Chapter 13: Chapter 13- Bangka Ride

AMILYN

 

“So what’s this whole festival thingy? Seems like a big deal around here, with the mandatory attendance and all,” I ask Mary as we walk toward…well, somewhere.

“Oh yeah. It is a big deal. The harvest festival happens once a year, and is the biggest yearly gathering of bagani-kind around the whole world. Everyone comes home to celebrate it. Basically it marks the end of the harvest season, and we get to thank the deities for the bountiful harvest of the year. I heard it’s really fun, games and all that,” Mary replies as she leads the way to our destination.

Hmm, so like some sort of intramural? That sounds nice. A nice, multi-hair-color intramural with fun games and recreation. That should be nice and normal enough, right?

Boy was I wrong.

First off, the ride to said event is on some sort of …boat?

I’m not sure if it qualifies as a boat. First of all, it’s shaped like a giant egg, but half of the the shell has been removed and all that remains is the jelly-like membrane to separate the outside from the inside structure. The oblong structure is divided in two: the upper part and the lower part. The upper part is see-through, protected by the aforementioned jelly-like substance, and the lower area comprising of some sort of white wall. There are several of such structures floating above the river.

“There it is. Lucky we got here early. Any later and we’ll have to compete with a hoard to get on those,” Mary enthusiastically exclaims as she heads for the structure.

“Uhh…what is that?” I manage to ask as I not so enthusiastically follow her.

“That,” she replies, pointing at the structure, “is our ride back to the surface. We call it a bangka. It’s Tagalog for boat, though I know it’s not so boat-looking. It’s made of bakunawa eggshells from ancient times. The ancestors who dwell in the seas converted them to boats because the shell is made of really sturdy stuff,” she explains as she approaches one of the boats.

That’s one big egg, I think to myself as we approach.

I wonder how big a baby bakunawa is to come out of such a huge egg.

Then again, I’m not really looking forward to meeting something that’s already this big as a baby. Imagine how much larger it would be fully grown.

We both enter the nearest so called boat. The inside is as you would expect a giant shell to be shaped as. There are no edges inside. Seats are arranged in small rows of threes on both sides, all facing the part where the driver is supposed to sit.

But now that I look closely, there is no driver’s seat. The entire interior is filled with passenger seats, but no room for the man on the helm.

“But how does it run? I don’t see any sails or engines? And where is the driver supposed to sit? I don’t see anyone.” I ask.

“Oh, this entire thing is pulled by giant flying fish. And the driver is under water, some siren or syokoy from the cove should be manning it somewhere. They don’t like to be seen, their kind,” Mary replies, choosing a seat near the door.

“Sirens? We have sirens? Those are real? And flying fish? Are they magic too?” I excitedly ask, somehow eager to meet more supposed-to-be mythical creatures in the flesh.

“Yeah, sirens are real. But don’t get too excited about them. It’s pretty rare to see one, even with us living next to a colony. And about the fish, no, they’re not magic. They’re just really big fish. The sirens raise them in the pens near their cove.”

Oh, so no chance of seeing magic siren or magic flying fish. Too bad, I was kinda looking forward to it too. I mean, at least they don’t sound as dangerous as giant egg baby or whatever we have to use centipedes for.

It doesn’t take much longer for more people to arrive. In fact, a few minutes later and a cue for the boats finally starts to form. Mary helpfully informs me that about ten thousand pinili study at Pinag-adlawan at any given time, and thus there are ten thousand students that these boats have to bring to the surface. Apparently, there will be dozens of similar boats in five of the main rivers (there are eight main rivers, but three aren’t accessible to the public).

After our boat fills up, the journey begins.

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The boat lurches forward, and slowly, we dive.

This time, we use a much more spacious passage, enough for the boat to comfortably glide past without bumping into the walls. Fishes swim beside us, curiously eyeing us as we go. Just as I remember, the walls of the cave light up in a dull white glow, highlighting various formations here and there.

Once, we pass by one of those dragon-snake hybrid that guards the entrances. It lets us pass, swimming to the edge of the cave to allow more room for us. It’s just as huge as I remembered it to be, long enough to match the size of the boat. Just as before, it doesn’t harm us.

Not long after, we make it to the main river, and up we go to the surface.

The boat breaks through the water, and we are greeted by the warm sunlight. One by one we exit the boat. I take one look back, just in time to see one of the fish that’s dragging the boat emerge. And boy Mary sure did mean it when she said they are huge. Those things are about the size of a fully-grown human!

We emerge to what looks like a large field. From here I can see that it does indeed look like harvest season has just ended. I see rice stalks cut in half, the entire scene colored by a dull yellow turning light brown. The air smells like freshly-cut grass.

Being the first boat to depart, I expected us to be the first ones here. To my surprise though, there are about fifty people here, busily milling about.

“The datu’s entourage, here to prepare for the festival,” Mary explains when she sees a big question mark on my face.

“The WHAT’s entourage now?” I ask, still eyeing the men.

“The datu. You know, the highest-ranking official of Pinag-adlawan? The leader of the bagani? The strongest fighter? The GOAT? Big old man? That ring any bells?”

“I didn’t know we have a king here.”

“Of course we do. Well, kind of. He’s our leader. Who would manage such a large organization if we didn’t have leaders? But he’s more like a president than a king. You know, duly elected instead of being born into power. We’re a democracy, that’s what we are,” she further explains.

“Ah. I guess that does make sense.”

“I think they’re preparing to summon Dumangan. Great view we have here. We can clearly see them,” Mary comments, settling down on a slab of rock.

“Summon who?”

“Dumangan. God of harvest. He’s the main thing every festival. Can’t have a harvest festival without the god of harvest now, can we?”

“So we get to see an actual god? Like, in person?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Sit down here. When the crowd’s all gathered they’ll summon him.”

“So you actually get to meet the gods here? Is that a normal thing?” I ask again.

“Yeah.  So far I’ve met Mankukutod when he was blessing the coconut trees at the base, and apparently we’re supposed to meet Apolaki when we start classes. Plenty more gods and goddesses, plenty of opportunities to meet them.  Come on, sit down. Let’s get comfortable while we wait. Here I brought some suman,” she invites, handing me the familiar snack.

I gladly accept, eagerly grabbing the snack, already looking forward to meeting one of the gods we’re supposed to be serving.

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