Today is Macliing Dulag's 46th Death Anniversary

Forty-six years ago (April 24, 1980), this man was assassinated for his opposition of the Chico Dam project. 

"𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙜: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙣 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝘿𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖, 𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨"

If you are to mention the name of Macliing Dulag to a Cordilleran, you are going to get three possible responses. One, the person has no idea who Dulag was. Two, the person has heard of the man but can't exactly pinpoint where Dulag's place is in Cordillera history.

And three, the person knows Dulag fully well. That he's a David who bravely went to battle against a Goliath. However, unlike the popular tale, Dulag triumphed but perished in the process.

It's sad to say that many Cordillerans don't have the awareness of person three. In a piece for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, professor of social anthropology Analyn Salvador Amores wrote, "Today, Macliing’s grave is a playground for children, a resting place for village dogs on a warm afternoon, or a meeting place for Butbut teens for their evening chats. Many of the children who play on the grave do not know who Macliing was."

Even those who play upon his grave do not know who he is and what he stood for. That's a shame considering the fact that Dulag only fell around four decades ago.

Dulag deserves recognition. Dulag deserves a mention in the nation's history books. Dulag deserves a place in every Cordilleran's heart. Anyone who would put his life on the line just so others can prolong theirs deserves a hero's treatment and remembrance.

A very common question from the ranks of the uninitiated is, "Who is Macliing Dulag and why should he be revered as a hero? What did he do?" Good question. After all, someone's hero can be somebody else's villain.

In a nutshell, here's what transpired that led to the elevation of Dulag as a local hero:

1. In the 1970's, the Marcos administration planned to dam the Chico River to generate hydroelectric power. The project which was worth millions of dollars was to be funded with the assistance of the World Bank.

2. Because the dams would drown lands in Kalinga and Mountain Province, Macliing Dulag was among those who opposed the dam project and he helped rally Cordillerans to join him in the cause.

3. Government soldiers killed Dulag in his home in Kalinga in 1980.

Dulag wanted just one thing. That the land he had always called home remain intact. The Chico River Dam Project planned to build at least four dams in the river. The trapped waters would have drowned thousands of hectares of land including villages, pasture lands, ricefields, sacred burial grounds, and communal forests.

On the night of April 24, 1980, government soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division under Lt. Leodegario Adalem sprayed bullets into Dulag's home in Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga. Dulag died that night. The regime thought they can silence Dulag by sending him under the ground. Here lies the irony because Dulag accomplished more when he was six feet under the ground than when he was above it. His death further solidified the opposition against the dam projects. The World Bank which was supposed to fund the projects backed out.

Dulag's character is one that's been built upon immense courage. It takes bravery to oppose the dictatorship of the Marcos regime. When most men shuddered in fear, Dulag went all out in his opposition. Who knows where he developed such unbridled courage. Wherever he honed it, he started early. After all, as a young man, Dulag served as a porter for Filipino guerrillas fighting the Japanese invaders during World War II.

One lesser known accomplishment of Dulag was his role in uniting the Bontoc and Kalinga tribes in opposing the dam project. This came at a time when the tribes were constantly engaged in heated altercations (often violent) due to issues like land disputes and thievery. Dulag helped in gathering them, sitting them together, and uniting them in pursuing a common goal.

The Fruits of the Akfab or Akbab Plant

These are the ripe fruits of a plant they call 𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝗯 in Barlig, Mountain Province. We call the plant 𝗮𝗸𝗯𝗮𝗯 in Kankana-ey. The fruits are edible and eaten raw. They're almost flavorless so I remember that we used to dip the white flesh of the fruit in salt or vinegar.

I saw these at the booth of the Slow Food Community of the Indigenous Agroecological Producers of Barlig at the Mangan Taku: Cordillera Food Fair in Baguio City.

The Wood Ear Mushroom or Rat's Ear Mushroom as a Ingredient in Kalinga Delicacies

These are wood ear mushrooms or rat's ear mushrooms often used as an ingredient in delicacies in Kalinga particularly in the 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗿. These grow on decaying wood. In parts of western Mountain Province, we call it 𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮 in the Kankana-ey language because the mushroom has features similar to that of an ear. 𝗜𝗻𝗴𝗮 is the Kankana-ey word for ear. 

I saw these at the Kalinga booth at the Mangan Taku: Cordillera Food Fair in Baguio City.

Pollution in the Balili River

It rained on Monday. It rained on Tuesday. But the waters of the Balili River are still dark and very murky. That's the level of pollution that this river currently has.

Where Did Our Igorot Ancestors Get Their Salt?

Where did our Igorot ancestors get their salt? Salt was a very valuable commodity in the olden days mostly because of its rarity. Igorot communities that were near the lowlands where salt were readily available often go down there to trade and acquire salt.

But what about the Igorots who were deep in the interior of the Cordillera mountains? They were hundreds of miles away from the lowlands. Where did they get their supply of the much-coveted salt?

Well, one major source of salt for these interior Igorots were natural hot springs. A great example were the Igorots in Bontoc especially those who lived in or near the village of Mainit where hot springs were plentiful. They found a way to extract salt from the hot springs using a long and complicated process. 

How did they do it? 

Here's an excerpt from an article published in 1966 and written by Augustus Ulat Saboy that detailed the salt-making process of the Igorots in Mainit: 

[𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗽𝘁.] "A suitable hot spring is selected from among the hundreds of thermal springs spurting all over the village. Moderately warm mineral springs usually are chosen.

The surrounding area is cleared of grass, rocks and dirt, and the hot spring is impounded into a small puddle by ringing it with small rocks. The floor of impounded mineral water is leveled to allow the water to rise about six inches from the floor of the puddle.

Stones Planted

Stones as big as man’s fist are gathered and “planted” at even distances on the water pool. An outlet is opened with a small stone used as value. This serves to regulate the flow of water so that the top of each stone on the floor of the puddle is left dry.

A conical shelter is then constructed over the puddle, with its caves reaching the ground edge of the hot spring pool. The sides of the ground are left open to let the air in.

Condensation

Through the natural process of condensation, which takes place in the sheltered pool, salt in the water vapor settles on the planted stones. In one week, the stones are thick with encrusted snow-white salt particles.

The salt is scraped off after it thickens to about an inch on top of the stones. The work, exclusively a woman’s job, is done with a bladed bamboo stick. Then the salt is winnowed into a vat on fresh water where it is dissolved.

Boiling

The vat, now full of salt solution, is boiled to extract the salt. Before it cools off, the salt in the vat is ladled into prepared base for wrapping into cakes.

The wrapped salt is “toasted” over charcoal fire until it hardens. The salt is now ready for long storage." [𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗽𝘁.]

Many of the folks in Mainit turned salt-making into a profession. "Mainit salt" reportedly travelled as far as Kalinga and Abra. 

Salt-making in natural hot springs is no longer practical these days. Commercial salt is easily accessible and very cheap. 

Photos: Images from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (Website)

The Old Camp John Hay Movie Theater

Decrepit and looking like it's on the verge of collapsing, this large white building inside Camp John Hay is a shell of what it used to be.

Back in the day, it housed a popular movie theater that brought the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to local moviegoers. The newer generations passing by this building see an eyesore that needs an appointment with a bulldozer. But to the older generations, this building evokes nostalgia.

Main Gate of the Saint Louis University with an Aesthetic Inspired by Cordilleran Textiles

This is the main gate of the Saint Louis University (SLU) in Baguio City. The posts of the renovated entrance feature an aesthetic inspired by Cordilleran textiles.