Manananggal: Salt Before Sunrise, Chapter 1: Tiktik

Lunhaw at dawn. Splash. Dawn over a fishing barrio on the Capiz coast. Nipa houses on bamboo stilts with sliding capiz-shell windows, a stone church bell tower, outrigger boats pulled up on the sand, a dark bamboo grove at the edge of the houses.

Capiz, on the island of Panay, in the 1880s. The Philippines is still under Spanish rule.Capiz, sa isla ng Panay, dekada 1880. Sakop pa ng Espanya ang Pilipinas.

Capiz shell: the thin, clear shell of the windowpane oyster. Houses used it in their windows in place of glass.Capiz: ang manipis at malinaw na kabibe ng windowpane oyster. Ginagamit ito sa bintana kapalit ng salamin.

In Barrio Lunhaw, people shut their windows twice: once for the wind, once for the night.Sa Baryo Lunhaw, dalawang beses nagsasara ng bintana ang mga tao: isa para sa hangin, isa para sa gabi.

The hilot's girl. Wide: a dirt road to the market in the morning. Women with baskets on their heads, a carabao cart. Tala carries a basket and guides Lola Ising by the arm. Close-up: Lola Ising taps Tala's ankle with her cane. Tala grins and rolls her eyes. Wide: Lola Ising's wrinkled hands next to Tala's young hands, both resting on the basket of herbs and oil bottles.

Tala, granddaughter of the barrio hilot.Si Tala, apo ng hilot ng baryo.

Your feet are loud, child. A hilot walks soft.Ang lakas ng yabag mo, anak. Ang hilot, mahina lumakad.

A hilot walks fast too, Lola. When she's late.Mabilis din po lumakad ang hilot, Lola. Pag nahuhuli na.

Hilot: a traditional healer who eases pain and sets bones by touch. In many towns the hilot also helped women give birth.Hilot: tradisyonal na manggagamot na nagpapagaan ng sakit at nag-aayos ng buto sa haplos. Sa maraming bayan, hilot din ang nagpapaanak.

Pilar. Tall: inside a nipa house. Pilar, heavily pregnant, lies on a woven mat. Tala kneels with both hands on the belly. Lola Ising sits behind her, head tilted, listening. Close-up: Tala's hands on the belly, her eyes wide. Lola Ising smiles, her clouded eyes half shut.

Inday: a Hiligaynon word for a girl. Families use it as a pet name.Inday: salitang Hiligaynon para sa batang babae. Ginagamit din itong palayaw.

Well, Inday? Is he being good in there?O, Inday? Mabait ba siya d'yan?

He's turned! Head down!Umikot na siya! Pababa na ang ulo!

You felt it before I did. Good.Naunahan mo pa ako. Mabuti.

Salabat. Andres ducks in the door with a string of fish. Nonoy hangs on his arm. Maring comes in smiling with a steaming clay pot. Maring pats Pilar's belly, her eyes very bright. Pilar smiles up at her.

Salabat! Ginger keeps the baby warm.Salabat! Pampainit 'yan sa bata.

Salabat: hot ginger tea, a common home drink in the Philippines.Salabat: mainit na tsaang luya, karaniwang inumin sa bahay.

So when's this one coming, hija?Kailan ba lalabas 'tong batang 'to, hija?

By the next full moon, Lola says.Sa susunod na kabilugan po, sabi ni Lola.

Salt at the door. Lola Ising turns her blind face toward the door Maring just went out of, and sniffs the air. Lola Ising pulls Tala close and whispers in her ear. Wide: Tala laughs softly. Pilar listens from her mat behind them.

The baby's close. From tonight, salt at the door.Malapit na ang bata. Simula ngayong gabi, asin sa pinto.

Lola, nobody does that anymore.Lola, wala na pong gumagawa n'yan.

People who skip it sleep just fine. Until one night they don't.Mahimbing ang tulog ng mga hindi naniniwala. Hanggang isang gabi, hindi na.

The widow from Antique. Wide: the market. Celia, a tall woman in a plain black dress and black scarf, sells white rice cakes on banana leaves. Two women whisper behind their fans. Close-up: the two gossips, heads together. Celia looks down at her cakes, jaw tight. She heard.

That's her. The widow from Antique.Siya 'yon. 'Yung biyuda galing Antique.

Puto: a soft steamed rice cake, sold in markets all over the islands.Puto: malambot na pinasingawang kakaning bigas, tinitinda sa mga palengke sa buong kapuluan.

Her husband died in one night, they say. Dry as a leaf.Isang gabi lang daw, patay na ang asawa. Tuyot na parang dahon.

Lagundi. Wide: Tala walks up to Celia's stall with a coin in her hand. Celia glances at the herb pouch at Tala's waist. Tala, surprised. Wide: a market woman yanks Tala away by the arm. Celia watches them go, the coin still in her open hand.

Lagundi in your pouch. Someone's got a cough?Lagundi 'yang nasa supot mo. May inuubo ba?

Lagundi: a shrub whose leaves are a common Philippine remedy for cough.Lagundi: halamang palumpong na karaniwang gamot sa ubo ang dahon.

You know plants?Marunong po kayo sa halaman?

Don't eat anything she sells, Inday!'Wag kang kakain ng kahit anong tinda n'yan, Inday!

TIK... TIK...

Ate... what's that?Ate... ano 'yon?

