JMJ LIM, DANIELLE A.

12-BRO. JULIO FERMIN JULY 31, 2017

ARTS MR. DALUMPINES

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT ILONGGO

TRIBE:
A Borneon leader was oppressing the 10 Datus. In 1212 the Visayas received the
Sabahan 10 Datus.(Iloilo_City)
The original inhabitants of Western Visayas were the Negritos, particularly the Ati
people in Panay. Malay-speaking peoples settled in the island in the 12th, but some of
the facts of this settlements are clouded by folk mythology among the Hiligaynon. What
is known is that in the 12th century, ten datu (chieftains) arrived from Borneo, fleeing the
collapse of a central Indonesian empire. The Ati agreed to allow the newcomers to
settle, who had purchased the island from them, and the island was named Madya-as.
Since then, political organization was introduced to Panay under the Malay newcomers.
By the arrival of the Spanish in 1569, the inhabitants of Panay were well-organized, yet
became part of Spanish colonial rule.
The 19th century was marked by the migration of the Hiligaynon from Panay to Negros.
Their migration was due to the growth of sugarcane production in the later 19th century.
This was also caused by the wane of the textile industry, increasing the labor pool for
sugarcane in Panay through the industrys losses. Spanish colonials actively sponsored
the migration, especially by prominent peninsulares and mestizos. It was such that
between 1822 and 1876, the population in Negros increased so that it matched the
population of Panay (756,000) from the 1822 count of 49,369.
Many revolutionaries in the late 19th century who sought independence from Spain
were Hiligaynon. Some of them were part of the educated elite who sought for reforms,
such as Graciano Lpez Jaena, who led the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad.
Others were military leaders such as Martin Delgado, who became known to the
Hiligaynon as "the greatest Visayan general of the Philippine Revolution."
A later migration of Hiligaynon occurred in the 20th century to Mindanao in the 1940s
under Manuel Roxas who was also Hiligaynon. Thousands migrated throughout the
1940s and 1950s as part of a resettlement movement sponsored by the government.
This was at the expense of the local Muslim population, who were not helped by the
government, and contributed to later tensions between the mostly Catholic Hiligaynon
and the Muslims.
CUSTOMS AND TRADITION:
The Ilonggos observed certain customs and traditions about birth, baptism,
courtship and marriage, death and burial. Compare these customs and traditions with
those of the Ilocanos, Tagalogs, and Bicolanos.
About the birth:
The coming of a child in an Ilonggo family is usually an important and welcome
event. Certain precautions are followed to insure the safe delivery of the child. Among
these are as follows:

1. The members of the family see to it that all the wishes of an expectant mother are
granted. They are careful not to displace the mother for fear that she might give birth
prematurely.

2. The mother is cautioned not to make fun nor look at people with certain physical
handicaps because this might happen to her unborn child.
3. The mother-to-be is not allowed to eat foods with black color to avoid having a child
who is dark complexioned.
4. The newly-born child should be rocked to and form so he will grow-up to be brave.
5. The placenta should also be buried together with a book on music arithmetic and
readings so that the child will be well versed in all these subjects.
6. The placenta should be placed inside as earthen jar and buried with it. This will curb
the child's adventurous spirit. He will not go to faraway places and will surely return to
his hometown in his old age.
7. When a child is being delivered at the height of lightning and thunder, it is believed
that the child will grow up to be brave, courageous and intelligent.

8. A child born at daybreak will be cool-headed patient, hardworking but will possess a
weak spirit and cowardice.

9. A child born between seven or eight o'clock in the evening will be brave and
domineering.

About the baptism:

Baptism is a catholic religious ritual observed by the catholic parents of a new born
child. The following are some practices the Ilonggos follow in connection with baptism

1. The parents select the godparents very carefully so that child will take after the good
character traits of the godparents .
2. The parents choose the priest or the minister to baptize the child .

3. It is the parental privilege to give the name to their child .

4. The child should be baptized after the first week or not later than the third month after
birth. If a child dies without the benefit of baptism his soul will go to purgatory. This is
according to catholic belief .

