Katalagman sa Bohol

Pirti gyud kapait sa kahimtang karon sa mga lumulupyo sa Bohol. Bag-o pa jud og pila ka adlaw pa lamang, miigo ang kusog nga linog sa isla nga mikabat kuno og 7.2 magnitude sa richter scale. Nahitabo kini atong Martes sa buntag, sa petsa kinse karong bulana.
Sumala pa sa mga sayantipiko o mga seismologists, usa kini nga panghitabo nga ngilngig kaayo ilabi na kon itandi sa kasaysayan sa mga katalagman sa atoang nasud.
Dungag pa sa mga balita, daghan kaayong mga balay ang nangatumpag og mga tanum nga nanga daot tungod sa kakusog sa linog. Daghang mga tulay og karsada ang mga nanga hagsa.
Gawas sa pagkawala sa mga puy-anan sa mga tawo, nawad-an pud sila og suga, kuryente, suplay sa tubig og pagkaon.
Matud pa sa mga istorya sa internet, nagtukod nalang uruy sila og mga “makeshift tents” sa gawas. Unya sobra na pud sa usa ka gatos ang mga nangamatay diri.
Ang resulta niining panghitabo-a: ang pagka-undang sa komersiyo o pagpatigayon sa Bohol tungod sa kakuyaw, kahadlok og grabeng konsomisyon.
Sa pagkakaron, duol na kuno sa otsenta ka milyones pesos(80 million pesos)ang suma total sa danyos sa Bohol.
Unya kay murag maigo man pud ang isla sa Bohol sa “earthquake fault line”, aduna daw og kalagmitang mahitabo pa usab ang linog.

Simba ko!
Hinaot nga dalian pa unta sa atoang nasyonal nga kagamhanan ang paglihok og paghatag og hinabang sa atoang mga kaigsoonang Bol-anon nga nag-antos karon.
Kami diri sa Dabawenyong Lumad magpabiling maga-ampo kaninyo og nakigduyog sa inyong kaguol.

Warrior Society

Bagobos of Davao region, especially in the olden days are reputed to be fierce warriors. They are very protective about their ancestral lands and boundaries and carry a serious-like demeanor wherever they go. Being uptight about the concept of social respect, they rarely laugh or smile about especially when dealing with outsiders or foreigners. They are diplomatic however and carry about themselves an aura of ancient dignity and power. However, when situations call for a tribal war or pangayao, the Bagobos offer their ritual prayers to their war-deity called Mandarangan, and thereby asked for his protection and victory against their enemies. Mandarangan’s home is supposedly on the mount of the Apo.

Then a war party is thereby commissioned. Led by a Datu or Magani wearing his blood-red suit, young and veteran warriors hasten to the lair of their enemies. A pangayao is impelled by theft, murder or killing of a relative, breaking of a taboo, kidnapping of a wife or child or even trespass to ethnic borders.

To assure a winning outcome of the conflict, Bagobos resort to ambuscades, surprise attacks, poisons or even magic. In their weapon inventory, they have swords called palihuma, krisses, spear, bows and arrows and their kaasag or shields. Thus, the opposing tribe may have to defend themselves in a similar fashion. On occasion of obtaining slaves and women, Bagobos will even conduct hostile raids on Bilaan territories in Davao del Sur. Bilaans are also a group of people found particularly in Malita, Davao del Sur.

Bagobos have also met formidable foes in the past.
The Muslim tribes. There are ancient stories recalling of skirmishes between the Bagobos and their neighboring Muslim brothers.

Maguindanao

Bordering the Davao highlands and North Cotabato where most Bagobo territories are situated, is the landlocked region of Maguindanao. This is the home of the powerful Maguindanao Sultanate. Home of the powerful Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat. Leader of the war campaign waged against the Spanish colonial forces in the mid 1600’s. It is said that there were border skirmishes that involved both people.

