stock character in Subanon tales), that the seven warriors and the giant he slew would come back to life, and peace would reign in the land. The epics feature the diwata, as well as mythical and legendary heroes and chieftains who are partly divine. Composed of many stories, these epics are told in a leisurely fashion, so that it takes one night to complete a story. The chanters of the epic have to have a strong memory and a good voice. They are aided by "assistants" who encourage and sustain the bards. They start the bards off by chanting a number of meaningless syllables, giving them the pitch and duration of the recitative. Whenever they think the bards are getting tired, the assistants give them a chance to rest by taking up the last sung phrase and repeating it, sometimes twice (Christie 1909). The singers, men or women, are honored and respected by the community, since they possess valuable knowledge of well-loved mythic events, which they recount in a most entertaining manner. These tales pass from one settlement to another during festivals, and are well known among both the Subanon and the Kalibugan in both northern and southern parts of the Zamboanga peninsula. To date, three Subanon epics have been recorded and published: The Guman of Dumalinao, the Ag Tobig nog Keboklagan (The Kingdom of Keboklagan), and Keg Sumba neg Sandayo (The Tale of Sandayo). All performed during the week-long , Guman contains 4,062 verses; Keboklagan 7,590; and Sandayo 6,577. The Guman from Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur, has 11 episodes which narrate the conflict between the good, represented by their parents, and the evil represented by three evil queens, their descendants, and other invaders. The monumental battles are fought between these forces in order to capture the kingdoms of Dliyagan and Paktologon. In the end the forces of good, aided by magical kerchiefs, rings, birds, and swords, conquer the evil powers. The Keboklagan of Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, is a saga about the life and exploits of the superhuman hero named Taake, from the kingdom of Sirangan, whose successful courtship of the Lady Pintawan in the kingdom of Keboklagan, in the very navel of the sea, sets off a series of wars between Sirangan and other kingdoms led by chieftains who resented a Subanon winning the love of the lady of Keboklagan. The wars widen, dragging other kingdoms into the