Santigwar

Mag patabi pirmi ta baka ka ma-ongman. Ini sarung bantog na linya nin mga gurang na nag tutubod sa mga dai nahihiling na nilalang arug kan maligno asin onglo. Mas bantog sinda bilang tawong lipod. An dangug ko, ang mga nilalang na ini gikan sa mga tawong dai nabindisyunan kan enot na panahon. An sabi man kan iba, mga nilalang daa ini na haloy nang nag-erok sa daga, enot pa sa tawo. Maray man daw an boot kan mga tawong lipod, alagad may kapangyarihan sindang magtau nin helang sa sisay man na nagkulog o bin may sala sainda. Kun iisipon mas sinsitibo pa sinda sa tawo. Madingkilan mo sana ang saindang hawak, tutubuan kana nin bayuko, o bin kulibra. Pwede ka man ninda pahilangon sa halawig na panahon, depende sa gabat na naguibong sala sainda. Alagad ugwa man nin maboot na Tawong lipod arug kan onglo na ang solong pasakit sa nakakulog gatol nin lawas. Kun bako man daa tag-basul, alagad ugwa ka nin butog sa hawak asin magatol, onglo daw an kaguibo kaan.

Wara daw na epekto an modernong medisina sa helang na gikan sa pagbalos nin tawong lipod. Alagad may mga residentes urog na sa kabaryuhan na tatau nin ritwal kontra sa siring na pasakit - mga para-santigwar. Sa Bacacay kadakul an bantog. Romdom ko pa an pupolar na para-santigwar sa baryo nin Gubat - Si tiyo Waning. Gamit an platong lusa, kandila, lana, asin krusipiyo, namumustra ni tiyo Waning an kawsa kan kamatean nin pasyente. Bako lang iyan, nakipag-suntokan pa sya sa tawong lipod. I-agyat nya ining tawong dai nahihiling pag-habong bawion an kamatean nin sarung pasyente. Gari bga maray-rahay na mag-butla sa kastahan na ini.Daug pa kani an laban kan sikat na boksingerong c Manny Pacquiao. Dai mo ugaring mailing kun csay an talagang daug. Masabi na sana si Tiyo Waning plakda an kalaban. Boot sabihon padagos na an pagrahay nin helang.

Kadakul pa an para santigwar sa Bacacay na sakong naduman ta c May uya an pagtubod sainda. Nasantigwar ako ni Shoni kan ako nakursunadahan nin tawong lipod. Dai ko ngani gusto an ideya na tig tawan ako ki helang samantalang kursonada daa palan ako. Kaginhawahan kaya an sakong tigtau sa tawong kursonada ko. Baliktad man palan mag isip an mga tawong lipod. Gari gubot an hutok.

Pinakapupolar man guiraray na parasantigwar c Tiya nelly kan Bonga. An dangug ko, tig dadayo na sya kan mga mayaman na dai nararahay sa doktor. Dakul an napaparahay ni Tya Nelly kaya dakul saiya an nagdodonar nin palain-lain. Romdom ko kan ako sadit pa, payag payag pa an puwesto nya. Alagad dahil sa tibay nyang mag-bulong, konkreto asin pintado na an saiyang harung. Maray na para-bulong ini c tya Nelly nin huli dai sya nag sisingil. KUn mawot mong mag tau nin sintabo, malaag ka sa altar kan Mahal na Ina.

Diit lng na pasabot. Dai ko man tabi tig indorso an santigwar. Dai ko man mawot na magtubod kamu sa lumang sistema nin pag-bulong. Solong mawot ko sana ihiras saindo na sa Bacacay, siring sa ibang banwaan, kadakol an mga bagay na sakong nagimatan. Alagad wara man gayud na maraot, kun pirmi magpatabi; nagtutubod ka man sa tawong lipod o dai. An pagpatabi tanda nin pag galang. Sarung eksprecion na Bacacaynun na dai dapat mapara.
Tabi man, ako mapaaram na!