In fact, in the work of Historian Heidi K. Gloria, The Bagobos: their Ethno history and Acculturation, 1987, an account was made on an encounter between the two: the Bagobos using a kind of magic as defense against the invading “Muslims”.

Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat

Thus it is quoted, “My Grandfather, Datu Gapao, used to tell me that wars were very common between the Moros and the Bagobos in the past. The Bagobos possessed knowledge of the art and craft of warfare, so that eventually the Moros gave up fighting us. As an example, one of our techniques is called “pagtangka”, a charm which is placed along the path, e.g. a river, of enemies. As soon as the Moros step on the water where the pagtangka has been placed they will begin to feel strange and would not want to travel further. Another art known to us Bagobos is that of the felling all the banana trees of the enemy with just one arrow. Still another is the “kasin”, which is spun around a surface on which a sketch of the enemy territory is drawn. Wherever the kasin falls when it stops spinning, all the Moros found in that direction will die.”

T’boli

Lake Sebu, South Cotabato

The T’bolis are one of the most prominent group of non-Muslim tribes located in the southwestern side of Mindanao. They inhabit several settlements by the beautiful Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.
The T’boli kinship system is largely paternalistic. They are headed by a Datu or Chieftain, whose charisma, knowledge, leadership and physical prowess account for his decision-making duties in the tribe.
Going by tradition, you will find a large house in a T’boli village. Termed locally as “gono-bong”, this particularly large house is being used for rituals and tribal ceremonies.
Being surrounded by fields and a rich soil, the T’boli tribes resort to the cultivation of sugar cane, potato, corn, coffee and a highland rice variety known to them as “teneba”. They also have domesticated animals and chickens. The ownership of a horse among the tribesmen surprisingly denotes a “high economic stature” in their society.
T’bolis also manufacture an abaca-based textile called “tinalak”. As with other indigenous tribes of the region, the abaca is also cut, stretched, dried, painted and colorfully woven to produce a multi-colored clothing material.
They also manufacture bronze and brass-based ornaments such as bells, beads, figurines, betel nut containers, gongs and various other farming and hunting implements. These products are currently exhibited and sold to tourists at Lake Sebu.
In the same community, the oldest male usually takes charge of all the property and affairs of the clan upon the death of the patriarch or father. In an instance of an extended family, he adopts the other children and other family members as his own.
Even today in an age of development aggression, there are still many T’bolis in Lake Sebu. And many of them are struggling peacefully to preserve their last remaining cultures.

Defense against the Dark Creatures

However, there are ways to defeat an Aswang. Filipino shamans recommend certain things that one must perform or prepare in case of an aswang attack or presence in the home or community. These practices have been tested by Malay tradition and experience. Since many Filipinos still live in the countryside villages, most of them adhere to these age-old practices that protect them against these supernatural beings.

Hereunder are the  following ways;

