tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13313084014002171292024-03-21T17:09:16.080-07:00The Cordilleran SunDaniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comBlogger742125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-68904620634521512982024-02-19T07:26:00.000-08:002024-02-19T07:27:39.417-08:00Mt. Binaratan in Dakaran, Tanudan, KalingaMt. Binaratan is a mountain that straddles the border of the provinces of Kalinga and Mt. Province. To climb the mountain, you can either start from Dakaran (Dacalan), Tanudan, Kalinga or from Maducayan, Natonin, Mt. Province.<a href="https://www.cordilleransun.com/2024/02/lumin-awa-trek-exploring-kalinga-on-foot.html" target="_blank"> I hiked the mountain from the Kalinga side.</a> It's not an easy hike because of the steep trail going up but it's a short one. Starting from the village of Dakaran, we made it to the summit in under three hours. I think it can be done in under two hours if you keep up a fast pace. We weren't carrying heavy backpacks. Just water and trail food. Our companions who were carrying packs (because they were planning to camp overnight at the mountain) made it to the top in 3.5 or more hours.
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The trail to the summit basically winds through dense jungle. Locals told us that wild boar, deer, and monkeys still live on and around the mountain. I believe them. When we got to the top, I looked around and there's dense slopes everywhere. It's easy to imagine that within these thickly-forested slopes still live wild animals like deer and wild boar.
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Is It Camping-Friendly?
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Yes. About a half-kilometer below the summit, there's a two-story building which basically serves as a shelter. It's a house that can accommodate 40 to 50 people. Tents can also be pitched on the grounds outside the shelter. For people climbing Mt. Binaratan via Kalinga, I would recommend this shelter if you plan on camping overnight on the mountain. The spot also offers a great view of Tanudan. If you are coming from the Natonin side, I heard that there's a campsite near the summit where hikers can pitch tents. I haven't seen the campsite though since we immediately climbed down the mountain once we reached the summit.
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How to get to Dakaran, Tanudan
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This info is based on how we got there during the <a href="https://www.cordilleransun.com/2024/02/lumin-awa-trek-exploring-kalinga-on-foot.html" target="_blank">Lumin-awa Trek</a>. I don't know if there are other ways or routes on how to get there. Basically, you need a vehicle to ferry you and your camping/hiking gear from Tabuk City to the village of Lubo. The drive to Lubo can take between 2.5 to 3.5 hours. From Lubo, you need to hike to Dakaran. This would be another 2 to 3 hours. As to accommodation, you need to get in touch with the locals. The Kalingas are very hospitable. Finding a place to rest and sleep shouldn't be a problem. If you are in need of a guide to climb Mt. Binaratan, again, just speak to the locals. They'd be more than willing to help.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGUl40CBRWj4gybTe5Xe3K8FKiheW7mzg3lKDkw5imAJSHFIKtjmql0-c-bwLWu-iO9bTUNGDePqkSg9hzgzylgez9JVNgooYxkia65CCDprmj0pI5XxPibFEIfJxDzoIFcJuYk0GMsoDkgdtnaAtoBBsYPRIs6-KnC0-DG7rUP1dyIQnTStsAXH4oWCF/s2000/mt-binaratan-tanudan-kalinga.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="681" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGUl40CBRWj4gybTe5Xe3K8FKiheW7mzg3lKDkw5imAJSHFIKtjmql0-c-bwLWu-iO9bTUNGDePqkSg9hzgzylgez9JVNgooYxkia65CCDprmj0pI5XxPibFEIfJxDzoIFcJuYk0GMsoDkgdtnaAtoBBsYPRIs6-KnC0-DG7rUP1dyIQnTStsAXH4oWCF/w510-h681/mt-binaratan-tanudan-kalinga.jpeg" width="510" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>Photo Credit: James Tellias</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-35941051540608421042024-02-16T19:44:00.000-08:002024-02-16T20:56:49.391-08:00Lumin-awa Trek: Exploring Kalinga on FootThe warm glow of the sun was just starting to seep out into the horizon when our convoy of three vans reached Tabuk City, the capital of the province of Kalinga. It was a long drive from Baguio City. But excitement filled the air as we joined dozens of other people who came here to be part of the second edition of the Lumin-awa Trek. This is a 4-day hike planned as part of the province's annual Bodong Festival. I wasn't able to join the trek last year because (if I recall correctly) I was on another multi-day climb somewhere in Kibungan, Benguet.
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I wasn't among strangers. I knew a lot of the hikers - friends, old acquaintances, and familiar faces from past climbs and adventures. In short, I was in good company.
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This year's trek was hosted by the town of Tanudan. What's unique about this event is that it doesn't follow the same route every year. Pasil and Tinglayan were the host communities last year. Rumor has it that next year's edition will be hosted by Balbalan.
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After a short program at the provincial capitol, it was another two-hour drive to the jump-off point where the trek officially starts. And that would be the village of Taloctoc. The drive to the jump-off point was a treat in itself. We drove past rolling hills and farms planted mostly with corn. If you've resided in an urban setting for a good amount of time, the effect of the rural scenes can be very rejuvenating. Almost detoxifying.
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Coffee Equals Hello
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The Kalingas don't say hello. They offer you a cup of coffee instead. That's their way of saying hello. For the whole duration of the 4-day affair, coffee was everywhere. Every village we entered and passed, there was coffee being offered. Every house we entered, there was coffee waiting at the door. My only issue was that the coffee is usually offered with sugar already mixed in. The "timpla" is often a bit too sweet for my taste. Or maybe I'm just not used to it. In hindsight, as I think about it, that could be the case. When I had my first cup in Taloctoc, the sweetness of the coffee was sort of jarring to the buds. Caught me by surprise. But as we progressed through the trek and I had my fair share of more cups of coffee, I started to not mind the extra sweetness at all. An acquired taste, methinks.
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Kalinga Hospitality
</h3><br />
There's hospitality and then there's "Kalinga hospitality". They'll catch the moon to ensure that you feel welcomed. That you feel at home. That you don't have to worry about anything. In every village we entered (Taloctoc, Anggacan, Banagao, Lubo, Ga-ang, Dacalan), there was coffee and food. We were served a sumptuous early lunch in Taloctoc. Every community also took the effort organizing welcoming committees. Anggacan ushered us into their community with the beating of the gongs and a group of singing women. They didn't stop singing until the last trekker came through. They served us snacks made from local produce - ube, cassava, and sweet "malagkit". They also provided us with hand-made walking sticks. A nice gesture given that we still had miles of hiking ahead of us.
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On our way to Matacad Falls (also referred to as Sliding Falls), the trekkers were met by a group of young Kalinga dancers in full regalia. Another testament to them going the extra mile to welcome us. In moments like these, you forget everything to savor the warmth of such gestures. On the second day of the trek, we were met by yet another group of performers when we entered the village of Ga-ang. When it comes to welcoming guests, no one does it better than the Kalingas.
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Mt. Binaratan
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The 3rd day of the trek was dedicated to climbing Mt. Binaratan, a mountain that towers over the village of Dacalan (Dakaran). Although the trail to the summit was steep, it was not that long. Most of the trekkers planned on camping and staying the night in Mt. Binaratan. So they had with them heavy packs containing their camping gear. A small group, which included myself, decided to day-hike the mountain. That is to hike to the summit then go back down. We carried nothing with us except our hydration bottles and packed lunches. James and Al (the Tellias brothers) served as our guides as they've climbed the mountain way back in 2022. Aside from a minor confusion at a trail junction, the climb went smoothly. When I got to the campsite, James was already there. We set up the "finisher" tarpaulin and waited for the rest of the day-hikers.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja__1PM81uRvSrQ7n-gu4WjTRzyroltYo3WadwzkNjbmR6ZnBQI8o1ey7J_2cpsBQsqTcU6IfggHKn_Bu-yyffsCuQFwyJ68FGBQk60USQ9AcSWjhOtD78a7PILKB2xtEWwg3SkOJNh-eG6dNXbElCpTKS_f0s4MOFHIJcL3CwrEppIG52U9f-yRgBtqic/s4000/mt-binaratan-tanudam-kalinga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="721" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja__1PM81uRvSrQ7n-gu4WjTRzyroltYo3WadwzkNjbmR6ZnBQI8o1ey7J_2cpsBQsqTcU6IfggHKn_Bu-yyffsCuQFwyJ68FGBQk60USQ9AcSWjhOtD78a7PILKB2xtEWwg3SkOJNh-eG6dNXbElCpTKS_f0s4MOFHIJcL3CwrEppIG52U9f-yRgBtqic/w540-h721/mt-binaratan-tanudam-kalinga.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The slopes of Mt. Binaratan are still heavily-forested. The mountain is the perfect setting for forest bathing. There are hardwood trees that are several stories high that you can't see their tops. Some are huge enough that it takes several people to wrap their arms around their trunks. <i><b>Photo Credit: Arvin Balageo / The Northern Nomads</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br />
The main peak of Mt. Binaratan is another kilometer further up the trail from the campsite. We decided to push ahead towards it. Unfortunately, we hit a snag when we reached a section of the trail that was too thick with vegetation. We decided to go back and hope to borrow machetes/bolos from the policemen camped nearby so we can bushwhack our way to the summit. Fortunately, a couple of the day-hikers who already reached the campsite had machetes with them. So the climb to the summit resumed. The two cleaned the trail for us. The progress was slow but we finally made it to the top of the ridge. There was a bit of confusion there as we took some time pinpointing where the main summit should be. We relied on Al's tracking data. Furthermore, there was no signage there. The LGU of Tanudan should consider putting up a signage there to mark the mountain's highest point.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">
Last Words
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The Lumin-awa Trek was a memorable experience. Kalinga is a province that the gods showered with so much beauty. The countryside is beautiful. The people are beautiful. The host communities are beautiful. And the sense of culture....what can I say about their culture? You have to be there and experience it for yourself.
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Thank you Kalinga. Until the next adventure.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDt9rWdTfG0QbIEBz6h8zCKBGY-nceLrt-NI41QdM8KS9LR1dcTIUssnCLnVZT7AcVi7Sg4DQCOq-RQwtOq9gBU0ueCO6jyRlfHSKHFbkt1Uo5gTY_suKI67WXo7XlwKX2g2-hf0LQg0AiEEHOZEBzUPjONkHUu1A94bmGzBhkj3thHuTABGecGQ03ckhO/s3000/lubo-tanudan-kalinga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2063" data-original-width="3000" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDt9rWdTfG0QbIEBz6h8zCKBGY-nceLrt-NI41QdM8KS9LR1dcTIUssnCLnVZT7AcVi7Sg4DQCOq-RQwtOq9gBU0ueCO6jyRlfHSKHFbkt1Uo5gTY_suKI67WXo7XlwKX2g2-hf0LQg0AiEEHOZEBzUPjONkHUu1A94bmGzBhkj3thHuTABGecGQ03ckhO/w603-h414/lubo-tanudan-kalinga.jpg" width="603" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good part of the trek includes passing through tranquil fields like this one. Such sceneries offer the trekker a sense of what it's like to live in Kalinga's rural corners. <i><b>Photo Credit: Arvin Balageo / The Northern Nomads</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-33028469086959506382024-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:002024-02-04T21:30:03.733-08:00Girl from the North Country (Painting)This painting was inspired by a visit to Buscalan, Kalinga many years ago. During a hike up a steep hill, I came across a wooden shed just a few meters away from the trail. Resting inside the open shed were a man and a woman. They were in their 60's by my estimation. Probably husband and wife. The sun was high up in the cloudless sky and the heat was starting to become unbearable so I decided to stop for a much-needed respite inside the shed. I slowly shuffled towards the shed. The couple welcomed me with friendly gestures - the man with a toothless grin and the woman with a nod of her head. Both were chewing what looked like to be tobacco.