a haiku

bacacay


land hugged by the sea

where strong and warm folks live

Bacacay that is

Kan Ako Sadit Pa

Labas pa sa memorya ko itong panahon kan ako sadit pa. Iba man ang kasaradayan kato sa presenteng henerasyon.Ngonian kadakul na ang palalain kan kaakian. Dai ko man baya maiwasan na dai maikumpara ang buhay kaitong panahon sa buhay kan kasaradayan ngonian. Punan ko sa gobing. Ako kaito nag-sagrat sa maawot na warang kalson. Tuda kaya an darakupan mi kaito kan mga kakawat ko. Lalu na pag idiklum, magayunon na mag taraguan. Ta ako maniswakon kan saday (maski gaud ngonian) kaurag-uragi ako mag-luok. Maski sa puon kan kalunggay nakapa-ipli ako. Minsan man isakat ko so mangga sa higudan, ultimo talaga akong minabutwa. Minauli ako sa harung malalaun buda payt ang panga-gaw ta nabasol. Ramug ang bilog kong hawak ta mala ngani warang kalson. Si May kaito medyo maisug pa. Ikurusing ngani an singit ko ta an karaw ko daa palabaw. Ngonian wara na so kurusing ni may. Tamuyaw na sana ang sakong isapar.

Naging uso man kaito so paputok, sumpit, tagpanaw buda trumpo. Rumdom ko pa so gira kan libod buda tubog sa paputok.Sabihon ta nang toy gun ini kan kasaradayan ngonian. Ang pagkakaiba lng kan duwa - ang bala kan toy gun plastik na bulitas, ang paputok papel na dumog. Pero kun kulog ang pag hururunan, mas ma-aray ka sa paputok. Asi probare.

Tisuhon man so trumpo na guinibo sako ni pay. Lingaw ko ugaring kun sain na kahoy ito guibo. Ihagbok ko ngani so trumpo kan kalaban ko, ilasik na byu. Kaurag uragi talaga so trumpo ni Pay. Ginamitan panu ki katam buda tinais nin husay kaya balanse an talibong. Nun ka nanggad mag-kibang kibang.

Ang kaabang abang ko kaito an aldaw na mapadagat kami. Ilakaw mi lang ang Roca Baluarte. Malinigon pa kato ang roca.Bako arug ngonian. Dyan ako nakaukod mag palataw buda mag-indakay. Pirang beses man ako dyan nadutan ki laping laping buda nasisi. Romdom ko man pag ako nuno-on, tigpapa-balad ako dyan ni May dangan ipakarigos. Ang likod ko kato tig gagapo nya nin dumog na baybay naning daa mahakla so hilaw na plema. Aw ta sa ika sunod na aldaw masiramun man nanngad ang kadhad ko. Minalagauk talga ang sipon ko sa liog. So sabi baga nindang suwaan.

Hayy... Namimiss ko na ang Bacacay. Tama na ta ang puso kong malumoy namumundo ng gayo. Pangadyi ko lng - sana sa mga masunod na aldaw manupar ko guiraray so mga kakawat ko. Asin maka-iba sinda sa lugar kun sain nag puon an gabos- Bacacay.

Bansag

Giving an alias/title (bansag in bikol) to a person is an old practice in Albay. In Bacacay alone, there are many clans that are famous because of their bansag. Among them is the Bermundo clan whose bansag is 'Lago'. My mother belongs to this clan. 'Lago' is a term referring to a soon-to-rot coconut. They say that 'pakulaw' (malunggay with coconut milk) would taste bitter if the coconut used is “lago”. Bermundo also bears other bansag(s) such as “hugot” (monitor lizard) and agama (small crab). Fortunately, my mother eventually lost her bansag when she acquired my father's family name Baliza. They say that Baliza never had any bansag.

It’s funny how Bacacayanos address their fellows by their bansag. A mother asking her son to buy 'asin' (salt) for example would say, “Nonoy, bakal daw ki asin duman ka Mantika. Mantika (cooking oil) is the common bansag for Bellen clan. Also, a father asking his son to barrow their neighbor’s 'asadol' (hoe) would say, “Nonoy, sublia daw muna ka odo so asadol. Odo (stool) is another Bacacaynon bansag, although i dont exactly know from which clan it actually originated. Other famous bansag(s) in Bacacay include pusiw (a bird), aswang (monster), kuyog, lapit (penis), biriran (star fruit), bagol (coconut shell), tarok (farm), kobra (snake), ubod and a lot more.

Today, Bacacayanos have however come to realize that such aliases are embarrassing and even offensive. I remember my cousin, who belongs to lago clan complainingly asked “nata man daw panu ta nagtugot so mga ninuno tang bansagan ki lago!!!” (why did our ancestors let others call them lago) True, he really felt humiliated being called 'lago'.
How about you? What is your bansag?