1. Aswangs are repelled by the smell of lemon (dayap) fruit. To them, the odor is pungent and offensive. Shamans recommend that when one goes out at night especially during barrio festivities or dances, one must carry some of this fruit in one’s pockets. The aswang cannot harm you when you possess these.
2. In some instances, aswangs are repelled by vinegar, salt, garlic or a smoked car tire.
3. Some shamans in the Visayas and Mindanao carry bronze pieces in their pocket when they venture out. They say that the bronze element is like a poison to an aswangs’ body.
4. When you walk out at night in the countryside, you may want to wear a dark garment. Aswangs generally will think that you too are an aswang, and will not endeavor to harm you.
5. If you live in a hut in an obscure village in a Philippine countryside, be sure to put out a long, sharp bamboo spike (bagacay) near the door. Bamboo spears are deterrent to a would-be aswang attacker. A blade could not always penetrate an aswang’s body, but a bamboo spear often will.
6. An aswang is afraid of a ray’s tail (buntot-pagi). A buntot-pagi may be used to whip them. Besides, a ray’s tail is poisonous.
7. When you walk the roads at night, it is advised that you do not walk in the middle. You should walk to the side for an aswang would most often challenge the one walking at the middle of the road.
8. A man who stands at a road at night and stares at you with “red eyes” is an aswang.
9. By day, if you look at a person suspected to be aswang, he would look down on the floor or avoid your “direct stare”. If you will look closer into his eye, you would see yourself as “inverted” figure.
10. In certain Visayan regions such as in Cebu, Bohol or Negros Oriental, travelers at night would often shout “asin-suka! asin-suka!” (meaning salt and vinegar, uttered twice) as this would repel any attempt by the aswang on your person.
11. In some ritualistic practices in Mindanao, sacred oil potions (Lana) in small glasses are placed atop a house doorway. The oil is believed to warn dwellers of an approaching danger in the night as the oil begins to boil on its own. When it boils, the aswang is near.
12. One may also hear an aswang cry during the night, signifying its presence in the vicinity. You will hear different sounds depending upon the region or place you are in. In Cebu or Mindanao, it is heard as “wak-wak” or “kikikik”. In Iloilo, it is heard as “tok-tok”. In Luzon, the sound “tik-tik-tik” is heard.
13. An aswang is often detected by the presence of its foul odor. Others who have had close contact with an aswang say that the smell is akin to a “decaying carcass with a somewhat oily smell”. It’s really bad, they say.
14. Pregnant women should not sleep in the middle of the room especially at night. They should also wear black when they sleep. Above all, pregnant women in the rural areas should not be left alone in the house. There are aswangs pretending to be people.
15. There are magical incantations or what we call “oracions” that may be used to drive away an aswang but this are only revealed by shamans or sorcerers to “chosen” students and apprentices.
16. People who are suspected to be an aswang are said to frequent market places or butcher shops. Aswangs like the smell of meat and blood.
17. Do not ever allow a stranger, or any old person whom you do not know, to hold or touch your pregnant woman’s belly. An aswang can “seep” into the energy of the unborn and may cause ‘miscarriage”. The aswang’s “death touch” can affect the fetus inside of a woman. This is generally applicable to people who live in very far places or communities in the Philippines.
18.  Aswangs are believed to visit houses of where the woman occupant is pregnant. Old stories relate how aswangs are attracted to the smell of fetuses and would do anything to get them. They are said to be near when one hears mysterious footsteps on top of the roof, usually late at night. Here, the occupants are encouraged to be careful and to be on guard.
19. Aswangs during the day are said to be unfriendly and anti-social. They keep to themselves and have no wish of any social interaction with others in the community. They are said to possess a “piercing” eye.
20.  Crucifixes, rosaries nor any religious relic do not seem to scare them. Aswangs are ancient beings. They are said to be older than religion itself. Shamans teach that you can only combat them effectively, using the ancient arts as taught by these shamans.

 

Bronze pieces in your pocket to ward off Aswangs during your evening strolls.

Garlic is the traditional organic weapon being utilized by the village-folk during an “aswang invasion”.

Vinegar is said to have “aswang” repellant properties.

The most popular weapon of the Barrio: Bamboo spikes or bagacay! Even the dreaded Manananggal fears this one.

all images courtesy of internet

Strange Aswang Occurences in the Philippine Islands

A “manananggal” image uploaded in the internet. Presumably taken with a Sony handycam with night-day vision. This was supposed to be taken from a remote province in the north of Pangasinan in Central Luzon. The image became viral in the local chat-rooms years back.

Real or not, the Manananggal would virtually look like this one when actually encountered. Witnesses to many horrific experiences would describe a similar appearance.

Aswangs supposedly drain their victims of bodily fluids. Here lies an image that portray an alleged “victim” of an aswang attack. The image was allegedly captured somewhere in Mindanao, presumably between Cagayan de Oro and Ozamiz City in Mindanao.

