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TUWAANG

TUWAANG

Published lgSB; 7925. Transcriber, E. ArsenioManuel, The Maiden."f !: Buhong Sky, a Co,;ii;;,Song From the Bagobi FoIk Epic ho_oong, euezonCty: UP Press, 195g. Transcriblr, E. Arsenio Manuel,llrwaang Attends.a_Wedding, euezon City; AteneoUniversity Press, 1925.

Tuwaang is the- epic of the Manobo, a groupoccrrpying the boundary area of Cotabato, BukiXnon,and Davao in Mindanao, near the areas occupied bylTl"g:l and Tagbanwa. There are over 5O Tuwaanisongs, but thus far, only two songs from the epic havEbeen published. Both aie in the Nianobo language andare perfon4ed during wa.kes,. weddings, tdikrgfi;

, rituals, and hunts. The first is Mangiaayt nuhing niLangit (The Maiden of the Buhong"Sky), .e"o.auf, nyE. Arsenio Manuel an-d publish"? *iin an Englisirtranslation in a_ journal in 1952. It was publishe? inbook form in 1958. The other is Midsakip Tnbpopa-*o!..quy^ang Attends a Wedding), recorded indpublished with an English translatiJn by E. ArsenioManuel in 1975. Manuel,s principal source for the twosongs was Saddani pagayaw, hiJcompanion in Davao.Pagayaw dictated the songs or, sepa.ite occasions. Henever-sung them, but learned them from one who did,a. bard named Inuk, who belonged to a family of

"pi.singers. Inuk, in turn, had learied Midsakop fab)o_poruoy from another bard, Itam.

. fuI song of the Tuwaang epic is inhoduced by thesinger with a proem or prelude known to the Manobo as thetabbayanon, which, intum, has twoparts: thetabbayanonproper, which elicits interest and often expresses thesinge/s loves and dreams, and the bantangon, whichannounces the beginning of the song proper. The Manobo

T=.urp".i{y receptive d.unng epic singing. Th"y expresstheir reaction-s Eo"gh the ondion, hth; formof sighs,crie_s, a1d yells. Sometimes, their reaction lc expresied,within hearing qf the sitrger, in words of appredation orencouragement, from a simple word or phrase to a com_plete poetic line.

.Tu-!.rl sorg is about Tuwaang getting himselfa wife.

.Hq fu fust presented as un*uitirun""dept atmaking leglets, at engraving finger rings, ancl at mold_ing chains of gold. One day, hJte[s lis sister that thewind has informed him about the Maiden of the BuhongSky. She has come to Pinanggayungan, the counhy oiBatooy, but she refuses to talk to iny of the gallantsthere. Although his sister is fearful of what may result,Tuwaang_soon gears himself to journey to Batooy,scountry. Transported by lightning, bedecked with iriswarrior's cosfume and headdress, and armed like agallant, he becomes the object of admiration of the

maidens of pinanggayungan. He is received in thehouse of the young.Man- of pangavukad, who iour_neys with him to the house of Batooy. There, Tuwaangis received. As he lies sleeping near the Maiden of thiBuhong Sky, the Maiden ,p"""kr, disrobes, and plucksa strand of Tuwaang,s iowlick. The Maiden tellsJurlaang her story: she has been running away fromthe Young Man oi pangumanon, a giant whose head_dress reaches the clouds, who waits to marry her,Becauee. she rejected him, the young Man of n"r.,g.r_manon has burnt her kingdom. Reckilssly pursued"bythe gi;rnt, she has soughi shelter in the earthworld.

No sooner has she finished her tale when theYoung Man of pangumanon, enyeloped. in flames,arrives, killing Batooy,s people. The Voung Man oiPanga.rukad, Tuwaang,s companion, is among the lasthe slays. Next, he attaiks Tuwaang. The two warriorsfight, but neither one of them gXins an advantage.Shields are smashed, ancl spelrs and blades arebroken. 'Ilren, the young Man of pangumanon calls onhis,pan.turru, a span-long-iron bar endJwed with super_natural properties, and coils it around fuwaang. bhepantung bursts into flames, but when Tuwaanglaiseshis- right hand, the fire is put out. In turn, Triwaangcalls on his own pantung, i skein of gold. He calls oithe wind to fan the flames of his pantung, whichgngulf tl.re Young Man of pangumanon and kill him.Tlyuung revives the dead folks by his spittle. Then,riding the lightning, he carries the Maiden on hisshoulder to his country in Kuaman. Tuwaang,s sistergreets them with betel chew, After resting for fivedays, a stranger brings death to Tuwaang,sJollowersand challenges Tuwaang. 1'hey fight, aid Tuwaangovercomes him. The hero revives his followurc ur,itakes another five-day rest. Afterwards, he gathers hispeople to take them to the country of Katusan, theland without death and one of the heaventy lavers ofthe skyworld. The people ride the sinalinfua, an airboat.Tuwaang places his,, sister and the Maiden on hisshoulders and follows the sinalimba to Katusan.

In the second song, Tuwaang is a wedding guestwho becomes the wedcling groo*. Several motifsfound in the first song r"cu. ir, Midsakop Tabpopa-ruoy, such as the announcement of the problem'bythe wind, the lightning rides, and Tuwaang,s makingfriends along his way. Tuwaang tells his aunt that thewind has informed him about the wedding of theMaiden of Manawon. Although the aunt foresees trou_ble, he is determined to attend the wedding, havinggiven his y9.d. He prepares himself for thJjoumeyltaking with him his 6lade, his dagger, his shield, andhis spear. Riding the lightning, he arrives at the kaw-kawangan grassland, where h1 rests and hears a bird

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