TAN ADI AND THE GIANT

This folk tales came from the town of Guimbal.

The name Tan Adi is always connected with strength.

It was said that Tan Adi came from Camangahan but he is married to a woman in Sipitan. He has two brothers, Andoy and Fermin and a sister, Inocencia (nicknamed Osing). Tan Adi's hobby is to catch shrimps and crabs in a creek called "Sapa Buhi" or Live Stream or Active Creek. He is using a basket made of bamboo called "tagub" where he puts some bait. He gets his catch from the basket early in the morning because it is submerged in the water overnight. He always caught shrimps and crabs enough for food everyday.

One morning, he was surprised to see that there's no catch inside the basket. This peculiar situation happened again the next morning. Tan Adi suspects someone is making a prank or is doing some tricks on him. So what he did is to hide among the bamboos near and fronting the shores of the stream. All night long he tried to stay awake to watch. At about four o'clock in the morning, his attention was caught by the rustling of leaves from the trees lining up the shores. An unexplained object is moving on this corner. When it came closer, Tan Adi saw a very tall creature. When it bows down to gather the crabs and shrimps, Tan Adi gets his thong belt and caught the giant using it and since the belt is sacred, the giant got scared. The giant attempted to get loose but Tan Adi's grip on the belt is too tight. The trapped giant ran from Iloilo to Antique and back but nothing happened.

In exhaustion finally the giant begs.

"Remove the belt on my neck and I will give you a powerful amulet."

"I will set you free if you bring me back to Sapang Buhi," said Tan Adi.

The giant did so and aside from this, he gave Tan Adi three pieces of his beard.

"This will give you an unusual strength," advised by the giant.

Tan Adi gets one piece of it and put it in the biceps of his right arm. He gave the other two pieces to his brothers. Since then, Tan Adi possesses an unusual strength.




Photo Source:

http://www.theunveilingjourney.com/2013/09/10/your-inner-green-man-gentle-giant-or-raging-tyrant/