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I didn't speak any of the Kalinga languages. I tried to break the silence by talking to them in Iloko. Fortunately, they understood and spoke the language so we were able to converse for a while. The old woman struck me the most. She was covered in tattoos and I couldn't stop staring at the black dots and lines that swirl around her leathery skin. She didn't seem to mind me staring at them. I've seen numerous Kalinga women covered in tattoos but these were mostly in photos and in the internet. This was my first time to see a tattooed Kalinga woman in the flesh. In person. As she moved, it was almost hypnotic looking at the lines and designs as they follow her every movement.
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For weeks and months after that visit in Kalinga, the old woman and her tattoos kept crossing my mind. I started asking myself questions. When did she get the tattoos? Did she get them when she was a child? When she was a teenager? When she was an adult? I started visualizing what she would have looked like as a young woman with those tattoos.
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This painting was the result of the visualization. I wanted to put on solid canvas what I imagined what she looked like decades ago. This painting was an attempt to go back in time. At a time in Kalinga when the old woman as a young girl walked the same trail and took shelter in the same shed.<div><br></div><div>I named the painting after a Bob Dylan song: "Girl from the North Country".</div><div><br></div><div><i>Please see for me if her hair hangs long,</i></div><div><i>If it rolls and flows all down her breast.</i></div><div><i>Please see for me if her hair hangs long,</i></div><div><i>That's the way I remember her best.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><div><div>
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</div><br></div></div><div>"Girl from the North Country"</div><div>Acrylic on Canvas</div><div>19.5 inches (height) by 23.5 inches (length)</div><div>2017</div><div><br></div><div>Facebook: The Art of Daniel Ted C. Feliciano </div><div>Email: dtedfeliciano@gmail.com</div><div>Website: cordilleransun.com</div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-78648478408858953862023-10-04T07:28:00.001-07:002023-10-05T00:28:12.854-07:00Readings: Eudora Welty, Margaret Atwood, Charles Saatchi, Candy Gourlay, Agatha Christie, Etc.<b><i>A Worn Path</i> by Eudora Welty (Short Story)</b> - An elderly African-American woman trudges through hills, corn fields, and dirt roads to get to town. All the while, she talks to herself and has imaginary encounters. She sees a boy offering her cake. The boy turned out to be actually NOT there. She mistakes a scarecrow for a real living and breathing thing. She asks the scarecrow for a dance. She falls. Her dress gets entangled among the trail bushes. Out of nowhere, she gets attacked by a not-so-friendly dog. But she soldiers on. She's bent on getting to town. And her name is Phoenix. Was it just a coincidence that Welty named the character Phoenix or was it a conscious reference to the story of the "phoenix rising out of the ashes"? Towards the end of the story, the reason for Phoenix's dogged determination to get to town gets known. This is a sad and depressing story. But somewhere in there, you can feel love and warmth and hope rising out to the surface.
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Yoruba </i>by Migene Gonzales-Wippler (Essay)</b> - Gonzales-Wippler looks back to a very important event in her childhood. She was five years old then. Her nanny, a black woman, took her to the beach. At that beach, things were done and words were said that were new and confusing to the very young Gonzales-Wippler. Gonzales-Wippler recalls the events of that day as her introduction to Santeria - a religion that is basically the stew you get if you boil Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa in the same pot. As an adult, Gonzales-Wippler is considered as one of the leading experts on Santeria. She has written numerous books about it. Prior to reading this essay, I've never heard of Santeria. And I'm someone who reads (rather doggedly) about world religions - not to find one that I can join but to understand why people still cling to them despite their countless absurdities.
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Isis in Darkness</i> by Margaret Atwood (Short Story)</b> - If I remember correctly, this is the first short story by Atwood I've read. This piece has poets/writers as characters so it was a very interesting read. I usually find stories and novels with writers as characters as very interesting. As a writer myself, I find it a breeze to connect with the thoughts and actions of the writer/character. In a way, the writer/character makes me feel like I'm the character in the story. [Granta 31]
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My Name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic</i> (Book)</b> - This is a book that reads like a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). It's basically a compilation of Saatchi's answers to questions that have been thrown at him by journalists, critics, and the general public. Saatchi is a very influential figure in the global art market. He can single-handedly direct how and where the art market goes. Love him or hate him, his thoughts on things related to art and advertising are worth listening to. Very direct with his words, he can sometimes come out as arrogant, self-indulgent, and completely full of himself. Be that as it may, the art world treats him like a god. So I repeat, his take on things are worth listening to.
<br><br><b><a href="https://www.cordilleransun.com/2023/02/the-igorot-in-philippine-literature.html" target="_blank"><i>
Bone Talk</i> by Candy Gourlay (Book)</a></b> - There's a dearth of novels out there with Igorots as the main characters. This book by Gourlay might as well be the only one. Off the top of my head, I can't recall any other full-length novel with Igorots as the main players. The more I try to think about this, the only works that come to my mind are the short stories featuring Igorot characters by F. Sionil Jose and Amador Daguio. Geared towards young adult readers, Bone Talk is an easy and breezy read. It's basically a coming-of-age story of an Igorot boy. The events mostly happen in an Igorot village. Serving as backdrops and plot movers are the arrival of the American colonizers and tribal conflicts which were quite rife during that time.
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The Last Séance</i> by Agatha Christie (Short Story)</b> - Agatha Christie is an author I've been meaning to read for as long as I can remember. But for some reason, I never really got started. It's probably because of the sheer number of her works. There's just too many of them. Deciding where to start is such a nagging burden. Anyway, at a secondhand bookstore (Booksale), I came across a book - an old anthology of ghost stories called The 8th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (Copyright 1972). It contains nine short stories - a story titled The Last Seance by Agatha Christie was among them. I promptly added the book to my checkout pile. Back at home, right after dinner, I proceeded to dig into the book. I went first for Christie's tale. As the title of the story suggests, it's about a seance. I'm not going to go into detail about the story so as to not spoil anything. Did I like it? Not really. I didn't like the story itself. But I liked Christie's prose style. She reminds me of Ernest Hemingway. I can see why she has legions of adoring readers.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud</i> by Robert Park (Book)</b> - In his review of this book, Richard Dawkins said "Professor Park does more than debunk, he crucifies". And I agree. This book is an unapologetic assault against foolishness and fraud. Equipped with logic, reason, and a clear writing style, Park is a man on an intellectual mission. He's very good at what he does. I wish that more people will read this book and his other works. Usually, when I finish reading a book, I get rid of it. In rare instances, the book is so good that I set it aside with the intention of rereading it in the near future. I set aside Voodoo Science. I see that it can also serve as a good reference book.</div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-74591193400642371222023-05-11T09:17:00.001-07:002023-05-11T09:23:28.398-07:00Hiking Through the Mossy Forests of Mt. Molmog in Bauko, Mt. ProvinceAfter three hours and a half of navigating through the tricky and winding roads of the Halsema Highway, the two vans finally stopped at the jump-off point for Mt. Molmog in Bauko, Mt. Province. A motley group of around 30 hikers have come to this place for a tree-planting/camping event organized by the town through Jomar Buclay and the Bauko Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO). <div><br /></div><div>The sun was yet to make its grand entrance in the horizon and we were at an altitude which can be fairly considered as moderate to high. That said, it was cold. The good news was there was hot coffee and bread waiting for us at the jump-off point. We took our time to shake off the morning jitters of the long drive from Baguio City. After a quick orientation, the hike commenced. It started to get warm as the sun inched higher above the surrounding mountains.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the start of the trek, each hiker was given a bamboo seedling or two. We were to plant these at a section of the trail going to Mt. Molmog. Planting the trees went smoothly. All trees were planted firmly into the ground within an hour or so. With the planting done, the focus now was to make it to the summit of Mt. Molmog which is basically a grassy patch of land which also serves as a camping ground. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>Mt. Molmog isn't a difficult climb. Its trails are a perfect blend of moderate ups and downs. As long as you're fit, the hike to the summit should be a breeze. I didn't track how long it took us to reach the summit from the jump-off point but I'd say it was between 3-4 hours. Most of the time, you will be hiking through a thick mossy forest with grassy clearings here and there. Jump-off to summit measures approximately 9 to 10 kilometers.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the summit, there's more than enough space for 8-10 camping tents. Tents in excess can set up camp in the surrounding forest. Which was exactly what we did. Some pitched their tents over the grassy clearing at the summit. Others pitched theirs in the surrounding forest.</div><div><br /></div><div>We had <i>pinikpikan</i> for dinner. And some drinks, of course. Then everybody settled in for the night. It wasn't as cold as I expected during the night. Based on my experiences camping and pitching tents in similar mossy mountains in Kabayan and Bokod, it can be freezing cold at night. That wasn't the case here. It was cold but not freezing cold. I slept rather soundly for a change.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everybody woke up early the next morning to watch the sun rise. It was beautiful as you would expect. Sunrises and sunsets are always a sight to behold here in the Cordilleras. A sea of clouds sometimes occur in Mt. Molmog. Unfortunately, we didn't see one when we were there. Maybe next time. </div><div><br /></div><div>We then had a little breakfast. Then the descent down the mountain. </div><div><br /></div><div>[P.S. - There's a mountain trail run to be held there this coming July. The race route will pass through Mt. Molmog. Just search for "Mountain Ridge Run" on Facebook for the complete details. See you there!]</div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaRcUH0eueyZ-gtSZTMmQU938VtocswuBQuv3oUlwDG-88X13RUH27FNMVDvcPKGLdEZU8_qMxmd8PvQbFeHhu9nwf8LLFLnjIVush_YanRx5dONZR2FM-fCIQHkPfi5RWAiYxKkLvlj_u0uLXRCiAxzgLVC99qyoba3GSNgH88q-PzGzFwsWWmW7lg/s3264/20230407_053649.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaRcUH0eueyZ-gtSZTMmQU938VtocswuBQuv3oUlwDG-88X13RUH27FNMVDvcPKGLdEZU8_qMxmd8PvQbFeHhu9nwf8LLFLnjIVush_YanRx5dONZR2FM-fCIQHkPfi5RWAiYxKkLvlj_u0uLXRCiAxzgLVC99qyoba3GSNgH88q-PzGzFwsWWmW7lg/w525-h394/20230407_053649.jpg" width="525" /></a></div></div></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-52805395283871157362023-04-04T01:04:00.000-07:002023-04-04T01:04:02.148-07:00T.S. Eliot Wrote a Story That Was Inspired by the Igorots Brought for Display at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904When the American poet T.S. Eliot was sixteen years old, he went to see the St. Louis World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. The year was 1904. The St. Louis World's Fair was an international exposition that ran from April to December of that year. The United States of America spent a whooping $15 million to fund the extravaganza. The fair featured exhibition spaces from more than 60 countries. During its run, the fair was attended by nearly 20 million visitors.
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It was at this fair that the Igorots first attracted wide attention. The fair had a Philippine section and among its exhibits was a transported Igorot village. Igorots were brought in from the Philippines complete with their traditional attires, equipment, and houses. The Igorot village at the exposition became one of the most popular exhibits there. People were particularly attracted at the seemingly backward clothing and the unique dances of the Igorots. But the most sensationalized aspect of the Igorot village was the butchering and eating of dogs by the Igorots. Dogs were reportedly brought to the village on a regular basis for butchering and eating. The Americans watched and gawked in awe and shock.
