HANDYONG & ORYOL: A Bicol Folk Tale of Love and Redemption

The Ibálong, is a 60-stanza fragment of a folk epic from the Bicol region of the Philippines, based on the Indian Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharta. The epic is said to have been narrated in verse form by a native poet called Kadunung.  The Ibalong portrays deeds in heroic proportions, centering on warrior-heroes named, among others, Baltog, Handyong, and Bantong. They came from Boltavara, settling and ruling Bikolandia and its inhabitants. The epic is set in the land of Aslon and Ibalong.

The central figure in the epic is Handyong. He came to Bicol with his followers after Baltog, and came to be the most famous of the tawong-lipod. He cleared the land of predatory monsters, inspired inventions, reintroduced agriculture, built tree-houses where anitosor idols were kept called moog, and set up a code of laws, establishing a golden age in his day. He is also known to have built the first boat and developed rice cultivation in flooded areas.

Oryol is a demi-goddess in Bicolano myths, she is mentioned as a serpent in the Ibalong epic. Believed to be the daughter of the deity Asuang, Oryol possesses inhuman beauty and prowess when it comes to seduction. Aside from being beautiful in stories, it is told that she has a beautiful voice that could lure anyone (both men and women, even animals). Half of her body is a serpent. It is believed that the Naga and the Magindara obey her every command for she is a demigoddess.

Below is a folk story that expands on the Ibalong epic characters and fuses them into a moral lesson.

HANDYONG & ORYOL

LONG, LONG AGO, SOMEWHERE IN THE Bicol Region, existed a prosperous and beautiful kingdom called Ibalon. It was renowned for its lush forest, happy inhabitants and mighty ruler, Handyong. All nature adored Handyong. The Mayas chirped about their handsome and wise ruler; while Maribok, the king-frog, croaked day and night of Handyong’s bravery. Tuktok, the mother Kalaw, as she taught her baby horn bills how to peck faster, described to them how Handyong’s muscles glistened under the sun. Even Poringot, the bald rooster, would wiggle his tail to honor Handyong. Bolinao, the chief of small fishes, would lead the school of fish to the farthest nook of the sea telling all the creatures they met how good a fisherman Handyong was.

The people of Ibalon were very grateful that Handyong was not only handsome, but also brave.

But the much-adored Handyong was terribly unhappy, for deep in the forest lived monsters. Punong-the one-eyed, three throated creature, the wild carabaos, the gigantic crocodiles and the snakes that lived in Mount Hantik were his enemies. These beasts were led by the wily serpent, Oryol, who was difficult to destroy, for she was more cunning than Handyong.

 

Oryol was once the most beautiful maiden of lbalon. Envious of her beauty, Hilang, the evil witch, lured Oryol to the forest and converted her into a serpent by day and a lovely woman by midnight. Hilang vowed on a pitogo seed that only love could free Oryol from the curse. The promise was sealed in the enchanted pitogo, and only its destruction held the key to Oryol ‘s freedom.

One night, when the moon showed its round face, the monsters attacked the village, destroyed the crops and preyed on the people. Handyong single-handedly fought the monsters from midnight to dawn. It was only when the sun kissed the earth that the monsters retreated to the woods. They left Handyong alone, sore and bone-weary. Although his people applauded his brave deeds, he was still not quite happy because he knew the monsters would return the next full moon and he was afraid he might not be always as strong to fight them everytime they
attack his kingdom.

Handyong decided to go deep into the forest and wrestle once and for all with the monsters.

Meanwhile, in the forest where the monsters gathered anew to make their evil plans, the other animals shook like leaves in fright as they listened to the harsh words as each one blamed the other for their defeat in the previous encounter with Handyong.

“You and your noisy throat! How could you move fast? You should have asked your grandmother for three eyes and one throat instead,” one snake addressed Punong.

The monstrous frog’s throats expanded in anger and his eye winked malevolently, as he croaked. “How dare you drag my grandmother’s name into the fight! If not for Handyong’s attempt to strangle one of my throats, you wouldn’t have escaped!”

So the dispute continued. The wild carabaos could only blame their thick hide for their limited body movement. The gigantic crocodiles accused one another for stupidly getting snarled in each other’s jaws. They fought fiercely only to discover that the scaly bodies they bit were as tough as their own.

But Oryol, the wily serpent, after listening to the arguments, smiled and hissed.

“I will destroy Handyong, not by might but by wit. Leave me alone to think,” she said, her two-pronged tongue flashing in anger. Like a queen, Oryol slid down the tree, coiled and poised her regal head, ready to strike anyone who disobeyed.

When the monsters had gone to their respective hotbeds of wickedness, Oryol felt very lonely. Many volcanic eruptions and countless typhoons had passed, and she had gotten tired of the wasted time spent on schemes to kill Handyong. She was disgusted at the ranting and the swearing among the monsters. She had shed off her silvery skin as many times as the ancient balete trees in the forest since the evil witch Hilang turned her into a snake. Having forgotten who her real enemy is, her serpent heart vowed to kill Handyong or be killed by him.

