Philippine Folk Tales | Page 6

to summon him. It may be that he is the
husband of Aponibolinayen, for the siksiklat vine carried her up when
she went to gather greens."
So a betel-nut was called and bidden to summon Ini-init.
The betel-nut went up to the Sun, who was in his house, and said:
"Good morning, Sun. I have come to summon you to a ceremony which
the father and mother of Aponibolinayen are making for the spirits. If
you do not want to go, I will grow on your head." [10]
"Grow on my head," said the Sun. "I do not wish to go."
So the betel-nut jumped upon his head and grew until it became so tall
that the Sun was not able to carry it, and he was in great pain.
"Oh, grow on my pig," begged the Sun. So the betel-nut jumped upon
the pig's head and grew, but it was so heavy that the pig could not carry
it and squealed all the time. At last the Sun saw that he would have to
obey the summons, and he said to the betel-nut:
"Get off my pig and I will go."
So Ini-init came to the ceremony, and as soon as Aponibolinayen and
the baby saw him, they were very happy and ran to meet him. Then the

people knew that this was the husband of Aponibolinayen, and they
waited eagerly for him to come up to them. As he drew near, however,
they saw that he did not walk, for he was round; and then they
perceived that he was not a man but a large stone. All her relatives were
very angry to find that Aponibolinayen had married a stone; and they
compelled her to take off her beads [11] and her good clothes, for, they
said, she must now dress in old clothes and go again to live with the
stone.
So Aponibolinayen put on the rags that they brought her and at once set
out with the stone for his home. No sooner had they arrived there,
however, than he became a handsome man, and they were very happy.
"In one moon," said the Sun, "we will make a ceremony for the spirits,
and I will pay your father and mother the marriage price [12] for you."
This pleased Aponibolinayen very much, and they used magic so that
they had many neighbors who came to pound rice [13] for them and to
build a large spirit house. [14]
Then they sent oiled betel-nuts to summon their relatives to the
ceremony. The father of Aponibolinayen did not want to go, but the
betel-nut threatened to grow on his knee if he did not. So he
commanded all the people in the town to wash their hair and their
clothes, and when all was ready they set out.
When they reached the town they were greatly surprised to find that the
stone had become a man, and they chewed the magic betel-nuts to see
who he might be. It was discovered that he was the son of a couple in
Aponibolinayen's own town, and the people all rejoiced that this couple
had found the son whom they had thought lost. They named him
Aponitolau, and his parents paid the marriage price for his wife--the
spirit house nine times full of valuable jars. [15]
After that all danced and made merry for one moon, and when the
people departed for their homes Ini-init and his wife went with them to
live on the earth.

Aponibolinayen
Tinguian
The most beautiful girl in all the world was Aponibolinayen of
Nalpangan. Many young men had come to her brother, Aponibalagen,
to ask for her hand in marriage, but he had refused them all, for he
awaited one who possessed great power. Then it happened that the
fame of her beauty spread over all the world till it reached even to
Adasen; and in that place there lived a man of great power named
Gawigawen.
Now Gawigawen, who was a handsome man, had sought among all the
pretty girls but never, until he heard of the great beauty of
Aponibolinayen, had he found one whom he wished to wed. Then he
determined that she should be his wife; and he begged his mother to
help him win her. So Dinawagen, the mother of Gawigawen, took her
hat which looked like a sunbeam and set out at once for Nalpangan; and
when she arrived there she was greeted by Ebang, the mother of the
lovely maiden, who presently began to prepare food for them. [16]
She put the pot over the fire, and when the water boiled she broke up a
stick and threw the pieces into the pot, and immediately they became
fish. Then she brought basi [17] in a large jar, and Dinawagen,