Notable Muslim Filipinos, Jeddah (2026)

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05/09/2026

𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭: 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗𝗦

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝘉𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴: 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥.
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The fighting was finally over. Miskoyaw’s army had fallen, and Bembaran was safe once more.

For Bantugen, this battle brought him full circle, back to the very place where his story had started. He’d left Bembaran in sorrow, died in a distant land, had his soul recovered from the heavens, and returned to life only to find himself facing another enemy at the gates. Now, at last, there was peace.

But here’s the thing about Bantugen: his story was never only about war.

Long before his death, his name had already traveled from kingdom to kingdom, and not just because of what he could do on a battlefield. He was known for the women who loved him and the princesses he courted, his fame as a warrior matched every bit by his reputation as a handsome, accomplished prince.

The Darangen remembers him this way: a man whose romantic adventures carried him far beyond Bembaran. He courted princesses from distant kingdoms, and these were never simply passing encounters. They folded into the larger web of alliances, journeys, courtships, and marriages that runs through the whole epic.

Now that Bantugen had returned to life, the world he’d left behind came back with him. The women connected to his story were once again part of his world. The prince who’d been mourned as dead was alive. The warrior who’d disappeared from Bembaran had come home. And the man whose name had once traveled through distant kingdoms could live again among those who had loved him.

The Darangen tradition doesn’t just preserve Bantugen as a warrior who wins battles. It remembers him as a figure whose adventures are deeply tied to courtship and marriage, romantic journeys that form just as substantial a part of the epic tradition as the warfare and the journeys between kingdoms.

For Bantugen, love was never far from adventure. A princess might be encountered in another kingdom. A courtship might lead to a journey. That journey might lead to danger. And danger, more often than not, would call the warrior back to action.

That’s why Bantugen’s return to his beloveds means more than a happy ending tacked onto the end of a war story. It brings him back to another part of the life that made him famous in the first place. The battlefield was never the only place where his courage got tested; the royal world of the Darangen was also a world of courtship, marriage, promises, family ties, and alliances between kingdoms, and Bantugen moved through all of it as confidently as he moved through battle.

So, the stories of his beloveds don’t stand apart from his heroic adventures. They’re part of them.
The princesses he courted belonged to different kingdoms and different chapters of his long journey. Some became wives. Others became part of the network of relationships surrounding the hero. Their stories pulled Bantugen into new places and new encounters, and some of those encounters would eventually spark further adventures of their own.

The epic world doesn’t simply end because the hero has returned home. In fact, Bantugen’s return marks another beginning. He’s survived jealousy. He’s survived exile. He’s crossed into the realm of the dead and been brought back to life. He’s survived captivity and defeated an invading army. Now he can return to the people and relationships that make up the other half of his life.

The warrior can lay down his weapons for a while. The prince can return to the court. And Bantugen can once again be surrounded by those who love him. The kingdom that once watched him leave in sorrow can now watch him live again, and there’s something fitting about that.

Bantugen left Bembaran because silence had made his own home unbearable. He returned because his brother refused to let death have the final word. And after everything that happened, he didn’t come back as a bitter man hiding from the world.

He returned to life. He returned to his kingdom. He returned to those he loved. And the Darangen lets his story continue.

𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥

Here’s one of the things we can easily miss when Bantugen gets reduced to the familiar summary: his death, his resurrection, his battle with Miskoyaw. The Darangen’s Bantugen is also a traveler, a courtship figure, a husband, and a central participant in stories involving women, families, and other kingdoms.

NCCA’s cultural documentation describes him as a warrior and lover and records the tradition that he courted many princesses. A broader study of the Darangen backs this up, noting that many of its songs recount Bantugen’s adventures in courting women.

And this is where the story opens outward again. The women in Bantugen’s life aren’t simply names attached to a famous hero; their appearances lead the narrative into other kingdoms, other families, and other adventures. Some of those stories will eventually become stories of their own, so we shouldn’t rush past them.

If we’re going to hear the Darangen as an epic, we have to follow Bantugen wherever the story takes him, including the places where love, marriage, and adventure become impossible to separate.

