There was a husband and wife who were Aponītolau and Aponībolinayen. Aponītolau laid down in theirbalauaand Aponībolinayen was in the house and she had a headache. “I am anxious to eat the fruit of the orange tree which belongs to Gawīgawen of Adasen,” said Aponībolinayen. Aponītolau heard her. “What is that?” he said to her. “I am anxious to eat thebiw133of Matawītáwen.” “Give me a sack and I will go to get it,” said Aponītolau, and he went. As soon as Aponītolau filled the sack withbiwhe went back home. As soon as he arrived in their house, “Here is the fruit you wished, Aponībolinayen. Come and get.” “Put it on the bamboo hanger above the fire, and I will go and get some to eat when my head does not feel so badly, for I cannot get up yet.” So Aponītolau went to put the fruit on the hanger above the fire and he laid down again in thebalaua.
As soon as Aponītolau laid down in thebalaua, Aponībolinayen went to the kitchen and peeled one of thebiwfruit and she ate it truly. AsPage 99soon as she ate she vomited and so she threw them away. “What is the matter, Aponībolinayen; I think you threw away the fruit.” “One of them I dropped.” She went into the room and she said again, “I am anxious to eat the oranges of Gawīgawen of Adasen.” “What is that?” said Aponītolau. “I am anxious to eat fish roe,” said Aponībolinayen. So Aponītolau went to get his fish net and he fished in the river. As soon as he arrived at the river he threw his net and secured a fish with fish roe. He cut open the fish and took out the roe. When he had taken out the roe he spat on the place where he had cut the fish and it became alive again and swam in the river. After that he went back home. As soon as he arrived at their house he gave the fish to Aponībolinayen, and he laid down in thebalauaagain, and Aponībolinayen went to the kitchen and she toasted the roe. When she finished she tasted it, and she vomited, so she threw it away also. “What is the matter, Aponībolinayen? Why are the dogs barking?” “I dropped some of the roe.” She went again to the room of the house. “I am anxious to eat the oranges which belong to Gawīgawen of Adasen.” “What is that, Aponībolinayen,” said Aponītolau. “I am anxious to eat a deer's liver, I said.” So Aponītolau called his dogs and he went to hunt deer. As soon as he arrived on the mountain, “Ala, my black dog, do not catch a deer unless it is in the low grass. Ala, my dog Bōkō, do not catch deer unless it is in a level field.” Not long after his dogs caught deer, and he took out their livers. As soon as he took out the liver he spat on the places he had cut, and the deer ran away again. Not long after he went back home. As soon as he arrived, “Here is the liver which you wanted. Come and take it.” “Put it in the kitchen. I will go and fix it when my head does not hurt.” Aponītolau put it in the kitchen and he went to thebalauaagain. When Aponītolau was in thebalaua, Aponībolinayen went to the kitchen and cooked the liver and she tried to eat, but she vomited again, so she threw it away, and the dogs all barked. “What is the matter? Why do the dogs bark? I think you threw away the livers.” Aponībolinayen said, “I threw away what I did not eat, for I did not eat all of it.” “Do not throw them away, for bye and bye I will eat, for it is hard to go and get them.”
Not long after she went again to the room, and Aponītolau thought that Aponībolinayen did not tell the truth, so he used his power. “I use my power so that I will become a centipede.” So he became a centipede and he went in the crack of the floor where Aponībolinayen was lying. Not long after Aponībolinayen said again, “I am anxious to eat the oranges which belong to Gawīgawen of Adasen.” “I know now what you want; why did you not tell the truth at first? That isPage 100why you threw away all the things I went to get for you,” said Aponītolau, and he became a man and appeared to her. “I did not tell the truth for I feared you would not return, for no one who has gone there has returned, so I am patient about my headache.”
“Ala, go and get rice straw, and I will wash my hair.” Not long after he went to wash his hair. When he finished washing his hair he went to get onelawedvine, and he went back home. He planted the vine by the hearth. “Make some cakes for my provision on the journey.” “No, do not go, Aponītolau,” said Aponībolinayen. “Make some, for if you do not I will go without provisions.” Not long after Aponībolinayen went to cook cakes. As soon as she finished, “Ala, you come and oil my hair.” As soon as she oiled his hair, “Go and get my dark clout and my belt and my headband.” So Aponībolinayen went to get them. As soon as he dressed he took his spear and headaxe and he told Aponībolinayen that if thelawedleaves wilted he was dead.134So he went.