Ate: what Filipinos call an older sister, or any older girl.Ate: tawag sa nakatatandang kapatid na babae, o sa mas nakatatandang dalaga.

Softer now. That means it's closer.Humihina na. Ibig sabihin, papalapit.

The hole in the roof. Morning. Wide: Andres on a ladder at Pilar's house, looking at a ragged hole in the nipa thatch. Pilar below, hands on her belly, pale. Close-up: Tala inside, looking up through the hole at the sky, wrinkling her nose.

Rats. Big ones.Daga. Malalaki.

Right over my mat, Andres? Rats?Sa mismong tapat ng banig ko, Andres? Daga?

It smells like bats.Amoy paniki.

Tiktik: a night call people link to the aswang. Some say it's really bats, or the flying lemur, the kagwang.Tiktik: huni sa gabi na iniuugnay sa aswang. May nagsasabing paniki lang ito, o ang kagwang.

Talk at the tuba stand. Men drink from bamboo tubes at a roadside stall. A second man leans in. Tala walks past slowly, listening. Celia's doorstep: someone has thrown a handful of salt across it. Celia stands in the door, looking down at it.

Since that widow came, the dogs howl all night.Mula nang dumating 'yung biyuda, gabi-gabi nang umaalulong ang mga aso.

Tuba: palm wine made from coconut sap.Tuba: alak na gawa sa katas ng niyog.

My cousin in Antique says they ran her out.Sabi ng pinsan ko sa Antique, pinalayas siya ro'n.

Sundown. Dusk. Maring walks past with an empty clay pot, one hand pressed to her lower back. Maring winces and smiles, her hand on her waist, just above the red sash. Wide: Maring walks away down the road as the sun sets red behind the palms. Tala watches her go.

Going home already, Manang Maring?Uuwi na po kayo, Manang Maring?

Manang: Hiligaynon for an older woman, said with respect.Manang: salitang Hiligaynon para sa nakatatandang babae, tanda ng paggalang.

My back, hija. Right here. It always acts up when the sun goes down.Ang likod ko, hija. Dito mismo. Laging sumasakit pag palubog na ang araw.

The sun went down red over Lunhaw.Pulang-pula ang araw nang lumubog sa Lunhaw.

Salt, ash and vinegar. Tall: Lola Ising in the doorway of Pilar's house pours a line of salt across the threshold. A bowl of vinegar sits by the door. A dried stingray tail hangs above it. Lola Ising presses a small pouch of salt into Tala's hand. Tala stares at the pouch. Lola Ising's face is very serious.

Old protections against the aswang include salt, ash, vinegar, a stingray's tail and holy objects.Kabilang sa mga lumang panangga sa aswang ang asin, abo, suka, buntot ng pagi at mga banal na bagay.

Salt for the door. Ash for the floor. And if you ever find its other half...Asin sa pinto. Abo sa sahig. At kung makita mo man ang kalahati niya...

Its other half?Kalahati niya?

Salt it. Then run.Asinan mo. Tapos tumakbo ka.

The night watch. Wide: night. Tala sits on the ladder of Pilar's house with a bolo across her knees and the salt pouch in her fist. Under the house, Andres pushes bolo blades up between the bamboo floor slats. Through the open door: Pilar asleep on her mat. The capiz window is shut. Far off: a lantern moves at the edge of the bamboo grove. A tall figure in black carries it into the trees. Close-up: Tala, eyes narrowed.

Tala had no plans to sleep that night.Walang balak matulog si Tala nang gabing 'yon.

Some families pushed bolos between the floor slats to keep the aswang from creeping under the house.May mga pamilyang nagsusuksok ng itak sa pagitan ng sahig na kawayan para hindi makagapang ang aswang sa silong.

Where are you going this late?Saan ka pupunta nang ganitong oras?

Softer. Wide: the barrio asleep under a moon that is almost full. Dogs in the yards lift their heads all at once. Close-up: Tala's hand tightening on the bolo. Tala, frozen, whispering.

TIK... TIK...

Then every dog in the barrio went quiet at once.Tapos sabay-sabay na tumahimik ang lahat ng aso sa baryo.

tik... tik...

Softer... It's close.Humihina... Malapit na.

On the roof. Splash. A full moon. Crouched on Pilar's nipa roof is the manananggal: a woman's upper body that ends at the waist in shadow, long black hair hiding her face, huge leathery bat wings spread across the moon, a long thin tongue reaching down through the hole in the thatch. Tala, small in the foreground, looks up.

FWAP FWAP

It had come back for the baby.Bumalik ito para sa bata.

Manananggal comes from tanggal, "to remove". The creature leaves its lower body behind to fly.Galing ang manananggal sa "tanggal". Iniiwan nito ang ibabang katawan para makalipad.

The other half. Wide: Tala hurls a fistful of salt up at the roof. The manananggal shrieks and lifts off toward the trees. Tala spins around, following it with her eyes. Wide: at the edge of the bamboo grove, in moonlight, the lower half of a woman stands alone, a skirt and bare feet, perfectly still. A lantern lies on the ground beside it, still burning.

Get away from her!Layuan mo siya!

SKREEEE

In the grove, something stood very still, waiting for the rest of itself.Sa kawayanan, may nakatayong hindi gumagalaw, naghihintay sa kalahati niya.

End of Chapter 1.Katapusan ng Kabanata 1.