Puak

An Obo Manobo folk tale in Bisaya, with English translation

Kani si Tuwaang, tao jod na siya. Ang lugar nga gipuy-an niya dri sa Arakan Valley. May abyan na siya nga gitawag nga anito. Kani iyang anito, gamhanan kaysa uban nga anito. Ug siya gitawag nga bahani. Kanang manggugubat gani, daghan ni siyag napatay. Ug wa gyoy makalabaw sa iya.

Unya sa kadugayan nga panahon, gusto sa iyang abyan nga anito, nga pasakaon na siya paingon sa langit. Daghan siyag mga kauban. Pamilya niya, mga igsoon, mga bayaw niya. Pero kinahanglan na kanang iyang batasan sinsero jod kaayo nga walay bisan unsa pa nga hunahunaon. Pati sa mga panginabuhi nga kalibotanon kay dili makapahinunob sa gingharian sa langit. Mao na iyang mensahe.

Pero ang uban nituo nga maapil sila kay Tuwaang na madala sa langit. Dunay usa ka tawo na hinganlag Puak. Gidala man ang iyang mga iro. Gidad-an niyag balon. Unya kanang iyang sakyan gitawag nga sinalimba. Mosakay lang ka ba. Paingon sa langit. Pag- abot didto nga ang mga iro ni Puak nalibang man kay nagkaon lagi. Nangasuko ang mga tawo didto. Unya mag-away pa jod ang mga iro. Niingon ang taga didto ang gitawag nila nga diwata nga iuli ni si Puak kay ang iyang mga iro nagkalibang, dili ni pwede diri kay hugaw. Gitunton si Puak, kauban ang mga iro. Naa gihapon siyay balon.

Pag-abot sa dri sa yuta, didto pa man sa dakong kahoy sa ibabaw gitugpa, sa sanga. Si Puak ug iyang mga iro nikaon didto.

Gibuhian na man tong higot kay may gahom man to nga di mabugto. Unsa man nga pagkahuman niyag kaon, nagdahum siya nga, bugto naman tong pisi. Makaya pa man niya gikan sa tumoy sa kuan lawaan nga dako. Pero didto sa ubos kay di naman niya makaya. Si Puak sige na siyag singgit. Hangtod sa kadugayan nga sige siyag singgit, nahimo siyag kuwago. Ang iyang mga iro nahimong mga milo, mga singgarong.

This man named Tuwaang, he was really a man. He lived in a place called Arakan Valley. He had an abyan friend called anito. This anito of Tuwaang was more powerful than the other anitos. He was a Bahani, a warrior. He had killed many enemies. And no one really could overpower him.

But after a long time, his abyan friend wanted him to go to the heavens. Many accompanied him-his family, siblings, in-laws. However, their character must be sincere and they should not think of anything else. Not even about their life in the world, otherwise you cannot enter heaven. That was his message.

But others really believed that they could be with Tuwaang in heaven. There was a man named Puak. He brought his dogs and provisions for his dogs. What they rode on was called a sinalimba. You just simply ride on it to go to heaven. When they got there, Puak’s dogs defecated anywhere because they ate something. The people there were very annoyed. And the dogs were also fighting among themselves. The people there, they are called diwata, said that they should return Puak to earth because his dogs defecate anywhere, and they could not allow it because it was dirty. They brought down Puak using a rope, together with his dogs and the provisions for the dog.

When they reached Earth, they landed on a branch of a big tree. Puak and his dogs ate there.

The rope was then loosened for it had the power that can’t be cut. However, after they had eaten, he thought that the string was still there, but it had been pulled up already. He could go down from the top of the branches (to the lower branches of the tree), but he could not go down anymore from the lowest branch to the ground. Hence, Puak started to shout. After long hours of shouting, he was turned into an owl and his dogs were turned into civets.

Romeo Umpan, 72 years old, is an Obo Manobo from Illomavis, Kidapawan, Cotabato. Collected by Kleocelle Anga, Kyle Michael Vincent Canizares, Ma. Fiona Stephanie Degamo, and Leslie Respicio. “An Analysis of the Narrative Syntax of the Legends of the Obo Manobo in Kidapawan.” Unpublished Undegraduate Thesis. Ateneo de Davao University. 2011.