ABOUT THE BOOK

Labaw Donggon sought golden items to honor his wife, Matan-ayon. He later journeyed to marry Tibang-Tibang, a mystical buruhisan woman who couldn’t be married by ordinary means. Using enchantment, he took her as his wife. Tibang-Tibang warned him: never blow the horn upon their return, or disaster would follow. But torn between promises to both wives, Labaw Donggon blew the horn three times. Enraged, Tibang-Tibang unleashed a fiery storm from the heavens, ending the world as they knew it. Only the couple Sumbol Paulintad and Lampunaya survived to pass on the tale of Labaw Donggon.

ABOUT THE CHANTER

Romulo “Amang Baoy” Caballero is a distinguished Panay Bukidnon elder, cultural master, and teacher from Barangay Garangan, Calinog, Iloilo. Born into a family of tradition-bearers, he is the brother of Federico “Tuohan” Caballero, a Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) (National Living Treasure Awardee) in 2000 for his lifelong dedication to safeguarding and documenting the Sugidanon—the epic chants of Central Panay. Together they have dedicated their lives to preserving the rich oral traditions of the Panay Bukidnon people.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR AND RESEARCHER

Dr. Alicia P. Magos is professor emeritus from UP Visayas. Her work on the Sugidanon (Epics) of Panay spans more than three decades. Together with Federico Caballero, she spearheaded the first School of Living Traditions (SLT) at Barangay Garangan, Calinog, Iloilo, revitalizing the Panay Bukidnon’s epic chanting and their long-forgotten or abandoned needlework called panubok (from tubok, “to slip a needle inside a cloth”).

ABOUT THE RESEARCHER

Anna Razel Limoso-Ramirez is the project coordinator for the publication of Sugidanon (Epics) of Panay and the main translator of these epics in contemporary Kinaray-a and English. A graduate of UP Visayas both for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she is an indefatigable field researcher and writer who has conducted numerous studies, produced video documentaries, and spoken in lectures about the Central Panay environment and communities, being one of the few researchers focused on Panay studies.