Gunung Goluha (ɡu.nuŋ ɡo.lu.ha)

"Gunung Goluha shivers whenever a butterfly flutters. It is afraid of their Queen, and cannot help it."

— Pulawan legend

Gunung Goluha is the highest point on the island of Mole, located in the northeastern part of the island. It is known for the frequent earthquakes that happen nearby, and its name translates to "Shaking Mountain". Nobody lives on the mountain or immediately by it, as it is considered to unstable for a long life.

Notable Spirits

The Hyang of Gunung Goluha is Nabalu, who is said to have inhabited the mountain since before the destruction of Bato. Nabalu manifests as a gigantic Kikipua of the Anma people, whose bones are stone and whose eyes are lava. In the aftermath of the destruction, Nabalu was greatly weakened, and was nearly forgotten along with most of the other gods of Anmara. But a few of their priests survived the cataclysm and told the stories of Nabalu's might, and passed these stories on to the Pulawan who came to Mole later.

But the tales of Nabalu did not go unchanged. The Pulawan brought their own stories to the new island, and saw a goddess in the movements of the wind and the butterflies. They named their goddess Yalalai, Queen of the Butterflies, and she became the Hyang of Mole itself. When she was new born to the world, Nabalu emerged from the mountain and laughed at the fragile butterfly goddess, and attempted to claim the island for themself, crushing several of Yalalai's children as a sign of contempt.

Nabalu did not then understand the true nature of Yalalai. She is a goddess of the sky, and commands the winds and the storm, along with the butterflies she loves. Enraged, she summoned a great storm to batter Nabalu, crafting butterflies of lightning that ripped through the trees, incinerating all that lived there and then drowning the ash in torrents of rain. Nabalu's few remaining priests were destroyed in her rage, and the giant was thrown back by the winds. For weeks, she scoured the mountain with horrible storms, shattering rocks with thunder and lightning, and washed the bare stone clean of all soil and life. Nabalu found that they could do nothing to fight the storm, and eventually hid deep within the mountain, covering their head and shaking with terror of the thunder that echoed through their bones. Her victory secured, Yalalai allowed the storm to pass, and even replanted the trees upon the mountain, that her children might enjoy their flowers. But Nabalu was broken by all this, and shivers still within the mountain, shaking the stones and soil in their terror.

Geography

Gunung Goluha is a treacherous place to visit, with landslides, mudslides, and sinkholes all happening regularly. The slopes are covered in tropical rainforest, and from a distance the canopy can be seen to shake wildly with the tremors beneath the surface. Occasionally entire sections of the mountainside will shift by several feet - this is most common during the heaviest rains of the year.

Type

Mountain / Hill

Location under

Mole

Geographic Details

Location: Southern Region
Latitude: 3.54 degrees South
Longitude: 16.53 degrees West 
Elevation: 4,019 ft

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