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𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦 & 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚
● National Commission for Culture and the Arts, CulturEd, “𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯”, 𝘚𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨 𝘒𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢, documenting Bantugen’s fame as a warrior and lover, his many princesses, his death and resurrection, his victory over Miskoyaw, and his later life with the princesses he married.
● National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 𝘕𝘊𝘊𝘈 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
● Mindanao State University, University Research Center, Folklore Division, 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯: 𝘐𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, the principal recorded-text collection for the continuing study of the epic.
● Damiana L. Eugenio, ed., Philippine Folk Literature: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 2001.
● UNESCO/ICH documentation on the Darangen’s narrative divisions, including the extensive stories of Bantugen, his sons, their journeys, courtship and marriages, and the later stories concerning love and relationships.

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𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧
𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭: 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡

Bantugen has survived the story that nearly ended his life, but the Darangen doesn’t leave him there. His name continues to appear in stories of journeys, courtship, marriage, family, and conflict, and among those stories are women whose own adventures deserve to be heard.

Because in the Darangen, a princess isn’t always simply the woman waiting for the hero. Sometimes, she’s the reason the hero sets out in the first place.

05/09/2026

𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭 — 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗬 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝘉𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪.
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Bembaran was in full celebration. Bantugen was alive, and after everything the kingdom had gone through, the people could barely contain their joy. Their prince had come back from death, and King Madali finally had his brother beside him again. The grief that had hung over the kingdom for so long gave way to real celebration.

But while Bembaran celebrated, word of Bantugen's return was already spreading beyond its borders, and it eventually reached King Miskoyaw.

Miskoyaw had never been a friend to Bembaran. He knew Bantugen as a fearsome warrior, one whose victories had made his name feared across kingdoms. So when he heard that Bantugen had died, and then somehow come back to life, it struck him as almost too strange to believe. To Miskoyaw, though, strange or not, it was an opportunity: if Bantugen had truly died, then Bembaran had lost its greatest warrior, and a kingdom without its strongest defender was a kingdom worth attacking.

So Miskoyaw sent his warriors toward Bembaran, timing the invasion for when the kingdom was still deep in celebration. Inside the walls, the people were feasting. Outside, the enemy was already advancing.

Then the warning came, and the celebration stopped cold. The people of Bembaran turned to face the approaching enemy, and in moments, a kingdom that had been filled with joy was bracing for war. Warriors grabbed their weapons, defenders gathered at their posts, and Bantugen, despite everything, prepared to fight alongside them.

There was just one problem: he had only just returned from death. His body had been restored, but his strength hadn't fully come back with it. Still, Bantugen wasn't going to sit out a battle for his own kingdom, so he went in anyway.

The fighting broke out fast, and the warriors of Bembaran clashed with Miskoyaw's forces in a battlefield that quickly turned to chaos. Bantugen fought with the same courage he had always been known for, but this wasn't the Bantugen who used to ride into battle at full strength. His body was still weak, and the power that had once made him one of Bembaran's greatest warriors simply hadn't returned yet.

The enemy kept pressing, and eventually, Bantugen was captured. The warrior who had come back from death now found himself bound in the hands of his enemies. For a moment, it looked like Miskoyaw's plan had worked: Bantugen, the hero whose name alone had frightened warriors in distant kingdoms, was now a prisoner.

But Miskoyaw had made one mistake: he mistook weakness for defeat.

As the days passed, Bantugen's strength slowly returned. The life that had been given back to him kept gathering inside his body, filling him out again. His arms grew stronger, his spirit came back, and little by little, the warrior was waking up. Eventually, his bonds simply couldn't hold him anymore, and Bantugen broke free.

That was when the enemy discovered what Miskoyaw should have remembered all along: Bantugen was Bantugen. A man who had already crossed the line between life and death wasn't about to stay anyone's prisoner. He turned on his captors, and the battle became a rout. Bantugen tore through Miskoyaw's forces with renewed strength, striking down the warriors who had dared invade his homeland. The army that had come expecting an easy fight against a weakened kingdom instead found itself facing the very warrior it had believed was dead.

Bembaran was saved. The enemy was defeated. And Bantugen returned to his kingdom not simply as a prince who had survived death, but as the warrior who had once again stood between his people and disaster.

