The Spring of Tears

Once, in a village in the province of Nueva Vizcaya
in the island of Luzon (Philippines), there lived a beautiful maiden named
Yumina. Yumina was as kind as she was beautiful, and many men
wanted to marry her.

Yumina's father was a powerful, chief, and he wanted a suitable
husband for his daughter. But how to choose? Most of Yumina's suitors
were rich and handsome. All of them said that they loved her.

The chief decided to hold a shooting contest. Yumina would stand
against a tree with a bamboo tube under her right arm. Each man would
have three chances to shoot an arrow through the tube. Whoever could
shoot three arrows into the tube would get to marry Yumina. But
whoever hit her instead would be put to death.

Many men prepared to join the contest. One of them was a
handsome young man named Gumined.

Gumined and Yumina had been playmates when they were
children and he wanted with all his heart to have Yumina for his wife.
But he was not a rich man, so Gumined dared not to propose marriage.
When the contest was announced, he saw his chance to win Yumina.

Gumined practiced shooting his arrows until his arms ached. "This
is for Yumina," he told himself, "for I love her truly."

Another young man named Indawat also got ready for the contest.
"My father is a good friend of Yumina's father," he told his friends. "I
will surely win. Then our lands will be joined and we will we even more
powerful." The boastful Indawat was so sure he would win that he never
once touched his bow to practice.

On the day of the contest a big crowd came to watch. The suitors
formed a line in the middle of a large field and waited. Ten of the oldest
people in the village sat on one side of the field. They were the judges.

When Yumina came out, a sigh ran through the crowd. She was
so beautiful! She walked with her head held high. Yumina calmly took
her position at the mabolo tree, twenty paces in front of the contestants.
She held the bamboo tube steadily under her arm. And she waited.

The contest began. One after the other, the men stepped up to the
line and fired their arrows. Some succeeded in putting an arrow through
the tube once, some even twice, but none could do it three times.
Fortunately no arrow struck Yumina.

Then came Indawat's turn. He smiled confidently, but his first
arrow almost hit the girl's side. Indawat angrily threw his bow to the ground when he was asked to step aside.

Finally, it was Gumined's turn. He looked at Yumina and saw her
smiling. The smile encouraged him. Carefully he raised his bow
and took aim. The arrow sailed through the air and flew straight into the
bamboo tube under Yumina's arm.

The crowd gasped and then waited in silence. When Gumined's
second arrow landed in the bamboo tube, some people actually
clapped. The young man drew his bow for the third time, willing his
beating heart to keep still. When the third arrow went through the tube,
a wide smile spread across Yumina's face and hereyes lit up with joy.
She raised her arms to welcome Gumined, who rushed up to her. "Your
smile made my aim steady and sure," he said. Yumina embraced him.
"I knew you would do it," she whispered.

They were married and lived happily together.

But still Indawat wanted Yumina for his wife. So he made a plan.
He invited Gumined to a hunting party. Indawat ordered his men to lead
Gumined to the deepest part of the forest and leave him there.

Indawat found Gumined in the forest. They were alone.

"Gumined, my friend," he raised his bow in greeting. "Let us share
this hunt. A wild boar has just been through here. Look, it's tracks lead
to the cliffs. Quick, we must not let it escape."

The unsuspecting Gumined followed Indawat to the cliffs. When
Gumined was near the cliff's edge, Indawat sprang forward and pushed
him over. Gumined fell more than a thousand feet and was crushed on
the rocks below. Then Indawat rolled a few big rocks off the cliff to make
it look like Gumined was killed in a landslide.

Yumina's heart was heavy with grief. She buried Gumined in the
field where the contest was held. Every morning she brought flowers
to his grave, and every evening she lit a candle for him. She would not
leave her husband's grave. "Bathala," she prayed. "Let me join my
beloved. I cannot live without him."

One night the sky darkened. Lighting flashed and Thunder
rumbled over the land. Soon the rain fell in heavy sheets, until a great
river of water roared through the field.

When the rain stopped villagers found the lifeless body of
Yumina still clinging to the grave of her beloved Gumined. When her
father tried to remove her body, the earth shook and opened up.
Yumina's body fell into a deep chasm. Then the earth closed again.

The next day, the villagers were surprised to see a spring on the
same spot where Yumina's body has disappeared. They tasted the
water, but it was salty.

To this day, the spring of Salinas is salty. The villagers say it is
because Yumina still weeps for her beloved. And the waters are her tears.