“LEGENDS”

 The Legend of Tamboan

 How Kabanawan Got Its Name
 The Hunter and His Dog
 The Legend of Banao Lake
 How the Barrio of Payeo Got Its Name
 “The Legend of Tamboan”

Before the Spanish time, there lived a man in Bana-ao named

Balisongen. He was too poor so every day he had to go to Madagem to earn
food for his family. One day, on his way to Madagem, he rested on top of the
hill in Bantey. There he saw a shining thing which looked like fold on the other
side. He tried to find his way to reach that place where the shining thing was.
As he went near the place, he found out it was water coming from the
stone. The next day, he started cleaning some part of the land for him to build a
house.
The other people discovered that it was a nice place to stay. They
helped Balisongen and they also built their houses. Their source of water was
the water coming out from the stone. When somebody took a bath or washed
something they used the word, “Tambuwam na.” the place had no name yet, so
they called it Tamboan.
 “How Kabanawan Got Its Name”
Banawan was a famous hunter in Tamboan. He had a dog named Kasiyana. He was lucky
when he went hunting. One day, when Banawan and his dog were coming home from a hunt, his dog
disappeared. He called and called for his dog but his dog did not come back. Banawan went home
alone.
The following day, Banawan went back to the forest to look for his dog. Soon he found him busy
scratching the ground. The ground was wet as if there was water. Banawan helped Kasiyana dig the
ground. Suddenly, water came out of the hole. The water coming out became stronger. Banawan went
home to tell the people of Tamboan about the spring.
Soon, people of Tamboan and nearly places went to live in the place. The people made rice
terraces because there was plenty of water.
Then the people named the place Kabanawan, in honor of Banawan and his dog Kasiyana.
Kabanawan is a place of purely rice fields. The people built their built their houses above the rice fields
and the sitio is now called Dandanac, Tamboan.
 

“The Hunter and His Dog”

Long time ago, there lived a hunter with his dog. One day, they went to hunt at the mountain. On
their way, they got so hungry and thirsty but they don’t have any water to drink. They stopped at a
mountain and the dog can barely walk because of tiredness. The dog was so thirsty that it started to dig
the soil where they were resting. Luckily, there was a water inside the hole. Its tongue couldn’t reach to
lap the water so it dipped its tail for it to get wet. It licked its tail until its energy got replenished.
That is the story of a mountain and the dog’s owner named it as Kotkot-aso, Kotkot means
digging with through the use of hands. Until now, there is still water flowing from the top of the
mountain.
 
 
Source: Jeannifer Guesaed
Translated to English by: Kate Macalingay
 “The Legend of Lake Banao”
Long time ago, the people of Maeng, Abra, suffered a famine. Maeng is a barrio located on the
boundary between the Mountain Province and Abra. One day, a woman and her daughter started out
with a pig to barter for something to eat. They travelled for two days. They were so tired that they rested
on a plateau between Sagada and Besao. While they were resting, the pig squealed. Then an old
woman appeared and asked them where they were going. They answered that they were going to find
something to eat. The old woman requested them, if they were willing, to remove her lice. Without
hesitation, the woman and her daughter began to remove her lice. They were surprised to find that her
lice were really snakes, centipedes and other poisonous insects, but they said nothing. Soon they had
picked them all off.
Then the old woman invited them to her house for lunch. They were again surprised to find that
her utensils were the following - a human palm was used for a plate, the pot was a human skull, and
the ladle was made of human bones. Still they did not show they had noticed anything strange and did
not say a word. After they had eaten, the old woman told them to follow her to her gabi (taro) field. She
gave them whatever they could carry, including some bundles of palay (unthreshed rice). She told them
that the gabi and palay would last them until the next harvest, almost five months away.
When the woman and her daughter got home, they put the palay in the granary, and were
surprised to see it filled the whole place. They put the gabi in the house, and it filled up all the empty
spaces. Their neighbors were surprised to hear what had happened, and asked about the story behind
it. One of the neighbors called her daughter and they started out to try their luck. When they reached
the resting place, they rested and made their pig squeal. Thereupon the old woman appeared and
requested them as she had requested the first traveler. Afraid and too squeamish to touch the
centipedes and snakes, these new travelers screamed and wouldn't pick the lice. The old woman did
not show any disappointment, but invited them to her house for lunch. The strangers accepted the
invitation, but when they were served in such strange utensils, they again showed signs of
squeamishness and wouldn't eat. Then the old woman took them to her gabi field and told them to take
as much as they could carry. They were so greedy that they carried almost more than they could.When
they got to the place just above the site of the present lakes, the old woman said, "For your greediness
and impoliteness, you will become lakes so that people will see you whenever they travel this road."
Then the woman became the bigger lake and her daughter became the smaller lake.
Nowadays travelers can see these lakes between Sagada and Besao. They are called Mother
Lake and Daughter Lake.
 

