Have you heard of a helment made from upo? This is one for the Book of Guiness

Have you heard of a helmet made from upo?  

This is one for the Book of Guinness

Dr Abe V Rotor

Upo and the katipunero. What is the relationship of the two?  

 

Upo on the vine. Hard rind of upo crafted into helmets. Internet

 

Soldiers of the Katipunan (KKK) during the time of Bonifacio and Aguinaldo wore a special helmet. It is made of the tough shell of mature gourd or upo (Lagaenaria leucantha).  It is light and cool and princely to wear.  It is also worn on special occasions, and fits well with the early barong style wears.  During rainy days, it was paired with the annanga, a native rain shield made of anahao  (Levistona rotundifolia).  

The fruits of upo come in two varieties: elongated and oblong.  Both are a favorite vegetable while still young and succulent. When allowed to mature on the trellis, the fruits develop a tough rind that is impervious to water, and resistant to pressure.  The elongated fruit is made into a receptacle to carry food and water. The round fruit on the other hand, is cut across the middle with the upper half fashioned into a helmet, while the lower half is made into a tray.

If we have a national tree (narra), national flower (sampaguita), a national fruit (mango), surely upo, by these criteria mentioned, deserves to be our national fruit-vegetable. ~

Parallel Worlds

Photo and verse by Dr Abe V Rotor

Butterfly and house lizard, at home

Creatures all are on either side
     of the fence, living 
parallel lives, either the aggressor,
     or the unwary victim.

Advantage they take over others,
     or stay out of danger;
but all must play the game of life
     throughout to the end. 

Man over all creatures takes control 
     of the living kingdom,
while providence takes the third role - 
     the will of the Creator.   

Wooden Tower

Dr Abe V Rotor

    Sammy, Sab-A Swamp, Leyte

A child looks at the world a pillar

Of plenty, remote from emptiness;

In the ephemeral of a dying star,

Splendor ends in forgetfulness.

One day the pillar will be gone,

As it releases the sleeping ancient sun,

Sparing silver for the woodsman's son,

And thirty pieces for the brawn.

While the rivers and rivulets run dry,

Orphaned from the mountain high,

Wouldn't Heaven rather send a sigh, 

Than somewhere the young ones cry?

Light in the Woods, 1995 Megabooks

Life of Lam-ang (Biag ni Lam-Ang)- Anatomy of an Ilocano Epic

Life of Lam-ang (Biag ni Lam-Ang)- 
Anatomy of an Ilocano Epic

Dr Abe V. Rotor 
Living with Nature School on Blog

Lesson: Epic. What epic is popular in your place, country? How do you compare it with Lam-ang, or say, the Iliad or the Odessey of Homer in ancient Greece?

The theme of the epic revolves around the bravery and courage of the main character portrayed by Lam-ang, who was gifted with speech as early as his day of birth, who embarked on a series of adventures which culminated in his heroic death and subsequent resurrection.

This series of adventures started with his search for his lost father who was murdered by the head-hunting Igorots in the Igorot country. While on his way, he met a certain Sumarang, whose name connotes obstruction, who tried to dissuade him from proceeding and who taunted him into a fight. The fight that ensued proved fatal to Sumarang as he was blown “three kingdoms” away with a spear pierced through his stomach. This encounter led to another when he met a nine-headed serpent who, like Sumarang earlier tried to dissuade him from going any further. The serpent having been ignored challenged him into a fight which cost the serpent its heads.

Lam-ang went on until he found it necessary to rest and take a short nap. While asleep, he dreamed of his father’s head being an object of festivities among the Igorots. He immediately arose and continued his journey until he found the Igorots indeed feasting over his father’s head.

He asked the Igorots why they killed his father, but the Igorots instead advised him to go home if he did not want to suffer the same fate which his father suffered. This was accompanied by a challenge to a fight, despite their obvious numerical superiority. But Lam-ang, armed with supernatural powers, handily defeated them, giving the last surviving Igorot a slow painful death by cutting his hands and his ears and finally carving out his eyes to show his anger for what they had done to his father.

Satisfied with his revenge, he went home. At home, he thought of taking a swim in the Cordan River with the company of Cannoyan and her lady-friends. So he proceeded to Cannoyan’s place in the town of Calanutian, disregarding her mother’s advice to the contrary. On his way, he met a woman and named Saridandan, whose name suggests that she was a woman of ill repute. He resisted her blandishments, for his feeling for Cannoyan was far greater for anyone to take.

When he reached Cannoyan’s house, he found a multitude of suitors futilely vying for her hand. With the help of his pets - the cock and the dog - he was able to catch Cannoyan’s attention. He asked her to go with him to the river along with her lady-friends. She acceded. While washing himself in the river, the river swelled, and the shrimps, fishes and other creatures in the river were agitated for the dirt washed from his body was too much. As they were about to leave the river, Lam-ang noticed a giant crocodile. He dove back into the water and engaged with the creature in a fierce fight until the creature was subdued. He brought it ashore and instructed the ladies to pull its teeth to serve as amulets against danger during journeys.