“BOY KILLED BY AN ASWANG in ILOILO”!.  His mother during an interview revealed that the boy had been playful during the night but was surprised to find him lifeless the next morning. Observe the bitten face of the child. Image taken from a local Iloilo City daily on the internet.

Dark Mythology

The stories that follow were researched and compiled by the late Professor Maximo D. Ramos.

Professor Ramos was often called as the Dean of Lower Philippine Mythology as he researched tirelessly and often travelled to many places in the country in the 60’s, documenting stories of the Philippine version of the supernatural and the bizarre. His works have been printed and published by the Philippine Folklore Society. Copyrighted 1971.

In one of his works, he mentions the myth of the Aswang (the Filipino Vampire). From among his notes, he characterizes the aswang as typically being females who appear to be “pretty maidens by day and marry young men so as to be in a strategic position to suck their blood by night.” In the evenings, they fly away to some far barrio or village and often victimize unsuspecting travelers or children, feasting on their blood and internal organs thereafter returning home from sunrise in order hide their true identities.

At night, the aswang is said to look like a huge bird, sitting on rooftops and allowing their long, slender-like proboscis to slip inside the small roof openings and onto their unsuspecting sleeping victims below. Its tongue is alleged to prick the jugular veins of its intended victim and at times, enter orifices of pregnant women to sip out their unborn, fresh fetuses.

There is another type of aswang that also exists in the Philippine islands that is called the Manananggal. A manananggal (self-segmenter) is most often a woman, who at night goes to some dark part of the woods or forest, and after uttering a mysterious incantation, allows her upper torso to be split from her lower body. She then grows huge bat-like wings, her nails growing abnormally long and sharp and then her eyes and face metamorphose into a devil-like feature. She flies at night usually on full moons to hunt.

As Aswang is reputedly known throughout, as it is feared in the Philippine islands. As early as 1564 when the Legazpi expedition made a landfall at Leyte and Samar, the officers and men were warned by the Samareno natives from venturing far out after sunset. It is said that supernatural creatures called “asuangs” hunt by night and will make no remorse killing even “armed” strangers. There was a report made by the commander of the expedition to Queen Isabella as to this particular “phenomena”.

The National Museum of the Philippines in Manila also houses a “memento” that attests to this intriguing document.

The original transcripts of the same stories were derived from  Filipino regional dialects such as Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Waray and Tagalog and thereby translated into English.

A bout with an Aswang, story from Antique, Panay Island

This is a story that spread throughout my town. In 1960 Juan left his wife and his child to buy some cigarettes in the town. It was around 9 P.M. when an aswang came and wrestled with Juan’s wife. The object of the aswang was the two-year old child of Juan. Juan’s wife fought back but could not take hold of her oily body.

Then she bit the thumb of the aswang and the aswang went away. She reported the incident to her husband and a few days later Juan prepared a good luncheon. Juan invited the suspected aswang to eat with them, for it was the child’s birthday. The aswang was happy that she could carry out her plans but didn’t know that Juan prepared food harmful to the aswang. When the aswang sat at the table, her eyes grew big on seeing the food with spices and salt. She tried to get away but Juan drew his rifle and told the aswang to get out of the town or be killed.

Aswang at home on a Friday, story from Antique, Panay Island

Where we live, though it isn’t Capiz, there are many aswang, especially during the peace time (before World War II). Our neighbor, Manang Lucing, didn’t believe in aswang or wakwak. But one of the people in our place Julia was reputed to be a wakwak and the people knew about this.

One Friday Manang Lucing went to Julia’s home in the fields to borrow an embroidery design. It was six o’clock when she got there. She knocked at the door but nobody answered. But the door was not locked. She entered the house. Since nobody was there, she opened one of the doors and saw Julia sitting in the corner with head down on the floor as if she were praying.

She got near and put Julia’s head up, and she saw that Julia’s thick hair was as hard as guitar strings and her eyes were said those of the owl, Manang Lucing saw her image inverted in Julia’s eyes. And beside Julia was a bottle of oil. She was very scared and ran. She never went back to Julia’s home.