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It's very possible that T.S Eliot had seen with his own eyes how the Igorots cooked and ate an animal considered by the rest of the world as "man's best friend". Eliot was from St. Louis so he had all the time to explore the exhibits at the exposition. Inspired by the tribal dances and other traditional practices of the Igorots that he saw at the Igorot village, Eliot wrote a short story he titled "<i><b>The Man Who Was King</b></i>". This story was published in 1905 in the school magazine of Smith Academy in St. Louis where Eliot was a student. It's about a retired American mariner named Magruder who got shipwrecked and stranded at a remote island in the Pacific. The native islanders found Magruder and he thought they were going to roast and consume him. The islanders made him their new king instead.
<br /><br />"<b><i>The Man Who Was King</i></b>" was among Eliot's first published works of fiction. More than a decade later, he became one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. To this day, his works (<b><i>The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, Four Quartets</i></b>) remain to be gold standards in the world of poetry. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7KqaLzBxJdFd1Vl1Af2vfJYR3CsunSQnmKeX-FO8Pzy7ghp5RRUNz1VdVCVtFtNvVQNzE-3Uk1J-IRU_hYMbIzqvBohGpVyjz7OsnOTnuafo2dDkMdNXLJo8W9SE5RfLzLSFF3wtupj0W9L_QRiym3ikDfnii_6F9AXiCnMuhTGPUk8qvQT28PI7Iw/s495/the-man-who-was-king-ts-eliot-igorots.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="495" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7KqaLzBxJdFd1Vl1Af2vfJYR3CsunSQnmKeX-FO8Pzy7ghp5RRUNz1VdVCVtFtNvVQNzE-3Uk1J-IRU_hYMbIzqvBohGpVyjz7OsnOTnuafo2dDkMdNXLJo8W9SE5RfLzLSFF3wtupj0W9L_QRiym3ikDfnii_6F9AXiCnMuhTGPUk8qvQT28PI7Iw/w608-h393/the-man-who-was-king-ts-eliot-igorots.png" width="608" /></a></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-79162701599708195472023-02-27T18:59:00.002-08:002023-02-27T18:59:37.451-08:00The Igorot in Philippine Literature: Bone Talk by Candy GourlayCourtesy of this blog, every now and then I would receive an email, mostly from university students, asking for recommendations with regards to books about Igorots. These requests are usually due to them burdened with an assignment or a research project the completion of which requires them to accumulate knowledge about certain aspects of "the Igorot". When it comes to non-fiction books about Igorots, I have quite a pile to recommend. There's a good number of non-fiction books out there that cover Igorot-related topics from our history starting from the arrival of the Spaniards to our cultural traditions (then and now).
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Want to read about pre-colonial and colonial Igorots? Read the <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3mayzrd" target="_blank">books by William Henry Scott</a></b> and <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Jenks" target="_blank">Albert Jenks</a></b>. Want to read about the art of Kalinga tattooing? <b><a href="https://www.css.upb.edu.ph/member/salvador-amores-analyn-v/" target="_blank">Analyn Salvador-Amores</a></b> has you covered. To anyone looking for reading materials about the Igorots, I highly suggest he/she visits the library of the University of the Philippines in Baguio or the bookstore at the Museo Kordilyera (also inside the UP Baguio campus).
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Around November of last year, I received an email from a student currently studying at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She introduced herself as a half-Igorot and half-Tagalog. Kristine is her name. Her father is from Angono, Rizal and her mother is from Tadian, Mt. Province. She explains that she is very proud of her Igorot origin but she adds that she rarely brings it up to people because aside from having 50% Igorot blood, there's not much else that would identify her as Igorot. She was born and raised in Angono. She doesn't speak nor understand Kankana-ey, the language of her mother. She is completely clueless about the traditions and cultural practices of the Igorots.
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She emailed me because she wanted help in looking for reading materials about the Igorots. She specifically asked what books should she read. I sent her a patented reply. I recommended the usual books by Salvador-Amores, Jenks, Scott, and a few others. She thanked me for the recommendations. I didn't hear from her for a couple of months. Then this February, I received another email from her. She enthusiastically narrated that she read all the books I've recommended and that she found them engrossing and eye-opening. She then noted that all the titles are non-fiction. She also wanted another set of recommendations from me. This time, she asked for fiction books about Igorots. Now that she has knowledge about the Igorots and their history, she wanted to move forward and read how they are depicted in works of fiction. How are Igorots portrayed in literature? Do their portrayals in literary works jive with the words and observations of Scott, Jenks, Salvador-Amores, and company? These are questions she wanted some answers to.
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At this point, I realized that I haven't read a single fiction book which feature the Igorot as a character. It has never occurred to me to go looking for one. So I told Kristine that I have nothing to recommend because just like her, I haven't read a single fiction book featuring Igorot characters. But I also told her that I'll help her find one. This sent me into a little journey looking for novels with Igorot characters.
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And I found out there's very few of them. The one that got the bulk of my attention is <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3EI5mtZ" target="_blank"><i>Bone Talk</i> by Candy Gourlay</a></b>. I chose to read <i>Bone Talk</i> first for several reasons. One, the novel's author is a known name in the Philippine writing community. Two, it was published by Anvil which is one of the more prestigious (or should I say reliable) publishers in the country. So far, my experience with Anvil-published books has been within the realms of good to excellent. And three, the book has mostly good reviews with several influential Filipino authors vouching for it.
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So for a couple of nights, I had to forego bingeing <i>Trailer Park Boys</i> on Netflix to devour the book. <i>Bone Talk</i> was marketed as a YA (Young Adult) novel. The style and flow of the prose definitely stayed close with the genre. Set in 1899 in a village in Bontoc, the novel is basically the coming-of-age story of an Igorot boy named Samkad. Serving as a backdrop for Samkad's transition from boy to man are real historical events like tribal conflicts and the arrival of American colonizers.
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The plot is pretty simple. There are no grand twists and turns. But that doesn't matter because it's a well-written tale made colorful and engrossing with the way Gourlay weaved aspects of Igorot culture and history into the story. I also liked the pace of the story. It wasn't too slow. Gourlay didn't rush things either. So many YA authors these days have this annoying habit of rushing the plot forward in an attempt to drum up excitement. Fortunately, Gourlay didn't commit that grave error here. The pace of the story was close to perfect. Not too slow. Not too fast.
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With historical novels like <i>Bone Talk</i>, it's expected that readers inquire about its accuracy. I grew up in Besao, a town in Mt. Province. Besao and Bontoc are neighbors. This should give me a tiny bit of authority to judge the accuracy of the book with regards to its depiction of the Bontoc Igorots and their culture/traditions. I think the book was mostly fair and on point. However, there are certain parts of the story that are not historically accurate. A lot of these are on the culture/traditions front. I am not going to divulge these in this article because I don't want to ruin the story for those who haven't read the book. Suffice it to say that Gourlay used her artistic freedom in crafting her tale to give it more color. To give it more sting, if you may.
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To be fair to Gourlay, she doesn't claim her book to be historically accurate. In fact, she is very straightforward in saying that <i>Bone Talk</i> is not a history book. In notes at the end of the book, she wrote: "<i>This story is not history though it is set during a real time, in a real place.</i>" It's also worth mentioning that Gourlay is not an Igorot. Some readers especially Igorot readers may feel some doubts after knowing this important fact. But at the end, whether Gourlay is or is not an Igorot is a non-issue. She did her research, she wrote the story, and she used her artistic freedom to craft the final product. It's what writers do.
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Still, probably to appease those who might still be harboring doubts because of Gourlay's non-Igorot roots, she has this to say in her notes at the end of the book: "<i>I do not hail from the Cordillera and I beg the forgiveness of its many and diverse peoples for any misreading of their culture. As a storyteller I can only spin a pale imitation of any reality. I hope that this story awakens the world's curiosity about this extraordinary time and place. With utmost respect to the people of the Cordillera.</i>"
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Gourlay has been more than fair in depicting the Igorot in her book. And she's been more than humble in addressing those who might think otherwise. That's more than good enough for me. So dear reader, read this book.
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And lest I forget, Kristine, you should read this book. This serves as a recommendation.<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKMygAF6TgmWadK8fISlpg3Awe7kF-q3OtcRusb0xotN0qPn6Wh0fHFb16-VcBMhXiS4X7BXIw4pR-E1EbfZ9FREaKPMWCvJHNtv7uPMz2Rh9xZHbVq3FKIKVzwn_WrpIouKzcKIwFa2_cvpjAtAUHXvM7c64mQHcQJ9oidr0JybjrTz3AeVgqgH73Q/s4160/igorot-literature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKMygAF6TgmWadK8fISlpg3Awe7kF-q3OtcRusb0xotN0qPn6Wh0fHFb16-VcBMhXiS4X7BXIw4pR-E1EbfZ9FREaKPMWCvJHNtv7uPMz2Rh9xZHbVq3FKIKVzwn_WrpIouKzcKIwFa2_cvpjAtAUHXvM7c64mQHcQJ9oidr0JybjrTz3AeVgqgH73Q/w552-h415/igorot-literature.jpg" width="552" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-85800884838505716312022-11-30T09:28:00.000-08:002022-11-30T09:47:46.143-08:00The Shekang of the Ibaloys: an Ornamental Mouthpiece Made of Either Gold or CopperUsually, what strikes me the most when looking at old photos of Igorots, especially those of women, is their penchant for decoratives and ornamentals. Their feet and hands are often adorned with bangles. Colorful strings of beads cascade down their chests as necklaces. More beads loop around their heads and hair. Heavy gold earrings dangle from their already strained ears. And many of them go so far as to have their skins tattooed. I thought this was where the ancient Igorot woman's love for decoration ended. I was wrong.
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Today, I learned that Ibaloy women of old also decorated their mouth/teeth with mouthpieces made of either gold or copper. This mouthpiece is called a "shekang". I've read a few sources that refer to it as "chakang". So yes, centuries before rappers and celebrities popularized mouth grills, our Igorot ancestors had been sporting their own version of a mouth bling.
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The design of the "shekang" is pretty rudimentary. A thin strip of gold or copper is hammered into shape so that it can fit over the teeth. The finished product would cover the whole frontal aspect of the teeth. So when a wearer of a "shekang" smiles, what you see is a mouth glittering in either gold or copper. The "shekang" is attached to the teeth using any of two methods. One, both ends of the strip are inserted into the gaps between two teeth. Two, pegs are made in the two ends of the strip then inserted into holes in the teeth. This means that in this second method, holes need to be bored in the teeth. This is where the pegs of the "shekang" are inserted to keep the mouthpiece in place. Sometimes, designs and patterns were etched into the metal.<br><br>
It's believed that the "shekang" was casually worn by wealthy Ibaloy women. These are women from the "baknang" families. This makes sense because a person has to be wealthy to be able to afford precious metals like gold and copper. However, according to the Museo Kordilyera of the University of the Philippines Baguio, by the 20th century, the use of the mouthpiece "seems to have been limited to festive occasions".<br><br>
The wearing of the "shekang" by the Ibaloys had been observed as early as the 18th century. A visiting Spanish missionary named Francisco Antolin had observed the Igorots and had written a study about them which he titled "Notices of the Pagan Igorots in 1789". Antolin arrived in the Philippines in 1769. He spent a considerable amount of time among the Igorots. In his study "Notices of the Pagan Igorots in 1789", Antolin wrote that in Kabayan, "leading women would place a plate of gold over their teeth and remove it to eat". [People interested in reading Antolin's accounts can get a copy of his study online. Obviously, Antolin wrote it in Spanish. But it was translated into English in 1970 by no other than William Henry Scott. Just search for "Notices of the Pagan Igorots in 1789".]
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Also, a photograph of an Ibaloy woman wearing a "shekang" was taken by Dean C. Worcester, an American who served as the Philippine Secretary of the Interior from 1901 to 1913. The photo is of an Ibaloy family in Atok, Benguet. The woman in the photo was wearing a "shekang".
