The Story of Dumalawi

 Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen had a son whose name was Dumalawi.47 When the son had become a young man, his father one day was very angry with him, and tried to think of some way in which to destroy him. The next morning he said to Dumalawi:

 

“Son, sharpen¹ your knife, and we will go to the forest to cut some bamboo.”

 

So Dumalawi sharpened² his knife and went with his father to the place where the bamboo grew, and they cut many sticks and sharpened them like spears at the end.

 

Dumalawi wondered why they made them thus, but when they had finished, Aponitolau said:

 

“Now, Son, you throw them at me, so that we can see which is the braver.”

 

“No, Father,” answered Dumalawi. “You throw first, if you want to kill me.”

 

So Aponitolau threw the bamboo sticks one by one at his son, but he could not hit him. Then it was the son’s turn to throw, but he said:

 

“No, I cannot. You are my father, and I do not want to kill you.” [45]

 

So they went home. But Dumalawi was very sorrowful, for he knew now that his father wanted to destroy him. When his mother called him to dinner he could not eat.

 

Elevated³ living rooms reached by ladders

Elevated living rooms reached by ladders

 

Cocoanut trees tower above the homes

Cocoanut trees tower above the homes

 

Although he had been unsuccessful in his first attempt, Aponitolau did not give up the idea of getting rid of his son, and the next day he said:

 

“Come, Dumalawi, we will go to our little house in the field48 and repair it, so that it will be a protection when the rainy season sets in.”

 

The father and son went together to the field, and when they reached the little house, Aponitolau, pointing to a certain spot in the ground, said:

 

“Dig there, and you will find a jar of basi49 which I buried when I was a boy. It will be very good to drink now.”

 

Dumalawi dug up the jar and they tasted the wine, and it was so pleasing to them that they drank three cocoanut shells full, and Dumalawi became drunk⁴. While his son lay asleep on the ground, Aponitolau decided⁵ that this was a good time to destroy him, so he used his magical power and there arose a great storm which picked up Dumalawi in his sleep and carried him far away. And the father went home alone.

 

Section of a Tinguian village

Section of a Tinguian village

 

A settlement in the mountains

A settlement in the mountains

 

[46]

 

Now when Dumalawi awoke, he was in the middle of a field so wide that whichever way he looked, he could not see the end. There were neither trees nor houses in the field and no living thing except himself. And he felt a great loneliness.

 

By and by he used his magical power, and many betel-nuts grew in the field, and when they bore fruit it was covered with gold,

 

“This is good,” said Dumalawi, “for I will scatter⁶ these betel-nuts and they shall become people,50 who will be my neighbors.”

 

So in the middle of the night he cut the gold-covered betel-nuts into many small pieces which he scattered⁷ in all directions. And in the early morning, when he awoke, he heard many people talking around the house, and many roosters crowed. Then Dumalawi knew that he had companions, and upon going out he walked about where the people were warming themselves51 by fires in their yards, and he visited them all.

 

In one yard was a beautiful maiden⁸, Dapilisan, and after Dumalawi had talked with her and her parents, he went on to the other yards, but she was ever in his thoughts. As soon as he had visited all the people, he returned to the house of Dapilisan and asked her parents if he might marry her. They were unwilling⁹ at first, for they feared that the parents of Dumalawi might not like it; but after he had explained that his [47]father and mother did not want him, they gave their consent¹⁰, and Dapilisan became his bride.

 

Soon after the marriage they decided to perform a ceremony52 for the spirits. So Dapilisan sent for the betel-nuts which were covered with gold,53 and when they were brought to her, she said:

 

“You betel-nuts that are covered with gold, come here and oil yourselves and go and invite all the people in the world to come to our ceremony.”

 

So the betel-nuts oiled themselves and went to invite the people in the different towns.

 

Soon after this Aponibolinayen, the mother of Dumalawi, sat alone in her house, still mourning the loss of her son, when suddenly she was seized with a desire to chew betel-nut.

 

“What ails¹¹ me?” she said to herself; “why do I want to chew? I had not intended to eat anything while Dumalawi was away.”