As soon as he arrived at the well of Gimbangonan all the betel-nut trees bowed, and Gimbangonan shouted and all the world trembled. “How strange that all the world trembles when that lady shouts.” So Aponītolau took a walk. Not long after the old woman Alokotán saw him and she sent her little dog to bite his leg, and it took out part of his leg. “Do not proceed, for you have a bad sign. If you go, you cannot return to your town,” said the old woman Alokotán. “No, I can go back.” So he went. As soon as he arrived at the home of the lightning, “Where are you going?” said the lightning. “I am going to get the oranges from Gawīgawen of Adasen. Go and stand on the high stone and I will see what your sign is.” So he went and stood on the high stone and the lightning made a light and Aponītolau dodged. “Do not go, for you have a bad sign, and Gawīgawen will secure you.” “No, I am going.” So he went. As soon as he arrived at the place ofSilīt135it said to him, “Where are you going, Aponītolau?” “I am going to get the oranges of Gawīgawen of Adasen.” “Stand on top of that high stone so I can see if you have a good sign.” So he went andSilītmade a great noise. As soon as he made the great noise he jumped. “Go back, Aponītolau, and start another time, for you have a bad sign.”136“No, I go.”
He arrived at the ocean and he used magic. “I use my power so that you, my headaxe, sail as fast as you can when I stand on you.”Page 101As soon as he stood on it it sailed very fast. Not long after he was across the ocean and he was at the other edge of the ocean and he walked again. Not long after he arrived at the spring where the women went to get water. “Good morning, you women who are dipping water from the spring.” “Good morning. If you are an enemy cut us in only one place so we will not need to cure so much.” “If I was an enemy I would have killed all of you when I arrived here.” After that he asked them, “Is this the spring of Gawīgawen of Adasen?” “Yes, it is,” said the women. So he sent the women to the town to tell Gawīgawen, and the women did not tell him for he was asleep. So he went up to the town, but did not go inside, because the bank reached almost up to the sky, and he could not get in. He was sorrowful and bent his head.
Soon the chief of the spiders went to him: “What are you feeling sorry about, Aponītolau?” “I feel sorry because I cannot climb up the bank and go into the town.” “Do not feel sorry. You wait for me while I go up and put some thread which you can hold,” said the chief of the spiders.137So Aponītolau waited for him. Not long after the spider said, “Now you can climb;” so Aponītolau climbed on the thread. After he got inside of the town of Gawīgawen he went directly to the house of Gawīgawen. When he arrived there Gawīgawen was still asleep in hisbalaua. As soon as he woke up and saw Aponītolau sitting by hisbalauahe stood and ran to his house and got his headaxe and spear. Aponītolau said to him, “Good morning, Cousin Gawīgawen. Do not be angry with me. I came here to buy your oranges for my wife. Aponībolinayen wishes to eat one, for she always has a headache, because she has nothing she can eat.” Gawīgawen took him to his house, and he fed him one carabao. “If you cannot eat all of the carabao which I give you, you cannot have the oranges which your wife wishes to eat.” Aponītolau was sorrowful, for he thought he could not eat all of the carabao and he bent his head. Not long after the chiefs of the ants and flies went to him. “What makes you feel so badly, Aponītolau?” they said to him. “I am sorrowful, for I cannot get the oranges which Aponībolinayen wishes to eat until I eat this carabao which Gawīgawen feeds to me.” “Do not be sorrowful,” said the chiefs of the ants and flies. So they called all the ants and flies to go and eat all the meat and rice. Not long after the flies and ants finished eating the meat and rice, and Aponītolau was very glad and he went to Gawīgawen and said to him, “I have finished eating the food which you gave me.” Gawīgawen was surprised. “What did you do?” “I ate all of it.”
Gawīgawen took him where the oranges were and Aponītolau sawPage 102that the branches of the tree were sharp knives. Gawīgawen said to him, “Go and climb the tree and get all you want.” He went to climb. When he got two of the oranges he stepped on one of the knives and he was cut. So he fastened the fruit to his spear and it flew back to Kadalayapan. Not long after the fruit dropped on the floor in the kitchen and Aponībolinayen heard it, and she went into the kitchen. As soon as she got there she saw the fruit and she ate it at once, and the spear said to her, “Aponītolau is in Adasen. He sent me first to bring you the oranges which you wished.” As soon as she ate the oranges she went to look at thelawedvine by the stove and it was wilted, and she knew that Aponītolau was dead.
Not long after Aponībolinayen gave birth and every time they bathed the baby it grew one span and soon it was large.138He often went to play with the other children and his mother gave him a golden top which had belonged to his father when he was a little boy. When he struck the tops of the other children they were broken at once. Not long after he struck the garbage pot of the old woman, and she was angry and said, “If you are a brave boy, you go and get your father whom Gawīgawen of Adasen has inherited.” And Kanag went back to their house crying. “I did not have a father, you said, mother, but the old woman said he was inherited by Gawīgawen, when he went to get the orange fruit. Now prepare provisions for me to take, for I am going to get my father.” Aponībolinayen said to him, “Do not go or Gawīgawen will get you as he did your father.” But Kanag said, “If you do not let me go and do not give me food, I will go without anything.” Not long after Aponībolinayen cooked food for him and Kanag was ready to go, and he took his headaxe which was one span long and his spear. Not long after he went.
