Читать книгу Studies in Moro History, Law, and Religion - Najeeb M. Saleeby - Страница 8

Long ago, before the days of Kabungsuwan, Magindanao was covered by water and the sea extended all over the lowlands and nothing could be seen but mountains. The people lived on the highlands on both sides. They were numerous and prosperous, and many villages and settlements arose everywhere. But their prosperity and peace did not last very long. There appeared in the land pernicious monsters which devoured every human being they could reach. One of these terrible animals was called Kurīta. It had many limbs and lived partly on land and partly in the sea. It haunted Mount Kabalalan3 and extirpated all animal life in its vicinity. The second was called Tarabŭsaw. This ugly creature had the form of a man, but was very much larger. It was extremely voracious and spread terror far and wide. It haunted Mount Matutun and its neighborhood.

The third was a monstrous bird called Pah.4 This bird was so large when on the wing that it covered the sun and produced darkness underneath. Its egg was as large as a house. It haunted Mount Bita and the eastern Ranao region. It devoured the people and devastated the land. The people were awe-struck, and those who escaped hid themselves in the caves of the mountains.

The fourth was a dreadful bird, also, which had seven heads. It lived in Mount Gurayn and the adjacent country.

The havoc was complete and the ruin of the land was awful. The sad news found its way to strange and far lands, and all nations felt sorry for the fate that befell Mindanao.

When the news reached Raja Indarapatra, the King of Mantapuli, it grieved him very much and filled his heart with sympathy. Raja Indarapatra called his brother, Raja Sulayman (Solomon) and asked him to come to Mindanao to save the land from those destructive animals. Raja Sulayman was moved with sorrow, mingled with enthusiasm and zeal, and consented to come. Raja Indarapatra handed to his brother his ring and his kris, Juru Pakal,5 and wished him safety and success. But before they parted Raja Indarapatra took a sapling and planted it in the ground in front of his window. This he thought was a sure sign by which he could tell what would happen to Sulayman after his departure. He said to Sulayman, “If this tree lives, you will live also; and if this tree dies, you will die too.”

Raja Sulayman left Mantapuli and came over to Mindanao in the air. He neither walked nor used a boat. The first place he reached was Kabalalan. There he stood on the summit of the mountain and viewed the land and the villages, but he could not see a single human being anywhere. The sight was woeful, and Raja Sulayman exclaimed, “Alas, how pitiful and dreadful is this devastation!” As Sulayman uttered these words the whole mountain moved and shook, and suddenly there came out of the ground a dreadful animal which attacked Sulayman and fixed its claws in his flesh. The minute Sulayman saw the Kurīta he knew that it was the evil scourge of the land, and he immediately drew his sword and cut the Kurīta to pieces.

From there Sulayman went to Matutun. There he saw greater devastation and a more awful condition of affairs. As he stood on the mountain he heard a noise in the forest and saw a movement in the trees. Soon there appeared Tarabŭsaw, which drew near and gave a loud yell. It cautioned Sulayman and threatened to devour him. Sulayman in his turn threatened to kill Tarabŭsaw. The animal said to Sulayman, “If you kill me, I shall die the death of a martyr,” and as it said these words it broke large branches from the trees and assailed Sulayman. The struggle lasted a long while, until at last the animal was exhausted and fell to the ground; thereupon Sulayman struck it with his sword and killed it. As the animal was dying it looked up to Sulayman and congratulated him on his success. Sulayman answered and said, “Your previous deeds brought this death on you.”

The next place Sulayman went to was Mount Bita. Here the devastation was worse still. Sulayman passed by many houses, but they were all vacant and not a soul lived there. “Alas, what havoc and what misfortune has befallen this country!” he exclaimed, as he went on. But suddenly there came a darkness upon the land and Sulayman wondered what it could mean. He looked up to the sky and beheld a wonderful and huge bird descending from the sky upon him. He at once recognized the bird and understood its purpose, and as quick as he could draw his sword he struck the bird and cut off its wing. The bird fell dead, but its wing fell on Sulayman and killed him.

At this same time Raja Indarapatra was sitting in his window, and he looked and saw the little tree wither and dry up. “Alas!” he said, “Raja Sulayman is dead;” and he wept.