Acknowledgment: three versions of Lam-ang in different art
styles, from Internet, Wikipedia, and concerned artists.

Back at Cannoyan’s house, he was confronted by her parents with an inquiry as to what his real intention was. He had to set aside his alibi that he went there to ask Cannoyan and her friends to accompany him to the river, and told them, through his spokesman - the cock - that he came to ask for Cannoyan’s hand in marriage. He was told that if he desired to marry Cannoyan, he must first be able to match their wealth, for which he willingly complied. Having satisfied her parents, he went home to his mother and enjoined her and his townspeople to attend his wedding which was to take place in Cannoyan’s town.

The wedding was elaborate, an event that involved practically everyone in town. There were fireworks, musical band, and display of attractive items like the glasses, the mirror, the slippers, clothes and nice food. After the wedding, Lam-ang’s party plus his wife and her town mates went back to their town of Nalbuan, where festivities were resumed. The guests expressed a desire to taste a delicacy made of rarang fish.

Lam-ang was obliged to go to the sea and catch the fish. Before going, however, his rooster warned that something unpleasant was bound to happen. This warning proved true, as Lam-ang was swallowed by a big bercacan, or shark-like fish. Cannoyan mourned and for a while she thought there was no way to retrieve her lost husband. But the rooster indicated that if only all the bones could be gathered back, Lam-ang could be brought to life again.

She then enlisted the aid of a certain diver named Marcus, who was ready to come to her aid to look for the bones. When all Lam-ang’s bones were gathered, the rooster crowed and the bones moved. The dog barked, and Lam-ang arose and was finally resurrected. Cannoyan embraced him. For his deep appreciation for the help of his pets - the cock and the dog - and of Marcus the diver, he promised that each other would get his or its due reward. And they lived happily ever after.

This synopsis is based on the transcription made by Jose Llanes from a recitation by memory of the poem by an old farmer, one Francisco Magana, from Bangui Ilocos Norte, sometime in 1947. Of the six old versions of the epic which include a Zarzuela (folk stage play) written by Eufemio L. Inofinada, the Llanes version (206 stanzas) and that of Leopoldo Yabes (305 stanzas) are the most popular. Many believe that the author of the epic is Pedro Bucaneg, a blind Ilocano poet who lived during the early part of Spanish colonization. 

On close examination the farmer’s (Magana) version pre-dates the Bucaneg’s “Hispanized” version, because the farmer clings more closely to ethnical culture, and is richer with indigenous and pagan influences. Historians believe that Biag ni Lam-ang is an epic drawn out from oral tradition handed down through countless generations in the same way the Greek’s Iliad and Odyssey were handed down through centuries to the modern world. Historians like H. Otley Beyer, Fox, Fay-Cooper Cole and Jose R. Calip believe in the pre- Hispanic origin of the poem. 

Calip in his doctoral dissertation, University of Santo Tomas, 1957, further stated that “it is not a product of any single mind but as a property of the people - a floating wisdom from the centuries into the generations.” Through a long, slow evolutionary process, it floated from one century to another, and grew into several versions retaining a lucid mirror of the people of the past, reflecting their own values, environment and culture. Reference: Lam-ang in Transition by Kenneth E. Bauzon, Philippine Social Sciences and Humanities Review, Vol XXXVIII, No.3-4.(Dr.A.V.Rotor)

Selected Stanzas from Biag ni Lam-ang
From Franscisco Magana’s Version, Llanes Transcription
These are selected stanzas to savor the richness of the greatest Philippine epic in the context of both its literary and historical values. These are parts of a masterpiece believe to be closest to the original version, coming from the recitation by memory by an unknown farmer. How the poem survived oral tradition through centuries and generations holds a mystery that is shared only by such epics as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. It is suggested that the reader recite these stanzas in the traditional style of folk storytelling, and must try to create an imagery of the distant past when epic was regarded as the story of a proud race. (AV Rotor)

A. - Lam- ang is conceived
Note the indigenous richness of the natural resources of the Ilocos Region.


(3) Salamagi pay a marabanban
Pana-pana ken maratang-tang
Kinalapan nga udang
Tirem a tinoc-tocan
Pasayan a bogbogyan
Rasa, kippin a rinama-an.

(4) Pocpoclo can pay ken ping-pinggan
Gamet, ar-arosip ken aragan
Abuyo a sinil-loan
Ken ugsa a binatangan
Siec ken ledda-ngan
Ti cano napanna sinarsaramsam.