As soon as he got to the gate of the town he struck his shield and it sounded like one thousand people, and everyone was surprised. “How brave that boy is! We think he is braver than his father. He can strike his shield and it sounds like one thousand.” When he arrived at the spring of Gimbangonan he was still striking his shield, and when Gimbangonan heard she said, “Someone is going to fight.” He shouted, for he was very happy and the world trembled and Kanag looked like a flitting bird, for he was always moving.
As soon as he arrived at the place where Alokotán lived she sent her dog against him, and the dog ran at him, and Kanag cut off its head. “How brave you are, little boy! Where are you going?” “Where are you going, you say, I am going to Adasen to follow my father.” “YourPage 103father is dead. I hope you secure him, for you have a good sign,” said Alokotán. So Kanag went on in a hurry. Not long after he arrived at the place where the thunder was and it said, “Where are you going, little boy?” “I am going to follow my father in Adasen.” “Go and stand on the high stone and see what your sign is.” So he went. As soon as he stood on the high stone the thunder rolled, but Kanag did not move and the thunder was surprised. “Go at once; I think you can get your father whom Gawīgawen inherits.” So Kanag went. Not long after he arrived at the place of the lightning, and he made him stand on the high stone. As soon as he stood on it the lightning made a big noise and flash, but he did not move. So the boy went at once, for he had a good sign.
Kanag struck his shield until it sounded like a thousand people, and all the women who were dipping water at the spring of Gawīgawen were surprised, for they saw only a little boy, who struck his shield, approaching them, and it sounded like a thousand. As soon as he arrived at the spring, “Good morning, women who are dipping water. Go and tell Gawīgawen of Adasen that he must prepare for I am going to fight with him.” So all the women ran to the town and told Gawīgawen that a strange boy was at the spring. Gawīgawen said to the women, “Go and tell him that if it is true that he is brave he will come into the town if he can.” So one of the women went to tell him and he went.
When he arrived at the bank which reached to the sky Kanag used his power and he jumped like the flitting bird, and he entered the town and went directly to thebalauaand house of Gawīgawen of Adasen. Not long after he had arrived he saw that the roof of his house andbalauawas of hair and around his town were heads, and Kanag said, “This is why my father did not return. It is true that Gawīgawen is a brave man, but I think I can kill him.”
As soon as Gawīgawen saw Kanag in the yard of his house he said, “How brave you are, little boy! Why did you come here?” “I came to get my father, for you secured him when he came to get the oranges which my mother wanted. If you do not wish to give my father to me I will kill you.” And Gawīgawen laughed at him and said, “One of my fingers will fight you. You will not go back to your town. You will be like your father.” Kanag said, “We shall see. Go and get your arms and we will fight here in the yard of your house.” Gawīgawen became angry and he went to get his headaxe, which was as big as half of the sky, and his spear. As soon as he returned to the place where Kanag was waiting he said, “Can you see my headaxe, little boy? If I put this on you you cannot get it off. So you throw first so you can show how brave you are.” Kanag said to him, “No, you must be first,Page 104so you will know that I am a brave boy.” Gawīgawen tried to put his headaxe on him and the boy used his power and he became a small ant and Gawīgawen laughed at him and said, “Now, the little boy is gone.” Not long after the little boy stood on his headaxe and he was surprised. “Little boy, you are the first who has done this. Your father did not do this. It is true that you are brave; if you can dodge my spear I am sure you will get your father.” So he threw his spear at him and Kanag used his power and he disappeared and Gawīgawen was surprised. “You are the next.” Then Kanag used magic so that when he threw his spear against him it would go directly to the body of Gawīgawen. As soon as he threw Gawīgawen laid down. Kanag ran to him and cut off his five heads and there was one left, and Gawīgawen said to him, “Do not cut off my last head and I will go and show you where your father is.” So Kanag did not cut off the last head, and they went to see his father. The skin of his father had been used to cover a drum, and his hair was used to decorate the house, and his head was placed by the gate of the town, and the body was put below the house.
As soon as Kanag had gathered together the body of his father he used his power and he said, “I whip my perfumebanawᴇsand directly he will sayWes.”139His father said, “Wes.” Not long after he said, “I whip my perfumealakadakadand directly he will stand up.” So his father stood beside him. After that he whipped his perfumedagīmonauand his father woke up and he was surprised to see the little boy by him and he said, “Who are you? How long I slept.” “I am your son. ‘How long I slept,’ you said. You were dead and Gawīgawen inherited you. Take my headaxe and cut off the remaining head of Gawīgawen.” So he took the headaxe of Kanag and went to the place where Gawīgawen stood. When he struck the headaxe against Gawīgawen it did not hurt him and Aponītolau slipped, and his son laughed at him. “What is the matter with you, father? Gawīgawen looks as if he were dead, for he has only one head left.” He took the headaxe from his father and he went to Gawīgawen and he cut off the remaining head. Not long after they used magic so that the headaxes and spears went to kill all the people in the town. So the spears and headaxes went among the people and killed all of them, and Aponītolau swam in the blood and his son stood on the blood. “What is the matter with you, father, that you swim in the blood? Can't you use your power so you don't have to swim?” Then he took hold of him and lifted him up. As soon as all the people were killed they used their power so that all the heads and valuable things went to Kadalayapan.Page 105
Aponībolinayen went to look at thelawedvine behind the stove and it looked like a jungle it was so green, so she believed that her son was alive. Not long after all the heads arrived in Kadalayapan and Aponībolinayen was surprised. Not long after she saw her husband and her son and she shouted and the world smiled. Not long after they went up into their house and summoned all the people and told them to invite all the people in other towns for Kanag had returned from fighting, and had his father. So the people went to invite their relatives. Not long after the people from other towns arrived and they danced. They were all glad that Aponītolau was alive again, and they went to see the heads of Gawīgawen who killed Aponītolau.