“MYTHS”
 The First Man and Woman  A Myth about the Thunder
 The Spring at Mangando   The Pinading in Batbato
 The Origin of Rice  The Story of Enak-akob
 Why We Have Mountains  The Man Who Fought with the
Lightning and the Thunder
 The Stone that Fathered A Child
 How the Climate Changed
 The Story of the Palis
 “The First Man and Woman”

Long ago the world did not appear as it is now. There was nothing that could be seen. God,
Lumawig, created the earth and the water. Now, the earth and the water were not on good terms. They
were envious of one another. The earth wanted to occupy all the places occupied by the water, and the
water wanted the same. Neither of them would give in.

One time the water rose up angrily, throwing itself over the land. It was the first great storm, and
the earth was greatly changed in shape. The earth was very discontented and avenged itself against
the attack by the water by throwing big rocks and stones, and trembled in anger. That was the origin of
earthquake.

Lumawig felt bad when he saw what the water and the earth had done. He said, "There must be
peace between the earth and the water. Let there be light!“ At once the sun appeared and there was
peace. That was the first day of light. God then ordered that there should be darkness and instantly
there was darkness. The moon and the stars were seen. It was the first night. Then God created the
plants and the animals of different kinds.

God noticed that all that he had created was not enough. He saw the need of a man of his own
figure to take care of the animals. Therefore he moulded a clay figure with his own appearance, and
God blessed the figure and breathed forth the breath of life. That was the first man and he was named
Gatan. Gatan lived with the animals and took good care of them.

But Gatan was very lonely with the animals, and God knew that he was unhappy. He told Gatan
to sleep, and he did. God then removed one of his ribs and put it into some molded clay. He blessed
the clay and a woman was formed. She was Bangan.

God then woke up Gatan and said, "Here is Bangan. Take good care of her and you will no
longer be lonely." Gatan and Bangan were the first man and woman in the world.

 
 “The Spring at Mangando”

Mangando is a mountain above Ilian, a purok of Dandanac, Tamboan. In this mountain is a

spring that supplies the village with water up to this time.
In the olden days, an old woman was often seen roaming at Mangamdo. The people wondered
who she was since nobody among them knew where she came from. Some tried to go near to befriend
her but she disappeared unknowingly.
Since water in Ilian was not plentiful, a small boy got a bucket and climbed the mountain of
Mangando to look for water. It became dark but he hadn’t found any water so he decided to go home.
Since he couldn’t see his way home, he sat down at the foot of a big stone and chanted, “Old woman of
Mangando, please change me into water to help villagers of the place below.”
The following day, some old folks went to look for the boy but they couldn’t find him. Instead,
they saw the water flowing from the big stone which was not there before. Then they believed that the
old woman changed him into water so they went back and told the community what happened.
 “The Origin of Rice”

Long ago the people of Besao did not have any rice. Their main food was camote. One day the
goddess Meg-ey took pity on the people of Besao for having only camotes as their main food, and
came down to earth dressed in ragged clothes. People who saw her passed her by and didn't bother to
talk to her.
Then it happened that a young woman by the name of Calindo saw this woman. She was on her
way to dig camotes. She asked the ragged woman why she was just sitting by the wayside. The ragged
woman answered that she was waiting for somebody to give her something to eat, and that she was
very hungry.
Calindo was a good-hearted girl so she gave her all the cooked camotes that she had with her.
When Meg-ey had finished eating, she asked where Calindo was going. Calindo answered that she
was going out to dig camotes for her three-month-old baby. The ragged woman asked if she could go
along and get some camotes, too, but Calindo at first politely refused since the field was only a few
square meters large, but then she said she might follow. So Calindo and the goddess went to the
camote field.
When they got to the field, Meg-ey said, "For all your kindness and hardship, I touch this weed
that it may become pagey (rice grains)." The weed turned into palay, and then Meg-ey said, "Calindo,
take this home and one grain will be enough to cook a big pot full. Get some of the other grains and
sow them in the kaingin."
So that was what Calindo did, and that was the beginning of rice in Besao
 “Why We Have Mountains”

A long time ago when Kabunyan made the world, he made it flat. He was greatly satisfied with
his creation - with all the plants and trees growing all on the same level. The people, too, thought they
had a very nice world to live in. When the people began to have children, the children would gather
together and play "Hide and Seek." The children would go to hide behind some bushes or trees, and
the other children, looking for them, would unknowingly wander far off in their efforts to find their
playmates.

