Scarecrow in the rice field (Siquijor) from Travelpod, thanks
Abe V Rotor
Bannawag
Okeyka, Apong!
Dagiti Tawid a Sirib ken Adal
The Scarecrow is an art in the countryside.
Maysa
nga arte ti away ti bambanti. Nakamattider iti tengnga ti kataltalonan a
mangbutbuteng kadagiti billit babaen dagiti nakadeppa nga imana ken ti
datdatlag a rupana a nalingdan iti payabyab. Bantayanna dagiti nakadawan
a pagay tapno awan ti agkaan a billit-tuleng (Lonchura malacca jagori ken L. m. formosana) wenno maya iti Tagalog.
Adda
dagiti billit-tuleng iti agarup sibubukel nga Asia ken iti Pasipiko.
Ad-adda a dawa ti pagay ti pagbiagda, ken bukbukel dagiti ruot.
Makadanonda pay kadagiti mandala wenno sarusar a pagtuktokan iti irik.
Maris-daga wenno kayumanggi dagitoy a billit ken nagsinan-trianggulo ti
sippitda nga umisu unay iti panagsippit ken panagukisda iti bukbukel
wenno dawa. Sangapangen no agdissoda iti kapagayan.
Isu
nga adda dagitoy bambanti nga agbantay. Iramanda pay nga abogen dagiti
billit-tsina, ken dadduma pay a billit nga agkaan iti dawa. Nareppet a
garami a nangsinan-T daytoy bambanti. Sa mabaduan iti daan a kamiseta
wenno bado nga atiddog ti mangngasna ken payabyab. Daytay aglanglanga a
kasla mannalon tapno kabuteng dagiti billit.
Adda ketdi
parikutna daytoy. Kas iti nasursuruan nga aso ni Pavlov (ti prinsipio
ti nakondision a pannakasursuro), maamiris met dagiti billit-tuleng a
saan met gayam a pudpudno a mannalon dagitoy bambanti. Ket sakbay a
maammuan ni mannalon daytoy, nagum-uman dagiti billit-tuleng kadagiti
dandanin maani a pagayna. Amangan ta adda pay dagiti agbatay a
billit-tuleng iti mismo nga abaga wenno ulo ti bambanti.
Kadagitoy
a tiempo, matmatayen nga arte ti bambanti. Kas sukatna, mangibanteng
dagiti mannalon iti tali iti kapagayan a pakaisab-itan dagiti namamaris a
plastik bag. Adda met dagiti mangibanteng iti “tali” ti daan a cassette
tape wenno video tape— no agangin, aguni dagitoy a mangabog kadagiti
billit. Adda payen dagiti agusar iti ‘pellet gun’.
Naminsan,
nakakitakami iti maymaysa a bambanti iti tengnga ti kataltalonan. Idi
maasitganmi, naduktalanmi a maysa gayam a manekin ken nabaduan a kunam
la no adda iti maysa a mall. Nalagipmi la ket ngarud ti ubing a
nakaduktal iti estatua ni Venus de Milo iti maysa a pasto iti Gresia.
Iti
sabali pay a gundaway, nakakitakami kadagiti lobo (balloon) ken
styropore balls a nakabitin kadagiti pinagayan a namarkaan kadagiti rupa
da Jollibee, Power Puff Girls, Batman, Popeye, Mr. Bean, ken
sumagmamano a karakter iti pelikula ken cartoon. Ket nadlawmi nga awan a
pulos ti billit iti aglawlaw!
Idi nadakamatmi iti maysa a gayyemi
a maysa nga entomologist, nga epektibo daytoy baro a bersion ti
bambanti, kinunana nga aglinglingaling: “Mabalin nga awanen dagiti
billit.”
Nalagipmi la ket ngaruden ti Silent Spring, ti
premiado a libro ni Rachel Carson. Dagiti billit iti dayta a
panagrurusing (spring), natayda gapu iti pannakasamalda iti
pestisidio.—O
Love that scarecrow (banbanti
Ilk.). It is folk art on the farm. In the middle of the field it
feigns scary to birds, what with those outstretched arms and that
mysterious face hidden beneath a wide brim hat. There it stands tall
amid maturing grains, keeping finches or maya birds (Lonchura Malacca jagori and L. m. formosana)
at bay. Finches are widely distributed in Asia and the Pacific
feeding on rice grains, and alternately on weed seeds, but now and then
they also steal from the haystack (mandala)
and poultry houses. They are recognized for their chestnut colored
compact bodies, and sturdy triangular beak designed for grain picking
and husking. The scarecrow also guards against the house sparrow, mayan
costa (billit China Ilk.), including the lovable turtle dove or bato-bato (Streptopelia bitorquata dursummieri), all grain feeders.
A scarecrow is usually made of rice hay shaped like a human body wrapped around a T-frame. It is simply dressed up with old shirt and hat. The idea is to make it look like the farmer that the birds fear. There is one problem though. Birds, like the experimental dog of Pavlov (principle of conditional learning), soon discover the hoax and before the farmer knows it a whole flock of maya is feasting on his ready-to-harvest ricefield. It is not uncommon to see maya birds bantering around – and even roasting on the scarecrow itself!
Today the scarecrow is an endangered art. In its place farmers hang plastic bags, or tie old cassette and video tape along dikes and across the fields. These create rustling or hissing sound as the wind blows, scaring the birds. Others use firecrackers and pellet guns.
At one time I saw a lone scarecrow in the middle of a field. On examining it closely, I found out that it was made of a mannequin dressed the way the fashion world does. It reminded me of the boy who discovered the statue of Venus de Milo in a remote pasture in Greece. On another occasion I saw balloons and styropore balls hanging in poultry and piggery houses, bearing the faces of Jollibee, Power Puff Girls, Batman, Popeye, Mr. Bean and a host of movie and cartoon characters. Interestingly I noticed that the birds were nowhere to be found.
When I told my friend, an entomologist, that these new versions of the scarecrow seem to be effective, he wryly replied, “Maybe there are no more birds left.” Suddenly I remembered Silent Spring, a prize winning book by Rachel Carson. The birds that herald spring had died of pesticide poisoning.
A scarecrow is usually made of rice hay shaped like a human body wrapped around a T-frame. It is simply dressed up with old shirt and hat. The idea is to make it look like the farmer that the birds fear. There is one problem though. Birds, like the experimental dog of Pavlov (principle of conditional learning), soon discover the hoax and before the farmer knows it a whole flock of maya is feasting on his ready-to-harvest ricefield. It is not uncommon to see maya birds bantering around – and even roasting on the scarecrow itself!
Today the scarecrow is an endangered art. In its place farmers hang plastic bags, or tie old cassette and video tape along dikes and across the fields. These create rustling or hissing sound as the wind blows, scaring the birds. Others use firecrackers and pellet guns.
At one time I saw a lone scarecrow in the middle of a field. On examining it closely, I found out that it was made of a mannequin dressed the way the fashion world does. It reminded me of the boy who discovered the statue of Venus de Milo in a remote pasture in Greece. On another occasion I saw balloons and styropore balls hanging in poultry and piggery houses, bearing the faces of Jollibee, Power Puff Girls, Batman, Popeye, Mr. Bean and a host of movie and cartoon characters. Interestingly I noticed that the birds were nowhere to be found.
When I told my friend, an entomologist, that these new versions of the scarecrow seem to be effective, he wryly replied, “Maybe there are no more birds left.” Suddenly I remembered Silent Spring, a prize winning book by Rachel Carson. The birds that herald spring had died of pesticide poisoning.
Acknowledgment: Bannawag, Manila Bulletin.
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