As soon as the people returned to their towns, when the party was over, Aponītolau went to take a walk. When he reached the brook he sat down on a stone and the big frog went to lap up his spittle. Not long after the big frog had a little baby.140Not long after she gave birth, and theanitos141went to get the little baby and flew away with it. They used their power so that the baby grew fast and it was a girl, and they taught her how to makedawak.142Not long after the girl knew how to makedawak, and every time she rang the dish to summon the spirits.
Kanag went to follow his father, but he did not find him where he had been sitting by the brook, and Kanag heard the sound of the ringing which sounded like thebananâyo.143As soon as he heard it he stood still and listened. Not long after he used his power so that he became a bird and he flew. As soon as he arrived at the place where the girl was makingdawakshe said to him, “You are the only person who has come here. If you are an enemy cut me in only one place so I will not have so much to heal.” “I am not an enemy; I came here for I heard what you were doing; so I became a bird and flew.” Kanag gave betel-nut to her and they chewed. Their quids looked like the beadspinogalan,so they knew that they were brother and sister. The girl said to him, “Go inside of the big iron caldron so that theanitoswho care for me will not eat you.” So Kanag went inside of the big iron caldron. When theanitosdid not arrive at the accustomed time Kanag went out of the caldron and said to his sister, “Now, my sister, I will take you to Kadalayapan. Our father and mother do not know that I have a sister. Do not stay always with theanitos” His sister replied, “IPage 106cannot go to Sudīpan144when no one is makingbalaua, for I always makedawakas theanitostaught me. If I come in Sudīpan when no one is makingbalauait would make all of the people very ill.” So Kanag went home.
As soon as he arrived he told his father and mother to makebalauafor he wanted his sister to see them. “We just madebalaua. How can we makebalauaagain?” said his father and mother. “I want you to see my sister whom I found up in the air, where theanitostook her.” “You are crazy, Kanag; you have no sisters or brothers; you are the only child we have.” Kanag said to them, “It is sure that I have a sister. I don't know why you did not know about her. Theanitostook her when she was a little baby and they taught her how to makedawak, and she always makesdawak. I wanted to bring her when I came back, but she said she could not come to Sudīpan when no one makesbalaua, for she is always makingdawak. She said if she came to Sudīpan and did not makedawakeveryone would be ill, so I did not bring her. If you wish to see your daughter, father, makebalauaat once.” So they madebalaua, for they wished to see their daughter.
They sent messengers to go and get betel-nuts which were covered with gold, and when they had secured the betel-nuts they oiled them and sent them to the different towns where their relatives lived, and they sent one into the air to go and get their daughter Agten-ngaᴇyan. So all the betel-nuts went and invited the people to thebalaua. As soon as the betel-nut went up into the air it arrived where Agten-ngaᴇyan was makingdawak. When she saw the betel-nut beside her she was startled, for it was covered with gold. She tried to cut it up, for she wished to chew it, and the betel-nut said, “Do not cut me, for your brother and father in Kadalayapan sent me to summon you to theirbalaua, for they are anxious to see you.” So Agten-ngaᴇyan told theanitosthat a betel-nut which was covered with gold had come to take her to Aponītolau who was makingSayang, and they wished to see her. Theanitoslet her go, but they advised her to return. So she went.
When they arrived in Kadalayapan the people from the other towns were dancing and she went below thetalagan,145and Kanag went to see what it was that looked like a flame beneath thetalagan. When he reached her he saw it was his sister and he tried to take her away from thetalagan, and she said to him, “I cannot get off from here, for theanitoswho care for me told me to stay here until someone comes to makedawakwith me.” So they sent the old woman Alokotán toPage 107makedawakwith her. All the people were surprised, for she made a pleasanter sound when she rang and they thought she was abananáyo146. The young men who went to attend thebalaualoved her, for she was pretty and knew very well how to sing thedawak. As soon as they finished thedawakshe was free to leave thetalagan, so her brother Kanag took her and put her in his belt147and he put her in the high house148so the young men could not reach her.
As soon as thebalauawas over the people went home, but the young men still remained below the house watching her, and the ground below became muddy, for they always remained there.
