Legends of the Sto. Niño de Cebu
(Part 7)
Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada originally wrote this in Cebuano, it was translated into English by Martin Abellana. It was published in 1965. It was Consuelo Enriquez-Uy, a descendant of the Dela Calzada, who donated copies of the book to the Cebu City Library.
Numerous entries on the legends of the Sto. Niño de Cebu are contained in the book. CEBUpedia is running a series of selected stories in the book, with the hope that the Cebu City government, in coordination with the family of Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada, will reproduce the book so it can be distributed to the public schools in Cebu City.
“Several years passed by. Then in April 1521, Magellan landed in Banawa, bringing with him the Image of the Holy Child. The Image was given as a gift by Magellan to the wife of King Humabon. The Image had not stayed long in the palace of King Humabon when a strange thing happened. One day the people were surprised to see many birds alighting on the branches of the mangamut tree. They were picking fruit and singing as they ate the fruit. In unison, the birds sang:
“Manggatsapuy, tsapuy, tsapuy,
To eat your fruit is a joy;
Your fruit is precious
Because it is delicious.
“Then from afar, seemingly coming from nowhere, a voice sweet and melodious, a voice from the throat of a young boy answered the song of the birds. It was a joyous song, it said:
“Mango, mango, mango, mango:
You were sour and bitter years ago;
But henceforth you will not fret
For you will be very sweet.
“Since then, the mangamut which was not shortened to manga (mango) regained prestige and renown. But who was the young boy who answered the song of the birds? He was no other than the Holy Child.”
- Latest