Days flew fast and the night lantern once more was beginning to be as round as a pomelo when Oryol restlessly awakened. The light which poured in between hollows in the forest imbued in her heart the desire to be free from darkness. With her low seductive voice, she hissed her serpent song, paralyzing and terrifying all creatures who heard it. Even the night owls ceased hooting while their eyes grew wider in wonder.

As Oryol finished her song, she slowly opened her eyes to discover a transformation. She now had hands, with fingers that tapered beautifully like candles. She smoothed her silken black hair down her small, round waist. She noticed a pair of firm young legs, both eager to explore the dark forest. Unaware of her ravishing looks, Oryol approached one of the owls. When she looked into its wide eyes she saw her startled reflection. Hesitantly, afraid that the image might vanish, she brushed lightly her moonwashed face.

While she talked to the owls, the dangling monkeys whooped resounding cries. They smelt someone coming. Silently, like a cat stalking its prey, Handyong came into view. He had come with his followers to track down the monsters of Mt. Hantik. Handyong himself stood in awe at the beautiful apparition before him. Oryol ‘s heart quivered with excitement as she encountered Handyong’s penetrating eyes. She thought she had forgotten how to love!

But she quickly recovered and remembered her vow to kill Handyong. “I will lure him into forgetting his purpose for coming. I will sing to him until he ceases to remember, and then . . . ” she muttered to herself. She fingered the enchanted pitogo seed in her hand.

“Young woman, you’re alone in the forest, are you not afraid of the monsters lurking in the dark?” Handyong asked her.

“Monsters?” she replied. “They have been lulled to sleep by my song. Come, I’ll show you where they are.”

She led him to where the monsters were sound asleep. Handyong could have easily attacked them but did not think it honorable to kill a defenseless enemy. He instead decided to let his men rest until the monsters awakened from their slumber.

Oryol resumed her humming, then burst into an enchanting song. The men’s lids dropped as though mesmerized. Soon they were fast asleep. Only Handyong fought the urge to drift into dreamland. His eyes were on the lovely Oryol.

After a while, Oryol thought she had tricked everyone and once more became a serpent. She crept noiselessly to where Handyong lay. But Handyong, who had seen everything, was · ready to defend himself. Before Oryol could -strike him, swift as the wink of an eye, he grabbed the serpent’s neck so tight that Oryol thought it would break. Just as she was about to pass out, she again changed into a beautiful lady. Handyong, who had never hurt a woman in his life, released his grip and with powerful arms carried Oryol to a bed of leaves and tenderly laid her down. Oryol is human, he thought, -not a monster. No monster could be lovely and defenseless as she is now. And love came to Handyong unexpectedly, quiet like the morning ball of fire, warm and overpowering. He bent and kissed Oryol.

As he did so, the pitogo seed fell from her hand. The seed that could spell the monters’ defeat and Oryol ‘s release from witchcraft. Accidentally, Handyong stepped on the pitogo seed which promptly broke to pieces. Then the monsters awakened and attacked Handyong and his followers. The fierce fighting reverberated in the forest as brave men with bare hands and sharpened spears were pitted against the monsters.

The destruction of the pitogo seed instantly weakened the monsters and deprived Oryol the power to convert herself into a serpent. Moreover, Oryol ‘s heart was now torn between loyalties: to her former friends, the monsters, and to the mortals with whom she was now identified. Pain was etched in her tear-stained face. She closed her eyes to the image of a slain Handyong.

“No, I cannot see him hurt or dead,” she cried softly. “These monsters should die for bringing untold evils to the villagers.”

It was almost dawn and the men as well as the monsters had gotten tired, but the battle was far from ended.

Oryol, out of concern for Handyong, also divulged the secret strategy to hasten the defeat of the cursed monsters. “Aim at the heart,” she cautioned Handyong and his men.

Upon sensing this betrayal, the monsters turned to Oryol with hate in their eyes and distaste in their frothing mouths. The crocodiles bared razor-sharp teeth, the wild carabaos formed a battalion of poised horns and the three-throated Punong rotated its one eye swiftly. In the meantime, the shifted attention to Oryol gave the heroic men time to drive their spears forcefully into the hearts
of the deceived monsters.

The violent battle having ended, Handyong went to Oryol who stood immobile like a hypnotized lady. He whispered to her, “Are you sorry, we had to kill your friends?”

“They ‘re really not my friends,” she sobbed. “When Hilang the evil witch cast her spell on me, I lost all my real friends and home.”

“Please come home with me and be my wife,” Handyong said with tenderness.

His men seeing that their ruler will no longer be lonely, left him to celebrate his newly found happiness with Oryol.

And so, on the great wedding day, Maribok, Kalaw and Bolinao came dressed in colorful attire. Even Poringot attended with a tiny feathered hat perched on its tail.

 

Source: Three Tales From Bicol, Perla S. Intia, New Day Publishers, 1982

ALSO READ: Ibálong: Bicol’s Incredible 60 Stanza Folk Epic