Folk Wisdom Ingenuity and Serendipity (Summer Workshop for Kids)

Dr Abe V Rotor

Summer Workshop for kids, Lagro QC

1. Sugar solution extends the life of cut flowers.

In horticulture, they call this pulsing, a technique of providing nourishment and extending the shelf life of cut flowers. This technique lengthens vase life twice as much.  It allows buds to open and postpones stem collapse, while it enhances freshness of the opened flowers.

Pulsing for roses is done by immersing the stem ends for one to three hours in 10% sugar solution, and for gladiolus 12 to 24 hours in 20% sugar solution. Daisies, carnation, chrysanthemums, and the like are better handled if harvested and transported in their immature stage, then opened by pulsing.  It is best to cut the stem at an angle, dipped 6 to 12 hours in 10% sugar solution compounded with 200 ppm of 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate, 100 ppm citric acid.  Best results are obtained at cool temperature and low relative humidity.

  

2. Control common insect pests with red pepper (siling labuyo).

These are the ways old folks make use of red pepper or siling labuyo (Capsicum annuum) in controlling destructive insects.

·        To protect mungbeans from bean weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus), thoroughly dry some 8 to 10 ripe labuyo and place them in a tea bag.  Place the bag inside the glass jar or plastic container in which mungbean is stored.  Cover hermetically. Effective protection against the pest is from three to six months.  Just be sure the mungbean is well dried (14 percent moisture) before storage.     

·        When spraying garden plants, crush 5 to 10 pieces of ripe labuyo in one gallon of water (5 liters), and apply the solution with sprinkler like watering the plants.  Repeat every week until there are no signs of insects and other pests in your garden. You may add a pinch of powder soap, preferably natural soap (Perla) Note: Don’t apply on tomato, eggplant, potato, tobacco and pepper itself.  These belong to the same family – Solanaceae – and may be affected by the mosaic virus the labuyo may be carrying.  Use it instead on other plants.

3. Ants on the move means that a strong rain, if not a typhoon, is coming. Cockroaches come out of their abode and seek for shelter outside.

The biological clock of these creatures responds to invisible signals, which comprise decreased atmospheric pressure, high relative humidity and air temperature. Their sensitive antennae and tactile hairs covering their body pick these up these changes of the environment. Thus we find ants in exodus, they move as a colony carrying their eggs and young indoors. Cockroaches become unusually active, flying about in frenzy, in search for a new place. There is a common message, that is, to escape to safer ground, an archetype engrained in their genes passed on to them by their ancestors through evolution.

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“Rediscovering indigenous knowledge and folk wisdom enlarges and enhances our history and tradition. Even beliefs and practices, which we may not be able to explain scientifically, can be potential materials for research. And if in our judgment they fail to meet such test, still they are valuable to us because they are part of our culture and they contribute immensely to the quaintness of living.”

- A.V. Rotor

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4. If the father or mother leaves the house, place the clothes he or she last worn beside the sleeping child so that he goes into deep sleep.   

This is pheromones in action. Pheromones are chemical signals for bonding in the animal world, and among humans. Like the queen bee that keeps its colony intact through pheromones, so we are attracted by a similar odor, although of a less specific one.  People are compatible through smell. Pheromones are left in  clothes and other belongings, so that a baby may remain fast asleep as if he were in his mother’s or father’s arms.  

5.  Press the base of the nail of the large toe to wake an unconscious person.

First, place the patient in a comfortable position, loosen his clothes for better blood circulation, and be sure he gets fresh air. It is a common practice to fan an unconscious person or to keep him warm if he is cold. Using your thumb slowly press the base of the large toe and watch for signs that the patient is coming back to consciousness. First he stirs, pulls his leg away from your hold (if he senses pain), then takes a deep breath which is usually accompanied by moan. Release your hold.  Repeat until he becomes fully conscious. If he does not respond, press harder but be gentle.  Try the other large toe. If there is no response immediately sought for medical attention. Remember that prolonged unconsciousness endangers the patient to harm complications.

6. Lighted candles drive flies away.

Houseflies (Musca domestica) are the most popular uninvited guests during a party, especially if it is one held outdoor. Before they build into a swarm, light some candles and place them strategically where they are most attracted.   Candle smoke drives away houseflies and blue bottle flies (bangaw), keeping them at bay until the party is over. For aesthetic reason, make the setup attractive by using decorative candles and holders, especially one that can withstand a sudden gust of wind. Otherwise, just plant a large candle or two, at the middle of the serving table. If your guests ask what is this all about, blow the candle out momentarily and they will understand.

