The great story of Siquijor has always been fiery. Years ago, there was no Siquijor. The island came out from the bottom of the sea following a violent volcanic eruption. But this volcanic eruption was no ordinary event.
Thousands of years ago, there was a great ruler named King Kihod. He ruled a vast and peaceful kingdom underneath the ocean until an evil witch named Lady Ingkanta disturbed the peace and sowed discontent among various segments in the kingdom causing conflict and war with each other. There was a struggle between good and evil, and King Kihod had to make the ultimate decision of destroying his very own kingdom to preserve it. He then cast a spell to his own subjects and only the worthy ones would come out to the new world alive. After the eruption, King Kihod stayed at the very top and the center of the island (the new world) in order to have a better picture and control of the whole situation. He put up a “bandila” or banner or flag for the survivors to find him. There is a place called “Bandilaan” in Siquijor where hundreds of people from far away places gather every Holy Friday to witness Siquijor’s rituals and art of healing that are unique to the island. No one exactly knows where the locals learned this art but it would appear that this is probably King Kihod’s gift to his own people, the power to heal and to give hope.
He was later joined by an elf named Ijor, who then later became his successor when the king decided to be less visible as humans began to settle in the island. He instructed Ijor to look for survivors in the island. When Ba’alte the Dwarf was reunited with him, getting around the island became easier especially when he wanted to visit other survivors in the island from his location. This location became the new gathering place for al survivors to perform their rituals and to renew their vows.
Read: Ijor the Elf and Siquijor
It is also believed that he can command the great seas of Siquijor to protect his own people. By using his powerful staff, he can call on a million fireflies and magnify their lights giving the island an appearance of being on fire to scare away bad spirits and as a warning to Lady Ingkanta to stay away. Many people believed that these fireflies or “aninipots” attracted humans from neighboring islands to visit the place calling it at one time Isla del Fuego. King Kihod, after appointing Ijor as his successor, was known to hangout at his favorite place. A village created by Takadog and Tugga Sam on the hills of the island where they enjoy the most amazing view of the island.