Luya

The ginger

In a village the ugliest baby was born that when the "maaram" saw her she told her parent that she should be left in the forest for the animals. Being a Bisayan custom to dispatch babies with deformities the parents agreed. the midwife took the ugly baby and left her in the forest.  The next day when the parents woke up they found their baby safe and sound in front of the wooden steps of their nipa hut, they told themselves that its either she was too ugly for the animals and monsters to feed on or the gods have blessed her. In their minds they believed in the earlier, little that they know that their baby was truly blessed for
It was the eternally young god Lisantonilyo who had brought back the baby.
She grew up ugly but very kind. She was mocked for her appearance but noted for her kindness. One day the supreme god took the form of a beautiful woman (lalahon) and walked to the ugly girls village. No one would look at her for she was too beautiful to look at that the villages shut their houses scared. Only the ugly girl opened her doors to her. The ugly girl was very hospitable and to the beautiful stranger. the god felt the warmth of the girls welcome and in return she gave the girl the fire of courage.
Lisantonilyo saw everything and was delighted that he blessed the girl with the knowledge of herbs and healing. thus the girl became an "alabay(something that resembles a herbalist and a novice priestess)"
Not to long te beautiful golden goddess Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan passed by the village with her entourage of dwarves. Her dwarves were exhausted from walking and carrying gold and other precious stones. Again all the other villagers hid and shut their doors because they all feared the dwarves (who at that time were believed to eat human entrails)
The ugly girl accommodated the goddess and the dwarves without asking anything in return, this moved the goddess. She blessed the girl with beauty, the girls skin and hair had now glowed golden.
She was no longer undesirable, her golden sun-kissed skin was deemed sensual desirable. News that the golden goddess had passed that village and rumors of treasures and spoils reach the ears of raiders. Tattooed bandits raided their village, the girl blessed with the fire of courage led the village people to defend themselves and succeeded in fending off the raiders. Soon after another group of raider attacked their village again and the girl was slain. Burigdang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan passed by the village again only to see the girl dying. She asked the earth to swallow the girl and make her into the ginger plant.

"Until now, the ginger still has the gifts of the other diwatas, it is used in medicine as it was blessed by Lisantonillo, it is spicy and warm to the throat just as lalahon's gift made her spirit fiery, and it is golden all over inside just like Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan's grace, it may not look attractive in the outside, but it contains all the blessings inside"

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