 

So saying, she took down her basket that hung on the wall, and saw in it a betel-nut covered with gold, and when she was about to cut it, it said:

 

“Do not cut me, for I have come to invite you to the ceremony which Dumalawi and his wife are to make.”

 

Aponibolinayen was very happy, for she knew now that her son still lived, and she told all the people to wash their hair and prepare to go to the rite¹². So they washed their clothes and their hair and started for the home of Dumalawi; and Aponitolau, the father of the [48]boy, followed, but he looked like a crazy man. When the people reached the river near the town, Dumalawi sent alligators¹³ to take them across, but when Aponitolau got on the alligator¹⁴’s back it dived, and he was thrown back upon the bank of the river. All the others were carried safely over, and Aponitolau, who was left on the bank alone, shouted as if crazy until Dumalawi sent another alligator to carry him across.

 

Then Dumalawi had food brought54 and Dapilisan passed basi in a little jar that looked like a fist,55 and though each guest drank a cupful of the sweet wine the little jar was still a third full. After they had eaten and drunk, Aponibolinayen spoke¹⁵, and, telling all the people that she was glad to have Dapilisan for a daughter-in-law, added:

 

“Now we are going to pay the marriage price56 according to our custom. We shall fill the spirit house57 nine times with different kinds of jars.”

 

Then she called, “You spirits58 who live in different [49]springs, get the jars which Dumalawi must pay as a marriage price for Dapilisan,”

 

The spirits did as they were commanded, and when they brought the jars and had filled the spirit house nine times, Aponibolinayen said to the parents of Dapilisan:

 

“I think that now we have paid the price for your daughter.”

 

But Dalonagan, the mother of Dapilisan, was not satisfied, and said:

 

“No, there is still more to pay.”

 

“Very well,” replied Aponibolinayen. “Tell us what it is and we will pay it.”

 

Then Dalonagan called a pet spider and said:

 

“You big spider, go all around the town, and as you go spin a thread59 on which Aponibolinayen must string golden beads¹⁶.” So the spider spun¹⁷ the thread and Aponibolinayen again called to the spirits of the springs, and they brought golden beads which they strung on the thread. Then Dalonagan hung on the thread, and when it did not break she declared that the debt was all paid.

 

After this the people feasted and made merry, and when at last they departed¹⁸ for home Dumalawi refused to go with his parents, but remained with his wife in the town he had created.

1 sharpen   

v.（使）变锐利，削尖

参考例句：

• This exercise will help students sharpen up their reading skills.这个练习将帮助学生提高阅读能力。
• When you sharpen a pencil,you make chips.你削铅笔时，会削下许多碎屑。

2 sharpened   

adj. 尖锐的

参考例句：

• Knives can be sharpened by grinding them against a rough stone. 刀能在一块粗石上磨快。
• A knife is sharpened on the grindstone;steel is tempered in fire. 刀在石上磨，钢在火中炼。

3 elevated   

a.提高的，升高的；高贵的，庄严的

参考例句：

• He elevated many of his friends to powerful positions within the government. 他将许多朋友都提拔到政府部门的要职上。
• The house is in an elevated position, overlooking the town. 这栋房子地势较高，可以俯瞰全城。

4 drunk   

adj.醉酒的；(喻)陶醉的；n.酗酒者，醉汉

参考例句：

• People who drives when they are drunk should be heavily penalised.醉酒驾车的人应受重罚。
• She found him drunk when she came home at night.她晚上回家时，经常发现他醉醺醺的。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

7 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

8 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

9 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

10 consent   

n.同意，准许；vi.同意，准许

参考例句：

• I agree with you, but yet I can't consent.我同意你的意见，但是我不能答应。
• My father would not consent to my leaving school.父亲不会答应我辍学。

11 ails   

v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳

参考例句：

• He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

13 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

14 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

17 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

18 departed   

a.(委婉的说法)已死的

参考例句：

• your dear departed brother 你挚爱的亡兄
• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote. 他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。