When Kanag saw the young men below the house fighting about her, he took her again into the air so that the young men could not see her. As soon as they arrived in the air they met theanitos, and Kanag said to them, “I intended to keep my sister in Sudīpan, for I had made a little golden house for her to live in, but I have brought her back, for all the young men are fighting about her.” Theanitoswere glad that she was back with them and they gave Kanag more power, so that when he should go to war he would always destroy his opponents. Agten-ngaᴇyan used to go and teach the women how to makedawakwhen anyone madebalaua, so that she taught them very well how to makedawak. This is all.
(Told by a medium named Magwati of Lagangilang.)
“Ala, Aponībolinayen prepare our things, for we are going to plant sugar cane,” said Aponītolau. Not long after they went to see the cuttings and they were big. They took them and planted them when they arrived at the place where they wished to plant them. Aponītolau planted them and Aponībolinayen watered them. Not long after Aponībolinayen used magic and she said, “I use my power so that all the cuttings will be planted.” Soon they truly were all planted, so they went back home. After seven days Aponītolau went to look at them and their leaves were long and pointed so he used magic and said, “I used my power so that after five days all the sugar cane which we planted will be ready to chew.” Then he went back home. In five days he went again to see them and as soon as he arrived at the planting he saw they were all tall and about ready to chew.Page 108
Not long after Gaygayóma looked down on the sugar cane and she was anxious to chew it. “Ala, my father Bagbagak,149send the stars to go and get some of the sugar cane which I saw, for I am anxious to chew it,” she said, for she was pregnant and desired to chew the sugar cane. Not long after, “Ala, you Salībobo150and Bitbitówen151let us go and get the sugar cane, for Gaygayóma is anxious to chew it,” said Bagbagak. Not long after they went. As soon as they arrived where the sugar cane was, they went inside of the bamboo fence and some of them secured the beans which Aponībolinayen had planted. The stems of the bean pods were gold, and they got five of them. Most of them got one stalk of sugar cane. As soon as they secured them they went back up. When they arrived Gaygayóma chewed one of the sugar cane stalks and she felt happy and well, and she saw the beans with the golden stems and she cooked and ate them.
When she had chewed all the sugar cane which the stars had secured, she said, “Ala, my father Bagbagak, come and follow me to the place where the sugar cane grows, for I am anxious to see it.” Not long after, “Ala, Salībobo and Bitbitówen we are going to follow Gaygayóma, for she wishes to go and see the place of the sugar cane. Some of you stay outside of the fence to watch and see if anyone comes, and some of you get sugar cane,” said Bagbagak to them, and the moon shone on them. Soon they all arrived at the place of the sugar cane and they made a noise while they were getting the sugar cane, which they used to chew. Gaygayóma went to the middle of the field and chewed sugar cane. As soon as they had chewed all they wished they flew up again.
The next day Aponītolau said to Aponībolinayen, “I am going to see our sugar cane, to see if any carabao have gone there to spoil it, for it is the best to chew.” So he went. As soon as he arrived he saw that the sugar cane was spoiled, and he looked. He saw that there were many places near the fence where someone had chewed, for each one of the stars had gone by the fence to chew the cane which they wished. When he reached the middle of the field he saw the cane there which had been chewed, and there was some gold on the refuse and he was surprised and he said, “How strange this is! I think some beautiful girl must have chewed this cane. I will try to watch and see who it is. Perhaps they will return tonight.” Then he went back home. As soon as he reached home he said, “Ala, Aponībolinayen cook our food early, forPage 109I want to go and watch our sugar cane; someone has gone and spoiled it. They have also spoiled our beans which we planted.” So Aponībolinayen cooked even though it was not time. As soon as she finished cooking she called Aponītolau and they ate. When they had eaten he went and he hid a little distance from the sugar cane.
In the middle of the night there were many stars falling down into the sugar cane field and Aponītolau heard the cane being broken. Soon he saw the biggest of them which looked like a big flame of fire fall into the field. Not long after he saw one of the other stars at the edge of the fence take off her dress, which was like a star, and he saw that she looked like the half of the rainbow, and the stars which followed her got the sugar cane which they wished. They chewed it by the fence and they watched to see if anyone was coming. Aponītolau said, “What shall I do, because of those companions of the beautiful woman? If I do not frighten them they will eat me. The best thing for me to do is to frighten them. I will go and sit on the star's dress.”152He frightened them. The stars flew up and Aponītolau went and sat on the star dress.
