Characters:
Mang
Pedro – witch doctor
Bebang
– mother of Mariano
Mariano
– Bebang’s son, farmer
Act 1 Scene 1
Time: Late afternoon
Scene: In
a province in Northern Isabela, there is a small nipa hut. There is an
abundance of trees surrounding the area.
Bebang enters the scene holding a
plate of bread. She is in her late forties, dressed in a daster. She puts the
plate of bread on the table and calls her son, Mariano.
Bebang:
(calls from inside) Mariano! Come here, we’re going to eat merienda! Help me set the table.
Mariano:
(immediately enters) yes, nay (sits beside Bebang)
Bebang:
How was your day? Did you have a bountiful harvest?
Mariano:
The crops were plagued by pests. We didn’t have anything to harvest. Even our
only carabao died.
Bebang:
(drops the bread in shock) Dios mio! Sus mariosep! How could you be so stupid!
(hits Mariano in the head) You let our only carabao die! What do you think will
happen to us now?
Mariano:
Nay! The bread! That’s the last piece of bread we have!
Bebang:
Don’t be so silly! Wala pang five
seconds! (picks up the bread and stuffs into mouth)
Mariano:
Oh. So that’s how it works.
Bebang:
Take your share of the bread with you and go to Aling Celing’s house. Ask for
some eggs. Tell her we’ll pay her when your problem with the farm is resolved.
Mariano:
Okay nay. (Mariano exits)
Act 1, Scene 2
Along a rice field, Mariano is walking
with bread in his hands.
Mariano:
Why is it when something bad happens, I am always the one being blamed. It’s
not even my fault that the carabao died! I’m the one who’s always doing the
hard work! (ruffles hes hair out of frustration and drops the bread) Ay kalabaw!
Mariano sees the bread in the puddle
Mariano:
Wala pa namang five seconds (eats the
bread)
Mariano is walking home from Aling
Celing’s house.
Mariano:
Nay’s going to kill me. Aling Celing didn’t have any chicken eggs (cries out
from sudden pain in his stomach)
Mariano:
Ah! What’s happening to me? Baka na nuno
ako! I should go to Mang Pedro Immediately! He knows what to do!
Act 1, Scene 3
Mariano is walking to a small nipa hut
at the isolated part of the barrio where there is an abundance of trees.
Mariano:
Mang Pedro! I need your help!
Mang
Pedro: What is it, hijo?
Mariano:
My stomach is aching! I think I might be possessed by an evil being that cannot
be seen! Help me Mang Pedro!
Mang
Pedro: I see. That is really bad. (nods continuously while stroking his beard)
Let me think of some some methods to banish the evil elements dwelling inside
your body. (chants)
Mariano:
(amazed by the chanting) Mang Pedro! Do everything you can.
Mang
Pedro: I got it! Here’s what you should do,
hijo. First, offer a white chicken behind my nipa hut and put it inside the
cage. Next, bathe yourself in coconut oil. After that, cover your abdomen with
boiled sambong leaves.
Mariano:
Thank you so much Mang Pedro! I will surely follow your methods.
Act 1, Scene 4
Mariano is seen doing all of the
things Mang Pedro told him to do. He placed a white chicken in a cage behind
Mang Pedro’s nipa hut. After that, he applied coconut oil on hus body and
placed sambong leaves on his abdomen. Still, his stomachache did not go away.
He went to his mother as a last resort.
Bebang:
Mariano, where have you been? Where are the eggs I asked you to get from aling
Celing?
Mariano:
Aling Celing doesn’t have any more eggs, nay.
Bebang:
Then, what took you so long?
Mariano:
Om my way back, I had a stomachache and I thought I was possessed by evil
elements so I went to see Mang Pedro.
Bebang:
(hits Mariano in the head) you stupid child! Why did you go to Mang Pedro just
because of a measly stomachache! You should have gone straight home and asked
for my opinion. For all I know, you might have just eaten something foul. Go
and relieve yourself in the bathroom.
Mariano:
Are you sure, nay?
Bebang:
Of course, I am sure, stupid child!
END
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