7. Gulat ang gamut sa sinok. To stop hiccup, jolt the person.

Now and then anyone may fall into a pit of hiccup for reasons not well understood even in the medical field.  But as sudden and unpredictable it came, just by jolting the person is enough to terminate hiccup. 

This is what you can do to help your friend in a pit. The first remedy is to give him water. If this does not work, gently massage the back of his head.  If still this does not work, secretly time the interval of his hiccup.  Jolt him up real good coinciding with the next hiccup.  Pronto! The hiccup is gone.

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8. Stop that sneeze quick!

Press the base of your nose hard and hold it there until the urge to sneeze subsides. You may do it subtlety even in the middle of a speech or conference, but don’t wait for the last minute; sneeze can’t wait.

      

9. Press the base of the jaw joint to relieve toothache.

There’s a saying that when your tooth aches, there’s nothing you can do about it except to take painkiller. Mabuti pa ang sakit ng tiyan.  At least for stomach ache you can manage to find a comfortable position, or press the painful part to secure relief.

But here is a simple remedy Dr. Vanda Hernandez, school dentist of St. Paul University QC, demonstrated which I found to be effective. There is a mass of nerve cells called Gasserian ganglion that connects the nerves of the gums and teeth, and their surroundings. Now this is how the simple remedy works.  Open your mouth wide, feel where the joint of the jaw is located. Now close your mouth and press this nerve center with the finger until you obtain relief. Do this along the side of the affected tooth. Repeat until pain subsides.  Once you have practiced the technique, you can do it discreetly even with people around when the need arises.     

10. Smoke therapy (suob) –  old folks’ aroma therapy.     

Basang, my auntie who took care of me when I was a child, was sick and dying. Doctor Catalino, our rural physician, gave her injection but her condition did not improve, and now she was in a pit of convulsion.  As a last ditch Cousin Bistra who knew something about herbal cure gathered leaves of kamias (Averrhoa balimbi) and roasted it on charcoal until a characteristic aroma began to fill the room. Fanning it over the patient face, with prayers chanted, Basang began to calm down, the color of her skin improved, and soon fell into deep sleep. 

Ms. Precila Delima who is taking her doctorate in biology in UST related in class a practice among the Ibanag of Cagayan of using suob by mothers who have just given birth. Garlic and shallot onion (sibuyas tagalog) are roasted on charcoal, and packed with cloth.  While still warm the patient sits on the pack for several minutes, with her whole body covered with blanket.  She perspires profusely, eliminating wastes and toxins from her body.  The whole procedure is closely attended to by the “olds” in the family with the direction of the village manghihilot or homegrown midwife (comadrona or  partera Ilk.). Old folks believe that this practice is important because it drives out evil spirits or wards them off in order to prepare the way the mother faces the crucial responsibility of motherhood – after child bearing follows the bigger task - child rearing. ~

Fireflies and stars are but one

Dr. Abe V. Rotor

Starry night at Mt Everest (Wikipedia)

In a dark night look at the sky. The stars
Are living gems, they’re a thousand eyes;
They soothe the soul, heal wounds into scars –
They come down to mingle with fireflies.

Fireflies and stars in the night are one,
Like flowers and bees basking in the sun.

Short is the life of man; he is but a living dust,
But many great things come to pass.
Someday you shall learn from the sages,
In a world where man through the ages
Craves for glory, yet finds emptiness;
Go light a candle and sigh in gladness.

Fireflies and stars in the night are one,
Like flowers and bees basking in the sun.

x x x

Sungka - Asia's Friendly Feudal Game

Sungka - Asia's Friendly Feudal Game 
Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School on Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Sungka (pronounced SOONG-kah) is a game played on a solid wooden block with two rows of seven circular holes and two large holes at both ends called "head". This game is called mancala in the US. It is also known as "count and capture" or "sowing game" in English. The latter moniker is because seeds are sometimes used instead of shells or stones. Filipinos ordinarily use cowrie shells. 

Sungka, a favorite family game in the 

Philippines and Asian countries 

The Language of Sungka 

If you can't hold but vent your ire,
and wish your opponent harm
by fire, quagmire, and death,
and surprise him to disarm,

If you are seeking a battle  
in silence, save the clicking
of cowries in the lazy air,
whatever means of winning 

By the sleight of the hand,
or distract your enemy,
surreptitiously skipping
traps by hiding a cowrie.

If you play the ruthless Nero
while Rome is burning;
and your opponent raids 
the bounty you're keeping,

In words unpleasant, unkind,
yet devoid of real meaning 
in incessant exchange.
either winning or losing.