Many times these children would get lost and could not find their way home. Their parents
would also join the search for the children, and would get lost, too. As others would join the search,
more people would get lost. The old men gathered together for a conference about this. They offered
sacrifices to Kabunyan and prayed to him to find a remedy so that people, especially the children,
would not get lost even if they wandered far from their homes. Kabunyan heard their prayers and he
sympathized with the plight of his people. He stamped his mighty foot on the ground and, lo’ and
behold!, there appeared mountains of various sizes. Since then people have not been getting lost even
if they wander far from their homes
 “The Stone that Fathered a Child”

Once upon a time there was an old man named Lumawigan. He once went to the river to take a
bath and he saw two women, young women, washing clothes, so he went upstream to bathe. He
noticed that one of the women was very beautiful. He took a pretty round stone and made a mark on it;
then he rolled it down to where the women were. The beautiful woman, whose name was Bogan, saw
the pretty stone and picked it up, and tucked it under her belt. Because the stone was so beautiful, she
prized it highly, and carried it about with her wherever she went.

After a few days, Bogan became pregnant, and only a week later delivered a healthy baby boy.
She named him Liwan. Every time she bathed him she would whisper, "Grow up fast so you can go and
find your father." In a few months he grew up into a handsome young man. Bogan got a gabi leaf and
beat it on a stone, and it became a G-string for Liwan. She got a banana leaf and beat it on the stone,
too, and it became a beautiful blanket for Liwan.

One day there was a festival dance in the barrio. Bogan and her son Liwan went to attend the
dance. When Liwan went to dance, the ground seemed to move as if following his movements. Now,
Lumawigan, who had rolled down that stone that had made Bogan pregnant, was one of the spectators.
He was delighted with the dancing of the handsome young man so he inquired from a woman sitting
near him who he was. The woman replied, "He is my son, but we are still looking for his father.

One day when I was washing clothes I saw a very pretty stone, so I picked it up and hid it under
my belt. In a few days I became pregnant and in only a week delivered a child - the one you see
dancing there now." The man laughed loud and long and said, "What a lucky man I am! I was the man
who rolled the stone down - the stone that made you pregnant." Then he went and embraced Liwan,
and the son found his father, the father found his son. They went to live in the middle of the barrio and
became the richest family.

 
 “The Story of the Palis”

Once upon a time there were two brothers. They were orphans and there was nobody to care
for them. The older boy was Bogatan and the younger one was Atombangi. One day they decided to
drown themselves in the river, for there was no use trying to live uncared for.
In the river, they met a man all tied up with vines and weeds. This man was Mr. Ageo (the sun).
Mr. Ageo asked, "Will you please be so kind as to remove these vines and weeds from around my
body? I cannot move because of them." The boys did what they were asked to, and, after removing the
vines and weeds, they were surprised to see thorns between his teeth, earthworms in his ears, and big
bugs in his long hair! They also removed these things, and then requested Mr. Ageo to eat them. "What,
with all your kindness," answered Ageo, "I would not dare eat you, however, if you really want to be
eaten, you may go to my brother Bowan (the moon) on the other side of the mountain. He will be willing
to eat you."
The boys started for the other side of the mountain. Over the river was a crocodile-bridge. They
were terribly afraid because the crocodile was so ferocious. But when the boys got nearer, the crocodile
kept very still, so they went over it. They soon came to Bowan's house, but unluckily Bowan had gone
to hunt, so they only met his wife, Baglan. They asked Baglan to eat them, but she told them to wait for
her husband. She told them to hide under some vats while waiting for Bowan. When Bowan came
home, he brought deer, pig, fowl and human flesh. His wife told him of the boys who wanted to be
eaten. Bowan invited them to eat first before being eaten. Their food consisted of the different kinds of
meat brought home by Bowan. The boys ate only the deer meat as they were afraid to eat the human
flesh.
After they had eaten, Bowan told the boys to climb a bamboo tree nearby. When the boys were
up in the tree, Bowan called for a storm that lasted all night. The next day he was surprised to find that
the boys were still alive in the bamboo tree. He ordered the storm to stop, and called the boys down.
They were weak and haggard, and their skin looked like the scales of a fish.Bowan said, "You will have
long life because you know how to protect yourselves, so I will not kill you. Go home and find a
bracelet, headband, armlet and necklace. You will need them in your prayer to the Palis (a spirit that
helps sick people get well), and then your domestic animals will be healthy."
So on their way home they got a pig's tusk for a bracelet, a rooster's tail feathers for their
headband, a horse's mane for their armlets, and a crocodile tusk for making a necklace. They caught a
rooster on the way to be sacrificed to the Palis. When they reached home, they killed the rooster and
cooked the meat. After cooking it, they put it on a place and put the armlet, headband, bracelet and
necklace around it. They related their story to the Palis, who seemed to be in front of them. A few days
later they began to get robust, and their animals increased day by day.
Up until the present time, the people still practice the pagan prayer, and sacrifice chicken, for
the sick to get well.
 