The celebration started all over again, but this time it wasn't only about Bantugen coming back to life. It was a celebration of victory.

And something else had shifted. Madali looked at his brother differently now. Whatever jealousy had once poisoned his heart had no room left to exist. He had lost Bantugen once because of that very jealousy, then crossed the boundary of the heavens to bring him back, and now he had watched that same brother save Bembaran from an enemy who thought him dead. The brothers were finally reconciled.

Bantugen had returned. Bembaran had survived. And after everything he had endured, the warrior prince could finally return to the life that had been taken from him.

But Bantugen's story doesn't end with this battle. He still had unfinished ties to kingdoms and princesses whose stories had become woven into his own. His journeys weren't over. His marriages weren't over. And the fame of Bantugen was only going to keep traveling further beyond Bembaran.

𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥

This battle gives us something a simple summary of Bantugen's life could easily skip over: his resurrection doesn't instantly restore him to full strength. He enters the fight still weak, gets captured, and only afterward does his power return, letting him break free and defeat the invading army. That sequence turns the whole episode into more than just another display of supernatural heroism. Bantugen has already crossed through death and come back to the living, and even then, he still has to prove himself again on the battlefield.

There's also a quiet reversal happening between the brothers. Madali's jealousy had driven Bantugen away in the first place. Bantugen's death, in turn, woke up Madali's love for him. Bantugen's return gave the two of them another chance. And when Bembaran came under threat, Bantugen didn't abandon the kingdom that had once turned its back on him. He defended it anyway.

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𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦 & 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚
• National Commission for Culture and the Arts, CulturEd, “𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯”, Sagisag Kultura, documenting the traditional sequence from Bantugen's death and resurrection to Miskoyaw's invasion, Bantugen's capture, recovery of strength, and defeat of the enemy army.
• NCCA Official, “𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯,” documenting the same traditional narrative and the reconciliation of Bantugen and Madali after the victory.
• Damiana L. Eugenio, ed., 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, University of the Philippines Press, 2001.
• Mindanao State University, University Research Center, Folklore Division, 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯: 𝘐𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, the principal recorded-text collection to be consulted as we continue deeper into the individual narrative traditions.

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𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 —
𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭: 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗𝗦
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪'𝘴 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

04/09/2026

𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭 — 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗛𝗜𝗠 𝗗𝗜𝗘

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪'𝘴 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦: 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦.
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The news reached Bembaran like a storm: Bantugen was dead. For a moment the kingdom seemed unable to process what it had heard. The warrior who had ridden into countless battles, the prince whose name had traveled from kingdom to kingdom, was gone.

For Madali, though, the news struck somewhere deeper. This was his brother: the same brother he had once ordered the people of Bembaran not to speak to, the same brother whose presence had stirred his jealousy, the same brother who had eventually left the kingdom because of that cruel command. Now Bantugen was lying dead, and there was nothing Madali could do to take back what he had done. But he could try to bring his brother back.

The journey ahead of him would be far from ordinary. Bantugen's body had already been returned to Bembaran, but his soul was no longer with it. In the world of the Darangen, death didn't necessarily mean the end of the journey: a person's soul could be separated from the body and carried into another realm entirely, and that was exactly what had happened to Bantugen.

Madali and Mabaning knew what they had to do. They would go after him, not by ship, not on horseback, but on their magical shields. The two men prepared for a journey unlike any they had undertaken before, mounting their shields and rising into the air as the earth fell away beneath them. They were headed for the skyworld, determined to find the Angel of the Dead and demand the return of Bantugen's soul.

But reaching the sky was only the beginning. At the entrance to the skyworld, they met a gatekeeper, and the way ahead turned out to be far less simple than they had imagined. They were sent onward, toward another gate, and the journey continued for a long time before they finally reached the place where the Angel of the Dead could be found.

The problem was obvious: how could two living men enter the domain of the dead and simply ask for the soul of their friend? They needed a plan, and it was Mabaning who found the answer. He would disguise himself as a beautiful woman.