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As to the purpose of the "shekang", it seems like the consensus among historians and scholars is that it's purely for decorative/ornamental purposes and as a status symbol/marker given that it's believed to be exclusively worn by women from wealthy families. <div><br></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqJFokdU-u8iS9p10gS1tBQGB5TCuKEAsUEV5WVcoyfinIZNI8eKVWLgwuf1pDpmVywLYWlWjrntcY1JvVZfpOX1wVdRbFWZoZgnb7Fi0gF57uVjQmtqU_86-GjsgEzlC0UelSc5Nwihuz4vmyQ_t8-6txmcyojLTDbpIG4Bsuls3lrsfh9tmYMHacw/s2048/shekang-ibaloy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1534" data-original-width="2048" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqJFokdU-u8iS9p10gS1tBQGB5TCuKEAsUEV5WVcoyfinIZNI8eKVWLgwuf1pDpmVywLYWlWjrntcY1JvVZfpOX1wVdRbFWZoZgnb7Fi0gF57uVjQmtqU_86-GjsgEzlC0UelSc5Nwihuz4vmyQ_t8-6txmcyojLTDbpIG4Bsuls3lrsfh9tmYMHacw/w534-h401/shekang-ibaloy.jpg" width="534"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image source: Emil Maranon III/Facebook</td></tr></tbody></table><br><div><br></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-82300299195589113902022-11-17T18:41:00.001-08:002022-11-17T18:41:08.214-08:00On the Right Way of Wearing the Igorot BahagWhile doing research for a paper I'm currently writing, I came across this photo of an Igorot gentleman in an old travel book published in 1980 (Insight Guides: Philippines; APA Productions). It had me thinking about the controversy several weeks back regarding the male contestants in a pageant who were allegedly wearing the bahag the wrong way. <div><br></div><div>Igorotland was up in arms lambasting the pageant organizers and the wearers. I found the controversy weird because I thought people were overreacting. I kind of understood why people were unhappy with the way the bahag were worn. The flaps of the bahag were exaggeratedly tucked on the sides to highlight the male form. There are those saying that the bahag was transformed into a sexualized prop. I get what they are saying.</div><div><br></div><div>However, I have bigger issue with the criticisms saying that the bahag were not worn the right way. This begs the question, what exactly is the right way to wear a bahag? </div><div><br></div><div>Over the years, I've seen a lot of photos of our Igorot ancestors, mostly taken when Americans armed with cameras set foot in our mountains. And in these old photos, you can see that there is no ONE way to wear a bahag. Some wear the bahag with the flaps fully extended. Some tuck the front flap over the groin. And yes, some tuck the front flap or the back flap on the sides which make them look like they are wearing a brief instead of a bahag.</div><div><br></div><div>Tucking the flaps of the bahag to the sides is also a real practice. Majority of our Igorot ancestors worked in rice fields. To prepare these fields for planting, they are often knee-deep in water and mud. Practicality suggests that you tuck the flap over the groin or on the sides to prevent the cloth from getting muddied.</div><div><br></div><div>In conclusion, the organizers of the pageant may have exaggerated the wearing/tucking of the bahag but the way it was done wasn't too far off from reality.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-24517736997695821292022-11-16T21:22:00.007-08:002022-11-16T21:22:58.291-08:00The Haldak of the IfugaosThe <i><b>haldak </b></i>is a traditional storage shelf that used to be common in Ifugao homes. It's a long thick slab of flat wood at the center of which are carved protrusions which serve both as decorations and hangers. The designs of these carved protrusions often resemble animals like pigs, dogs, monitor lizards, and turtles.
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When installed in an Ifugao home, usually pinned to a wall, the <b><i>haldak </i></b>is installed flat with the carved designs on the underside. So the animals look like they are hanging upside down. The upper surface of the <b><i>haldak </i></b>serves as a shelf for jars, palay, and other household items. The underside of the <b><i>haldak </i></b>serves as hangers for baskets and other items.
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Many of these <b><i>haldaks </i></b>are still in use to this day. However, many have also been sold to antique dealers and collectors.Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-5218196476012018562022-11-08T06:02:00.006-08:002022-11-08T06:02:39.068-08:00Anthropology as Cultural Critique: An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences by George E. Marcus and Michael M. J. FischerAn image of an Igorot graces this important book on cultural anthropology and criticism. The contents of the book are not exactly about the Igorots but it's a book worth reading for those who wish to gain insight into the workings of cultural anthropology. There's much to be learned here which one can then use as tools in understanding and dealing with the multiple cultural issues plaguing Igorot communities today (i.e. cultural appropriation, cultural appreciation, cultural preservation).
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It's very difficult to find a copy of this book. Your best resort is to look for a copy online (Amazon) or check out the online shop of the University Press that published it (University of Chicago Press).
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Synopsis:</h3><div>
"<i>Using cultural anthropology to analyze debates that reverberate throughout the human sciences, George E. Marcus and Michael M. J. Fischer look closely at cultural anthropology’s past accomplishments, its current predicaments, its future direction, and the insights it has to offer other fields of study.
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The result is a provocative work that is important for scholars interested in a critical approach to social science, art, literature, and history, as well as anthropology. This second edition considers new challenges to the field which have arisen since the book’s original publication."</i><div><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfOBkV0GyYTFKvjdgsQaPaaGyzW3fONuvSgckJFh2Qg48OfDQfsG_jv4rTEYZB65wZTaHt85CH9VToLlWVJKUhRn1Uny1LhATf_lRIN9uXvOdbJAb0ac2NB65rRwheZIBYHuLOFxpwDMHn6T429zmwI3o3-bxogoWX8_hrVdUswPAlW3AEdkr6-rdJg/s956/FB_IMG_1664717681346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="720" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfOBkV0GyYTFKvjdgsQaPaaGyzW3fONuvSgckJFh2Qg48OfDQfsG_jv4rTEYZB65wZTaHt85CH9VToLlWVJKUhRn1Uny1LhATf_lRIN9uXvOdbJAb0ac2NB65rRwheZIBYHuLOFxpwDMHn6T429zmwI3o3-bxogoWX8_hrVdUswPAlW3AEdkr6-rdJg/w393-h522/FB_IMG_1664717681346.jpg" width="393" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-34178103148218150252022-11-01T05:37:00.001-07:002022-11-01T05:47:01.049-07:00The Origin of the Panag-aapoy Practice in Sagada and Other Towns in Mt. ProvinceEvery year, before evening falls on the 1st day of November, the folks in Sagada would troop to the community cemetery and light little bonfires over the graves of their departed loved ones. Called "panag-aapoy", this unique tradition has been going on for decades. A mass is first held in the afternoon at the nearby Anglican Church. After a blessing by the local priest, the lighting of the fires commences.<div><br></div><div>Also widely referred to as "panagdedenet", the practice is also quite common in several other towns in Mt. Province like Besao, Bauko, and Sabangan. In Besao, folks would go to the cemetery 1 or 2 days before All Saints Day to cut the overgrown weeds and brush around the graves. This leaves enough time for the weeds/brush to dry out. When November 1 comes, the weeds/brush are dry enough to burn for a little bonfire. </div><div><br></div><div>It's not surprising that the practice is often attributed to Sagada given that Sagada is a popular tourist town. Several years ago, a little controversy erupted when tour organizers started calling "panag-aapoy" a festival. For the record, the practice is not a festival. At least according to the communities involved and the Anglican Church. And we agree.</div><div><br></div><div>The origin of the tradition is not crystal clear. However, it's most likely that it emerged from the conversion of the local populations into the Christian faith. The dominant Christian group in Mt. Province is the Anglican Church. They gained foothold in the hills and mountains of the north when they were able to dispatch Anglican missionaries after the arrival of the Americans. </div><div><br></div><div>Lighting candles in graves during All Saints Day was introduced to the newly-converted Igorots. One theory is that there wasn't enough candles to light during these occasions. Keep in mind that the Americans took over the Philippines in 1898 after a short-lived but brutal war with Spain. Resources are not exactly spilling over the pot.</div><div><br></div><div>Another factor in the development of the "panag-aapoy" practice is that community cemeteries in Mt. Province are usually situated in wooded hills or mountain slopes that has an abundance of wood and brush. Instead of using candles that were either scarce or expensive during the early decades of the 20th century, the locals used the wood, saleng, and brush that were readily available. </div><div><br></div><div>The practice of lighting little bonfires on All Saints Day was soon established and cemented into the local culture.</div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-70880737550673669032022-10-22T04:57:00.006-07:002022-10-22T04:57:53.344-07:00Beey Manok Falls in Kayapa, Bakun, BenguetLocated in barangay Kayapa in Bakun, this is a waterfall being eyed as a potential tourist destination. We tried visiting this sometime in 2019 but it wasn't yet open for trekkers. The name of the waterfall is in the Kankana-ey language. Beey is house, manok is chicken. So it roughly translates to "chicken house" or "house of the chicken".
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Should the town decide to open the site for trekkers, it will add to the several waterfalls in the area that already accepts visitors. Most of these waterfalls are within barangay Poblacion - Tekip Falls, Mangta Falls, Pattan Falls, Pikaw Falls, and Sakup Falls.
Also south of barangay Sinacbat is Dalingaoan Falls which some people refer to as Tres Marias Falls. This is actually a series of several waterfalls with 3 major drops. Thus explains the "Tres Marias" nickname.
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Barangays Poblacion, Sinacbat, and Kayapa are adjacent to each other. This means a trekker can visit all these waterfall sites within a couple of days.
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Even better, hiking destinations like Mt. Kabunian, Mt. Lubo, and Mt. Tenglawan are also within the same vicinity. Thus, a trekker can come up with a well-planned itinerary that can shoot at all these sites with one go.Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-55831885649708427222022-10-18T05:15:00.002-07:002022-10-18T05:15:21.381-07:00Karinderya Love Songs by John Pucay (Book Review)The spate of bad weather the past few days has afforded me the time to finally dig into my to-be-read list. One of the titles I finished reading is <i>Karinderya Love Songs</i>, a recently published novel by John Pucay, a writer with Kankanaey-Ibaloi roots.
Before anything else, it's great to see a fellow Cordilleran writer publish a work of fiction. Most books I've encountered that were authored by Cordillerans are non-fiction. Books that are usually the products of university presses. Books that are intended to be read by academics, not by the general reader.
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This is a good start. <i>Karinderya Love Songs</i> just might be the spark that inspires writers in this corner of the world to begin working on their first novel, poetry collection, or short story collection with the goal of seeing it in print.
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Karinderya Love Songs</i> is at first glance a romance novel. It's written in the "first person" with an autobiographical style so you feel like you are reading someone's diary instead of a novel. There's not much of what you could call a plot. It's more of musings by the main character about concepts of modern love, sex, and dating.
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It's obvious that the novel has millinneals and Gen Z as its target readers because these are the people who can potentially relate to the story. The themes and topics in the novel revolve around dating, sex, and romantic relationships. If this novel is a movie, it would receive an R-18 rating from the movie board. I'm not saying that that is a good or a bad thing. In the end, it depends on your literary taste.
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Romance novels are not my cup of tea. I pretty much stay away from novels whose foundations are built upon romantic relationships. I can't honestly remember the last time I read a romantic novel. But I think one of the stronger points of Karinderya Love Songs is how unapologetic it is. It doesn't try to hide or skirt around the serious topics of love, dating, and sex. The novel unapologetically barges through them with guns blazing.
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As I alluded to earlier, the novel pretty much contains the musings of the main character about love, sex, and relationships. You are going to either agree or disagree with his ideas. You are going to either love or hate his take on modern dating.
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I gave the book to a female friend. I wanted to hear what a reader from the opposite gender think about the novel. A couple days later, she sent me her review. Basically, she said that the book has good parts and bad parts. That's pretty much every book ever written. She particularly pointed out that she found the book "crass". Well, maybe that's exactly what the book aimed to achieve. It literally describes itself as "crass" in its back cover. I told her to check the back cover. She replied, "Oh, I see."