“A Myth about the Thunder”

Long, long ago, the thunder and a man named Comellab had a little quarrel.
Comellab said, "Why do you strike animals and trees and people?"
The thunder replied, "Nobody can prevent me from striking anything I want anyplace. I can even
crack rocks."
"I will do something to prevent you from striking people and animals. Then you will oldy strike
the rocks and mountains."
So Comellab took some ginger, seashells, pepper and human skulls and burned them together.
The thunder and his family up in heaven thought they were suffocating. They began to have all sorts of
skin diseases and stomach ache. When they could not stand the pain any longer, Mr. Thunder came
down to earth.
When he met Comellab he said, "Now that you have been so cruel I won't show you any
consideration at all. I will make a loud noise to frighten you and your people." This is the reason the
thunder has such a loud noise and strikes trees, animals and people as it passes by.

“The Pinading in Batbato”

Batbato is a place overlooking Tamboan. In Batbato are two big stones where the Pinading lived
before. The Pinading with their children had been giving gabay to the farmers of Tamboan which gave
them plentiful harvest.
When the place was burned, the Pinading went to Mt. Mugao in Kin-iway. From that time, the
Pinading gave gabay also to the Payeo farmers that made them rich in palay production. At the same
time, the people of Tamboan suffered a kind of disease for some number of years which they believed
was punishment for burning Batbato. The Pinading family disappeared in Batbato and never returned.

 “The Story of Enak-akob”

Long time ago, a Kabunyan lived in Enak-akob. He played with people only when somebody
celebrated their wedding and cañao.
One day, a person died in Ilyan. The Kabunyan went but the people didn’t like him. The old folks
thought of what to do with their visitor. A man then collected the pus dripping from the dead person and
gave it to the Kabunyan which he drank right away, then started for home, he would be seen in his way
home because of his shining cane.
 The Kabunyan reached home thinking of what to do with the people of Ilyan for giving him the
pus of a dead person. The Kabunyan then released the buso (headhunter) to attack the people of Ilyan.
All the people of Ilyan died and the Kabunyan was no longer to be seen.

 
“The Man Who Fought with the Lightning
and the Thunder”

In the eastern part of Agawa is a high cliff. Malot, a strong man, built his house near the foot of
this cliff. One day Malot went out to hunt. On his way he saw a big snake crossing the path in front of
him. A few meters from that spot he saw a big lizard crossing his path from right to left. Malot knew that
this was a bad omen, therefore he returned home without delay. Just then, a heavy rain began to fall.
The rain forced Malot to walk faster than usual. Just as he was about to reach his home, the earth
trembled. The hills and mountains seemed to fall. There was an earthquake.

Suddenly there was flash of lightning followed by the roar of the thunder. Malot's house was
struck by lightning and set on fire. This made Malot very angry. He armed himself with his sharp bolo,
which was called delopa; He went to the cave to wait for the lightning and thunder to return.When the
lightning and thunder returned, he shouted, "Ba-os ka ay kido!” with his bolo up in the air. The lightning
flashed here and there, and everywhere. It was followed by the roar of the thunder all over the land.
Malot jumped high with his sharp delopa to cut the lightning. Then he hid himself in the cave. the next
time the lightning and thunder appeared,

Malot thrust his bolo up into the air and a tooth of the thunder dropped down. Malot got the tooth
of the thunder and used it to sharpen his bolo. Not long after that, Malot got sick, His neighbors
gathered in their council house to solve the matter. They decided to have a cañao to cure Malot's
sickness, so they did. They butchered a pig near the cave where he had fought with the lightning and
the thunder.

