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There was a woman whose name was Ginambo of Gonīgonan, who went to fight Aponībolinayen of Kaodanan. When she reached the place where the spring was she said, “You people who are dipping water from the spring, whose place is this where the spring is?” “It belongs to Aponībolinayen of Kaodanan,” they said and when they went up to the town they raised a clamor. “What are you so noisy about, you women who are like me?” said Aponībolinayen. “You ask why we are noisy? Because there are many women, who have come to fight against you, at the place where the spring is,” they said, and Aponībolinayen hurried to take her spear. “What are you so noisy for, women like Aponībolinayen?” asked her father Pagatipánan. “What are we noisy about, you ask? Because there are many of my enemies at the spring.” “Do not go Aponībolinayen, for I will go.” “No for you are weak. What can you do now? Once you did kill people in the place where the spring is, and now perhaps it is my fortune,” she said, and she went to the spring. She looked down and truly the enemies looked like many locusts about the spring. “Ala,” said Ginambo of Gonīgonan, “You people who live with me, you are anxious to carry away this woman whom we do not like.” “Yes,” they answered, “but only our names will go back to the towns we came from,” i.e. they expected to be killed. Ginambo answered, “No, we are anxious to capture her without fail.” Page 65

Aponībolinayen said, “You old enemy take this betel-nut,” and she cut it in two and gave it to them. “How are we sure Ginambo of Gonīgonan that only our names will not go back, we are afraid.” Ginambo said, “Do not be afraid, but hurry to be brave.” “Ala, now do what you can,” shouted Aponībolinayen who stood on a high rock. When they started toward Aponībolinayen their spears looked like rain they were so many. She glanced off the spears with both elbows. “Now I am the next to throw my spears,” said Aponībolinayen. “Yes, because all our weapons are gone,” they said.

Aponībolinayen was next, she said, “I will use my magic, and you, my spear, shall kill six and seven at one time, and you, my headaxe, cut off their heads from the left side and from the right side, and in back and in front.” “Ala, you spare me so that I may tell the people in Gonīgonan where I live,” said Ginambo. “Yes, but next month I will come to your town Gonīgonan to fight,” said Aponībolinayen.

Soon after that Gīnáwan of Nagtinawan said, “You people who live in the same town in which I live, let us go to fight Aponīgawanī of Kadalayapan.” “No, we do not wish to go, because the people who live in Kadalayapan are powerful like Kabonīyan. We do not know whether she has a brother or not though someone has said that Aponīgawanī has no brother.” “No we go,” said Gīnáwan. “If that is what you say, we will go,” said the people. So they went and they walked and walked until they reached the spring at Kadalayapan. Gīnáwan said, “You women who are dipping water from the spring, to whom does it belong?” “To Aponīgawanī,” they said. Gīnawan said, “Ala, you go and tell your bravest that we fight with steel weapons.” The women who dipped water from the well said, “We do not know who is the bravest, whom we should tell, for Aponīgawanī has no brother.” They went up to the town, and said, “Uncle Pagbokásan the place about the spring is filled with enemies.” Then Aponīgawanī was in a hurry to go. “Do not go you will kill somebody,” said her father. “No, father, the spring will be lost and then what can we do? Father, I am a woman and since I have no brother, perhaps it is my fortune to fight, for you are weak.”

“Now, mother, go and make cakes and after that I will go to fight,” said Aponībolinayen. “Do not go,” said her mother Ebang of Kaodanan, but she could not detain her, so she made the cake, and when she finished, Aponībolinayen went.

“Mother, make preparations for me to go to war, for this is the month we agreed upon with Gīnáwan of Nagtinawan,” said Aponīgawanī to her mother Langa-an of Kadalayapan.