Bacacay, The Land of Bs

Let me tell you this. My father’s name is Levi Baliza, his middle name is Basquiñas. My mother’s name (before marriage) is Rose Bermundo, her middle name is Bertumen. This is how I acquired my name – Ryan Bermundo Baliza.

I don’t know what to feel about this but let me tell you that in Bacacay alone there are three Ryan Baliza(s) presently in existence. I haven’t met the two but I learned about them when I went over a municipal record. I can forgive the thought that there are many Ryan(s) in this cookie cutter world, but the thing that I am also sharing ‘Baliza’ with other 2 Ryan(s) is no longer fun.

Forgive me for being mean about this matter, but I’m pretty sure you too wouldn’t love the idea to have duplicates by name. Every person strives to be in any way unique and that’s my whole point. (peace to all Ryan Baliza(s) everywhere)

Anyways, that’s not the thing I want to stress out in my post. If you’ve noticed, the family names that both my parents acquired start with letter ‘B’. And if you are a Bacacayano or at least a friend or relative of one, you have probably noticed that most Bacacayano family names start with letter ‘B’. Consider my friends’ family names - Belen, Bellen, Bibal, Barrameda, Base, Bustamante, Barnedo, Barcebal, Biescas, Baldon, Bermas, Bernarte, Balaguer, Ballatan, Bermillo, Belleza, Bercasio, Balmedina, Baraquiel, Bonto, Baron, Bibon, Banzagales, Balute, Binamira, Bas, Basmayor, and a lot more. Bacacay is indeed a land of Bs.

I recall my former college professors, during a roll call, they would ask me, “Are you from Bacacay? Then I would answer “Yes”. I knew it… It’s because my family name starts with letter ‘B’. It’s a puzzle to me why the letter B is too common to most Bacacayano family names as the first letter. It makes me wonder - how were these names formulated in the first place? And if these names were formulated by choice, what made our ancestors choose the letter B as the first letter?

You may find my questions funny and even think of me as stupid. It’s ok though. I just want to learn. So I if you have opinions, feel free to share them. Tnx!!!

A glance at the past

They say writers are more often than not motivated to write when they are sad. Perhaps this is true. I was able to come up with this blog out of sadness. I am keenly aware that it's a negative emotion but who cares - it gives me the drive to write. So here I go.

You are probably wondering why I am blogging about Bacacay. You might say there are so many stuff to write about, but why Bacacay? Here’s the full story .


I was born and raised in Bacacay. As a child, I had a joyous life in this humble place. It is where I experienced the many “FIRSTs” in life. I have spent almost 25 years in Bacacay with my big and happy family from whom I learned positive values that (I swear) one should acquire. My first playmates were my elder siblings. We used to play ‘tagu-taguan (hide and seek), darakupan, salgo, tumbang lata, ralabtikan, magdakop ki diwit (dragonfly catching) and things that the children of today no longer do because of the advent of computer games. I am into computer games now, but I must admit the games I used to play then were more liberating and enjoying.

I also acquired many first lessons in life in Bacacay with my parents as my teachers. I learned my first speech lesson when my mouth was able to speak “Mama’ for the first time. I learned my first Math lesson when my mom taught me how to count the fingers on my hand. I learned my first economic lesson when my father told me not to leave my food unfinished because he said many do not have anything on their table. I learned my first swimming lesson when my cousin taught me to hold my breath under the water. I learned how to fly kites when my elder brother made me one out of an old newspaper.

These many firsts in life have greatly shaped me into what I am now. My family and the place where I have spent most of my lifetime are of great influence in my being that they have left a deep mark in my heart.

It is just so sad however that I had to leave Bacacay and be away from my loved ones because of my work. Now, I am in the busy city of Manila working as a web content writer. Being detached from home is never easy. Now I understand the sacrifices and miseries of those working outside the country. Like me, they must be missing their home, too.

I know there are many Bacacayanos around the world and I sincerely dedicate this blog to them. With this blog, I hope to be able to make them feel they are home again. I want to make them smile and experience Bacacay once more because after all, THERE’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

Hence, to all my readers, join me as I embrace my home again. Feel free to visit my blog and help me share it to others who are missing their humble home, too – Bacacay.