LANG-AY

NARRATOR : In a faraway land in the mountain, there lived a great demigod warrior
named Lumawig. He fought many battles and conquered many lands.

LUMAWIG : I claim this land in the name of my father, Kafunyan!

NARRATOR : Kafunyan, the great god, was pleased and rewarded Lumawig with great
strength. The gift assisted Lumawig in conquering more and more lands.
One day, as Lumawig was scouting an uninhabited land, an anito, a spirit,
saw him. It took notice of his strength and confronted Lumawig.

ANITO : Come with me; I will help you conquer all the earth!

LUMAWIG : (angrily) No! You are an anito! I know what you really want!

NARRATOR : Lumawig charged at the anito and he attacked the spirit with all he had.
Being a spirit, the anito was not affected by his physical attacks. Eventually,
Lumawig had fought to the point of exhaustion and he collapsed. The anito
cast Lumawig in the longog, the endless pit, and left.

KAFUNYAN : (in grief) My son!

NARRATOR : Kafunyan mourned his son and his tears fell to the earth. When his tears hit
the place where Lumawig had died, the land cracked open and soon sprung
forth the river Chico. The land grew fertile and animals flocked to the river.
Soon, the land was known as The Great Mountain.

The northern Akriw tribe, the tribe of the brave, saw the mountain and
decided to claim it as its own. The southern Foran tribe, the tribe of the rich,
had also seen it and wanted to use the land to prosper. When the
tribes arrived on opposite banks of the river, both knew that it was time for
war. The waters receded as if responding to their emotions, and the tribes
crossed over to clash swords.

By the side of the chieftains were their children: Agkaosot of the Akriw tribe
and Layad of the Foran tribe. Agkaosot saw an opening and attempted
to attack the Foran chieftain, but he was blocked by Layad.

AGKAOSOT : A girl?!

LAYAD : Ashamed to be fighting a woman?

AGKAOSOT : (scoff) Even if you are a girl, I wouldn't think twice about killing you.

LAYAD : I'd like to see you try.

NARRATOR : They charged and crossed swords. Both were impressed by each other's
strength and bravery. They began to feel mesmerized by the ferocity in each
other's eyes. The fight waged on until it reached a stalemate.

CHIEFTAINS : Retreat!

NARRATOR : The battle had ended for now, but the war was far from over. Many battles
were fought, day after day. By dawn, the tribes attacked. By dusk, the tribes
retreated to strategize for the next day. In every battle, Agkaosot and Layad
would always seek each other out. While at first they were driven with the
intention to defeat each other, they also began to be driven by something
else: love.

Kafunyan had watched all of this happen. When he saw that Agkaosot and
Layad were beginning to fall in love, he was pleased. Overjoyed to see a
chance for the tribes to unite, he cried tears of joy which flooded the river
once more. The flooded waters made it harder for the tribes to engage in
war, so the fighting ceased, for now.

That night, Layad had went to the river to fetch water for the tribe. Suddenly,
there was a splash from behind her!

AGKAOSOT : Ha!

LAYAD : Are you crazy? If I had grabbed my sword in time, I wouldn't have thought
twice about killing you!

AGKAOSOT : I'd like to see you try.

NARRATOR : The two crossed swords playfully in mock battle. Eventually, they grew tired
and settled on the riverbank.

LAYAD : Listen. The sound of the river and the kuligligs. The moon is so bright. This
night is peaceful. As if no war exists at all. If only it could always be like this.

AGKAOSOT : Neither side is going to let the other gain the upper hand. If we continue
fighting, then someday they might realize that there is no winner and there
never will be.

LAYAD : If we continue fighting, we will be fighting for an eternity. There must be

some other way to solve this.

AGKAOSOT : Do you think that we could convince our fathers that this war is senseless?

LAYAD : Our fathers are stubborn. But it is worth a try.

AGKAOSOT : Not now, however. They are most likely both still in the mood to fight.
 After some time has passed and they have calmed down. Then we will
try.

LAYAD : I have to bring this water back to the tribe. Goodbye. (hesitantly) Shall we
meet again? Every night, at this river?

AGKAOSOT : Of course.

NARRATOR : And so this is how the couple spent the next days, observing their fathers in
the morning and meeting each other at night. One day, Layad seemed ill, so
they went to a medicine woman whom Layad trusted who lived on the
ouskirts of the village.

AGKAOSOT : Old woman, have you found what she has? Is it a deadly illness?

ELDER : I found no illness. What I did find is much more interesting.

LAYAD : Which is?

ELDER : A child.

AGKAOSOT : A child? You don't mean...

ELDER : I mean it. Layad is pregnant.

AGKAOSOT : What do we do now?

LAYAD : Carry on. They mustn't know. Though...

AGKAOSOT : Though?

LAYAD : Maybe this child is what we needed to unite the tribes. What shall we name
it?

...

NARRATOR : Eventually, the time came when they had to confront their fathers. Agkaosot
and Layad had managed to bring the chieftains together for a civil
discussion.

AGKAOSOT : This has to stop! Can't you see that we are destroying the land with our
constant bloodshed?

LAYAD : I agree. We do not have to continue this senseless war. We can unite and
learn to live in peace!

F. CHIEFTAIN : Nonsense! What are you saying, Layad? This is not what I expected from you.
 Filthy peasants like them have no business dealing with us! They are nothing
but slovenly brutes!

A. CHIEFTAIN: How dare you!

AGKAOSOT : Father, calm down!

A. CHIEFTAIN: The only way to resolve this issue is on the battlefield! Now leave my sight!

NARRATOR : It was dawn. The air was tense, and it seemed that no one had any intention
of holding back this time. No one but Layad and Agkaosot. The two avoided
each other in battle, but their fathers sought each other out. Layad saw her
father charge the Akriw chieftain.

LAYAD : Father, no!

NARRATOR : However, Layad was far too weak at this point. She was easily shoved aside
and her head smashed into a stone.

AGKAOSOT : Layad! (runs over) No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(Battle stops. Everyone turns to face Agkaosot. Silence.)

AGKAOSOT : Why? When will you all learn? Look at what you have done! (sobs) She was
pregnant!

(GASP!)

AGKAOSOT : There really is no chance of this war ending. There is nothing left.

(Agkaosot kills himself. MORE GASP!)

NARRATOR : The chieftains gazed at the scene in shock. They realized how wrong they
had been and hung their heads in shame and grief. The next dawn, there was no
battle. Instead, the chieftains crossed their swords in truce. The tribes
united, and they had a festival in honor of their union. The festival was
named for the child that could have been: Lang-ay.