They sprinkled the pig's blood at the opening of the cave. They begged the lightning and
thunder to let the sickness of Malot be cured. They prayed to God to spare their barrio from the
destruction of earthquakes and lightning. The cave is named Dogudogan. It is used now for keeping the
dead in. The remains of Malot and some other men are there. The tooth of the thunder is now in the
possession of a man who is the official keeper of a sacred basket called takba.

 
 

“How the Climate Changed”

Once upon a time there lived in Agawa a man named Padogan. Padogan had a wife and three
children - two boys and one girl. The boys were Altaban and Boliban, while their sister was Bangan.
One day Padogan prepared a wide rice seedbed. After he sowed the seeds, he called his three
children. He showed the seedlings to them and said, "This is your seedbed. Divide it equally among
yourselves, and then each of you must take care of your own seedlings."Altaban, the eldest, said, "All
the seedlings are mine. I'm the eldest, therefore I ought to inherit all the seedbed and the seedlings."
The second brother answered, "If you aim to have all the seedlings, you alone will live and the rest of
us will die of hunger. Suppose the seedlings will all be mine, while you two divide the seedbed."The
sister was sorry to hear how her brothers were arguing. They were both being selfish. She said, "Let
the seedbed and the seedling be divided equally among all three of us so that each of us will have an
equal chance to make a living." But the two brothers did not give up their arguments. They both insisted
on their own ideas. Padogan was sorry about this trouble between his children, and he said “If you
continue this quarrelling and quarrelling without using any common sense, all of us will die. This is so
because the weather will not change so the plants will not grow. It's always cold and windy; our plants
are about to wither away."

So Padogan offered a sacrifice. He built a fire and took one of his fat chickens, killed it, and
when it was cooked, prayed to God Lumawig, the creator of heaven and earth and of all things found in
the universe; to help him in his troubles. Padogan's prayer reached the God's ear. God understood
Padogan's wish. God said, "You are a mature man. Your first and second children's wishes arc not
good. Your daughter's wish was perfect equality among all three. With that, Lumawig ordered the wind
to gather all the clouds. The clouds struck one another and rain fell out. That was the beginning of the
rainy season.

Padogan was very happy and they planted all the seedlings in their field. The rice plants grow
fast. When they were about to bear heads, God stopped the rain. The weather changed. It was now the
beginning of the dry season. Padogan soon harvested his palay and his children never quarreled
anymore. The three seasons are now the rainy season, the windy cold season, and the dry season.

 
 “REALISTIC
STORIES”
 Atobang  Gomgomiki
 Goliban and Beklat  The Unforgettable Baby
 The Man Struck by  Kaslangen and the Snake
Lightning  The Story of Enak-akob
 Why the Anito Can Be  Nan Istoryan di I-Bangko
Seen No More
 “Atobang”

Long time ago, there was a woman who had a son. His mother got engaged with a man from
Tamboan. Their wedding was celebrated. During the celebration, they had a parade and the bride and
were the last in the line.

As the parade was going on the boy kept on crying because he could not see his parents. His
grandmother told him, “My grandson, wait for your parents if you want because they are the last.” The
boy waited and he finally saw them. He then ran to his mother. Since the boy was always with his
mother. Because of this, he was named “Atobang”, which means one who is always following
somebody.

“Goliban and Beklat”

Long ago there was a couple, the name of the man is Kaybot and the name of the woman is
Gayban. Kaybot is from Bangko while Gayban is from Alayan. They got married and went to live in
Bangko. They are blessed with a twin named Goliban and Beklat, which is a boa constructor. When
they were born, the mother was carrying Goliban in her arms while the other stays on her lap and while
growing up, Beklat sleeps beside Goliban’s feet

Goliban grew up as a maiden, and so with Beklat. The people who saw Beklat got scared so his
parents built a place for him to stay under their house, because his size was like a huge wok when he
sleeps.

When Beklat was already big enough, he often leaves their house to hunt for deers which he
coils his body around it to bring it home. Then he goes to Candon to look for salt and clay pots. One
man said that Beklat is good because he looks for salt to use at the deer that he brought home.

