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Sunday, February 23, 2003
Ikaw ug Ikebana
By Jude A. Bacalso
Having lived in Los Baños for close to eight years, I was surrounded by flowers every single day of my life. The path to my classrooms was lined with them pink and yellow, heavy on the nodding boughs. The Los Baños evenings were suffused with the distinct heady scent of dama de noche that wafted right about when dusk first settled, and the crickets began their mating rituals. And I, a freshman away from home for the first time, was in full bloom.
It is no surprise, then, that I was attracted to the Ikebana displays that opened last Friday (February 21) and runs until today at the basement of the sprawling SM City Cebu complex, an exhibit of masterful floral arrangements adhering to the world-famous Japanese tradition. The creators, members of the 25-member strong Ikebana International Cebu chapter 145, mounted their individual interpretations of the various schools of flower arrangement with a decidedly local twist: the theme “Ikebana sa Pilipinas” laid down perfectly what was to be expected. Ancient ideals were fused with indigenous materials, proof of how the language of flowers knows no boundaries- obliterating restrictions of time, space, creed, or color.
Since the Cebu chapter’s establishment in 1969, the annual exhibit becomes the entry point for the introduction of unique Cebuano flavor into this very Japanese art. Every five years, there is an international convention in the country of its origin, participated in by all the chapters from all over the globe. Through the years, Cebu has brought in the sampaguita and heavy use of the bamboo and nipa as well as native pottery, salakots, and the bahay kubo. We are infusing this international phenomenon with a distinct bisaya accent in small but indelible influences.
The beauty of Ikebana lies in the way the various basic elements of “heaven”, “earth” and “man” are arranged to form a harmonious visual relationship. No matter what material is used, it is the principles of nature that rule- and the elements have to “speak” to each other, as most enthusiasts would put it. This art draws its appeal also from its fragility and a sense of moment: perfection for a limited while, until dessication sets in.
Each interpretation then is one of a kind, when it goes, it cannot be resurrected perfectly. Therein lies Ikebana’s true magic.
(February 23, 2003 issue)
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