Not long after the pretty girl came from the middle of the field to get her star dress; she saw Aponītolau sitting on it. “You, Īpogau,153you must pardon us, for we came to steal your sugar cane, for we were anxious to chew it.” “If you came to get some of my sugar cane it is all right. The best thing for you to do is to sit down, for I wish to know your name, for we Īpogau have the custom to tell our names. It is bad for us if we do not know each others' names when we talk.” Not long after he gave her betel-nut and the woman chewed it. As soon as they chewed, “Now that we have chewed according to our custom we will tell our names.” “Yes, if that is what you say, but you must tell your name first,” said the woman. “My name is Aponītolau who am the husband of Aponībolinayen of Kadalayapan.” “My name is Gaygayóma who am the daughter of Bagbagak and Sīnag,154up in the air,” said the woman. “Ala, now you, Aponītolau, even though you have a wife I am going to take you up, for I wish to marry you. If you do not wish to come I will call my companion stars, and give you to them to eat.” Aponītolau was frightened, for he knew that the woman who was talking was a spirit. “If that is what you say, and you do not wish me to go and see Aponībolinayen and you wish to be married to me, it is all right,” said Aponītolau to her. Not long after the starsPage 110dropped thegalong-galong155of gold which Gaygayóma had ordered to be made. As soon as they dropped it Aponītolau and Gaygayóma got in it, and were drawn up, and soon they were there.
As soon as they arrived he saw one of the stars come to the place where they were, and it was a very big star, for it was Bagbagak. “Someone is coming where we are,” said Aponītolau to Gaygayóma. “Do not be afraid; he is my father,” said Gaygayóma. “Those stars eat people if you do anything wrong to them.” Not long after Bagbagak reached the place where they were. “It is good for you Aponītolau that you wished to follow my daughter here. If you had not we would have eaten you,” he said. Aponītolau was frightened. “Yes, I followed her here, but I am ashamed before you who live here, for you are powerful,” he said. While they were talking Bagbagak went back home.
After he had lived with Gaygayóma five months she had him prick between her last fingers and a little baby popped out, and it was a beautiful baby boy. “What shall we call our son?” said Aponītolau. “We are going to call him Tabyayen, because it is the name of the people who used to live above,” said Gaygayóma. So they called him Tabyayen, and they used their power so that the baby grew all the time. Soon he was big. After three months, “Now Gaygayóma, let me go back down and see Aponībolinayen of Kadalayapan. I think she is searching for me. I will return soon, for you two are my wives,” said Aponītolau, but Gaygayóma would not let him go. “Ala, let me go and I will return soon,” he said again. “Ala, you go, but you come back here soon. I will send the stars to eat you if you do not wish to return,” said Gaygayóma to him. “Yes,” he said. Not long after he rode again in thegalong-galong, and the stars followed, and they went down. Aponītolau wanted all of them to go to Kadalayapan, but he went alone and the stars and Gaygayóma and the boy went up.
Not long after Aponītolau said, “Wes” at the entrance to the yard of their house in Kadalayapan. Aponībolinayen got up from her mat and she had not eaten for a long time. When she looked at him she was very happy. Aponītolau saw that she was thin. “Why are you so thin, Aponībolinayen?” said Aponītolau. “I have not eaten since you went away. Where have you been so long? I thought that you were dead.” “No, I did not die, but Gaygayóma took me up into the sky because they were the ones who spoilt our sugar cane. She would not let me come back any more, and she took me up. I did not wantPage 111to go with her, but she threatened to feed me to the stars who were her companions. So I was afraid, and I went with her, for she is a spirit.”
When the day came on which Aponītolau and Gaygayóma had agreed for his return up, Aponītolau failed to go, because Aponībolinayen would not let him go. In the evening many stars came to the yard of their house and some of them went to the windows and some of them went beside the wall of the house, and they were very bright and the house looked as though it was burning. The stars said, “We smell the odor of the Īpogau and we are anxious to eat.” Aponītolau said, “Hide me, Aponībolinayen, for those stars have come to eat me, because you would not let me go back to Gaygayóma. I told you that if I did not go back to her she would send the stars to eat me, and now truly they have come. I told you I would come back, but you would not let me go.” Not long after the stars went inside of the house where they were, and they said to Aponītolau, “Do not hide from us, Aponītolau. We know where you are. You are in the corner of the house.” “Come out of there or we will eat you,” said Bagbagak. Soon he appeared to them and they said to him, “Do you not wish to come back up with us?” “I will go with you,” he answered, for he was afraid. So they did not eat him, for Gaygayóma had told them not to eat him if he was willing to follow them. Not long after they flew away with him and Aponībolinayen cried. When they arrived up Gaygayóma said, “Why, Aponītolau, did you lie to me and not return? You were fortunate when you followed the stars, for if you had not they would have eaten you.” “I did not return because Aponībolinayen would not let me. You and she are my wives. Do not blame me,” said Aponītolau.
After he had lived with her eight months he said, “Now, I am going to leave you, for our son Tabyayen is large. If you will not let me take our son Tabyayen down, he can stay up here with you.” “You may go now, but you cannot take our son. You will return here,” said Gaygayóma. “Yes,” said Aponītolau. So they went down again in thegalong-galong.Aponītolau wanted to take them to Kadalayapan, but they would not go with him. “No, do not take us, for it is not our custom to stay down here; we are always above,” they said. So they went up and Aponītolau went to Kadalayapan. Not long after he said, “Wes” at the yard of the house, and Aponībolinayen went to see who it was. She saw that it was Aponītolau, and she was very glad.