Later on, he started bringing home cows and carabao which were owned by other people so his
parents would often change and pay for the cattle. Then his father said, “You are a vandal.” His father
went with him and sent him to Pingat where there is a deep cave.

From that day onwards, his grandchildren would get scabies every time they would not call out
his attention to leave when the place is caught on fire. When someone gets the scabies, they need to
bring chicken and salted meat to the place to offer him in order for the sick person to get well. They go
to the mountain of Bayasan and look down to call for him.

Source: Veronica Guesaed

Translated in English by: Kate Macalingay

“Why the Anito Can be Seen No More”

Long time ago, the anito, so they say, used to live like human beings. They mixed, played and
chatted with people. They even formed their own community where they segregated themselves. In the
village of Agawa, it was said that the anitos often come out in band especially in certain seasons of the
year when people performed their merry-makings, traditions, and other celebrations. They would come
out to tease or make fun of anyone in the village. They would hide clothes of the people bathing in
rivers or creeks, hide the food of farmers working in the fields, and catch anybody whom they meet on
the way and would release them long after.
One day, Dokiling, a man from Nabago, Agawa, went to his payew in Ambagiw- a village on the
other side of the mountains. He worked the whole day long, and in his hurry to finish his task, he forgot
all about the time. He soon realized that he was the only one left in the field, as the others have left
already. As always, he dreaded being alone on the way home as he feared the possibility of meeting an
anito who might make fun of him. As it was, he knew that he had to be brave so that he could get home.
He was determined to fight any anito who would attempt to molest him. Thus, it happened that in a
certain place called Balaan, Dokiling saw someone hopping, jumping and dancing on top of a big stone
overlooking the payew in Eg-ew, Longso, and Sap-say.
He immediately recognized it as an anito. While dancing, Dokiling heard the anito chanting.
“Dissos-so, dissos-so, sana day ap-od Longso;
Dissa-say, dissas-say, sana day ap-od Sap-say;
Disse-sew, disse-sew, sana day apod, Eg-ew.”
At first, Dokiling hesitated to continue his way home for fear of being seen and caught should
there be another anito nearby. Gathering his courage and clutching his gayang (spear), he cautiously
moved towards the disappearing figure of the dancing anito. Enraged from previous experience, he
decided to take the offense. He approached the anito from behind and struck him with his spear. Taking
no chances for another anito to spot him, Dokiling ran home as fast as he could.
The following morning, he went to the dap-ay to call for someone to help him to go to Balaan.
He told the men at the dap-ay that he had killed a wild pig. The men agreed to accompany him. Upon
reaching the spot where the anito was struck Dokiling was astonished to find no remnants of the anito.
Instead, on the spot where he saw the anito fall, there stood a big fern tree with his spear on its trunk.
Dokiling remained silent for a moment, and then he related the whole story to his companions. He
revealed that he speared an anito and not a wild pig.
 From that time on, the anito had become invisible. The tree fern is now believed to be the
remnant of a dead anito.
 

“The Man Struck by Lightning”

Once upon a time there lived a man in Agawa called Bagsalay. One day he went to the woods
to gather fuel. It rained hard on his way home. On his way he kept shouting, "Cota porao, cota garit,"
which was a common saying for the prevention of destruction by lightning. Cota porao means "Come,
my white dog," while Cota garit means "Come, my striped dog."

When he reached his yard, he immediately put down his load of firewood. Suddenly the
lightning flashed. It struck Bagsalay, and he was split into pieces.

His wife, who happened to be in the house at the time, was amazed to see her husband's body
split into pieces and scattered around in the yard, but she kept quiet. It was not long before another
flash of lightning happened.

The wife saw the lightning in the form of a big smoke. It gathered up the scattered parts of her
husband's body and slowly put them together again. In that way Bagsalay came to life again.Bagsalay
and his wife were grateful to God Lumawig so they gave him a sacrifice. They butchered a pig when
they had the caniao, an offering to God.

At present, whenever lightning strikes an object within the territory of the barrio, the old men of
the barrio, led by the village priest, or mamakdo, go to offer a sacrifice or cañao in the place where the
object was struck by lightning.

  

“The Unforgettable Baby”

Long years ago, there was a baby boy born from very poor parents in Tamboan. He was named
Al-lan.

One day when Al-lan was seven months old, he got very ill. Then he stopped breathing so his
parents, together with their neighbors, thought he was dead. His body was placed in a big jar, ready to
be buried. One of the men presented to carry the jar with the supposed dead baby to the burial place.
On the way, the man carrying the big pot felt that the baby was moving his hands with his pair of
bracelets. The man brought down the pot and found out that the baby was still alive. The man and the
other people with him brought back the baby home. His parents were very happy. They cried for joy.

