The Crocodile of Banawa
The “Legends of the Sto. Nino de Cebu” – originally written in Cebuano by Manuel Enriquez de la Calzada and translated into English by Martin Abellana, and published in 1965 – narrates the stories about the Sto. Nino de Cebu, among them is the crocodile of Banawa (the Kingdom of Rajah Humabon was called as such, and it is what San Nicolas is now called).
During the reign of King Humabon of the Kingdom of Banawa, there lived on it shores a dreaded crocodile who was said to have killed dogs, chickens, goats and children. But this was changed when the Image of the Sto. Nino came.
While King Humabon and his wife, Queen Juana, was relaxing by the porch of their palace, a frantic woman came running and informed the royal couple that his son was missing. When asked, she told them that his son was missing for three days and she asked that the soldiers help in the search.
The King ordered the soldiers to help in the search, while the Queen who was a devotee of the Sto. Nino took it and gave it to a girl who was made to ride at the back of a carabao. It was a female carabao and its young offspring walked by its side. The carabao and the girl was followed by several people, it was a procession that started at night and ended the following morning.
When the procession reached its starting point, the young carabao was snatched and brought to the deeper part of the shore. The mother carabao came to help her offspring and jumped to the sea. The young girl who was holding the Sto. Nino jumped and the Holy Image slipped and was caught by a man who had been insane from childhood. The insane put the image on his head and danced. To the surprise of the devotees the lunatic became insane, who then gave back the image to the girl and joined the searchers.
When the mother carabao rose from the sea the body of the crocodile was pierced by its two horns. The young carabao also rose and survived the attack of the crocodile. The crocodile was brought to the land by the carabao and the girl placed the image of the Holy Child over the body of the crocodile. The crocodile then opened his eyes and opened his mouth and vomited the lost boy. The boy, whose name was KULANSI, was weak but he was still breathing, later became well.
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