After one year with Aponībolinayen he said, “Command someone to pound rice, for we are going to makebalaua, and I am going to call our son Tabyayen from above.” Aponībolinayen had also given birth five days after Gaygayóma had given birth, and they called the boy Kanag.Page 112
Not long after Aponītolau went to take Tabyayen from above and Gaygayóma was very glad to see him. When they were talking he said, “Now I am going to take Tabyayen down, for I want him to attend ourSayang.” “Yes, you may take him, but you must bring him back when theSayangis finished.” So Aponītolau took the boy to attend thebalauain Kadalayapan. As soon as they arrived there he began to play with Kanag and they were the same size and looked alike, because they were half brothers. While they were playing, during theSayang,Kanag said, “Mother, it is showering,” and Aponītolau heard what the boy said to Aponībolinayen. He said, “It is the tears of Tabyayen's mother, for I think she is thinking of him. I told them not to go over there, but they went anyway. I think Gaygayóma saw them playing and she cried.” Then Aponībolinayen went to take them away from the yard where they were playing. She took them upstairs. It was at the time when they were building thebalaua. Not long after that they madeLībon,156and they invited Gaygayóma and all their relatives from the other towns and they danced for one month. Then the people from the other towns went home. As soon as all the people had gone home Aponītolau went to take back the boy to his mother Gaygayóma.
When they arrived where Gaygayóma lived he gave the boy to her and he staid there three days. After three days he went back home, and he said, “I am going now, but I will come back in a few days, for I cannot live here all the time, for we, Īpogau, are accustomed to live below, and I also have another wife there. I cannot leave Aponībolinayen alone most of the time.” So Gaygayoma let him go down and she said, “Yes, you may go, but you come back sometimes.” “It is good that Tabyayen came down and madeSayangwith us.” Then he went down again. When he arrived down Aponībolinayen was glad to see him, for she feared he would not return to Kadalayapan. Not long after they arranged for Kanag to be married, and as soon as Kanag was married they arranged for Tabyayen also and he lived down below and Gaygayóma always staid above.
(Told by Lagmani, a man of Domayko.)
“I am going to wash my hair,” said Aponītolau. Not long after he went to the river and washed his hair. As soon as he finished he took a bath and went back home. When he arrived in his house he said, “Aponībolinayen, please comb my hair.” “Take the comb andPage 113go to Indiápan, for I have no time,” answered Aponībolinayen. “If you have no time, give it to me then,” said Aponītolau. Aponībolinayen was angry and went to get it for him. “What is the matter that you cannot go and get it yourself?” As soon as he got it Aponītolau went to Indiápan.
Kabkabaga-an, who lived up in the air, was looking down, and said, “Indiápan, you have good fortune, for Aponītolau will come and ask you to comb his hair.” Not long after Aponītolau arrived. “Will you comb my hair, Indiápan, because Aponībolinayen is impatient and does not want to comb my hair?” “I am sleepy,” said Indiápan. She sat down. “Ala, you come and comb my hair,” said Aponītolau. Not long after Indiápan went to comb his hair and Aponītolau sat by the door. Kabkabaga-an looked down on them and said, “Indiápan has a good fortune, for she is combing the hair of Aponītolau.” When she had combed his hair she went to lie down again and Aponītolau said to her, “Will you please cut this betel-nut into pieces, Indiápan.” “You cut it. I am sleepy,” answered Indiápan. “Hand me the headaxe then.” So Indiápan handed the headaxe to him. As soon as she gave the headaxe to him she went to lie down again. When Aponītolau had cut the betel-nut he cut his first finger of his left hand. The blood went up in the air. “Ala, Indiápan, take your belt, for I cannot stop my finger from bleeding. Come and wrap it,” said Aponītolau to her. So Indiápan got up and she went to get her belt and she wrapped his finger, but the blood did not stop, so she called Aponībolinayen, for she was frightened when she saw the blood go up. Aponībolinayen said, “What is the matter with you?” She took her hat which looked like a woodpecker and she went, and the sunshine stopped when she went down out of her house, and Kabkabaga-an saw Aponībolinayen going to Aponītolau. “What good fortune Aponībolinayen has, for she is going to see Aponītolau.” As soon as she arrived where Indiápan lived she wrapped her belt around the finger of Aponītolau, but the blood did not stop and they were frightened. Aponībolinayen commanded their spirit helpers to get Ginalīngan of Pindayan, who was a sister of Iwaginan, to makedawak157and stop the blood of Aponītolau. Not long after Indiápan and the spirit helpers arrived where Ginalīngan lived they said, “Good afternoon, you must excuse us, for we cannot stay here long, for Aponībolinayen is in a hurry to have you come to Kaldalayapan to see Aponītolau. He cut his finger and his blood will not stop running, and we do not know what to do. You come and makedawak” Ginalīngan said, “Even though I should go to makedawakwe could do nothing,Page 114for Kabkabaga-an, who lives in the air, loves him.” “We must try and see if Kabkabaga-an will stop,” said Indiápan, and Ginalīngan went with them.