Aswang at 5:00 AM

I heard his story from Lucio Labonete, my brother’s father-in-law, when my sister and I spent our vacation in their place. I was a third-year high school student when he told us this. Labonete is from Samar and has travelled all over the Visayan region. He is a wanderer, and this explains why he has reached Sorsogon and then Camarines Norte in the Bikol provinces. He settled in Camarines Norte for quite a long time when he became a widower. It was there in Camarines Norte that we were able to have contact with him because of my brother’s affinity to him. He is a short man but healthy and has good physique which shows he is hard working. He has many stories about aswang and he seems to believe them because he talks from experience. He told us many stories but this is the only one I can remember:

When he was still a boy of about 9 years old, he used to go to the farm as early as five in the morning to pasture the carabaos. One early morning while he was doing his daily routine, he heard some crushing and rushing sounds not far from his place. He went there to see what caused the sounds not far from his place. He went there to see what caused the sounds and he saw his father’s comadre learning to fly by swaying her hands up and down. Her hair was standing like wires and her eyes were sharp. She raised them and then lowered them again. The woman saw him and so he ran home and told his father everything that he had seen. His father in turn went to the woman and told her that if she wanted not to be known by her real identity, she should not molest and harm his family. The woman replied that she would not molest and harm his family because she knew that they were compadres.

 Almost an Aswang

In a barrio of Kalibo, aklan, a girl named angela was almost turned into a wakwak because she ate something that got mixed with her food.

The next day, her parents immediately sought an herb doctor who, after making his examination, said that Angela was a victim of the wakwak. The herb doctor told the parents to get a fresh egg and mayana ( Coleus Blumei Benth.- a medicinal and ornamental herb), and after placing them together in a container, divided the egg, and everybody was surprised because the egg contained plenty of small worms, believed to be converted into food by the wakwak. This saved her from becoming a wakwak or aswang.

An Aswang Town Mayor

There was a barrio in Capiz where almost all the inhabitants were aswang. The government sent seven policemen to investigate the matter. These policemen went to the mayor and requested that they spend the night in his house.

The mayor welcomed them and had food prepared for them. Their bedroom and bedding were also prepared. The policemen agreed among themselves that none of them should sleep that night and should watch instead.

At midnight the door of their room opened and someone got in. Together they tried to catch him but he flew off swiftly.

They found out that the mayor was an aswang too, a manananngal. Next morning the policemen left for home and narrated their experience.

Hollow’s Welcome

Of Plunderers, Monarchs and Thieves

In the early 1500’s, when Spain commanded a formidable naval fleet in the west, it felt compelled to explore the New World in search of spices, forest resources and particularly,  gold.

Wanting to expand its empire beyond its borders, Spain conscripted its best navigators, adventurers, privateers and mercenaries to launch expeditions into the new lands in the west. Spanish Monarchs such as Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille justified its just wars against all indigenous peoples as being in line with the natural law.

Licensing for maritime trade was obtained in the Spanish Capital for commerce in Seville. It was here where navigation licenses and trading papers were procured by various profiteers for the empire. One of these privateers would be in the name of Hernan Cortes. Hernan Cortes was to become a notorious corsair of the New World.  Prompted by greed for American Indian gold, he nearly exterminated the Aztec communities in Mexico. Cortes plundered whatever remained of their gold fineries and ornaments ( as Aztecs were also skilled goldsmiths and craftsmen),  and shipped them back to the Spanish empire.

Spain’s policy was to steal all the gold from the colonies, have them stamped, sealed and shipped back to Spain’s Royal Treasury.

During the years 1510-1567, Spain had already subjugated Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Incas of Peru and Mayans of the Yucatan consequently fell to the military overtures of Spanish mercenaries and corsairs. Gold ornaments were plundered by the thousands. Abuses heaped upon the indigenous populations of South and Central America. Spain and its Monarchs were to become one of history’s greatest plunderers of the New World. Along with the theft of spoils was a continent ravished by European greed and apathy. Spanish booty were consequently divided between the Monarchs and the Catholic Church.