Sad at heart but full of determination and desire for revenge, he got up, put on his sword and belt, and came over to Mindanao to search for his brother. He traveled in the air with wonderful speed and came to Kabalalan first. There he looked around and saw the bones of the Kurīta and concluded that his brother had been there and had gone. At Matutun he saw the bones of Tarabūsaw, but Sulayman was not there. So he passed on to Mount Bīta and resumed the search. There he saw the dead bird lying on the ground, and as he lifted the severed wing, he saw the bones of Sulayman, and recognized them by means of the sword that was lying by their side. As he looked at the sword and at the bones he was overwhelmed with grief and wept with tears. Raising up his head he turned around and beheld a small jar of water near him. He knew that the jar was sent down from heaven, so he took it and poured its water on the bones of his brother, and his brother came to life again. Sulayman stood up, greeted his brother, and talked with him. Raja Indarapatra had thought that Sulayman was dead, but Sulayman assured him that he had not been dead, but that he had been asleep. Raja Indarapatra rejoiced and life and happiness filled his heart.

Raja Sulayman returned after that to Mantapuli, but Raja Indarapatra continued his march to Mount Gurayn. There he met the dreadful bird that had seven heads and killed it with his sword, Juru Pakal.

Having destroyed all these noxious animals, and having restored peace and safety to the land, Raja Indarapatra set himself searching for the people that might have escaped destruction. He was of the opinion that some people must have contrived to hide in the earth and that they might be alive yet. One day during his search he saw a beautiful woman at some distance, and as he hastened to meet her she disappeared quickly through a hole in the ground where she was standing. Having become tired and pressed with hunger, he sat down on a rock to rest. Looking around for food, he saw a pot full of uncooked rice and a big fire on the ground in front of it. Coming to the fire he placed it between his legs and put the pot over his knees to cook the rice. While so occupied he heard a person laugh and exclaim, “Oh, what a powerful person this man is!” He turned around and, lo, there was an old woman near by looking at him and wondering how he could cook his rice on a fire between his legs. The woman drew nearer and conversed with Raja Indarapatra, who ate his rice and stood talking to her. He inquired of her about her escape and about the inhabitants of the land. She answered that most of them had been killed and devoured by the pernicious animals, but that a few were still alive. She and her old husband, she said, hid in a hollow tree and could not come out from their hiding place until Raja Sulayman killed the awful bird, Pah. The rest of the people and the datu, she continued, hid in a cave in the ground and did not dare to come out again. He urged her to lead him to the cave and show him the people, and she did so. The cave was very large, and on one side of it were the apartments of the datu and his family. He was ushered into the presence of the datu and was quickly surrounded by all the people who were in the cave. He related to them his purpose and his mission and what he had accomplished and asked them to come out and reinhabit the land. There he saw again the beautiful girl whom he had observed at the opening of the cave. She was the daughter of the datu, and the datu gave her to him in marriage in appreciation of the good he had done for them and the salvation he had brought to the land. The people came out of the cave and returned to their homes, where they lived in peace and prosperity again. At this time the sea had withdrawn and the lowland had appeared.

One day as Raja Indarapatra was considering his return home he remembered Sulayman’s ring and went out to search for it. During the search he found a net near the water and stopped to fish to replenish his provisions for the continuation of the march. The net caught a quantity of buganga fish, some of which he ate. Inside one of the fish he found his ring. This cheered Raja Indarapatra’s heart and completed his joy. Later he bade his father-in-law and his wife good-bye and returned to Mantapuli pleased and happy.

Raja Indarapatra’s wife was pregnant at the time of their parting and a few months later gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The boy’s name was Rinamuntaw and the girl’s name was Rinayung. These two persons are supposed to be the ancestors of some of the Ranao tribes or datus.

This narration was secured from Datu Kali Adam, who learned it from the late Maharāja Layla of Magindanao and from Alad, one of the oldest and most intelligent Moros living. Alad says that Mantapuli was a very great city far in the land of the sunset; where, exactly, he does not know, but he is sure it was beyond the sea. Mantapuli was so large, he said, and its people were so numerous, that it blurred the eyes to look at them move; they crushed the bamboo very fine if it was laid in the street one day.

Raja Indarapatra is the mythological hero of Magindanao and Mantapuli is his city. These names are very frequently mentioned in Moro stories, and various miracles are ascribed to them.

Kabalalan, Matutun, Bīta, and Gurayn are the most prominent and picturesque peaks of Mindanao and Ranao with which the Moros are familiar. The whole narration is native and genuine, and is typical of the Magindanao style and superstitions. Some Arabic names and Mohammedan expressions have crept into the story, but they are really foreign and scarcely affect the color of the story.

The animal Kurīta seems to bear some resemblance to the big crocodiles that abound in the Rio Grande River. Tarabŭsaw may signify a large variety of ape. A heinous bird is still worshiped and is greatly feared by the Tirurays and Manobos who live in the mountains south of Cotabato. The hateful Balbal, in which all Moros believe, is described as a night bird, and its call is supposed to be familiar and distinctly audible every night.

What relation the names of Rinamuntaw and Rinayung bear to the ancestors of the Ranao Moros it will be very interesting to find out in the future.