KAGIYAW: Hero of the Jal-o of Bygone Years
My mother used to tell us the legend of Kagiyaw during our tender years. Kagiyaw was a fisherman who made his living down the brackish portion of the Jal-o during his days. By his days, she meant the time when the Spanish colonizers were still arguing whether the world is round or not.
The story started with a decision. Kagiyaw decided to fish down the Jal-o one morning in summer despite the threat of a dreaded river monster called Kugtong. Soon enough as he was rowing his boat downstream the river, the giant grouper swallowed him--and perhaps his boat. Wow, that's a really huge fish if it can swallow a boat! But Kagiyaw is a hero. So he did not instantly die, otherwise the story would not go further than that. Besides, my mother's story was not a tragedy. It was meant to inspire us despite the apparent tribulations life gives us from time to time.
So while in the belly of the giant grouper, Kagiyaw heard a voice of a fairy or a bird singing, "Eab-eabi! Eab-eabi!" Was it a kingfisher? The fear and the disorientation took flight and he remembered the knife tied on his hip. He grabbed it and started stabbing the belly of the Kugtong until he got out of it and breathed the fresh, sweet morning air. His resurrected life.
Kagiyaw swam with the current and led the dead fish ashore. He salvaged the best part of it and called the attention of other fishermen to help him out with the carcass. Those who joined him scaled the Kugtong in what is now called "Himbis" where on the bank of the river one could note the scaled formation of some stones.
Soon enough, the news of the feat of Kagiyaw spread out. People from all over were attracted of the prospect of taking a part of the carcass of the vanquished Kugtong and of meeting the man of the hour. Some of them managed to have a share where they sun-dried the meat. Today, the place where they sun dried the fish is called "Kaeug-a", meaning, a place of dried fish. Some of the meat rotted after long exposure to the elements . The place where some of the carcass decomposed is now called "Ban-os". Residents thus decided to bury the rotten meat to get rid of the foul odor. That place was called "Maeubong" to signify the place where they buried the remains of the Kugtong. People in upstream brackish Jal-o waited for their errands to arrive with their prize only to see them came empty handed. That place is now known as "Hueaton", or the place where people waited. Upriver, people got impatient waiting that they decided to catch fish for their lunch. They were those from the place called "Pinamunitan" meaning, a place where people decided to catch fish through line, hook and sinker.
The story started with a hard personal decision on the part of Kagiyaw. It ended with a decision communally made by those who waited for his promised prize. That decision was borne out of the failure of the errand to arrive in time. It was a conscious proactive decision to follow the path of their hero down the Jal-o to fish. Such is the lesson they learned from Kagiyaw. Such is the path others ought to follow down the Jal-o River.
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N.B.
I find the story in the link herewith provided quite interesting: http://www.newsflash.org/2002/06/hl/hl015943.htm
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| Giant Grouper (photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The story started with a decision. Kagiyaw decided to fish down the Jal-o one morning in summer despite the threat of a dreaded river monster called Kugtong. Soon enough as he was rowing his boat downstream the river, the giant grouper swallowed him--and perhaps his boat. Wow, that's a really huge fish if it can swallow a boat! But Kagiyaw is a hero. So he did not instantly die, otherwise the story would not go further than that. Besides, my mother's story was not a tragedy. It was meant to inspire us despite the apparent tribulations life gives us from time to time.
So while in the belly of the giant grouper, Kagiyaw heard a voice of a fairy or a bird singing, "Eab-eabi! Eab-eabi!" Was it a kingfisher? The fear and the disorientation took flight and he remembered the knife tied on his hip. He grabbed it and started stabbing the belly of the Kugtong until he got out of it and breathed the fresh, sweet morning air. His resurrected life.
Kagiyaw swam with the current and led the dead fish ashore. He salvaged the best part of it and called the attention of other fishermen to help him out with the carcass. Those who joined him scaled the Kugtong in what is now called "Himbis" where on the bank of the river one could note the scaled formation of some stones.
Soon enough, the news of the feat of Kagiyaw spread out. People from all over were attracted of the prospect of taking a part of the carcass of the vanquished Kugtong and of meeting the man of the hour. Some of them managed to have a share where they sun-dried the meat. Today, the place where they sun dried the fish is called "Kaeug-a", meaning, a place of dried fish. Some of the meat rotted after long exposure to the elements . The place where some of the carcass decomposed is now called "Ban-os". Residents thus decided to bury the rotten meat to get rid of the foul odor. That place was called "Maeubong" to signify the place where they buried the remains of the Kugtong. People in upstream brackish Jal-o waited for their errands to arrive with their prize only to see them came empty handed. That place is now known as "Hueaton", or the place where people waited. Upriver, people got impatient waiting that they decided to catch fish for their lunch. They were those from the place called "Pinamunitan" meaning, a place where people decided to catch fish through line, hook and sinker.
The story started with a hard personal decision on the part of Kagiyaw. It ended with a decision communally made by those who waited for his promised prize. That decision was borne out of the failure of the errand to arrive in time. It was a conscious proactive decision to follow the path of their hero down the Jal-o to fish. Such is the lesson they learned from Kagiyaw. Such is the path others ought to follow down the Jal-o River.
_________________
N.B.
I find the story in the link herewith provided quite interesting: http://www.newsflash.org/2002/06/hl/hl015943.htm
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