Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Memory warriors By Mayette Q. Tabada
DO fish pause to reflect that their world is wet?
The link between inquiry and discovery has piqued scientists and philosophers for centuries. Thanks to the unusual but not unwelcome prying of Hamiling Binilin (Bisaya for “Noble Heritage”), Cebuanos have vistas for not just taking in the vast expanse of local culture but also peering at the intriguing frieze of stories at its root.
More known to local enthusiasts as Hambin, the heritage advocacy group has presented free lectures that are open to the public every month since the first talk was given on July 14, 2007 by Hambin member Dr. Clodoveo G. Nacorda.
Nacorda examined if the Bohol babaylan (native priest) Tamblot was a hero or heroine. In the Tamblot Uprising of 1621-1622, Tamblot challenged the Spanish Church and urged his followers to return to their native gods and reject foreign rule.
Held usually at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu or Casa Gorordo, the Hambin lectures are invitations to shake off the lethargy of ignorance to one’s continuing past.
Hambin is composed of the first batch of graduates that enrolled in the Cebuano Heritage Studies program offered by the history department of the University of San Carlos. About five years ago, Dr. Linda Alburo, director of Cebuano Studies Center, and history chairperson Pascual Emelio Pascual envisioned offering a certificate program that would train graduates to appreciate the richness of Cebuano culture, as well as acquire the research skills and expertise to manage events showcasing local culture.
Last year saw the culmination of a year’s study in early and modern Cebu history, language, literature, visual arts, performing arts and popular culture.
Hambin pioneers (see photo at right) Gavin Bagares, Ernesto Chua, Joselito Costas, Delilah Labajo, Trizer Dale Mansueto, Dr. Nacorda, Ron Henri Tan, Lilia Tio, Jason Verallo and Dr. Hope Sabanpan-Yu were mentored by acknowledged scholars in their respective fields of study: Dr. Resil Mojares, Melva Rodriguez-Java, Radel Paredes, Fr. Rudy Villanueva, Dolly Suzara, Orlando Magno, Pascual and Alburo.
The Hambin lectures have whetted the public’s interest in scholarly but not stodgy digressions into local lore (Mansueto on the role of eggs and stones in Spanish era churches; Chua on the search for the black Sto. Nino de Cebu; Bagares on why Cebu is a big Chinatown; and Verallo on the sexual practices of pre-Hispanic Visayans, to name a few). The lectures will be published soon in a book.
In the ongoing Cebu Provincial History Project, which will produce the histories of all towns, cities and the Cebu Provincial Capitol, Hambin members are involved as writers, researchers and editors.
Perhaps it is not curiosity but pride of place that is the motherhood of inquiry.
If it is, Hambin is well on its way in restoring life in former fossils of forgetting.
