si Juan sa uyon sa Hari sa mga Isda ug, tinuod sa iyang mga gipamulong, gihatagan niya si Juan og daghang bangus nga di mayhap. Sa kadaghan niini, padayon gihapon iyang pagbitbit niini pagkahuman og panganak ni Juana.

Ginganlan nila ang bata og “Maria” ug ilaha kining gihigugma pag-ayo. Pagtungtong sa babayeng bata sa enad nga siyete, nagpakiluoy si Juan sa Hari sa mga Isda nga buhian sila sa gipanaad. Ang Hari walay lubaylubay ug miingon kini, “Ang saad, saad.”

Ug ang usa ka hari di angay balibaran.

Miuli si Juan nga nagupok ang kasingkasing. Sugod atong adlawa, gidid-an ni Juan ug Juana ang ilang pinanggang anak na muduol sa dagat.

Kana, hangtod miabot ang usa ka adlaw, samtang nanglaba sina Juan ug Juana sa may suba. Adunay miabot na masilakon nga bangka. Sa pagkahalangdon niini, gitapokan kini sa mga tawo aron masuta ang maanyag na panan-awon. Si Maria nga gitukmod sa iyang pagkamapaniiron, miuban sa panon sa katawhan paingon sa baybayon.

Sa kalit lang, usa ka dakong bawod ang paingon sa baybayon ug gidala si Maria.

Mituratoy ang katawhan paingon kang Juan ug Juana aron sultihan sa panghitabo, apan umawi na ang tanan. Nasayod ang duha nga gikuha sa Hari sa mga Isda si Maria.

Bisan pa, ang ilang paghiguma sa anak nagpabiling lig-on, matag gabie sulod sa daghang panuigon ila kining huwaton sa may baybayon ug naghinaot nga makita ang panagway sa ilang anak nga si Maria.

Ug ang ilang pag-ampo gidungog sulod sa kahayag sa bulan diin Nakita nila ang usa ka babaye nga ang lawas Katunga babae ug ang Katunga bangus. Sa usa ka paniplat sa taas nga itom na buhok niini, ilang naamgohan nga mao kini ang nahilayo nilang anak, na karon sa kahangtoran paghisakop sa mga bawod.

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English Version

Maybe you think that fishes were always the way they are, and in some cases you would be right. But there is one fish above all others, he is the King of Fishes and he lives deep beneath the waves, using his authority to govern the deep fathoms of the oceans.
 
Most humans forget that the King is royalty and seek to deny him his due, but they learn eventually that there is no breaking an oath made to a royal.
 
There is the tale of a couple named Juan and Juana that learned this lesson all too well. They lived by the seaside and waited through the seasons to be blessed with a child.
Fortune smiled upon them after many years and they were finally expecting a new addition to their family.
 
During the pregnancy Juana would crave bangus (milkfish) to eat. Juan was a faithful husband and would go far out to sea to catch the fish his wife enjoyed.
 
Then came a day when Juan was unable to find any bangus in his nets. He sat in his boat, crestfallen at the prospect of coming home empty handed to his wife.
 
Out of the silence a lone voice called for Juan. He turned around and was surprised to find a bangus with a crown.
The bangus introduced himself as the King of Fishes and asked why Juan fished only for bangus. He wondered why he would see less and less of his subjects in the water.
 
Juan explained that his pregnant wife craved bangus every day. He related his sorrow surrounding his empty catch.
“Fear not,” said the King of Fishes, “I will provide you with all the bangus you will ever need, but in return you must give your child to me when it turns seven years old.”
 
Juan’s face flashed with shock. Surely he couldn’t give away his firstborn child to the King of Fishes, yet he thought to his wife, devastated that Juan would come up empty. It was the season in which bangus was scarce and Juan didn’t know if he would be able to catch any without the King of Fishes’ help.
 
Juan eventually agreed to the King of Fishes’ terms and, true to his word, the King supplied Juan with more bangus than he could count. So bountiful was Juan’s catch that he continued to bring home bangus even after Juana had given birth.
They named the child “Maria” and they loved her very much. When the girl turned seven Juan begged the King of Fishes to release them from his promise. The King of Fishes did not waver and only said, “A promise is a promise.”
 
And a king will not be denied.
 
Juan returned home, his heart shattered into a million pieces. That day both Juan and Juana forbade their lovely daughter to go near the sea.
 
That is, until one day, when Juan and Juana were doing laundry by the river. There came a magnificent boat. So majestic it was that people gathered to the seaside to take in the beautiful sight. Maria, pushed by her curiosity, joined the people by the seaside.
 
In an instant, a giant wave rushed to the shore and dragged Maria out to sea.
 
The people rushed to Juan and Juana and told them about what happened, but it was too late. They both knew that the King of Fishes had taken Maria.
Still, their love for their daughter was strong, every night for years they would stay by the shore in the hopes of catching the merest vision of Maria.
 
And their prayers were answered on a moonlit night when they saw a woman whose body was half woman and half bangus. One glimpse of her long, black hair and they knew that it was their long lost daughter, now forever belonging to the waves.
 
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*The Cebuano language, alternatively called Cebuan and also often colloquially albeit informally referred to by most of its speakers simply as Bisaya (“Visayan”, not to be confused with other Visayan languages nor Brunei Bisaya language), is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 21 million people, mostly in Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas and most parts of Mindanao, most of whom belong to various Visayan ethnolingusitic groups, mainly the Cebuanos. It is the by far the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages, which are in turn part of wider the Philippine languages. The reference to the language as Bisaya is not encouraged anymore by linguists due to the many languages within the Visayan language group that may be confused with the term.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Dominic Gonzaga Quilantang
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Dominic Gonzaga Quilantang
 
Adapted from “The Mermaid” in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
 
The King of Fishes Illustration by Pia BMorante

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