Ibalon
Long ago
on a far away land of Ibalong there was a hero named Baltog, a young
man who was strong, kind and very handsome. He was the only son of Handiong,
the chieftain of their then prosperous village.
One day, his
father talks to him about their miserable plight in that land of Samar. They
had many enemies who would come every now and then and destroy their crops and
kill their animals and disturb their peaceful everyday life. Their people were
dying of hunger because of lack of food. What was left to them was not enough
to see them through another harvest season.
“Our dear
people are tired fighting son,” his father said. “They want a lasting peaceful
life with no hunger lingering around. Our animals are getting smaller and
smaller in number everyday. If this situation continues unabated, we and our
people will all die of hunger.”
“What do
you want me to do, father?” Batlog asked. His fathers face him and looked at
him straight in the eyes. Then he held his shoulders.
“Find a
suitable place where our people and their family can live peacefully and
contentedly.”
Batlog’s eyes
wandered around. He saw their people’s miserable life and destroyed houses. He
saw hunger and starvation in every child’s faces. He saw resignation in every
mother and father’s faces. He too felt very sad.
“I am too
old for the job I’m putting on your shoulder. You are young, strong and brave
and can handle the responsibility. I know you can do it. For me and for our
people.”
Batlog
embraced his father tightly for a long while. Then he knelt before him.
“Bless me,
father before I go. With God’s help. I will do my best to find a good place for
us and our people.”
Handiong
gave his blessing to Batlog. Batlog at once sailed out that night in a small
boat that would take him to a fertile and beautiful place called Kabikulan. He
had heard so much about the twitter.com/FAbatay16 place and he thought it would be good if he could
find a place there where he and his people could live for the rest of their
lives.
Out in a
great sea, Batlog encountered a strong wind and huge waves that destroyed his
small boat. He had to swim and he almost drowned before he safely reached the
shore of the coastal town of Kabikulan.
He begun
wandering in Kabikulan, reaching as far as the land of Aslon and Ibalon which had
jurisdiction over the plain surrounded by the great mountains of Adog,
Masaraga, Isaraog and Lignion. He found Ibalon a perfect place for him and his
people. The soil was fertile and was suitable for rootcrops, rice and
vegetables. It was also very ideal for their animals. It was like a land of
milk and honey. Batlog was too happy for the place he had found.
“I want to
have this place for me and my people,” he said to himself.
Batlog
said it too soon. Because there lived in the great mountains surrounding Ibalon
several crocodiles that had wings and could fly, wild boar that as big as an
elephant and a snake with a head of a woman. But Batlog was decided to have
Ibalon for their settlement area and so he fiercely fought the crocodiles and
the boars with all his might. With his strength and skill in hand-to-hand
combat, he was able to subdue all the crocodiles and boar, killing them and
cutting them to pieces. However, the snake with a woman’s head was able to
escape and left the mountain for another home.
Then he went
home and told his father about the land he had found for them. Wasting no time,
Batlog and his father and all their people left Samar for Ibalon, his new home.
Once settled, Handiong and Batlog taught their people several home, industries to
make a living. In no time, their lives change for better. They tilled the soil and
it gave them bountiful harvest. In that land, hunger and starvation became for them,
a thing of the past.