Winner and  loser come to terms  
in sweet notes that friends remain,
and peace reigns once again -
play of the sungka game.    

                                  Sungka, another indigenous invention, Calatagan, Batangas

Rules in playing sungka 

1. The game begins with 49 game pieces (shells, marbles, pebbles or seeds) equally distributed to alternate holes - seven pieces in every other hole - except "heads" which remain empty. Sungka requires two players. Each player controls the seven holes on his side of the board and owns the "head" to his right. The goal is to accumulate as many pieces in your own "head".

2. The first player removes all pieces from the hole on the extreme left of on his side. He then distributes them anti-clockwise --- one in each hole to the right of that hole --- omitting an opponent's "head" but not a player's own "head".

3. If the last piece falls into an occupied hole then all the pieces are removed from that hole, and are distributed in the same way (to the right of that hole) in another round. This player's (current) turn ends when the last piece falls into an empty hole on the opponent's side.

4. If the last piece distributed falls into a player's own "head," then  the player earns another turn, which can begin at any of the seven holes on his side.

5. If the last piece distributed falls into an empty hole on his side, then the player captures all the pieces in the hole directly across from this one, on the opponent's side and put them (plus the last piece distributed) in his own "head". If the opposing hole is empty, no pieces are captured..

6. The other player chooses which hole he wishes to start from, removes the pieces and distributes them - one in each hole to the right of that chosen hole. If a player has no pieces on his side of the board when it is his turn, then he must pass.

7. The game ends when no pieces are left in any hole on both sides of the board. The players now count the number of pieces in their own "head" and see who has won.

This game (with variations) is also played in other Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia where it is known as "Congkak."

(Acknowledgment: Internet - ASEAN/Philippines Sungka, on rules of game)

Parable of the Five Trees - Folk Wisdom for Growing Up (Lagro-Laha Summer Workshop Lesson No 13A)

Parable of the Five Trees 

A Lesson on the Parable as a form of short story to convey a moral theme

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 Parable of the Five Trees in Acrylic by AVR

Trees, like humans, also talk. They talk to one another everyday.

Actually the breeze passing through their leaves carry their conversations and even their songs and messages.

Only that we do not understand what they are saying, so we can only make inferences. For example, the rustling of their leaves and their outstretched branches touching one another, or some trees leaning to get close to others undoubtedly vouch this belief to the level of phenomenon.

The communication of trees runs through a network that enhances the unity and harmony of the ecosystem they form. Sometimes this kind of communication is perceived as queer, unintelligible sounds which made our ancestors believe there are spirits guarding the place like the deity Maria Makiling guarding the forest that is named after her.

Old folks advise us trespassers just to utter reverently "Bari-bari... Or tabi-tabi, po." when going through the forest or thicket.

One day five juvenile narra trees were engaged in a conversation.

Said one, "When I grow up and reach my fate to be cut down, I wish that I be made into a beautiful bed fit only for a king or queen."

The four trees began to have their own wishes, too.

Said the second narra, "I would like to be the mast of the tallest ship that travels fast and wide on the ocean."

Said the third, "I will make a fort, a strong fort, no invader can break through."

The fourth narra tree took some time to think, then said, "I'll be a tower to hold a big bell."

The fifth was the last to speak, but not outwitted. "Oh, in my case I would like to give all my wood to make the biggest temple of worship."

Years and years passed, and the trees finally reached full maturity. The woodsmen came and cut them down.

Guess what happened to the trees. Did all their wishes come true?

The first tree did not become a beautiful bed, but only a manger, actually a feeding trough in a secluded barn.

The second tree did not become part of a tall ship; it was made into a simple boat.

The third tree was not made into a strong fort, only a stem of it the size of a pencil and  became a writing tool of sort.

The fourth tree was not made into a belfry, but just one branch of it was made into a fine shepherd's crook.

The fifth tree failed to provide materials to build the largest temple of worship; two limbs were made into a cross.

So when Christ came into this world, he was born on a manger. It was comfortable enough on a wintry night?

When He became a shepherd, He looked for a crook and found a sturdy one to tend His flock of sheep.

As a Preacher He rode on a dinghy on which he delivered his sermons and told parables before the throng along the shores of Galilee.

When people were about to stone a sinner to death, He took a stick and wrote something on the ground, and on rising said, "He who has no sin cast the first stone." No one did.

Alas! When Christ was condemned to die, He carried a wooden cross and on it he was crucified. The cross became the symbol of Christianity.

