illustration by Jonel D. Mendoza

Ubod ng kináng ang kaliskis
Ng Apat na Magigiting
Walang singliksi at simbilis
Sa t’wing sila ay darating

Walang tinag ang waliswis
Ng Apat na Magigiting
Parang tahimik na batis
Sila’y halos walang kahambing

Subalit digmaan ay anung bangis!
Tatlo sa Apat na Magigiting
Buhay ay nakitil—anung hinagpis!
Lumbay ay banaag sa kanilang libing

Ngunit di ’rapat mainis
Pagkat ang Apat na Magigiting
Ngayo’y rebulto nang gawa sa korál na kininis

Habang kanilang mga ispiritu’y
Naroon na sa Walang-Hanggang-Karagatan
Sumasayaw, lumalangoy, umaawit
Kapisan nina Haámyeda’r, Pagni’t, Luba’m
At iba pang mga diyètes ng karagatan
Pati na rin mga ispiritu ng pumanaw nang mga bantay-katubigán

Every culture ravaged by war and grief, and then rebuilt thereafter into a hopefully stronger and wiser civilization, certainly produces heroes—selfless individuals who conscientiously thought more of defending their territories and fellow beings than of their own personal welfare. These are the patriotic and compassionate males and females of the races, whose reputations and legacies continue to serve as great inspirations to others who do not have enough courage to fight for their homelands.

The documented history of the bantay-katubigán civilization is rich with such heroes, but nothing compared with the legacy left by the Apat na Magigiting, also known as The Four Heroes of the Galatea Revolt. These brave and wise warriors—Bagnus the Ventwatcher, Sapisa the Leatherbacktamer, Tipali the Foamgatherer, and Hedariyene the Conchwhisperer—are highly regarded by the entire bantay-katubigán population as the liberators of their races from the clutches of the Clownfish-folk of the Indian Ocean. These Clownfish-folk conquerors succeeded in occupying and looting the main centers of commerce of the bantay-katubigán territories for more than a millennia, during the Third Age when the sirena’o and the syokoy races had been degraded to become second-class citizens of their own homeland—indeed the darkest era in the entire bantay-katubigán history.

The sireno Bagnus and sirena Sapisa and the syokoy Tipali and Hedariyene were the ones who organized and led the underground group of syokoy and sirena’o warriors that eventually succeeded in overthrowing the Clownfish-folk colonizers, enabling the bantay-katubigán to regain their freedom. This long battle for freedom came to be known as the Galatea Revolt—named after the deepest part of the Philippine Deep, where the revolutionaries had held their secret assemblies. If not for the bravery and wisdom of the Apat na Magigiting, the bantay-katubigán beings to this day might still be under the rule of the Clownfish-folk. Thus, the Galatea Revolt is regarded as one of the significant events in the entire history of the bantay-katubigán. The event is commemorated annually with a lavish celebration, known as the Danggàran, or the ‘Feast of Freedom,’ the highlight of which is the much-awaited reenactment of battle moments and performance of war dances.

In honor of the Apat na Magigiting, the Bantay-Katubigán Ministry of Arts & Culture during the reign of the raceleaders Korrugat the Brave and Sikyaris the Wise, in the final years of the Third Age, had commissioned the national artist Karran the Coralshaper to sculpt a statue depicting the four heroes. Named the Hetisaba Monument, the statue can be found at the Galatea Depth National Recreation Area—a solid reminder that, in regaining freedom from foreign oppressors, blood was shed and lives were sacrificed. And this freedom which their races had once lost, and their ancestors had fought hard for to regain, the bantay-katubigán will never allow to be lost again.

“Freedom is far more worth dying for than our scales, hides, and tails.”—said to have been the last words uttered by Sapisa the Leatherbacktamer, before an enemy’s poisonous arrow finally fell. Among the four, only Bagnus the Ventwatcher had survived the long battle ensuing the legendary revolt. But, many considered him unfortunate as the dead ones, for it was believed that he had never been able to overcome the grief the war and the loss of so many kins and comrades had caused him. Bagnus lived in self-exile in an undisclosed faraway region of the sea, never to be seen again even to the end of his days. One syokoy poet wrote: “No war can ever heal any land or mend the broken spirits of its inhabitants.”