Bye and bye Aponībolinayen who was walking in the middle of the road, stopped because she was tired. Aponīgawanī was also walking and when she looked up she saw a woman to whom none compared, and she was startled, and she said, “Here is a woman who looks like me. I do not like to approach her who looks like me, yet I am ashamed not to do so, for she has seen me,” she said. “Good morning,” said Aponīgawanī to Aponībolinayen who sat on a high stone by the road. They leaned their spears together between them and then they talked. “Now, my friend, where are you going,” said Aponībolinayen. “I am going to war,” said Aponīgawanī. “And where are you going?” said Aponīgawanī to Aponībolinayen. “I am going to Gonīgonan, because the month which I agreed upon with Ginambo of Gonīgonan has come,” said Aponībolinayen. “Ala, let us chew betel-nut.” “Yes, if that is what you say, we will chew betel-nut,” said Aponīgawanī. After that they Page 67exchanged quids. And the quid which had been chewed by Aponīgawanī was covered with agate beads which are called pīnogalan, and the quid of Aponībolinayen was covered with gold. Aponīgawanī said, “You are more beautiful and have more power than I, because your betel-nut is covered with gold.” After that they spat in front of them. The place looked like the place where a child had been born. “Now, my friend, we are going to tell our names.” “Yes,” said each one, and they told their names. “I am Aponībolinayen of Kaodanan who has no brother, and Ginambo of Gonīgonan came to fight against me and the month in which we agreed to fight has come, so I go meet her.” “I go also to the town of Gīnáwan of Nagtinawan, because the month which we agreed on has arrived, my name is Aponīgawanī of Kadalayapan who also has no brother.” “If that is what you are going to do, we will go first to Gonīgonan, then we will go to the town of Nagtinawan,” said Aponībolinayen to her. “If that is what you say we will both go.” So they went.

Not long after they arrived at Gonīgonan. “Now, Ginambo of Gonīgonan I am here because the month which we agreed has come.” “You people who live in the same town with me prepare, because the woman who always stays in the house in Kaodanan has come to fight against us,” said Ginambo. “Yes, Ginambo, we will fight against her. We told you not to go against her before, because the people of her town are related to Kabonīyan. We do not know what magic they may use,” they said. “Now, what can we do, we are lost.” After that they began to fight. “Ala, you my spears and headaxes kill the people from the left and the right sides, from in back and in front,” said Aponībolinayen and Aponīgawanī.

As soon as they commanded their spears and headaxes their invisible helpers flew and they went to Dangdangáyan of Naglitnan. “Oh, sir, you are so happy, who are in bed in the house. The people who live in Gonīgonan have nearly killed your sister, because she went to fight against them,” said the helpers. After that he went to bathe and wash his hair. “Ala, you three girls take the rice straw and wash my hair,” he said, and the three girls washed his hair. After that he finished to wash and he went up to the town. As soon as they arrived in the town the three girls combed his hair. When they finished to comb his hair, “Now, you put little golden beads on each of my hairs,” he said. As soon as they put all the gold in his hair he took his spear and headaxe and he went.

“Now we will go to Nagtinawan which is the town of Gīnáwan, with whom Aponīgawanī agreed to fight this month.” After that, “You plunder and heads go before us to Kadalayapan, when you arrive at the gate you divide equally and part of you go to Kaodanan.” So they went to Nagtinawan. When they arrived in Nagtinawan, “You Gīnáwan of this town now the agreed month is here.” “How are you Gīnáwan? We told you not to go before and you went; now we will all be killed,” said the people who lived in the same town. “Now we seek vengeance.” They looked as if they cut down banana trees when they cut down their Page 69enemies. “Please spare me, and if you wish marry me,” said Gīnáwan. “If that is what you say we will kill you last,” but they did not kill her.

After that they went home and sent all the heads before them and also the plunder. After that they arrived in Kaodanan. “Good afternoon, Uncle,” said Dangdangáyan to old man Pagbokásan. “Come up the ladder,” he said. “You go and cook so that these boys may eat,” he said. After that, “You go and get one jar of basi which you used to like when you were young,” said his wife Ebang. As soon as she said this they went and they drank, and Pagbokásan said to them. “This is reserved for Aponībolinayen to drink when she returns from fighting.”

When the old woman had finished cooking, she took the rice from the jar and put it on the woven basket, and she took the meat from the jar and put it in the coconut shells, and so they ate. As soon as they finished to eat, “Now we are not going to stay long, because we must go home,” they said. So Dangdangáyan dropped down the women who never go out of the house. “Why Aponībolinayen is here and Lingīwan also,” they said. Dingowan of Nagtangpan took Aponībolinayen and put her inside of a big jar; then they went to Kadalayapan, because they went to take Aponīgawanī. When they arrived they said, “Good afternoon Uncle,” to the old man Pagatipánan. “Good morning,” he answered, and he was glad. “Come up,” he said. When they went up the stairs they were given basi. While they were drinking they let Aponīgawanī fall in front of them, and they were all glad, because Aponīgawanī was there. “How fine that Aponīgawanī is here; we feared that she was lost,” said the old man and woman. “Ala, boys if you go home now, return soon for we are going to chew betel nut.”