When I went on a pilgrimage to the part of the forest where the five trees once grew, I found nothing but grass. There was complete silence as a beam of light from the sky shone on the spot where I stood. ~      

        Reflection on the Parable of the Five Trees

Lofty are my dreams soaring far and wide,

     In boundless flight to nowhere;

in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasure,

     and confidence of a conqueror.

Blind of history, even as it repeats itself,

     In short-lived fame and fortune,

Yet models it presents to my ambitions

     In glitters, glory and grandeur.

All in youth’s craving, and craving still

     To believe dreams ne’er get old;

But time takes toll in dreams unfulfilled,

     And fate the judgment on earth.

Beyond lies a second kingdom few

     Can grasp – life’s real meaning;

Life’s purpose, stirrings of the soul

     To live in others, beyond the self.

How little do I know of the Fisherman,

     Born simple, preached love,

wrote justice, searched the lost lamb,

    died that humanity may live. ~

                                                                               

 Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School on Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday avrotor 2013

   

Kapre! - Writing Short Story: Folk Wisdom for Growing Up Summer Workshop Lesson

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School on Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday.

Balete has overgrown a church ruin in Magsingal, Ilocos Sur, a favorite playground for kids. Who says a kapre lives here?

“Did you hear that?” I was startled by a mysterious moaning in the dark. I switched on the headlight.
“What is it?” Cecille sleepily responded.

“It’s a strange sound, like someone agonizing.” I said while straining my eyes on the sugarcane fields on both sides of the road.
We had just parked along a newly opened road of the North Diversion somewhere in Tarlac that night. My wife and I were driving to Manila after a vacation in our hometown in Ilocos. I was so tired driving, I pulled our Ford Escort to the grass lane for a brief rest, and switched off the engine.
Then. “Did you hear that?” Cecille shook me. It was the same agonizing sound I heard earlier, and it was coming closer!
I switched on the headlight, and there stood at the opposite side of the road a tall figure the outline of the Colossus of Rhodes – black and hairy, so huge I could barely see his torso.
Instinctively I started the engine and stepped on the gas. Cecille moved close to me as the monster took another step toward us. We escaped in the nick of time.

Since then I became popular with children. “Tell us about the kapre!” And they would gather around clinging to one another. It reminded me of Lola Basiang, the story teller of folklores and legends.

My story became known to my friends and officemates  It was the cause of a meeting suddenly losing its agenda to the kapre. Everyone had something to say about the mythical monster. They talked about kapre living atop big old trees, along rivers and somewhere else. One related his experience while clearing the vines clinging around a large tree when suddenly he noticed blood dripping from above. He looked up. Kapre!

Old folks say there are different kinds of kapre. There is even one taking over abandoned houses and empty buildings. There is kapre in empty playgrounds, farms and pastures. Kapre in gambling places, like the cockpit, kapre appearing suddenly in a group picture.

Since then we didn’t have to stay in office late. We had to finish our work early so we would not be taking the stairway that is seldom used, or hear typewriters clicking when everyone had already left. We won’t be passing dark alleys on our way home.

Children who heard the story of the kapre would stop playing at dusk. The farmer looks at the leaves of acacia, and when they start drooping, starts walking for home. Everyone in the family must be home for supper.

Because of the kapre, trees are spared of the ruthless chain saw. People passing through thickets politely whisper, “tabi tabi, po.” Fishermen catch just enough fish for their family’s need. Harvest festivals are observed even if harvest is not good.

Indeed there are different kinds of kapre. And they abound everywhere.

When I was buying a new battery for my car and told the salesman how I encountered a kapre one dark night, he handed me a new brand of battery. “Sir, nakakasiguro kayo sa bateryang ito.” (Sir, you can surely depend on this battery.)~

A Photo Study of Maria Makiling in Summer

Dr Abe V Rotor

Maria Makiling profile, view from Pansol, Calamba , Laguna 

Reclining Maria Makiling profile on SLEX. 

Maria Makiling profile, lower half,  highway view at Calamba, Laguna 

Settlements and farms have invaded the lower slopes

Rain cloud combs the deity's profile, instead of veiling her to hide her aging landscape. 

Haze returns in the afternoon with the promise of rain as May approaches.

Leaf Skeleton

Dr Abe V Rotor

Leaf Skeleton in acrylic, AVR 2013

The forest litter, layer after layer,
leaves fall, year after year;
for the earthworms, and the fungi 
and rain from heaven high.

Imprints of time, imprints of life,
footprints of passersby;
but neither the past nor future,
shall any living thing defy. 

life goes on, and on, ad infinitum
to hereafter unknown.