The baby grew healthy and strong. Later, h married an heir to many rice paddies in Tubo,
Tamboan. They lived happily for more than a hundred years according to the old folks.

“Gomgomiki”

Once upon a time, there lived a couple at Bonboni, Tamboan. They had a son named
Gomgomiki. One day, his parents went to the fields to work. They did not want Gomgomiki to
go with them but he insisted. He followed them crying.

Every time his parents stopped to wait for him, Gomgomiki would stop, sit down and
continue crying. His parents proceeded to the fields. Meanwhile, Gomgomiki had reached the
house of Anani, a witch who heard his cries. Anani called for him and told him to stay with her.
Gomgomiki agreed and so he stayed with Anani.When his parents went home, they found their
son gone. After some months, the aggey ripened. (The aggey is a cereal with a hard husk.)
Anani told Gomgomiki, “Go and look for food.”

Gomgomiki went to where his parents planted aggey. He harvested one chupa. Then he
went to the cave where his parents usually rested and crushed opened the aggey. While
working he chanted, ”Wa-ay kanan yo ay kosili nan en men gongki-gongki, aggey yod Indawili
dampayet si Gomgomiki. ” (Maybe you think it is the bird, Kosili that is crushing and harvesting
your grain in Indawili but it is Gomgomiki.) He repeated this five times.

The following day, when his parents went to the fields, they found their aggey almost
consumed. They asked each other, “Who is getting our aggey?”

The father decided to watch the field at night to catch who is stealing their plants. That
night, Anani told Gomgomiki to go and gather food again. As usual, he went to where his
parents’ field was. He gathered aggey again and then went to the cave. While crushing the
seeds, he chanted. His father heard him. He followed where the voice came from. He found his
son Gomgomiki in the cave. His father fed him and said, “Come and I will carry you on my
back.”
 “No, I will not go with you,’ said Gomgomiki. “Anani might see me.”

His father told him, “We will not pass by her home.”

The father and son went home. His mother was very happy. She embraced Gomgomiki
and said, “Where have you been my child?” Gomgomiki told the story.

“Kaslangen and the Snake”

There was a man named Kaslangen who lived in Kuwangi. One day, when he opened
his rice granary, he was so frightened because he saw a big snake sleeping on top of the
palay. He immediately closed his granary and wondered how the snake entered.

In the late afternoon, he went to Mayeg and told him what he found in his granary.
Mayeg said to Kaslangen, “Don’t kill that snake. It might give you good fortune. Go and butcher
a chicken in your granary then give a piece of meat and a little wine to the snake.” Kaslangen
obeyed what Mayeg told him.

Years passed, Kaslangen’s granary was always filled with palay. He made another
granary and was filled again. So he believed that the snake gave him good fortune. Until now,
he has five granaries all filled with palay.

“The Story of Enak-akob”

Long time ago, a Kabunyan lived in Enak-akob. He played with people only when
somebody celebrated their wedding and cañao.

One day, a person died in Ilyan. The Kabunyan went but the people didn’t like him. The
old folks thought of what to do with their visitor. A man then collected the pus dripping from the
dead person and gave it to the Kabunyan which he drank right away, then started for home, he
would be seen in his way home because of his shining cane.
 The Kabunyan reached home thinking of what to do with the people of Ilyan for giving
him the pus of a dead person. The Kabunyan then released the buso (headhunter) to attack
the people of Ilyan. All the people of Ilyan died and the Kabunyan was no longer to be seen.

“Nan Istoryan di I-Bangko”

Ad kasin, wada kanu na lalaki ay inmili ad Bangko, nan ngadana et Anduyaw ya nan aso na ay
kangadan as Palyaw. Si Anduyaw et wada nan kalugong na ay kalaw, nan gaman na et pangkaw.

Esay agew, kanan anduyaw sin aso na, “Enta men-uma ta waday eskan ta as kakaw.
Napalabas di manu ay buwan, kanan Anduyaw ken aso na ay Palyaw, “Enta kadya ilan na esek ta ay
kakaw.” Ngem idi umey das nan kad-an di uma da, wada et nan kin ngadan as Kiyagaw ay
mangpaypayakpay sin Bungan di kakaw. Danet kanan Anduyaw ken Palyaw, “Anupan ta et nan
Kiyagaw, umey ka sin baneng di ban-aw ta depspen ta sin ban-aw.’ Dinpap da san Kiyagaw danda-et
isaa sin baey da et itak-ob da sin banga ay pingkaw.