Thievery in the New World suffered no contrast in the conquest of the Philippine Islands.

Since the Spanish landfall in 1564 led by Legazpi, the Philippine Islands would never be the same again.

In the span of more than 330 years under the Spanish colonial rule, the Philippine Islands would similarly fall prey to Spanish thievery and plundering. The Indios were treated to abuse, torture, brainwashing, humiliation and moral and cultural degradation. The Church and Spanish military authorities would connive strategically to reduce the will of the people living in the islands. Using the principles of divide and conquer, these imperialist institutions would eventually set the people against each other.

Tribe against tribe. Region against region. Christian converts against Muslims. Shattering any existing tribal institutions based on respect, courtesy and peaceful co-existence.

In the end, they plundered the nation’s gold, timber, silk, spices and various other cultural ornaments. All of these would be sent to Spain and to Roman Catholic treasuries. Other fineries would find themselves in the hands of private collectors, private plunderers to say the least.

Because South America, Philippines and several third world countries share a common history of plunder, rape and humiliation, these countries suffered generational wounds which could not heal easily.

Today, Europe is in economic turmoil. Greece, Spain and France are experiencing records of high unemployment and civil unrest. And Queen Sofia, a Spanish Monarch has just visited the Philippine Islands this year, June 2012.

Hmmmmm…..

Prospecting for more Gold perhaps?

Coral Cay Resort, Siquijor

Inset is a photo image of Coral Cay Beach view casting an almost eerie like  glow of the sunset.

Dabawenyong Lumad has always been fascinated by the mystical island found in the nearby Visayan region known as Siquijor. As a child who grew up in semi-rural Davao in the 70’s and 80’s, he has heard a lot of stories of the supernatural nature of this place. Stories of the famed mangkukulam, mambabarang and the mananambal haunted his childhood impression of this almost fearsome Visayan island.

Still waters casting translucent image at Coral Cay Resort, Siquijor.

It was during the Spanish era  that  Siquijor was otherwise called as the “Isla del Fuego” (Island of Fire). Spanish officers and sailors from aboard galleons passing through Negros islands observed that during the night, the island had reputedly possessed a fiery glow. Spanish sailors were captivated by the sight of this otherworldly illumination which would turn out to be a cacophony of dazzling fireflies that bewitch the island’s molave trees in the night.

In the year 1565, it would be a Spaniard by the name of Captain Esteban Rodriguez of the Legazpi expedition that would lead the first foreign incursions into the island.

Sunset hauntings at Siquijor.

History accords Siquijor as the land of the Sorcerers. In the local parlance, Siquijodnon magic men were popularly known as Mangkukulams or Mambabarangs. It was said that when the Spanish troops subdued Tagbilaran’s sorcerer Tamblot during an uprising  in 1621, many of Tamblot’s followers (who were equally shamans themselves) who refused to submit to Catholic ways escaped from the island of Bohol by swimming across to Siquijor. It was here where these shamans would lay to establish another secret enclave for the preservation and practice of an old religion that is based on ancestor, spirit and nature worship. A mixture of Latin inspired rituals also permeate within the spiritual structure of the island’s magic.

Dabawenyong Lumad has travelled for a few days on the island were he has consulted a local shaman in the San Antonio hills. Being naturally curious, he had been able to obtain some “good luck” charms from a woman sorcerer of this island.

Talismans and amulets like bottles of oil, mysterious woods, fragrances from fairy-herbs and ancient stones are secretly prepared by Siquijor’s magic men during Lent or Holy Week. These are normally sold or given as a gifts to tourists who visit the Bandilaan mounts during this season.

Similar to the Druids of Ireland,  Siquijor stands proudly as one of the Philippines’  living cultural  monuments.