It was a daring plan, and it worked. Mabaning transformed himself so completely that the Angel of the Dead was deceived, believing the gods had sent him a bride. Mabaning let him believe it, and the Angel, taken with his supposed visitor, brought the disguised Mabaning into his confidence: exactly what the two friends needed.

Mabaning began asking questions, among them one about korna, the fruit of heaven. Where could it be found? The Angel didn't know, but he said he would go to the fifth heaven to look for it. The moment he was gone was the moment Mabaning had been waiting for.

"Where is Bantugen?" Mabaning called out. For a moment there was no answer. Then, from somewhere nearby, came a tiny voice: the soul of Bantugen, calling from inside a bottle where it had been sealed. Mabaning found it, seized the bottle containing his friend's soul, and escaped. The deception had worked.

Madali and Mabaning reunited, carrying with them exactly what they had come for: Bantugen's soul. The two friends mounted their magical shields once more and flew back toward Bembaran, the world of the living below them and the kingdom where Bantugen's body lay waiting ahead. Somewhere between those two worlds, Madali carried the hope that he could undo what his jealousy had caused.

When they finally returned to Bembaran, Bantugen's body was still there. The bottle was opened, the soul was released, and the impossible happened: Bantugen lived again. The dead warrior opened his eyes. The prince who had left Bembaran in sorrow had returned to the world of the living, and the kingdom erupted in joy.

But Madali's relief was mixed with something deeper. He had nearly lost his brother because of his own jealousy, and now he had gone beyond the world of men just to bring him back. Whatever had stood between the brothers before Bantugen's death could no longer stay the same.

Yet while Bembaran celebrated the return of its prince, another danger was already moving toward the kingdom. News of Bantugen's death had traveled far, and so had news of his return. Somewhere beyond Bembaran, an enemy king had heard it too. His name was Miskoyaw, and he was about to test whether a warrior who had just returned from death could still defend his kingdom.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘

The Darangen doesn't treat Bantugen's return as a simple miracle: it turns resurrection into an adventure of its own. Madali and Mabaning have to travel beyond the ordinary world, reach the realm of the dead, deceive the Angel of the Dead, track down Bantugen's separated soul, and carry it back to his waiting body. It's one of the epic's clearest examples of its otherworldly geography, and of its recurring idea that the soul can exist apart from the body.

There's also something deeply human underneath all the magic. Madali had been the reason Bantugen left in the first place, and now he's the brother who refuses to accept his death. The jealous king has become the desperate brother, and that shift matters, because Bantugen's return doesn't end the story. It sets up the next great trial.

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𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦 & 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚
• Mindanao State University, University Research Center, Folklore Division, 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯: 𝘐𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦, with English Translation, the principal recorded-text tradition for our continuing study of the epic.
• E. Arsenio Manuel, 𝘈 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, which records the Bantugen narrative, including the journey of Madali and Mabaning to the skyworld, Mabaning's disguise, the bottle containing Bantugen's soul, and the hero's restoration to life.
• Christine F. Godinez Ortega, “𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴,” Agung, which summarizes the same sequence and situates it within the broader Darangen tradition.
• Damiana L. Eugenio, ed., 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, University of the Philippines Press, 2001.

NEXT
CYCLE 1: BANTUGEN
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗬 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘
𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥.

04/09/2026

𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭 — 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗕𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆. "𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦."

Bembaran had already decided, before Bantugen even set foot back inside its gates, that his homecoming wouldn't be a warm one.

No one was allowed to speak to him. That was the order.

When the prince returned, the change was impossible to miss. The people who had once welcomed him with open arms now kept their distance, and the royal court, usually humming with talk and laughter, went quiet the moment he walked in. The command had come from Madali, his own elder brother and the reigning king, and in Bembaran, nobody dared cross a royal order, not even for the prince everyone once celebrated.

Bantugen understood exactly what was happening to him.

He had fought for this kingdom. He had come home from distant lands carrying the weight of his victories, a name known well beyond Bembaran's shores. And yet here he was, unable to exchange a single word with his own people. Only his son and his sister still spoke to him; everyone else had gone silent, and that silence cut deeper than any blade could.

The people felt the cruelty of it too. Women wept as they watched Bantugen prepare to leave, knowing there was nothing they could do since the king had spoken and his word was final.