Idi wada da sin bawi da, kanan Anduyaw ken Palyaw, “Ta ibilag ko nan pagey sina ta as
masdem sata pay sumaa ay mangbayo sata pay uto-en si kaen ta.” Dandaet sumaa sin masdem,
nasdaaw tay nabayo san bileg da, nadalusan nan baey da ya nauto san kaen da. Dandaet
mensaludsod nu sinoy nangdalus ngem kanan nan sagugong da en, “Adi mi pay getken basta wada
nan dinnge mi ay kanito sin baey yo, egay mi ilan nu sino.”

Kawakgatana pay, danet ibaod Anduyaw nan aso na sin sag-en nan baey da ta sisiimen na nu
sino nan mendalus ya men-uto sin baey da. Idi sinmaa si Anduyaw, inilan anduyaw san badon Kiyagaw
ay naibabadeng sin gaygay-ed na danet depapen san ninlalabos ay si Kiyagaw.

Danet da ayagan si kiyagaw et itakin da ad Mogao ay kad-an di uma da. Inmey da sin tengngan
di mapagpag et wada na baey Anduyaw, danet kanan Anduyaw en men asawa da ken Kiyagaw ta men
ili da asnan kad-an di uma da. Danet en kalyan Kiyagaw nan ama na ya ina na et menbayo da sin
kakaw ta kapeyen da.
 Inmey da sin ili ay mabanaaw ya kanan Kiyagaw, “Men-uto tako.” Ya men uyos na kanu nan
bakkong sin dingding nan bawi da et napnu nan kandilo as inuto, danet kanan ten ta mendengdeng
danet men-uyos nan tawing sin dingding yaket napnu as dinal-dalaan nan dengdengan da, danet da
men ili sidi et umanak da et umado da.
 
 
 
“FABLES”

 The Monkey and the Fruit

 Gayang and Banyas
 Akian and Buangen
 “The Monkey and the Fruit”
Two monkeys were walking in Tabbak one day. They found a tree covered with fruits.
“See this tree,” cried one of the monkeys.
“Don’t the fruits look good? Let us gather some at once to eat.”
“No, no,” answered the other, who was a very wise monkey.
“Just think for a moment. The tree grows near the village. The fruits are ripe. If they
were good fruit, they would have been gathered. I am sure the fruits are not good to eat. Let us
leave it.
“How foolish you are,” said the other monkey.
“I am sure the fruits are good and I am going to eat some at once.”
“As you please,” answered the wise, old monkey, “but I will look for some other place for
my supper.”
The foolish monkey gathered the fruits and ate all he could. But it was his last meal
because the fruits were poisonous.

“Gayang and Banyas”

Long time ago, Gayang and Banyas were friends.one time, (Gayang is a black bird and
banyas is a monitor lizard.) Gayang told Banyas that they would tattoo one another. For
Banyas, he got charcoal, ground them and then mixed them with water and splashed the
mixture into Gayang. Banyas laughed at Gayang because he became black, “Why are you
laughing?” asked Gayang. Is my tattoo funny?”
“No, it’s beautiful,” answered Banyas, “So do it also to me.”
Banyas gathered patani (a type of edible pod) and charcoal, and he ground them well.
Gayang tattooed Banyas beautifully. Banyas laughed again and told the truth, “Your color is
very black.” Gayang got angry and tried to pick Banyas but he jumped into the water and hid
into a cave.
Gayang kept on waiting but Banyas never appeared. So Gayang flew away.
 
 “Akian and Buangen”

Akian and Buangen met one day. Akian said to Buangen, ”Let us go to Mam-is because
kidis (a type of pea) is more delicious.”

Buangen also said, “Let us go to Kaplipawen because pakawan is more delicious. “

After some time, they agreed to go to Kalipawan. While they were in Kalipawan,
somebody came and killed Buangen.

Akian then said crying, “I told you that we go to Mam-is because kidis is more delicious,
but you insisted that we go to Kalipawan because pakawan is more delicious. Now you are
dead.”
  Pingew
 Tilin
 Buwan Buwan
 Mangan Tako
 Kantan di Men-arem
 Ballitan di Kastila