<br /><br />[<i>Karinderya Love Songs</i> was published in 2022. To get a copy, you can search for John Pucay on Facebook or visit his website at johnpucay.com. If I'm not mistaken, you can also get an ebook version of his book if you prefer reading with your gadget.]Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-87067860817436999322022-09-27T19:32:00.003-07:002022-10-20T19:14:35.710-07:00Ifugao Bulul Sculpture to Be Auctioned Off for Up to 17 Million Pesos<div>[Update; October 21, 2022 - The bulul realized 630,000 Euros (that's 36,000,000 pesos and some change) during the auction. This is more than double the maximum estimate of 300,000 Euros.]</div><div><br /></div>An Ifugao "bulul" is set to be auctioned off by Christie's this coming October 20 in Paris, France. Measuring 31 inches (79 centimeters), this particular "bulul" is from the private collection of Beatrice and Patrick Caput. The statue is 1 of 34 statues from around the world that are up for sale during the auction.
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The "bulul" is estimated to fetch between 200,000 to 300,000 Euros. That's between 11 to 17 million pesos.
Why is it very expensive? There are a lot of factors that decide a work's auction price. These include source, age, material, condition, size, and provenance.
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Provenance is very important in this case. Provenance is basically the "history of ownership" for the statue. Who owned it? How did it transfer from one owner to another?
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This bulul came from the collection of William Gambuk Beyer. William is the son of no other than H. Otley Beyer, the American anthropologist who is often referred to as the Father of Philippine Anthropology. The bulul was then acquired from Beyer by Alain Schoffel in 1970. The Caput couple, in turn, acquired the bulul from Schoffel in 1989.
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The accompanying essay for the piece states thus:
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"A masterpiece of Ifugao art, this sculpture dazzles by the universality of its form. Thanks to its purified aspect, we can see as many possible links with the great statuary of the past as with that of the present. Notably, thanks to its intrinsic geometry, it is possible to evoke a kinship with some of the oldest anthropomorphic representations, such as certain plastic creations of the Neolithic or Cycladic art.
At the same time, by reducing and simplifying the anthropomorphic representation as much as possible, the artist has created an abstract interpretation of the human figure, giving it a powerful serenity. In the case of this formidable sculpture, it is its great plastic quality and in particular its formal ambiguity - its archaism and its modernity - that convey an indisputable timelessness."<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8icHdcH8Lg87YZilB28cwS_-0Sx-brnJf1HL89NswDCOgTWr_N337H19Y5J4_GqLpRuj-50utVBDmTCvJP8heN5kURbvSQzZkBr5eGuhI4Y7I6pOeTjZasOVgGGXj5b0pLWyOyLFAuvw9rOIP_zlNtiUaOFNrVBVbrWrYTK0r8OdU5MG3OQAvK4VPA/s2048/308758565_10160498276128541_6482860567268420999_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8icHdcH8Lg87YZilB28cwS_-0Sx-brnJf1HL89NswDCOgTWr_N337H19Y5J4_GqLpRuj-50utVBDmTCvJP8heN5kURbvSQzZkBr5eGuhI4Y7I6pOeTjZasOVgGGXj5b0pLWyOyLFAuvw9rOIP_zlNtiUaOFNrVBVbrWrYTK0r8OdU5MG3OQAvK4VPA/w462-h578/308758565_10160498276128541_6482860567268420999_n.jpg" width="462" /></a></div></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-73730360445930118512022-09-21T08:25:00.003-07:002022-09-21T08:29:34.998-07:00The Murder by John Steinbeck (Short Story) - Notes and AnalysisJohn Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors. He's up there on the top five. All of his works, at least the ones I've read, are well-written and enjoyable. His novels are among the most realistic pieces of literature that I've encountered. He has this distinct style that permeates his sentences and paragraphs. His novels <i><b>Of Mice and Men</b></i>, <b><i>Grapes of Wrath</i></b>, and <b><i>East of Eden</i></b> occupy a special place in my literary heart. Especially <i><b>Of Mice and Men</b></i>. That book warmed and broke my heart, in that order. I rarely reread books no matter how much I liked them. I've read <i><b>Of Mice and Men</b></i> multiple times. The funny thing is that it's not even my favorite Steinbeck novel. That honor goes to either <i><b>Grapes of Wrath</b></i> or <b><i>East of Eden</i></b>. I said funny in the sense that <i><b>Of Mice and Men</b></i> is my least favorite of the three but it's the one that I've read several times. Maybe it's because of the fact that it's the shortest of the three.
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Anyway, I came across Steinbeck's short story <i><b>The Murder</b></i> on a copy of an anthology book called <i><b>The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century</b></i>. Edited by Tony Hillerman, this book contains the best (supposedly) American mystery stories of the 20th century. The collection starts with O. Henry's <b><i>A Retrieved Reformation </i></b>(1903) and ends with Dennis Lehane's <i><b>Running Out of Dog </b></i>(1999).
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Before I started reading the book, I quickly scanned the Table of Contents to check the featured stories. The Steinbeck story immediately caught my eye so it was the first story in the anthology that I read. And it was good. Not great but good. Just like most of Steinbeck's work, the story is set in California. The plot is quite simple. Rancher falls in love with and marries a beautiful woman. Rancher catches the woman in bed with another man. Rancher kills the man.
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It's not a unique story at all. Hundreds of thousands of stories follow exactly the same plot line. But it's a Steinbeck story. So it's special, and good, and enjoyable. I particularly liked the way Steinbeck built the story towards the end. The twists and turns are kind of predictable but who cares (at least in this case). Steinbeck's prose is pure literary magic. That's what matters. This is a story you should definitely read if you ever come across it.
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You can easily find <b><i>The Murder</i></b> online. Google has you covered. But if you want to read it in a good ol' book, I guess you need to get a copy of <i><b><a href="https://amzn.to/3Uwz77w" target="_blank">The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century</a></b></i>. Or you can buy <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3qWicNS" target="_blank">The Long Valley</a></i></b>, a collection of 12 short stories (<i><b>The Murder</b></i> included) by Steinbeck. Or you can get <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3xHt5qK" target="_blank">The Murder</a></i></b>, a collection of four short stories by Steinbeck that was published in 2005. The book contains <b><i>The Murder, The Vigilante, Breakfast</i></b>, and <b><i>The Chrysanthemums</i></b>.<div><br /></div><div>"<i>Jim turned and quickly stole back across the kitchen and down the back steps. He walked up the yard to the water trough again, and sat down on the edge of it. The moon was white as chalk, and it swam in the water, and lighted the straws and barley dropped by the horses' mouths. Jim could see the mosquito wigglers, tumbling up and down, end over end, in the water, and he could see a newt lying in the sun moss in the bottom of the trough.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>He cried a few dry, hard, smothered sobs, and wondered why, for his thought was of the grassed hilltops and of the lonely summer wind whisking along.</i>" - <b><i>The Murder</i></b>, John Steinbeck</div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-25590180234787144992022-07-18T01:01:00.004-07:002022-07-18T01:01:29.293-07:00Buried for Days Under the Rubble of the 1990 Northern Luzon EarthquakeImagine being buried alive under tons of rubble for two weeks. No food, no water, and very little hope of being rescued. This is the story of Pedrito Dy, Luisa Mallorca, and Arnel Calabia. They were employees of the Hyatt Terraces hotel in Baguio City when the deadly 1990 earthquake struck. The three hotel staff were buried under the debris when the hotel collapsed. At least 80 employees and guests of Hyatt Hotel were killed by the earthquake. Dozens more were seriously injured.
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Pedrito Dy, Luisa Mallorca and Arnel Calabia are among the lucky ones. They survived the ordeal. Their story of survival caught the attention of the international media because they were miraculously rescued after spending days pinned under the rubble of the collapsed hotel.
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Mallorca, a casino employee, and Calabia, a security guard, were pulled out of the rubble 11 days after the earthquake. Mallorca said she survived by drinking her own urine.
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Dy was rescued after 14 days at a different section of the collapsed building. A cook and a gym instructor at the hotel, Dy said he survived by drinking the rainwater that seeped and flowed through the rubble.
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The three survived but they will never forget the days they spent praying for help and rescue. Mallorca and Calabia said there was another man with them during their ordeal. They would talk to each other and pray together. Unfortunately, the man died about a week after the earthquake which was just four days before Mallorca and Calabia were rescued.
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Dy recalled that for days after the earthquake, he would listen to voices around him calling for help. Sometimes, they would talk to each other in the dark. But as the days went by, these voices slowly dwindled and eventually stopped.
According to estimates, 1621 people were killed by the earthquake, 3513 were injured, and 321 went missing.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rGQcaQQviOdObJVQH3lVQXj43uVLNm2757it7GKElVNhUutddHUFVnf3IJuHvrrT7ZWed34V8HA695YAJkIQafZAI0YwM4d8Cw0U9aZSNBPcmglUteUnX-D1NV6a-UL-iQPDzXNTZlUajnfFtLHiuZH5zMh1vjbofRGfShKMMSsNgGJN-hYPvSjkyw/s800/Hyatt_Terraces_Baguio_-_16_July_1990_Earthquake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="800" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rGQcaQQviOdObJVQH3lVQXj43uVLNm2757it7GKElVNhUutddHUFVnf3IJuHvrrT7ZWed34V8HA695YAJkIQafZAI0YwM4d8Cw0U9aZSNBPcmglUteUnX-D1NV6a-UL-iQPDzXNTZlUajnfFtLHiuZH5zMh1vjbofRGfShKMMSsNgGJN-hYPvSjkyw/w582-h330/Hyatt_Terraces_Baguio_-_16_July_1990_Earthquake.jpg" width="582" /></a></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-38209831088018612472022-07-03T21:52:00.000-07:002022-07-03T21:52:10.054-07:00Igorots Used Human Jawbones as Handles for Musical Gongs<p>There's evidence that our Igorot ancestors repurposed human jawbones and used these as handles for gongs. This practice had been mentioned in historical records from the Spanish period. Recent/modern historians like Albert Ernest Jenks and William Henry Scott also cited the practice in the books they've written about Igorot/Cordillera history. </p><p>There's also an abundance of photographic evidence. Just like this photo taken between 1904 and 1920. The photo shows two Igorot men holding gongs, the handles of which were made from human jawbones. The theory is that these jawbones were taken from the heads of slain enemy tribes. It's a historical fact that our Igorot ancestors used to practice headhunting.</p><p>This photo is from the Graphic Arts Collection of the Firestone Library of Princeton University. The caption for the photo stated: "<i>Two Igorots with gongs. The gongs are used on which to beat time for their dances. Note that the handles are human jawbones from the heads of enemies taken in battle. The upper portion of the skull is given a place of honor in the home of the captor.</i>"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXi5JoldCxNcpUzrfVJgICvhpM9VMp4mjvRukST987JJY2869z6IvyTEvme7tOdfOljeXzto9tNjI6o4_qItV66DS15ZF0be3BujJ4Hbyw4Bzh1UIjmiD4sZsUy9SCO9ppRPbgiYmC4mXhw-HlJNUcvoLD5uBMiop1VXcsxAAbv5HiiD6fn8yGc0Fjg/s1349/igorot-jawbone-gong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1349" data-original-width="1000" height="675" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXi5JoldCxNcpUzrfVJgICvhpM9VMp4mjvRukST987JJY2869z6IvyTEvme7tOdfOljeXzto9tNjI6o4_qItV66DS15ZF0be3BujJ4Hbyw4Bzh1UIjmiD4sZsUy9SCO9ppRPbgiYmC4mXhw-HlJNUcvoLD5uBMiop1VXcsxAAbv5HiiD6fn8yGc0Fjg/w501-h675/igorot-jawbone-gong.jpg" width="501" /></a></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-32149370908142014202022-07-02T01:06:00.002-07:002022-07-02T01:14:38.062-07:00Eusebius Halsema: The American Who Built Halsema Highway and Transformed Baguio CityEusebius Julius Halsema was an American civil engineer and politician who served as mayor of Baguio City from 1920 to 1937. Halsema first arrived in the Philippines in 1908 and worked as an engineer for the Philippine Government's Bureau of Public Works. In his first 11 years in the country, Halsema was assigned in Cebu, then Pampanga, then Manila, then Zamboanga. <div><br /></div><div>In 1920, he was sent to Baguio City. For 17 years, he served as mayor and city engineer of Baguio City as well as district engineer for the province of Benguet. It was during his watch that the Halsema Highway was first carved out of the steep mountain slopes of Benguet and Mt. Province. Construction commenced in 1922. Back then, it was referred to as the Mountain Trail because it started out as a foot trail. It was only during the succeeding years that it was slowly transformed into a road fit for automobiles.