As soon as they arrived in Kadalayapan Aponībolinayen said to Ginalīngan, “What is best for us to do for Aponītolau's finger?” Ginalīngan said, “We cannot do anything. I told Indiápan that Kabkabaga-an loves Aponītolau and even if I makedawakwe can do nothing, for Kabkabaga-an is one of the greatest spirits.” Not long after Aponītolau had become a very little man and Ginalīngan stopped makingdawak, and she went home to Pindayan. Aponītolau became like a hair. Not long after he disappeared. “You are good, Indiápan, for Aponītolau disappeared in your house.” So they cried together.
Not long after Aponībolinayen went back home and Aponītolau was up in the air. He sat below a tree in a wide field, and he looked around the field. Not long after he saw some smoke, so he went. As soon as he came near to the smoke he saw that there was a house there. “I am going to get a drink,” he said. As soon as he arrived in the yard he said, “Wes,” for he was tired, and Kabkabaga-an saw, from the window of her house, that it was Aponītolau. “Come up,” she said. “No, I am ashamed to go up. Will you give me water to drink, for I am thirsty.” Kabkabaga-an gave him a drink of water. As soon as he had drunk he sat down in the yard, for Kabkabaga-an could not make him go up. Not long after she went to cook. As soon as she cooked she called Aponītolau and he said to her, “You eat first. I will eat with your husband when he arrives.” “No, come up. I think he will arrive very late.” Not long after he went up, for he was hungry, and they ate. While they were eating Kabkabaga-an said to him, “I have no husband and I live alone; that is why I brought you up here, for I love you.” Not long after she became pregnant and she gave birth. “What shall we call the baby?” said Līgī158“Tabyayen.” Not long after the baby began to grow, for Kabkabaga-an used magic, so that he grew all the time, and every time she bathed him he grew.
When the baby had become a young boy Kabkabaga-an said, “You can go home now, Aponītolau, for our son Tabyayen is a companion for me.” “If you say that I must go home, I will take Tabyayen with me,” said Aponītolau. She said, “We will tell my brother Daldalipáto,159who lives above, if you wish to take him.” So they went truly. As soon as they arrived where Daldalipáto lived, he said, “How are you, Kabkabaga-an? What do you want?” “What do you want, you say.Page 115We came to tell you that Aponītolau wants to take Tabyayen.” “Do you want to give him up to Aponītolau? If you let him go, it is all right,” said Daldalipáto, and Kabkabaga-an said, “All right.” So they went home. As soon as they arrived where Kabkabaga-an lived she commanded some one to make something of gold to hold milk for the boy to drink and she filled it with the milk from her breasts. In the early morning she lowered her golden house by cords to the earth.
When it became morning Aponītolau awoke and he was surprised to see that they were in Kadalayapan. “Why, here is Kadalayapan.” He went outdoors and Aponībolinayen also went outdoors. “Why, there is Aponītolau. I think he has returned from the home of Kabkabaga-an.” Aponībolinayen went to him and was glad to see him, and she took her son Kanag who looked the same as Tabyayen, and they went to play in the yard. Aponībolinayen and Aponītolau did not know that they had gone to play. Not long after Tabyayen cried, for the tears of Kabkabaga-an fell on him and hurt him, so Aponībolinayen went down to the yard and took them up into the house.
Not long after Aponītolau said to Aponībolinayen, “We will makebalauaand we will invite Kabkabaga-an. I think that is why the boy cried.” Aponībolinayen said, “Yes,” and they truly madeSayang. Not long after they madeLībon160in the evening, and they commanded the spirit helpers to go and get betel-nuts. As soon as they arrived with the betel-nuts Aponītolau and Aponībolinayen commanded, “You betel-nuts go and invite all our relatives and Kabkabaga-an.” So one of the betel-nuts went to the place where Kabkabaga-an lived. As soon as it arrived up above it said, “Aponītolau and Aponībolinayen of Kadalayapan want you to attend theirbalaua. That is why I came here.” Kabkabaga-an said, “Yes, I will follow you. You go first.” When it became afternoon all the people from the other towns had arrived in Kadalayapan. When they looked under thetalagan161they saw Kabkabaga-an, and Aponībolinayen went to take her hand, and they made her dance. As soon as she finished dancing she told Aponībolinayen and Aponītolau that she would go back home. “No, do not go yet, for we will makepakálonfor Tabyayen first,” said Aponībolinayen. “No, you care for him. I must go home now, for no one watches my house.” Not long after she went, for they could not detain her, and they did not see her when she went. As soon as theSayangwas over they madepakálonfor Kanag and Tabyayen, and Kanag marriedPage 116Dapilīsan, and Tabyayen married Binaklingan, and the marriage price was thebalauaabout nine times full for each of them. As soon as they both were married Tabyayen staid in his house which had been up in the air before. Kanag staid in another house which Aponītolau and Aponībolinayen had.
(Told by Angtan of Lagangilang.)