Yang Itlog / The Egg

Folklore by | October 7, 2007

Narrated in Mandaya by Lucia Minglana, 83 years old, Baganga, Davao Oriental

Awon mag-asawa na yaminyo ng diyes ka tuig way anak. Pagkuan yangayo silan ng anak sang ginoo. Pagkautaw ing yautaw kay itlog. Ibutang nilan sang lundan ing itlog kay yasawaing silan nangasa itlog ing ihatag. Duon yutogpa yang agila gikan sang mataasay na butay. Ida naan yang itlog sang bukid. Pag- alindu doon yahimo na otaw yang itlog. Gwapahay na bubay.

Duon awon anak ng hari yaniro ng langgam pagkatimprano. Yakaabot yaan nganidto na lugar. Ihangad ng prisipe yang bubay doon kyagustohan man naan. Doon laong ng hari, ‘Tuntuni ako ng buhok mo’ kay ibaton man ng agia yang bubay ngadto taas. Doon yukadto silan ngadto taas apil ing agila. “Daha ing ama mo na hari para pag-istoryahan ta yag kamayo kasal” laong ng agila. Ikadtuhan dayon ng prinsipe yang hari. Iistoryahan naan yang ama naan. Yukadto dayon silan ng kanaan ama. Ipyag-istoryahan dayon nilan ing kasal.

Pagkasal yang agila yutambong. Iimbitar tanan. Duon yagtiyab da ing hari. Iistorya naan yang kaagi ng ya0asawa ng anak naan. Doun pagkadungog sidtong mag-asawa yagdumdom silan kay silan da sa ing awon anak na itlog. Yaghankupan yang mag-asawa. Kita da sa laong ing yanganak ng itlog. Pagkasayod ng hari ipatibo dayon silan sang kanaan palasyo. Idto da agaw silan maghuya.

English translation: There was once a married couple who remained childless for ten years. They asked for a child from god, who gave them an egg. The couple placed the egg in a “lundan,” a big basket, which they placed on a mountaintop. An eagle came and snatched the egg. When dusk came, a beautiful lady came out of the egg.

In the morning, the son of the king came hunting for birds. He reached the mountain and was dumbfounded to see a beautiful girl in a high castle on the mountain. The prince asked the lady to let down her hair so he could climb up. The eagle arrived and told the prince to bring his father, the king, so they could talk about marriage. The prince went to his father immediately and told him the plan. The king went with him to the eagle, and they talked about the wedding.

Everyone was invited to the wedding. When the king gave his speech, he narrated to the people the story of his daughter-in-law. The old couple, who asked for a child, now realized that the lady was their egg. The king, upon knowing the truth, decided to let the couple stay with him in the palace. So the couple lived in the palace forever.

(Source: Janice Manguiob, Karl Raymund Austria, Ronald Jay Rama. “Mandaya Folktales of Baganga,” unpublished undergraduate thesis, Ateneo de Davao University 2004)

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