|
FEATURES (September 15 –
September 21, 2008) Pardanon Samtoy Jose “Pepito” Alvarez This is
the Ilocano (Second of a series) Rich
knowledge of ready sources of food: The
Ilocanos in the rural areas, particularly those who live near a river and the
mountains have rich knowledge of other sources of food. They are likewise adept in gathering and in
preparing them for the table. In the
river they catch mollusk, shells, crustaceans, waterplants, and several other
edible things. They catch shrimps,
eels, fresh water, fish, frogs, and other protein sources. In the forest they dig out several kinds of
root crops like “camangeg”, “tugi”, “gabi”, “panrien”, and others. In the forest too, they gather itlog ti
buos, honey, and other plants that are edible. In the The indispensable
daily recipe of the Ilocano is “inabraw” also called “dinengdeng.” This is any vegetable or combination of
vegetables boiled in water with “bagoong” as its principal condiment. Very often a roasted fish, a piece of meat
of chicken, chicharon or shrimps are added to improve the flavor. For a poor family a sufficient amount of
“dinengdeng” and plenty of rice would be a square meal. Molasses or banana is served for desert. The Ilocano use of
shampoo the extract of a bark called “gogo” that of a vince called “lipay” or
that of the ashes of the burned straw know locally as “toro”. To these extracts they add the juice of a
lemon. These native shampoos do not
allow dandruff to occur. Ilocanos are
skillful craftsmen: Ilocanos are
endowed with an innate dexterity in craftsmanship. They make their own “caretons”, plows,
harrow, wooden utensils, bamboo furniture, wooden sugarcrusher, sleds,
fishing-contraptions and other implements.
The Ilocano folk architecture using timber, bamboo and cogon as
materials had attracted the attention of the Ilocanos in the rural areas
built in the style of the folk architecture are considered the best built
rural indigenous structures. Unimposed
cooperative effort in the household:
In the Ilocano Home, every member of the family does something definite to
help the affairs of the household smoothly.
The elder women attend to the weaving of the “abel Iloco.” For the clothing of the family, the
periodical pounding of rice needed weekly, washing of the clothes and
linen. Taking care of the
indispensable poultry and two or more pigs, the working animals and the
pets. The other daily household chores
like fetching water, cooking, washing the kitchen and the table utensils,
cleaning the house and the surroundings, and other duties are well
distributed among the members of the family. How the Ilocano
spends his spare time: When the men
are free from farm work they go fishing, hunting, cutting lumber or gathering
forest products. Some of them work as
carpenters, as laborers or engage in some kind of cottage industry. They spend their
time productively, even volunteering “bayanihan: work in the neighborhood. Some ensigns of
Ilocos culture: As the glory of God
is so magnificently of the splendor of the star-jewelled tropical skies, and
as the sweetness and beauty of a human heart is exposed by the kind thoughts,
words and deeds that emanate from it, so is the riches and worth if the
cultural heritage of a race shown by the nobility, truthfulness and beauty of
its customs and traditions, its attitude towards life. Some of the garlands
and ensigns of the cultural patrimony of the industrious and optimistic
people of the Ilocanos are here enumerated at random. This I hope, will give a reflected glimpse
of Iloco culture in the North. The regional
faith of the Ilocanos is Chrisitianity:
Ilocanos are by nature religious. When
the Spanish visionaries came to the region in the last quarter of the 16th century, the Ilocanos gladly embraced
Christianity. They built the best
churches, convents and belfries in the country. This was possible because of the
spontaneous cooperation of the natives in building the temples of the
Lord. The readiness with which the
local priest invariably extends help to succor the sick and the needy, and
his ministration for their spiritual welfare, is more than anything else,
responsible for their loyal adherence to the Catholic faith through the years
until the present. In the greetings,
parting phrases and expressions of gratitude of the Ilocanos the name of the
Lord is very often included. They say,
Dios ti mangted ti naimbag a bigatmo; Dios ti kumuyog; Dios ti agbati; Dios
ti angina; Dios ti bumales; Dios ti agalwad; Dios ti mangliwliwa; Dios ti
mangagas; Sapay ti Dios ti naragsac canto nga agnanayon”. So many other expressions which show that
the Ilocanos are God-conscious. One of the favorite
proverbs of the Ilocanos runs thus: “Laglagipen ti Dios a mannacabalin, isu’t
bagnus, salacnib ken taclin”. Many riddles of the Ilocanos like: “Sin ti
imparsua ni Apo Dios nga dua ti mata na ngem awan ti ulona” show that the
Ilocano explicitly believes that the universe is a creation of God. Because of his
religious conviction he does not believe in the “Bahala na” and “walang
swerte” philosophy of life. He
categorically says: “No awan anus awan ti lamot”. He believes implicitly that God helps him
who helps himself and that if you do your utmost God will do the rest. The Ilocanos extol
humility which trait makes likeable anywhere he goes. An Ilocano proverb runs thus: “Bataken ti
Dios ti nakurang ket ti nakuspag din a caasian.” The regional
moses of the Ilocanos is Bucaneg:
The Ilocanos consider Bucaneg the father of Ilocos Literature. He is also called the Moses of the region
because he is like Moses. He was
called a founding. Bucaneg was not
pleasing in looks but brilliant intellect, so he is referred to also as the
Socrates of the Ilocanos. Others
compare him to Bucaneg was found by
Maria, a newly baptized daughter of an Ilocano elite of Bantar, Ilocos Sur,
on a basket floating in one of the nearby tributaries of Abra river where she
was taking a bath. Fr. Geronimo Cavero
took the child who was found to be entirely blind. He raised him and gave him Spanish
Christian Education. Fr. Geronimo was
the parish priest of Bantar in 1592 when the child was found. (To be continued) Ilocos Times copyright 2008 |
Features |