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Halsema Highway is without a doubt the most important highway in the Cordillera region. Stretching for 150 kilometers from Baguio City to Bontoc, Mt. Province, the highway is an indispensable economic artery in the region. Without it, the economies of the provinces of Benguet, Mt. Province, Kalinga, and Apayao will find it very difficult to move forward. Halsema Highway is the line that connects the provinces together. Farmers use it to transport their highland vegetables. Goods and services to the northern provinces are transported through it. In other words, it's the main street of the region's economy.
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Halsema left his government post in 1937 but still decided to live and retire in Baguio City. He died in Baguio City on March 15, 1945. Around this time, the city was under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army. Also during this time, the city was being besieged and bombed by Allied forces trying to liberate the city from the Japanese forces. Halsema was buried at the Baguio Cemetery. His remains to this day are at the cemetery marked by a simple white tombstone.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnqluBK182iBmMiCiGHOigPwSbli6sFNoBXkAVfQHGHv_G_naFM4l7uOmekmzRaf83FxBq5uDjrjuBD8HU5ChyJttCnGKElxx9bj1BDpvCv3OH--qmWtkzFnYEFditUrVKdKaY1Io9Ca6YrG4I7XK6BaZAk0aDIaw_4BLGaNQOS9Np2AxiNx2FI0MRA/s598/eusebius-halsema.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="401" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnqluBK182iBmMiCiGHOigPwSbli6sFNoBXkAVfQHGHv_G_naFM4l7uOmekmzRaf83FxBq5uDjrjuBD8HU5ChyJttCnGKElxx9bj1BDpvCv3OH--qmWtkzFnYEFditUrVKdKaY1Io9Ca6YrG4I7XK6BaZAk0aDIaw_4BLGaNQOS9Np2AxiNx2FI0MRA/w421-h626/eusebius-halsema.jpg" width="421" /></a></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Quick Facts About Eusebius Halsema</h3><div>
1. He was born on March 12, 1882 in the village of New Bremen on the plains of western Ohio in the United States.<br />
2. His father (a watchmaker and jeweler) and his mother were migrants from the Netherlands. <br />
3. He studied at the Ohio State University and graduated in 1907 with a degree in civil engineering.<br />
4. He died in Baguio City in March of 1945 while the city was under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army.<br />
5. He was the 5th and last American mayor of Baguio City.</div></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-41337862279466561322022-06-23T19:32:00.001-07:002022-06-23T19:32:50.075-07:00Did Bontoc Igorots Practice Earlobe Stretching?The Bontoc Igorots may have practiced earlobe stretching both for decorative and practical purposes. I say "may" because this needs a bit more validation from other sources. This the first time I've heard about it being practiced among our ancestors. This is the first time I saw the picture (see below) and the accompanying description from a Princeton University catalog. I did a little bit of digging on the files and documents I have on Cordillera history and I can't find one that referenced the practice.
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Growing up in Mt. Province, it was quite common for me to see old folks with overextended holes in their earlobes. However, the explanation I usually got when I asked about the holes was that these were the effects of heavy earrings that were often made of gold, silver, or bronze. The earrings were so heavy that the holes in the earlobes stretch and enlarge over time. It's a logical explanation. But it's also possible that the immensely larger holes in the earlobes of older folks were due to intentional stretching.
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This photo is from the Graphic Arts Collection of the Firestone Library of Princeton University. It's just one of 30 photographs of various indigenous groups in the Philippines that the university library digitized. The photographer who took the images wasn't identified. It's presumed that the photos were taken from the early 20th century. Probably between 1904 and 1910.<br /><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU34-HErHQRArPLkvKnxLNdiYHZrziYvwA6FGeTnP3iiEV5-FNv7upx2RSWL2FJd6lBvGFWINBUOEvLlMYWdDpQIqGURg4Q02p01ositSv3SnmSSgidKxxLDGbsu6Ybs7G1hbINZpM58t135GsyVgkKvXlsUFpHmWza3f1yXVhCd-l2UeyCnUseg0qew/s1234/bontoc-igorot-woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1000" height="684" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU34-HErHQRArPLkvKnxLNdiYHZrziYvwA6FGeTnP3iiEV5-FNv7upx2RSWL2FJd6lBvGFWINBUOEvLlMYWdDpQIqGURg4Q02p01ositSv3SnmSSgidKxxLDGbsu6Ybs7G1hbINZpM58t135GsyVgkKvXlsUFpHmWza3f1yXVhCd-l2UeyCnUseg0qew/w553-h684/bontoc-igorot-woman.jpg" width="553" /></a></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-style: normal;">The description for the photo goes:</span><br style="font-style: normal;" /></div><div><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div>
"Showing ornamental stretching of the ear lobe and taken in Bontoc Province, Island of Luzon. While a baby, a hole is made in the lobe of the ear with a splinter of bamboo or wood. This hole is gradually made larger by the insertion of a wooden wedge until it often reaches as much as 2 inches in diameter and is used for carrying a hugh metal or stone ornament, a pipe, or a package of betel nut."
</i><br /><br />It's difficult to identify the item (or items) that were stuffed in the woman's earlobes. I zoomed in on the image but I can't still figure out what it is. It looks like strips of cloth/textile that were meticulously folded and inserted into the lobe. It also looks like dried and folded corn leaves. <br /><br />
Earlobe stretching is common among indigenous groups from around the world. It was practiced (and some still practice it) by the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Lahu tribes of Thailand, the Karen-Padaung of Myanmar, the Fulani of Nigeria, the Maasai of Kenya, and the Mursi in Ethipia.<br />Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-8049154371051190802022-05-05T20:56:00.007-07:002022-05-05T21:10:34.622-07:00Reasons Why I'm Voting for Leni Robredo<div>To friends and acquaintances who are supporting either Marcos, Lacson, Pacquiao, Moreno, or de Guzman, here's my answer to your "why Leni".</div><div><br /></div>1. She passes the "corruption check" with flying colors. This has been mentioned a million times already. But it needs repeating again. And again. And again. She's not corrupt. Her clean record speaks for itself. Everybody agrees that most of the ills and problems of the country today are due to corruption. Robredo has never been involved in any corruption issue. Ayaw mo ng corruption di ba? So sino iboboto mo? Yung kandidato na malinis ang record or yung kandidato na patong-patong ang kaso ng corruption?<div><br /></div><div>2. She has the proper educational credentials. Credentials that are 100% real and verifiable. These are not manufactured in any way. She has an Economics degree from the University of the Philippines and a law degree from the University of Caceres. This country needs a president who studied law, a president who respects the law, a president who understands the lawmaking process. </div><div><br /></div><div>And yes, this country badly needs an economist as a leader. The economy is in shambles right now due to the pandemic. Fixing the economy is going to be among the top priorities of the next administration. An economic problem requires an economist. Sino ba sa mga kandidato ang ekonomista? Si Robredo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from her economics and law degrees, Robredo has been conferred with honorary doctorates from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (Doctor in Public Administration), the University of Saint Anthony (Doctor of Humanities), and the University of the Cordilleras (Doctor of Laws).</div><div><br /></div><div>3. She has worked extensively in the development sector. Community development workers are a rare breed of people who often put the welfare of others over their own. If you want to know what problems communities are facing, talk to a development worker. If you want to know what solutions are needed to fix these problems, talk to a development worker. For years, Robredo has worked alongside development workers. She rubbed shoulders with them. She championed their causes. She supported their initiatives. </div><div><br /></div><div>For example, Robredo served as coordinator for the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligan (SALIGAN) for 10 years. This is a group that encourages young legal professionals to offer their services to communities and residents who otherwise have no access to such services. Masakit sabihin pero we all know na hindi pa rin patas ang justice system dito sa bansa. Kung may pera kang pang-hire ng abogado, the justice system will more likely be on your side. Pag hindi mo kayang kumuha ng abogado, wala na, mahihirapan ka talaga. This is the reason why groups like SALIGAN exist. The group also helped rural women and farmers get funds to support their livelihoods.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. She is against political dynasties. This is very important. It's equally important that she doesn't come from a political dynasty. Many Filipinos doesn't seem to realize that political dynasties are among the roots of corruption. Kung ang congressman, mayor, vice-mayor, at ilan pang mga nasa puwesto ay galing sa iisang pamilya, wala na, finished na. They can do whatever they want because there's no one there to question them. Political dynasties kill the concept of "checks and balances". </div><div><br /></div><div>We all agree that political dynasties cause corruption. Sino sa dalawang leading presidential candidates ang hindi galing sa isang political dynasty? Si Robredo. It's also worth mentioning here that in her previous stint as a congresswoman, Robredo co-authored a version of the Anti-Dynasty Bill. She has been very vocal against political dynasties. She's serious about it. There's a reason why she co-authored a bill against it.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. She passes the recency check with flying colors. To apply the recency check, you go back and review what the candidate has accomplished in the past 6-10 years. Robredo was congresswoman from 2013 to 2016 and vice-president from 2016 to 2022. Within this time-frame, she has accomplished a lot. Her legislative portfolio is impressive kahit naging conresswoman siya for only 3 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first law she authored in Congress was the Full Disclosure Policy Bill which mandated that all government agencies fully disclose their budget and financial transactions. She authored the People Empowerment Bill. She authored the Participatory Budget Process Bill. She wrote the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill. She sponsored the house version of the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act of 2009 which promotes transparency in the taxation process. </div><div><br /></div><div>As congresswoman, she was the vice-chairman of the house committees on good governance, public accountability, and revision of laws, and a member of 11 other house panels. She supported the Bangsamoro Basic Law and she advocated for the Freedom of Information Act. Ilan lang ang mga ito sa mga nagawa niya bilang congresswoman. </div><div><br /></div><div>As vice-president, she spearheaded programs the most prominent of which is the Angat Buhay program. For the implementation of the program, her office partnered with hundreds of organizations all over the country. The program addresses six key advocacy areas namely public education, rural development, food security and nutrition, women empowerment, universal healthcare, and housing and resettlement. Given her office's limited budget, a huge chunk of the funds mobilized for the program are from the private sector. In short, she finds ways to get things done despite the hurdles and limitations.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her office's work in response to the pandemic is also impressive. Her office provided free shuttle services for frontline workers, swab tests, telehealth services, and raised funds for relief operations across the country.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. She elevated the Office of the Vice President to higher standards. The office of the vice-president is often described as a spare tire and rightly so. If you go back and look at the track records of previous vice-presidents, they really did not do much. Robredo is different. When she got elected, she made sure that her office was always busy pursuing programs and advocacies for the Filipino people.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. She's an advocate of women empowerment and gender equality. There's a reason why she has the support of many women's groups and LGBTQ organizations. In 2016, Robredo travelled to Thailand to receive the "Honorary Outstanding Woman Award of the Year" from the Thai government. The Thai government cited her for her work in empowering women and pushing for gender equality. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a congresswoman, she wrote the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill which aimed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.</div><div><br /></div><div>As coordinator for SALIGAN, Robredo helped rural women find funding for their business ventures and livelihoods. Robredo also founded the Lakas ng Kababaihan ng Naga Federation. This is an organization that provides training and livelihood opportunities for women.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. She is for government transparency. The office of the vice-president received the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) for three consecutive years: 2018, 2019, and 2020. Napaka-importante ito because transparency is one of the best solutions against corruption. Kapag transparent ang isang opisina o agency, they are open to scrutiny. Alam mo kung saan napupunta yung pondo nila. Alam mo kung saan nila ginagastos yung binabayaran mong buwis.</div><div><br /></div><div>What Robredo did for the office of the vice-president can be replicated in all other offices, agencies, and departments. And keep in mind that Robredo authored the Full Disclosure Policy Bill. This is basically a bill that directly addresses corruption.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, Robredo has consistently disclosed her SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth). And she had encouraged all public officials to do the same. Again, disclosure of SALN is another way of fighting corruption. In the words of Robredo, "as public officials, we have an obligation to be transparent not only in our work but also in our public life".</div><div><br /></div><div>9. She has been endorsed by the country's top educational institutions (universities). Universities are bastions of learning and knowledge. These are centers of education. When choosing between multiple candidates, it's always better to go for the candidate being supported by educators. Educators know what's up. Educators know which candidate is qualified for the job. Educators know which candidate will champion educational causes and initiatives. </div><div><br /></div><div>10. She showed up during debates and interviews. Debates are a salient feature of any democratic election. It's one of the best ways to prove to the people that you are deserving of their vote. That you are worthy of the position. That you have a political platform to present. That you are not afraid to be questioned. </div><div><br /></div><div>Robredo showed up. She answered the questions thrown at her. She presented a very comprehensive political platform. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are other reasons why Robredo has my vote. But I think these reasons I listed are more than enough. For me, at least. If you are voting for the other candidates, I hope that you also did your research.</div><div><br /></div><div>And one last thing, Robredo has read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. She even referred to it as her favorite book. If you've read To Kill a Mockingbird and loved it, I'd say you have good taste. That's an automatic PLUS point. :)</div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-7382987652436925512022-04-28T22:20:00.001-07:002022-04-28T22:20:32.481-07:00On the Jillian Robredo - Baguio City Public Market ControversyDahil sinipag ako magsulat ngayon, here's my two cents on the controversial issue regarding Jillian Robredo's visit at the Baguio City Public Market. There's a lot to unpack here so isa-isahin natin. Let us look at the facts instead of falling prey to our emotions or worse, relying on misinformation. Maybe some people are not going to agree with me here, but hear me out.
