THE GOD STEALER

By: F. Sionil Jose

The story begins with two
close friends, an urbanized
Ifugao man Philip and
American man Sam

Sam and Philip will be

riding a bus heading to
Ifugao
 They are on their
way to Ifugao for
one purpose:

Sam wants to buy a

genuine Ifugao god
as souvenir Philip is a Christian who
no longer has any respect
or affection for the Ifugao
Philip was to help customs and religion.
him find an He considers himself a city
authentic one boy and has no inclination
through his local to return to mountain life
 Despite this attitude, On the day of party,
his grandmother is Sam and Philip
pleased to see him and discover that no Ifugao
decides to throw a big is willing to sell their
party in his honor God
 He feels it would be his
way of showing his
gratitude to Sam for giving
him a rise at work

Philip offers to steal the

god of his grandmother
 The next day his
grandmother died Philip informs Sam that he
will no longer be going
because she discovered back to Manila
that her god was stolen
Curious, Sam looks
for Philip and find
him working in his
grandmother’s
house.

Philip explain his He cannot forgive himself for

having stolen it. But the old
reasons for choosing woman had always been wise. She
to stay in the knew that it was Philip who did it
mountains from the very start.
He blamed himself for killing the
woman who loved him the most.
 THE END
Philip is busy
carving another idol,
a new god to
replace the old one
which Sam will take
to America as a
souvenir