Saturday, May 03, 2008 Entertainment and Competition By Gloria A. Tuazon Contributor
I THINK I can generalize that the most cheerful people I have ever encountered were those who have the least in life and those who have seen the worst of everything. The most grateful people too were the ones who have experienced the littlest and were confined to the bounty of limited blessings.
This is so true in Tinglayan, Kalinga. The place is arid, and the tribes in the barangays have kept much to themselves by years of tribal war, now being healed and held by "bochongs" or "pechens" (peacepacts). Most of the barangays are still to see the dawn of concrete and paved roads. And agriculture is still the way to existence. Hard life indeed.
It was two years now when Mayor Johnny Maymaya first created an activity which would gather the people of Tinglayan, hoping first to unite the once warring tribes of the municipality and let them feel the taste of freedom and oneness. To feast, drink, play and be merry with abandon, like it was meant to be. Two years in a row now. Successful the event would soon grow with the hope of luring more people from other places to visit and bring in the much-needed exposure and income to this once shunned land of warriors. Much to everybody's surprise and glee, the once elusive Barangay Basao also joined the pack.
"Laglagsak ya ab-afak?" Translated in English it means "entertainment and competition".
Like most festivals, the core of the event is the fun and enjoyment of the people attending and participating. In this particular Unoy Festival, cultural shows were organized to depict the various dances, chants and songs, accessories and wardrobes of the Kalinga people. In the ab-afak category or the games, they improvised to turn what used to be plain work into fun games. There was the "manchi-ot" which was a game of race to break a log by hacking it into eight firewood pieces and tie it with a vine from the slice of the bolo. Then came the "sang-sangkur" or the arm wrestling. Competitors from the barangays were chosen, maybe the best among their tribemates.
The women showed what hard work was when they (some bare chested at that like it used to be during the earlier days in Kalinga) competed to see who could turn the palay grains into edible rice by means of pounding it with pestles in a mortar and separating the chaff and winnowing, this particular game was fun and they call it "manfayu".
The fun run was the greatest competitive event of the festival. Men were to carry logs and the women were to carry a basketful of palay bundles to run the stretch of road from the police outpost to the Tribal Peace Hall.
Simple games and they will probably never get Olympic recognition, but the improvised sports events showed the people of Tinglayan, poor as they are, could be as merry as everyone else.
Now tell me what could beat that.
(May 3, 2008 issue) Write letter to the editor. Click here.