B. Duel with Sumarang
Note the ritual, glory and savageness of a duel -
And the dignity of dying.

(48) Pagna can la a pagna
Si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Nagna yan di cabarrawasan
Ken cabolbolwan inggana’t
Di na nasabat si sumag-lalakin Sumarang.

(49) “Ay sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Sadinno aya ti papanam?”
“Ay innac cuma makiay-ayam
Sadiay ili a Macayangyang.”

(50) Ti kunana si sumag- lalakin Sumarang
“ Ay sumang-lalakin Lam-ang
Cunac ta agawidcan
No biagmo ti cailalaam,”
Ngem agpagus can la mapan
Si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang

(51) kinuna manen si sumag-lalakin Sumarang
“Ay sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Into man ngad agsinparaman
Iti dayta igigganam nga igam
Ta ricnaec no mabalinam.”

(52) In wen met si Lam-ang
Ket nagsangda a duan
Ti kinunan sumag-lalakin Sumarang
“Ay sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Umon- unaca man nga aggibet ita igam
Sacanto met sublatan.”

(53) Ti met insungbat si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
“Umon- unaca pay lang
Inton inca ket masugatan.”
Impan si sumag-lalakin Sumarang
Ket cas can met la immawat ti gawed a labilaban
Ken bua a garasigasan
Si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang

(54) Ti kinuna si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
“Ay sumag-lalakin Sumarang
A la met daanam
Ti impaaymo caniac nga igam
Ta biangco met ti agipulang.”
Inpan can si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Ket nasalput ti barucong si sumag-lalakin Sumarang.

(55) Ti dinawat si sumag-lalakin Sumarang
“Ay sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Sukitennac cad nga yadayo iti dalan
Ta ditoy ti yan ti pagpagnaan
Dagiti gasacdo a babbalasang.”
Sinukit si sumag-lalakin Lam-ang
Ket napan iti maicatlo a pagarrian.

C. Lam-ang is resurrected and re-united -
Immortality is a universal attribute to legendary heroes

(202) Nagtaraoc si carrurayan
Namanpag si cawitan
Ket naggunay metdagiti tulang
Nagtaguob di aso a burburan
Sana kinarucayan
Bimmangon metten si Lam-ang

(203) "Ay nagirut man ti turog itan
Ay asawac a Cannoyan.”
Ti insungbat si Cannoyan

“iyawatmo man dagita imam
ta agaracupta man
ket kasta unay ti iliwco kencan.”

(206) Daytoy ti nagtungpalan
Ti cabibiag si Lam-ang
Ket rebbengyo a di lipatan
Ti pacasaritaan
Ti apoyo ti tumeng ken dapan. 
---------------------------------------------------------------
Biag ni Lam-ang

Prologue: The Birth of Lam-ang (lines 5-108)
I The Quest for the Father (lines 109-370)

A. Preparation (lines 109-192)
B. Obstacle: Burican (lines 193-261)
C. Triumph (lines 262-315)
D. Return to Home (lines 315-370
II. The Quest for a Wife (lines 455-1300)

A. Preparation (lines 455-586)
B. Obstacles: Sumarang and Saridandan (lines 587-724)
C. Wedding Banquet (lines 725-1286)

D. Return to Home (lines 725-1286)
Epilogue: The Death and Restoration of the Hero (lines 1301-1477)
Source: Randolf C. Flores,SVD, "Literary Unity and Structure of the Ilocano Epic, Biag ni Lam-ang," Diwa 32 (2007): 25-38.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are other famous Philippine epics from different regions:

* Aliguyon – An Ifugao epic, the story follows the adventures of the hero Aliguyon as he leads his tribe through a trying time of warfare. The story also recounts the epic fights between the hero and his arch-enemy Pambukhayon and how they finally solved their conflict.

* Labaw Donggon – Reminiscent of the Greek epics, this epic follows the amorous adventures of Labaw Donggon, the sun of the goddess Alunsina and Datu Paubari, a mortal. Labaw Donggon’s adventures include slaying a giant with a hundred arms and facing the Lord of Darkness – all efforts to win various maidens.

* The Agyu – A three-part Manobo tale, it tells the story of a hero whose people has been driven out of their land. The story follows their journey to Nalandangan, a sort of utopia, where there are no oppressors.