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1. Bawal ba mangampanya sa Baguio City Public Market? Hindi. Kahit saang sulok ng Pilipinas ka pumunta, walang nagbabawal na mangampanya ang isang tao o grupo ng supporters sa merkado publiko. In fact, political candidates like Benjamin Magalong and Mauricio Domogan recently held campaign sorties right inside the public market. Wala pong mali sa pagkampanya sa loob ng public market.
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2. Did Jillian say "let me educate you" which allegedly provoked the person to start shouting at her and her group? Ang dami akong nakikitang posts na sinabi daw ito ni Jillian. But it’s not true. Imbento lang po ito. Walang basehan. Walang video evidence. Walang recording evidence. Walang confirmation evidence. Kung meron kayong ebidensiya na sinabi nga ni Jillian ito, send me the evidence. I will readily change my mind.
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3. Cliff, the man caught in the middle of this controversy has released a video statement addressing the incident. According to him, nanigaw lang daw siya dahil binastos siya ng isang Robredo supporter. Here's his version of the story:
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Cliff: "Excuse me po, padaan po dahil nagmamadali ako."<br />
Robredo supporter: "Wala akong pakialam, ang importante iboto mo si Leni."
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Read that exchange again. Kapani-paniwala ba? Does it read like a normal conversation to you? I don't know about you and no offense intended to Cliff pero sorry, medyo mahirap itong paniwalaan. A normal person will not answer that way pag may nag-excuse o nagrequest ng padaan. The group didn't even know who Cliff was so why would they talk to him like that. Baka pa nga akala nila isa din siyang supporter. Pag nangangampanya ka, hindi mo sinusungitan kinakampanyahan mo. Again, if Cliff can show evidence that someone really said this to him, his version of the incident will be more believable.
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4. Cliff said in his statement na hindi nararapat ang pagkampanya sa loob ng market. In his own words, referring to Jillian’s group, "hindi nila nirespeto ang market". Again, hindi bawal ang mangampanya sa loob ng market. Refer to point number 1. And I repeat, Magalong and Domogan and their fellow candidates have recently campaigned inside the market. They even held events there. Would Cliff also say to Magalong and Domogan na "hindi nila nirespeto ang market"? Yung grupo ni Jillian, dumaan lang. Yung ibang kandidato, nag-rally sa loob mismo ng merkado. Tapos yung grupo ni Jillian pa ang considered na disrespectful? Double standards ito kung sakali. Mali po yun. Dapat patas tayo sa pagpataw ng standards.
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5. Cliff says hinaharangan siya ng grupo ni Jillian. Crowding is normal during campaign events especially on public places. Ako pag naka-encounter ako ng maraming tao at hindi ako makadaan, naghahanap ako ng alternate routes. For example, pag may event sa Session Road at madaming nakaharang na tao, dumadaan ako ng Mabini or Harrison or sa Assumption. In short, maghanap ng paraan. Maghanap ng ibang puwedeng madadaanan. Maki-sama tayo. Dahil hindi mawawala mga ganyang siksikan pag may events. Honestly, maraming puwedeng daanan sa Baguio Market kung medyo siksikan sa main alley. Daming corner alleys dun na puwede daanan. Gaya ng sinabi ko, normal lang ang crowding at siksikan sa mga ganitong events. Totoo, nakakaperwisyo pero minsan kelangan talaga na tayo yung mag-adjust. We have to give these events leeway dahil hindi naman araw-araw ang mga yan. Yung grupo ni Jillian, andun lang ng ilang oras. Kung ginawa nila araw-araw, eh mali yun. Pero once lang naman at dumaan lang sila. Maliit na bagay. Supportado man natin o hindi yung kinakampanya nila, hindi dapat nauuwi sa confrontation.
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6. Cliff said in his video na ipinaglalaban lang niya kanyang mga karapatan bilang mamamayan. If he's referring to his freedom of speech, I agree with him 100%. Other than that, I'm curious what other rights he's referring to. Or better yet, what were his rights that he thought were being violated. I'm genuinely curious.
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7. "Dayuhan ka lang, mga Igorot kami." I don't know kung ano punto ni Cliff dito. If I remember correctly, the woman in the video he was speaking to is a Baguio local. Many of the supporters in the group are also Igorots. Hindi ko alam kung bakit napunta sa point na naging lapagan na ng tribal roots. I hope this is not a case of a fellow Igorot harboring misplaced pride over non-Igorots. I'm an Igorot myself and minsan nakaka-alarma when fellow Igorots pull out the "Igorotak card" in issues where race and tribe are non-factors.
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8. Cliff says he did not have direct confrontation with Jillian. The confrontation was with a supporter. I believe him on this one. It's very clear naman sa video. So I agree with him, the media outlets which wrongly reported that Cliff personally heckled Jillian need to apologize to him.
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9. Cliff claims that “dinuro-duro” siya ng isang Robredo supporter. To verify this claim, we need to look back at the video. In the video, the woman is seemingly trying to pacify Cliff to diffuse the situation. Sa video, sino ba yung nagtataas ng boses? Sino ba yung sumisigaw? The woman o si Cliff? It's very clear that the woman is trying to calmly address the situation but Cliff just kept on shouting. Sa mga ganitong situation, ang bastos ay yung patuloy na sumisigaw hindi yung taong willing naman makipag-usap.<br /><br />
10. In the video, Cliff is recorded shouting “kayong mga Leni ang magnanakaw, hindi Marcos”. Well, that’s a very serious accusation. Ano mga ninakaw ng mga Robredo? Magkano ninakaw nila? Cliff needs to back up his accusations. If he has evidence to show, that’s great. Ilabas niya. If he can’t back up his accusations, these could be grounds for a legal case. Pero sana hindi hahantong ito sa demandahan.
<br /><br />11. Based on the videos from various angles of the incident, kitang-kita naman na hindi ganun kasiksikan at the time sa market. Maluwang pa nga eh. Based on the videos, mabilis naman si Cliff na nakalusot through the crowd.
<br /><br />12. Last but not the least, Cliff said na dinuro-duro siya at pinagbabastos ng babaeng Robredo supporter. Again, based sa videos on the incident, mukhang wala namang ganun na nangyari. The Robredo supporter he's referring to is actually a lawyer and a Baguio local. You can hear her say "hoy, taga-Baguio din ako ha" when Cliff kept on shouting at her and screaming things like "dayuhan ka lang dito, mga Igorot kami". Kahit sino naman ganun ang sagot pag pinagsisigawan ka tapos inaakusahan kang dayo lang eh taga-Baguio ka din mismo.Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-8479690574234710622022-04-25T22:15:00.000-07:002022-04-25T22:15:07.115-07:00The Itogonia Wild Country Trail Run is Back After a 2-Year Hiatus<i>"There is something magical about running. After a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul."</i> - Kristin Armstrong<div><br /></div><div>The trails and mountains of Benguet are slowly opening up. That's music to the ears of those whose passions and hobbies are married to the great outdoors. To finally be able to hike and run. To see the mud on your shoes. To feel the grass crunch under your feet. That's bliss. That's love.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of love, I first feel in love with trail running back in 2018 when I threw caution to the wind and signed up for my first trail running race. That race happened to be the <a href="http://www.cordilleransun.com/2018/09/itogonia-wild-country-trail-run-post.html" target="_blank">first edition of the<b><i> Itogonia Wild Country Trail Run</i></b></a>. It was both a humbling and a motivating experience. Humbling in the sense that you realize that you don't own the trails, the trails own you. Motivating in the sense that you learn something new about yourself. Who would've thought that it's possible to run 32 kilometers in one go. </div><div><br /></div><div>Trail running encourages you to go even further. Once you are done with 30 kilometers, you want to run 40 kilometers, then 50 kilometers, then 100 kilometers, and some even go beyond the 100-kilometer mark. It's literally a kind of addiction - but of the good kind.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another edition of <b><i>Itogonia </i></b>was held in 2019. Then the pandemic struck which basically locked down everything including trails and mountains. But here were are in 2022 and things are looking good. Outdoor events are slowly going back to normal. And another edition of <b><i>Itogonia </i></b>is coming up. The race will be happening in the 5th of June with 4 distances to choose from - 32K, 16K, 8K, and 3K. Whether you're an experienced runner or a complete beginner, there's a distance fit for your level of experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>The race starts at Camp John Hay whose trails are a favorite training ground for local runners. The route then takes you to the mountain trails and rugged roads of Itogon. The route has its fair share of knee-breaking downhills, flats, and steep uphill climbs. You really need to train for this one - especially if you are going to sign up for the 32K category. There's a reason why previous editions of the race had DNFs (did not finish). </div><div><br /></div><div>If you love running on trails. If you are an admirer of the great outdoors, this is a race you wouldn't want to miss. See you in June!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Race details:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Race Director: Don Santillan / Active Pinas</div><div>Distances: 32K, 16K, 8K, 3K</div><div>Registration Fees: 2500 (32K), 1500 (16K), 1000 (8K), 800 (3K)</div><div>Registration Period: April 1 to May 21</div><div>Website/Facebook Page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/itogonia/">https://www.facebook.com/itogonia/</a></div><div>Event Page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/3447682582178913">https://www.facebook.com/events/3447682582178913</a></div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-m5UqdR9GzPPQGRNwJ-OcEVK_ha4fm8k8NIzWPTiq4eJ6xnHrDi3YY0jNbtY3A8Fm5rBaAbjPEGr8Srhws7BqAXfqAKFoWzDhlsVJUM1ZX7m0xwFerFyIIY1bSx5gQ5yh0YSQKkCkkom8q_aGpJi_rg6YXdNevPwdcMaV0QgPG_vCtkJ25dnk9Xx0dw/s960/itogoniaa-trail-run-2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="960" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-m5UqdR9GzPPQGRNwJ-OcEVK_ha4fm8k8NIzWPTiq4eJ6xnHrDi3YY0jNbtY3A8Fm5rBaAbjPEGr8Srhws7BqAXfqAKFoWzDhlsVJUM1ZX7m0xwFerFyIIY1bSx5gQ5yh0YSQKkCkkom8q_aGpJi_rg6YXdNevPwdcMaV0QgPG_vCtkJ25dnk9Xx0dw/w563-h317/itogoniaa-trail-run-2022.jpg" width="563" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>Photo by Itogonia.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-718916763816794422022-03-29T23:13:00.007-07:002022-03-30T19:25:59.640-07:00The Rise of Unfounded Toxicity: Lacruiser P. Relativo, Leni Robredo, and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"During an interview by a Rappler reporter, Leni Robredo was asked "<i>what is your favorite book of all time</i>". Robredo said it's <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3tOBeb9" target="_blank">To Kill a Mockingbird</a></i></b>, the classic 1960 novel by Harper Lee. She then expounded why she chose the book. It was a great question and Robredo had a great answer for it. She even provided some context by explaining her choice. She effectively used her positions (as a lawyer and a public servant) as background for her explanation. Anyone who has read the book by Harper Lee can see her point. Even if you have not read the book, Robredo's answer still sounds rational and completely on point.
