Moonlit Escapades* (1)

After a scorching but fun-filled day, highlighted mostly by roller coaster rides via speedboat to far-flung islands in Tawi-tawi, we headed back to the capital town of Bongao. At the Beachside Inn, a refreshing shower and an ice-cold beer was what we exactly needed. We had the hotel's  beachfront restaurant all by ourselves and would have gladly called it a night if not for a dinner invitation courtesy of the town mayor.

While waiting for our ride, we noticed a commotion from afar. “The monster is eating the moon!”, shouted a hotel staff with his eyes fixed on the dark night sky. Other hotel crew started running to the beach for a better view as gun fires, sounds of clanging metals and other sorts of indistinguishable noise interrupted what could have been the start of a relaxing night.

With all these commotion going on, I easily dismantled my fear having been used to the peaceful environment of Tawi-Tawi. Looking up at the endless dome of the night sky, we were bewildered to realize what was going on. The moon was being gradually covered by a black, circular object until there was only total darkness left. It was a lunar eclipse. The moon, indeed, had just been eaten by a monster!

Under the dark, starless sky, I bathed in that blissful moment. Intense cries from nearby houses further magnified the massive, uneasy feeling brought about by the coinciding event of the Nispu celebration, a Muslim thanksgiving for the souls. Infected by the locals' demeanor, we held our breath for an eternity until a wax-like light appeared on the dark sky. It was crescent, until it became full once again. With their faces beaming in gold, the locals cheered endlessly. They believed that the noises had distracted the monster, called Bakunawa in Tausug, from eating the moon.

Keeping my gaze on the moon, I wondered if, on other parts of the archipelago, people also saw a delicious fruitcake and a starving monster when they looked up the sky.

*Reposted from sometime in 2006

Moonlit Escapades* (2)

At the Mayor’s resort, dinner was waiting for us on the tip of a bridge located miles away from the shore. Our gracious host shared funny stories of his political survival as we devoured the elaborately prepared Tausug dish amid the wistful breeze of the Tawi-Tawi sea. 

After sipping the native coffee, the younger ones slipped from the group. I headed towards a spot which faces the mystical Bongao Peak. I had climbed BudBongao, as the mountain is alternately called, for several times since my arrival last year. Locals claim some mystical powers to it. On top lies the grave of a legendary Muslim prophet (so the locals say) which I had seen myself. At the top, the view overlooks the bay and the surrounding island municipalities which, as part of my immersion, I had been to as well.

Tonight, I was ecstatic to find contrasting views. This time, it was the other way around (I was now looking up at the Bongao Peak from the ocean, rather than vice versa). In addition, I was also looking from the night’s point of view. From my spot, the moon shone brightly as it hovered around Bongao Peak, almost kissing it but not quite. 

Breathless with such a view, I called out to a colleague and borrowed his Canon digital SLR. We took turns in playing around with the lenses while taking numerous attempts at the full moon. We were literally breathless so as not to affect the quality of the shots. 

Looking through the lenses while hearing a familiar song being sung by the locals made me delirious. On the shore, they were singing a Tausug song entitled Tawi-Tawi Beach. The song narrates the sad story of an American soldier and a Tausug lady who fell in love along Tawi-Tawi Beach only to be separated forever. Every night, he would wait for his lady along that strip knowing she would never be there. Then, it occurred to me how the moon and the mountain looked like unrequited lovers. For a moment, they were an inch apart to each other, but could never possibly touch.

As the song neared the sad ending, I peeked through the lenses and saw the moon inching away from Bongao Peak. They seemed to be having a quarrel only to meet once again in the millions of nights to come. The night was perfect and I had been through one of the most nostalgic experiences ever. Indeed, Tawi-Tawi never fails to amaze me. I thought that I had seen it all but I was always in for spectacular surprises. 

Tonight, my Tawi-Tawi experience told me stories that lie beneath the moon, only if we take a longer peek, be dazed at its crude death, and witness its golden rebirth, when once again, it hovers on some mystical peak to pass on its ageless story of survival, as a hundred other stories are being sung along the moonlit lovers’ shore.

*Reposted from sometime in 2006