* Sandayo of the Subanon – The hero of this epic is born under very strange circumstances: he falls out of his mother’s hair, at the ninth stroke of her comb. The story continues as Sandayo grows up and becomes the leader of his people, leading them through wars against people who want to take their land and waterways.~
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World's Great Epics

1. Iliad by Homer (9th to 8th BC)

2. Odyssey by Homer (sequel to Iliad)

3. Paradise Lost by John Milton 17th century (10 books, redivided into 12 books)

4. Beowulf Anonymous (Old English language)

5. Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri  (1300, 12 books)

  Mahabharata

6. Don Juan by Lord Byron (humorous, satirical, 16 cantos) 

7. Aeneid by Virgil (1st century BC, 12 books) 

8. Metamorphoses by Ovid (15 books, medieval period)

9. Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian legend, 7th century BC, Ancient Mesopotamia)                          
10 Mahabharata Indian epic (Indian subcontinent, one of the longest epics with 90,000 verses (1.8 million words) ~

------------

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
DZRB 738 AM, 8 to 9 Evening Class, Monday to Friday

Bromeliad

Dr Abe V Rotor

Anna on Mt Banahaw, Lucban, Quezon

Your life is different now in Nebuchadnezzar's garden;
in the rainforest, your home, you burst in fiery false petals
to decoy pollinators that ensure the species of all -
in the offering of Abel the king stole for his queen. ~ 

Light in the Woods, 1995 Megabooks 

Part 1 - Paradigms of Moral Life - A Critique-Analysis

Part 1 - Paradigms of Moral Life

- A Critique-Analysis

Dr Abe V Rotor

St Therese, stained glass window, The Fort

The six paradigms of good moral life apparently show parallelism with periodicity: man is born at a certain time and place. How can one choose his own paradigm or model of life to lead?

To better appreciate this concept let us first examine this parallelism in the context of history and evolution. Here we also take note of the reasons underlying paradigm shift.

Classical Period (Pre-Vatican)

“What must I do?”

The models in this period which dominated the Christian world for centuries are Noah’s Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. The salvation of man lies in himself alone let his sinful society perish, if that is the will of God.

Many who have seen or heard Lakay Lakay, a figure of an old man and woman off the coast of Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, know it is the local version of this model. Even today sea travelers throw money into the water as their boat passes through the rough waters surrounding it with the hidden fear of biblical Armageddon.

Thus, a sinful people meet a dreadful fate, save he who is good. This is the rule that governed the faithful during this period. Who is considered good? First of all, he who believes in a God who punishes the wicked and rewards the good – typical in the preaching of the early missionaries such as Reverend Hale in James Michener’s novel, Hawaii.

The image of woman as the Tempter Eve prevailed, so that sex was considered taboo. The world virtually stood still as the masters feasted on their colonies. With the missionaries they took advantage of the promise that the soul will be freed from the suffering body and reach Heaven, the ultimate reward for living in asceticism. Eternal is soul, temporal is life. St. Augustine’s thesis, “the city of God and the city of man” haunts at the crossroad. Wrong choice leads to hell. Obedience was the rule and this rule remained unquestioned, save local revolts and tragic protests like those of Diego Silang and GOMBURZA (Gomez, Burgos and Zamora). The masters stayed too long in their colonies and enraged the people. Soon colonization gave way to the birth of nations. But first, let me present the transitory paradigm during the historical period.

Historical Paradigm

“What do I want to become?”

Enlightenment dawned in this period. Education began to catalyze the acquisition of knowledge among the subjects. “Education is the key to independence,” said Rizal. The so-called Third World countries followed this formula with or without armed revolution. Or it inspired revolution itself. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo inflamed the Katipunan.

Spirituality took several steps down from its pedestal of dogmas to have a “dialogue with the world.” The wheels of time moved faster, the unquestioning subjects soon entered the age of realism. Man, to be good, must realize the unity of body and soul, and the root of spirituality cannot be in the soul alone.

Women, though still looked down by society, began to see opportunities outside the confines of housekeeping. While facing the horizon of self actualization, the road that led the liberated societies was still the long and winding historical road that dictated many of their thoughts and acts. For example, truth is still historical truth. As the old folks would say, “I have eaten more rice that you had.”

But things have changed, particularly to the younger generations. The Sodom and Gomorrah model began to melt, and the concept of sin is no longer one that is indulgence or omission, but “breaking relationships” with God and fellowmen. This means, “We go to Heaven together.” Or vice versa.

Under the Old Tamarind Tree

Dr Abe V Rotor
















Century old tamarind. Iboy, San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur.* 

It matters not if it's the past, present or future
To believe in the trees that talk and laugh and cry;
To believe in spirits in them as their soul,
Our ancestors said, and sages would tell you why.

Time doesn't change, it only moves on and on,
Like the sun and moon, not even the steeled mind;
The earth that nourishes the living - tree or man,
For change catches only those at the edge of time.

And here man creates another world of his own,
He cuts the trees, levels the hills, rapes the forest,
Drains the swamps, a Tower of Babel he builds
Where a tree once stood cradling a bird's nest.

It's a noosphere of lust and pride against order
Of the universe, the unity of all creation
In prayer and song, in dynamic balance supreme,
That spells salvation and eternity - or oblivion. ~

* The tree was uprooted by a strong typhoon in 2009, 
and cut for furniture and firewood by the tenant of the land.