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Unfortunately, there seems to be a huge number of people who think her answer is "<i><b>tanga, bobo, lutang, etc.</b></i>" A person by the name of Lacruiser P. Relativo, a Marcos supporter, posted a clip of the interview on Facebook. As I write this, the video clip has been shared more than 30 thousand times and garnered more than 50 thousand "<i><b>laugh</b></i>" reactions. Basically, they are laughing and making fun of Robredo's answer.
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So the obvious question is this: What is wrong with Robredo's answer to the question? None. Absolutely none. There is nothing wrong with it. She was asked a question and she answered it well. She went further by providing context for her choice. And she chose a great book. This is a book that won the Pulitzer Prize. This is a book that's widely considered as one of the greatest books ever written. This is a book that tackles humanistic themes like prejudice, family values, courage, justice, and the never-ending battle between good and evil.
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So we need to ask follow-up questions to the people who think Robredo's answer is "bobo".
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1. Anong mali doon sa sagot ni Robredo? <br />
2. Anong nakakatawa doon sa sagot ni Robredo?
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I watched the clip several times. I still don't see what's the issue there. She was asked a question and she answered appropriately. In conclusion, the problem is not in Robredo's answer. The problem is in the people laughing at her answer.
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I went through the comments of the people sharing the video. And it's crystal clear that the problem is that many of them don't know about <b><i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i></b> or they didn't hear Robredo mention it. Robredo literally mentions the title of the book in the video.
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So yes, these people are mocking Robredo not because Robredo said something wrong but because of their own ignorance. She literally named the book in her answer. But because these people are not aware that a book called <i><b>To Kill a Mockingbird </b></i>exists, they make fun of her. They are basically laughing at a person who is more well-read than them. This proves that the more ignorant you are, the more arrogant you become.
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Hindi mo alam yung libro na <i><b>To Kill a Mockingbird</b></i> kaya hindi nagregister sa utak mo nung na-mention ni Robredo. At dahil wala kang alam sa libro na ito, hindi ka maka-relate sa pinagsasabi niya. Ang mas masaklap, hindi mo nga naintindihan, tinawanan mo pa. Tinawag mo pa siyang "lutang". Parang kasalanan pa niya na hindi mo alam o hindi mo nabasa yung libro.
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See the irony here?
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There's one last question to the people laughing at Robredo's response. Have you read <i><b>To Kill a Mockingbird</b></i> by Harper Lee? If yes, then what is your issue with Robredo's answer? If no, you should find a copy and read it. It's an awesome book. And then maybe you'll understand why Robredo named it as one of her favorite books.<div><br /></div><div>The lesson here is this: <br /><br />
If you are going to criticize something or laugh at someone, make sure that your criticism/reaction is founded on facts, reason, and truth.
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Last but not the least, here's a quote from Atticus Finch, a character from the book:
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"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." </b></i><div><br /></div><div>Really, everyone should read the book. It's fantastic.
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That is all. Thank you for listening to my lazy Wednesday afternoon TED talk. Hindi ako nang-aaway. But we really need to push back against the rampant misinformation and toxicity online.
<br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4oaXJXS6YWyG6U0IQ78yp9tX5caJdgnE8BBguCsqLN_sao5UT5w0v13FfTSPWz9PYY3we8mg-B6KY7vrTSLYBSaqCSGBmnMvk8-3f_5FGcT3ZM2YNcchFA62ck1Af-AplLSJN7D4Fl9kSnSzVdMqSSiGmQM2LvdHjaNDhzfUEW3_NOkKn0NToU2gJg/s2000/to-kill-mockingbird-leni-robredo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4oaXJXS6YWyG6U0IQ78yp9tX5caJdgnE8BBguCsqLN_sao5UT5w0v13FfTSPWz9PYY3we8mg-B6KY7vrTSLYBSaqCSGBmnMvk8-3f_5FGcT3ZM2YNcchFA62ck1Af-AplLSJN7D4Fl9kSnSzVdMqSSiGmQM2LvdHjaNDhzfUEW3_NOkKn0NToU2gJg/w591-h393/to-kill-mockingbird-leni-robredo.jpg" width="591" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>Image source - <a href="https://crosscut.com/" target="_blank">Crosscut</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div></div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331308401400217129.post-24418596920069100892022-03-06T17:13:00.002-08:002022-03-06T17:30:31.831-08:00On That Salty Air, Why We Write About Ourselves, The Legend of Tarzan, Etc.<b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3zGUeKl" target="_blank">That Salty Air by Tim Sievert</a></i> (Graphic Novel, 2007)</b> - First off, the artwork in this book is gorgeous. Done in black and white, it perfectly fits the theme of the story. Turning the pages, I felt like I'm swimming through an ocean of black and white ink. Unfortunately, that's just about the only thing that I liked about this graphic novel. Sievert touches on a lot of themes with his sparse story - love, loss, redemption, and nature's wrath. Sounds good but the two main characters in the story didn't really connect with me. Hugh is a jerk and his wife is too soft on him. I agree with a good number of reviewers who say that the book has amazing artwork but has bad writing. If you check out <a href="https://www.timsievert.com/" target="_blank">Tim Sievert's website</a>, it can't be denied that he has mad talent. Apparently, he has written a good number of books. Here's to hoping that these have better stories than <i>That Salty Air</i>. I already ordered a couple of the titles because I love his artwork. <div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317546/why-we-write-about-ourselves-by-meredith-maran/" target="_blank"><i>Why We Write About Ourselves</i> by Meredith Maran</a> (Editor) (Book, 2016)</b> - I understand that this book was written for aspiring writers who wish to one day write their own memoirs. I have no intention of writing a memoir but I picked up this book because I've always been fascinated by writers and their process in creating their works. It's an easy read and brimming with anecdotes, tips, and advice from 20 well-known memoirists. Each writer has his own unique tricks of the trade so they often contradict each other. That's one of the beauties of writing, I must say. There are hundreds of ways to cook a chicken. There are hundreds of ways to write a memoir. Consider reading this book if (1) you are planning to be a memoirist or if (2) you are interested in how memoirists approach their craft.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Anna Quindlen on Madeleine L'Engle's <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i></b> - I came across a 2007 edition of <i>A Wrinkle in Time </i>which contains "<i>An Appreciation</i>" by the American author Anna Quindlen. Here's a quote from the piece that I found really beautiful: "<i>The most memorable books from our childhoods are those that make us feel less alone, convince us that our own foibles and quirks are both as individual as a fingerprint and as universal as an open hand. That's why I still have the copy of A Wrinkle in Time that was given to me when I was twelve years old.</i>" Quindlen adds: "<i>On its surface this is a book about three children who fight an evil force threatening their planet. But it is really about a more primal battle all human beings face, to respect, defend, and love themselves.</i>"</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Legend of Tarzan</i></b> (Movie, 2016) - This movie has an average rating of 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's a well-deserved rating because it's a truly terrible movie. It bit more than it can chew. In its nearly two-hour run time, never did I feel invested in the story. Why? There's like a dozen storylines going on in the movie. The film kept jumping from one plot point to another. Just when you start to get invested in a story, the film jumps to another storyline. The picture has above-average special effects and some great action scenes. That's just about it. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Dig</i> (Movie, 2021)</b> - When I sat down to watch the film, I didn't know that it was based on a book. I also didn't know that it was inspired by actual events. I didn't even watch the trailer nor read the synopsis. I went in blind. I enjoyed the movie a lot. The story was paper-thin but the narrative was handled so well that I remained interested from the first minute until the last. The lead actors, Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan, are in their element. They're great. If actors with lesser talent were allowed to take on their roles, this movie most likely would have been a bore fest. Fiennes and Mulligan elevated the film with their acting chops. Great supporting cast as well. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Call Me By Your Name </i>(Movie, 2017)</b> - Based on a novel by Andre Aciman (also called <i>Call Me by Your Name</i>), this is a coming-of-age drama about a young man falling in love with his father's research assistant. I haven't read the book so I am in no position to comment if the film did it justice. The film itself is very well-made. The acting is there. The cinematography is there. The pacing is there. It's the perfect drama movie. It doesn't feel like a movie. It feels like you are watching the video diaries of a family. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Comedy Techniques for Writers and Performers</i> by Melvin Helitzer (Book, 1984)</b> - A good number of the best books I've ever read were written by comedians, humorists, and satirists. So it was with great interest that I delved into this book. This is an old book having been published back in 1984 so chunks of the content may be grossly outdated. Nevertheless, I learned a lot from the book. I was expecting something technical and dense. But it's an easy-to-read book filled with jokes and anecdotes from great and well-respected comics and humorists. The book is divided into several sections covering various topics about comedy - speechwriting, writing for magazines and newspapers, writing for stand-up comics, writing for sitcoms, writing for print cartoons, writing for greeting cards, and writing for advertising.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Wild Iris</i> by Louise Gluck (Poetry Collection, 1992)</b> - Gluck received the Pulitzer Prize for this collection. This is the first book of poetry by Gluck that I read. And to be honest, I didn't get it. I really didn't understand all, yes all, of the poems in the collection. It's a thin book so I went through the poems two or three times in an attempt to understand them (and like them). Nothing. I still don't get most of them. But to be fair to Gluck, 99% of the poems I've ever read have confused me. I'm reminded of Doug Stanhope's joke about poems: "<i>Children are like poems. They are beautiful to their creators but to others they're just silly and f_ _ _ _ _ _ annoying.</i>"</div>Daniel Ted C. Felicianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06154209886418136003noreply@blogger.com