When they had learned that the boys who had carried the girls home were their sons they all went back to town, and their people who had been invited were there. As soon as they sat down Iwaginan commanded someone to play the gansas and he took the two skirts and made everyone dance. His wife Gintoban who was a big woman, who used the big jars like agate beads on her head and about her neck, said to Iwaginan, “Why don't you, my husband, bid me dance? I have been waiting for a very long time.” Iwaginan said, “Gintoban do not say that or I shall be ashamed before the people. Wait until I am ready for you.” As soon as Aponībolinayen and Lingīwan finished dancing Iwaginan took the skirts from them and he gave one to Gintoban and the other to Ilwīsan, and so they danced. And the big jars which she had hung around her neck made a noise and the earth shook when she moved her body. As soon as they finished dancing the people who went to attend Balaua Page 71with them said, “Now we going to put the heads around the town and then go for it is nearly one month now and our families are lonesome for us.” So they went to put the heads on the sticks around the town.

At that time the two alan who had picked up Lingīwan and Dangdangáyan arrived. They did not wish to attend Balaua, but the betel-nut had grown on their heads and they had arrived very late. As soon as Lingīwan and Dangdangáyan saw them they took them back to the town. As soon as Pagatipánan knew that they were the alan who took care of the boys he summoned the people around the town. They danced for one month. After that Langa-an and Ebang went to talk with the two alan, and said to them, “We are surprised for we did not feel our sons come out.” The alan said, “Lingīwan I picked up by the side of the road while you were walking, that is why you did not feel him; he was a little bloody when I picked him up, and I made him a man because I have no child to inherit all my things. Now that you found out that he is your son you come and take all my things in Kabinbinlan, as soon as the Balaua is finished. As soon as you will get all of them I will fly somewhere.” So when the people went home, after the Balaua was finished, Lingīwan and Dangdangáyan went to follow their alan mothers. As soon as they arrived in the different places where the alan lived they gave them all the things which they had and they used their power so that all the things went to their town. When all the things arrived in Kadalayapan the people in the town were frightened, for there was a golden house. When the things arrived in Kaodanan the people were frightened for there were the valuable things which Dangdangáyan took with him.

As soon as they drank Ebang went to cook. As soon as she finished cooking they ate. After they finished eating they took the big coconut shell and filled it with basi and each of them drank, and they were all drunk, and Langa-an said, “I like to hear from you if you wish Lingīwan to be a son.” Soon Pagbokásan and Ebang agreed. They decided on the day for pakálon. So Langa-an went home and when she arrived she laid down on the porch of the house for she was drunk, and Lingīwan saw her and waked her. “What is the matter with you?” he said. “I am drunk for Pagbokásan and Ebang urged me to drink much basi, so I was scarcely able to get home, that is why I slept on the porch.” “Mother, you go into the house, do not sleep on the porch.” So she went in and Lingīwan asked her the result of her visit to Kaodanan. “They accepted you and we agreed to make pakálon the day after tomorrow.” So Lingīwan was glad, and went to tell the people about his marriage, and all the people prepared so that they might go.

As soon as the agreed month to go to Kadalayanpan came, they went. As soon as they arrived there they danced for one month. Lingīwan and Aponībolinayen had their golden house, which the alan had given them. The people agreed on how much they should pay for the pakálon, and Pagatipánan and Langa-an said, “Pay just the same as we paid for Aponībolinayen when Lingīwan married her.” “If that is what you say, it is all right,” they said. And Ebang used magic so that the balaua was five times full of jars which are malayo, tadogan, and ginlasan. So the balaua was filled five times, and each of the relatives who went to attend the pakálon took some jars. As soon as the pakálon was finished the people all went home, and Pagbokásan and Ebang said, “Ala, now that the pakálon is over let us take Aponīgawanī,” Langa-an answered, “If you make extra payment you can take Aponīgawanī now,” and Dangdangáyan said to his mother, “If they want the extra payment, ask them how much.” Langa-an replied, “Another five times the balaua full,” and Ebang said to her son, “We have to pay again the balaua five times full.” “That is all right mother I have many jars which my alan mother gave me,” so they gave the extra jars which they asked. As soon as they gave all the jars they took Aponīgawanī of Kaodanan with them. As soon as they arrived they made a big party, and they invited the alan. As soon as the alan arrived at the party they danced and gave more presents to them. After that the alan and the other people went home and Aponīgawanī and Dangdangáyan had their own house which the alan gave them. This is all.

(Told by Lagmani of Patok.)