So Bantugen said his goodbyes.

He walked away from Bembaran carrying neither the fury of a defeated warrior nor the swagger of a victorious one. What he carried instead was heartbreak: not the kind left by a spear or a blade, but the kind that comes from being rejected by your own people.

Then the rain started, falling hard as he made his way onward. He ran through it, stripped off his clothes, and set his blade aside. Beneath a balete tree, he finally came to a stop and called on Magaw, his guardian spirit, for help.

This wasn't an ordinary journey anymore. Bantugen had reached a point where the roads of ordinary men could no longer take him where he needed to go, so when Magaw arrived, the journey continued past the world anyone in Bembaran would recognize.

He was carried to All the Land Between Two Seas, a distant kingdom whose people had never heard of him. There was no royal procession waiting, no warrior band, no familiar voice calling out his name, only strangers, and Bantugen arrived among them already weak and fading.

It was Princess Timbang who found him and took him in. She gave him a hammock, areca nut, and betel chew: small comforts for a traveler who had clearly been through something terrible. She called for a healer too, and together they tried everything to bring back his strength.

But Bantugen didn't recover. His condition kept worsening. The warrior once feared on the battlefield, the prince once celebrated across Bembaran, now lay helpless in a foreign land, far from everyone who knew his name.

And then Bantugen died.

For the people of All the Land Between Two Seas, his death left behind a mystery nobody could solve: who was this man? The king ordered his body placed on a royal bed in the great hall, surrounded by flags and flowers, while gongs sounded across the kingdom to call people in. Thousands came to look upon the stranger, but not one of them recognized him. They didn't know his kingdom, didn't know his family, and had no idea that the man before them was Bantugen of Bembaran, a warrior whose name had traveled farther than they ever imagined.

Then a bird arrived: Bantugen's parrot. The moment it saw its fallen master, it grieved so hard that it fainted, and only after water was brought to revive it could the bird finally reveal who the dead man really was. He wasn't some unknown traveler. He was Prince Bantugen of Bembaran.

News like that couldn't stay contained in the Land Between Two Seas. Bantugen's body had to go home, so a ship was prepared, and the princess sent him back with full honors, carrying home the body of a man her people had known only as a mysterious stranger.

Far away, Bembaran was about to receive that news, and when it did, Madali would have to face the consequences of what he'd done. His brother was dead. The prince he had ordered his own people to ignore was coming home, not as a warrior returning triumphant from battle, but as a lifeless body carried across the sea.

And this was far from the end of Bantugen's story, because death, as it turns out, wasn't going to be the final word.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆

This episode shows exactly why the Darangen stands apart from an ordinary heroic biography. Bantugen's journey isn't just an exile from one kingdom to another; it moves fluidly between the human world and the supernatural, weaving in the guardian spirit Magaw, the faraway Land Between Two Seas, and the almost impossible way Bantugen's identity gets restored through his own parrot.

The Darangen tradition holds onto these details as part of a much larger epic world, one where journeys, warfare, courtship, spirits, magical objects, and otherworldly places all belong naturally within the story. Contemporary documentation also points out that Darangen episodes were traditionally performed as extended chants by onor, with certain episodes also preserved through written kirim traditions.

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 & 𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
● E. Arsenio Manuel and the Darangen research tradition, including the Mindanao State University recordings and translations of the Darangen cycles.
● Christine F. Godinez Ortega, “𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴,” Agung, 2016, which offers a synopsis of the Bantugen narrative and identifies the sequence involving Madali's prohibition, Bantugen's departure, Magaw, the Land Between Two Seas, Princess Timbang, the parrot, and the recovery of Bantugen's soul.
● E. Arsenio Manuel, “𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯,” CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, as cited in the same cultural documentation.
● Damiana L. Eugenio, ed., 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 2001.
● The Darangen tradition as discussed in contemporary scholarship, including the distinction between the Bantugen tradition of the Darangen and other stories later circulated under the general title “The Story of Bantugan.”

NEXT —
𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝟭: 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗛𝗜𝗠 𝗗𝗜𝗘
𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪, 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵.

