A Book About The 1990 Philippine Earthquake

This book is an anthology that revolves around the tragic quake of 1990. It features pieces by writers who experienced the quake and its aftermath. This book was published in 2015. It was a finalist in the 2016 National Book Awards for the Best Anthology in English category.

The anthology contains essays by: 

Monica S. Macansantos

Kubi G. Follosco

Justine Nicole V. Torres

Io M. Jularbal

Scott M. Sabóy

Mercedes J. Dulawan

Linda Grace T. Cariño

Grace Celeste T. Subido

Anna Christie V. Torres

R.H. Ngihena

Joy Angelica T. Subido

Ma. Rina G. Locsin

Mia C. Payosalan

Rommel M. Cruz

William B. Magtibay

Stella Maria L. de Guia

Narciso N. Santos, Jr.

Luchie B. Maranan

Roland Erwin P. Rabang

Padmapani L. Perez

To get a copy, visit the Museo Kordilyera bookshop at UP Baguio. 

📖 Histories in Memories: Remembering the July 16, 1990 Earthquake

✍️ Edited by Anna Christie V. Torres 

2015

What Does The Kankana-ey Expression "Yannay Ay" Mean?

Somebody asked me what does the expression "yannay ay" mean? This is a common expression among Benguet Kankana-ey speakers. 

What is it's closest equivalent in other languages? 

Maybe "what the hell"? That's the closest I can think of. Also, a close equivalent of it in the Ilocano language is "anya mu" or "anya metten".

Plant: Bidens pilosa - Puket, Pulet, Engwad

This plant is the "Bidens pilosa" known in the English-speaking world as blackjack or beggarticks. They are also called hitchhikers because the flower and fruiting heads often stick to clothing. 

In Cordilleran languages, they are called puriket, pulet, enwad, engwad, angvad, puket, etc. The plants are treated as weeds because they often proliferate in farms and fields thus competing for soil nutrients with vegetables/crops.

Is it Mt. Polis or Mt. Oona? Is it Paradise Falls or Ballay Falls?

Maraming hikers at tourists ang naco-confuse because two municipalities in Mountain Province are promoting these two destinations with different names. Tinatanong nila kung magka-iba ba ang Mt. Polis sa Mt. Oona? Or kung iba ba ang Paradise Falls sa Ballay Falls.

To set the record straight, these are the same sites. Magka-iba lang tawag ng dalawang munisipyo.

For the waterfall:

1. Sabangan calls it Ballay Falls.

2. Bauko calls it Paradise Falls.

For the mountain:

1. Sabangan calls it Mt. Oona.

2. Bauko calls it Mt. Polis.

Where Did Kabayan, Benguet Get Its Name?

This is a plant called "Pueraria montana var. lobata". In local languages, it's called baay or ba-ay or bay-an. It is believed that the municipality of Kabayan in Benguet derived its name from this plant/vine. 

A lot of this vine thrive in the town. "Kabayan" means "baay land" or "place where there's a lot of baay".

This plant is native to East Asia, Southeast Asia, and islands in the Pacific.

#kabayan #benguet #baayvine

A Method In Transporting Agricultural Products On The Hills And Mountains Of The Cordillera Region

Transporting goods across hills and mountains is always a challenge in the Cordillera region. Especially for places that are not accessible by roads. But challenges breed ingenuity. 

Like this pulley system which is a very common method of transporting agricultural goods in the Cordilleras. 

I came across this while on a weekend run in Bagong, Sablan, Benguet. This pulley/cage can cut transport time by hours.

On Using AI-Generated Images In Creating Content About Igorot Culture And History

This is a friendly reminder to content creators in the Cordillera region. Let's be very careful when using AI to create content especially content that concerns our history. When writing about history, accuracy is the top priority. Using AI often defeats that purpose.

Here's an example. This post by Wow Cordillera, a page with a large following used an AI image to accompany a story about how Igorots successfully pushed back against the advances of Spanish conquerors and empire loyalists in the 1600s. 

The image used can be misleading. It doesn't show the likeness of Igorots, or Spanish soldiers. Instead, it shows a group of warriors from an indiscernible tribe against what looks like soldiers from the American Civil War. 

If you read into the conflict between Igorots and the Spanish empire, there were no open battles as depicted in the image. Igorots used what are now known as guerilla tactics.

AI can be a helpful tool but it can also be a vehicle for misinformation. It's important to tread carefully when using it ESPECIALLY for content about HISTORY. 

Written accounts on Igorot history are already minimal at best. There's so much we need to learn. So many historical gaps we need to fill. Using AI-generated images that can mislead or misinform readers isn't going to help us in our goal to fill these gaps. 

We Igorots have been the victims of misleading portrayal in the media for decades. And we rightfully fought back against these to try and correct them. So it's disappointing to see that many of these misleading portrayals are now coming from within our ranks.