03/09/2026

CYCLE 1: BANTUGEN
THE KING WHO COULD NOT BE AT PEACE

The day began like any other in Bembaran, but something was wrong. King Madali, ruler of the great kingdom, was troubled, and not because of any war. No enemy army had appeared at his gates, and no messenger had come running with news of disaster.

Still, peace would not settle in his heart. There was a reason for that, and it had a name: his younger brother, Prince Bantugen.

Madali was a warrior in his own right, a man who had won his share of battles and carried the full weight of the throne. But his younger brother was something else entirely. Wherever Bantugen went, people noticed him: his courage, his strength, his skill with weapons, and the victories he kept bringing home to Bembaran.

Bantugen carried another kind of fame too, one that had nothing to do with the battlefield. He was admired. Women spoke of him, and princesses in distant kingdoms had heard his name long before they ever met him. His reputation traveled beyond Bembaran on the strength of his beauty and his exploits, and the tradition remembers him as a man who courted many of the world's most beautiful princesses.

That fame kept growing, and with it came something far more dangerous than any enemy at the border: jealousy.

Madali was Bantugen's elder brother and his king, yet the younger prince held something the king could never command outright: the affection and admiration of other people. What began as an uncomfortable feeling in Madali's chest slowly hardened into resentment. And resentment, left alone too long in the heart, has a way of turning into a command.

So Madali gave one. No one in Bembaran was allowed to speak to Bantugen.

The order spread through the kingdom quickly. People who loved the prince could no longer greet him. Those who had once welcomed him were forced to turn away, and anyone who might have wanted a word with him found the king's command standing between them and the prince.

Think about the cruelty of a punishment like that. Bantugen had not been thrown in prison. He could still walk wherever he pleased, still carried the name of a prince, still had his weapons, his strength, and his courage fully intact. But the people around him had been ordered to behave as though he did not exist. The warrior who had faced enemies in battle now had to face something no kampilan could cut through: silence.

As the days passed, Bantugen watched people avoid him one by one. He could feel the kingdom that had once celebrated him changing around him, and the streets and halls of Bembaran, though still familiar, no longer felt like home.

So the prince made his decision: he would leave.

Not because an enemy had driven him out, and not because he had been defeated in battle. He left because he could no longer bear living among people who had been forbidden to speak to him.

And so Bantugen departed from Bembaran, taking the road that led away from his kingdom and into foreign lands. He went alone, carrying the sorrow of a man who had nearly everything a prince could want, except the simple freedom of hearing his own people speak to him.

He had no idea where that road would take him. He did not know it would carry him far from Bembaran, or that the silence his own brother had imposed on him would eventually lead him to the gates of another kingdom, where strangers would find him in terrible condition. He certainly did not know that this journey away from home would become a journey between life and death.

For now, there was only the road ahead, and Bantugen was walking it.

A note on the tradition

This opening matters because the Darangen does not introduce Bantugen by simply announcing that he is a great hero. His greatness is placed against something deeply human first: the relationship between two brothers, and what happens when admiration curdles into jealousy.

The recorded tradition itself is also more layered than the shortened classroom versions usually let on. The Darangen has survived through multiple recorded performances and textual traditions, and the MSU publications preserve extensive original Meranao verse alongside English translation. Damiana Eugenio's Philippine Folk Literature: the epics also includes its own separate rendering of "The Story of Bantugen."

So as this series continues, we will not try to smooth every version into one supposedly perfect storyline. Where the recorded tradition gives us an episode, we will tell that episode. Where the versions differ, we will say so.

Because Bantugen's story has only just begun.
------

Sources & Further Reading
● Mindanao State University, University Research Center, Folklore Division, Darangen: In Original Meranao Verse, with English Translation, the principal recorded-text tradition we will consult as the series develops.
● Damiana L. Eugenio, ed., Philippine Folk Literature: the epics, University of the Philippines Press, 2001. The volume includes "Darangan" and "The Story of Bantugen."
● Private Education Assistance Committee, GASTPE, English Grade 7 module, which preserves the opening associated with Frank Laubach's rendering of the Bantugen narrative.

NEXT: CYCLE 1: BANTUGEN — The Road Away from Bembaran

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