5. Baptismal parties are held after the baptism to ensure the child's success in any
future undertaking.

6. It is common practice by godparents to give a certain amount of money to the child

for his financial security. The money must either be invested in business or spent for the
child's welfare.

7. The parents and godparents of the child develop an almost brotherly relationship.
They fondly call each other as compadre and comadre .

About the courtship:

The man court the girl of his choice by visiting her at home and sending love letter.
When the girl accepts the man, they became engaged. Before their marriage, the man
has to observe the pabagbati and the paregalo. The pabagti refers to required servitude
of the man is the house of the girl while the paregalo is the formal announcement by the
parents of the intention of their son to marry their daughter. On this occasion, the boy's
parents bring food and drinks while both parties are making arrangements for the
coming wedding.The man is also required to stay in the girl's house prior to the wedding
day. The behavior of the man is carefully observed while rendering service to the girl's
family.

About the marriage:

June is obviously the most popular month for weddings, judging from the publicity and
news reports on marital unions during this period.

The preferred months for weddings before the coming of the colonial powers were those
during or after harvest, that is, September to December. These months were later on
replaced by May and June as the favorite months for wedding celebrations.

Apparently, May as a favorite month was an influence of the Spanish occupation being
the time when the Flores de Mayo, Santacruzan and patronal fiestas take center stage.
June, on the other hand, is an enduring American influence, despite its impracticability
to the Filipinos' harvest cycle. As to the appropriate day, any day except Tuesdays and
Fridays was agreeable in pre-colonial times. Tuesdays and Fridays were/are believed to
be the days when evil spirits would be roaming around to harm people. With the advent
of Christianity, Saturdays and Sundays became the preference.

The marriage is solemnized by a minister of the church or by the justice of the peace
court. On the eve of the wedding day, a dance is held at the house of the bride-to-be.
The expenses for the wedding dress, church rites and wedding reception are
shouldered by the groom and his family. After the wedding, the married couple kiss the
hands of the elders to receive their blessings. The wedding ceremony is later followed
by the wedding party. The parents and visitors presents such as furniture, utensils,
dishes, and beddings to the newlyweds. During the party, the bride and the bridegroom
are asked to dance on the mat. While dancing, the guest throw money to the bride and
groom. The money the couple picks up serves as additional gifts. After the wedding,
some parents allow the newlyweds to stay with them until they are able to save and
stand on their own.

About the death and burial:

The death and burial of a person is a community affair. Relatives and friends offer help
to the relatives of the dead person in the form of money and service. Friends and
relatives attend the wake and offer prayers for the dead man's soul. During the wake,
the family refrains from bathing and sweeping the floor for fear that another person will
die. The family wears lack for one year as a sign of mourning. The family and friends of
the deceases accompany the dead during the funeral. Some carry the coffin while
others stay behind to prepare food. After the burial, the family invites those who joined
the funeral partake of foods then prepared. After the burial the family offers prayers to
the dead or a nine-day novena. The host provided a big feast on the third and ninth day
of novena. This is a catholic beliefs.

Superstitious beliefs:

The Ilonggos are also influenced by many superstitious beliefs as follows;

1. Bananas should be planted after eating a full meal so that the fruits will become big
and full.
2. They offer prayers to the saint to give them rain after the prayers, the image is
brought to the beach and dipped in the water.

3. Before they harvest crops in the farm they offer foods and prayer.

Beliefs related to house building:

1. It is a bad luck for a house to have 13 post.

2. Stairs of houses should face the east to bring in good luck.

3. Move into a new either on a Wednesday or Saturday.

4. Bring first salt, rice before moving into the house.

BACKSTORIES ABOUT CREATION OF STORY

Legends of Bakunawa

Most of the recent literary interpretations of Bakunawa can be sourced to renowned

folklorist Damiana Eugenios re-telling of the myth in her collected compilation
Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths. This, however, was imagined from an earlier
documentation by Fernando Buyser, a Philippine poet, publisher, and priest. Buyser
documented the story Ang Bakunawa as almost a catechism and referenced verses
from Revelations within it. Given the differences between Buysers and Eugenios story,
we can assume she took artistic liberties in the re-telling. This causes me to question
the authenticity and historical importance of its content as folklore. That said,
questioning it is really all we can do since there are no other documented narratives of
Bakunawa prior to this time. Such is the challenge of examining oral folklore. We need
to sift through volumes of historical information, in hopes of piecing together an accurate
picture of the creative minds who shaped the foundations of ancient societal and
cultural beliefs. Even still, that window may only represent a very brief moment in
time, as the very nature of oral storytelling is adaptive. Damiana Eugenio herself has
suggested that many stories in Philippine Folklore would be better classified as fairy
tales.

THE SEVENTH MOON: Tales about the Bakunawa say that it is the cause of eclipses.
During ancient times, Filipinos believe that there are seven moons created by Bathala to
light up the sky. The Bakunawa, amazed by their beauty, would rise from the ocean and
swallow the moons whole, angering Bathala and causing them to be mortal enemies.

To keep the moons from completely being swallowed by the Bakunawa, ancient
Filipinos would go out of their homes with pans and pots, and would make noise in
order to scare the Bakunawa into spitting out the moon back into the sky. Some of the
people in the villages would play soothing sounds with their musical instruments, in
hopes that the dragon would fall into a deep sleep. Thus, the brave men of the village
hoped that while the dragon was hypnotized by the musical sounds they could
somehow slay the dragon. Although the dragon was known as a moon eater it was
also known as a man eater.

THE DRAGON & THE TURTLE: Other tales tell that the Bakunawa has a sister in the
form of a sea turtle. The sea turtle would visit a certain island in the Philippines in order
to lay its eggs. However, locals soon discovered that every time the sea turtle went to
shore, the water seemed to follow her, thus reducing the islands size. Worried that their
island would eventually disappear, the locals killed the sea turtle.

When the Bakunawa found out about this, it arose from the sea and ate the moon. The
people were afraid so they prayed to Bathala to punish the creature. Bathala refused
but instead told them to bang some pots and pans in order to disturb the serpent. The
moon is then regurgitated while the Bakunawa disappeared, never to be seen again.

The island where the sea turtle lays its eggs is said to exist today. Some sources say
that the island might just be one of the Turtle Islands.

BAKUNAWAS REVENGE: Others tell how the Bakunawa fell in love with a human girl
in one of the native tribes. The head of the tribe found out about their affair and had
their house burned to ashes. The Bakunawa, finding out about this, became immersed
in anger and tried to take revenge by eating all the 7 moons. When the Bakunawa was
about to eat the last one, Bathala took action and punished the Bakunawa by banishing
it from its home away from the sea. It also tells that the reason of the eclipses is how the
Bakunawa is trying to come back to its home and deceased family.

Ancient Ilongo Calendar

It is suspected that the ancient Ilonggos believed there were 7 moons created by Maka-
ako (Creator) to light the night sky. One hypothesis for the 7 moons in the story of
Bakunawa is that they represented the 7 months for planting and harvesting in their 12
month lunar calendar. The practice of starting a month at the first sighting of a new
moon was observed by many ancient societies including the Romans, Celts, and
Germans in Europe and by Babylonians and Hebrews in the Lavant. All of these
peoples, like the Ilongos, began their month when a young crescent was first seen in
the sky. In Relation of the Filipinas Islands, Miguel de Loarca states about the
Ilongos of Panay Island:
Years and months. They divide the year into twelve months, although only seven [sc.
eight] of these have names; they are lunar months, because they are reckoned by
moons. The first month is that in which the Pleiades appear, which they call Ulalen. The
second is called Dagancahuy, the time when the trees are felled in order to sow the
land. Another month they call Daganenan bulan; it comes when the wood of those trees
is collected from the fields. Another is called Elquilin, and is the time when they burn
over the fields. Another month they call Ynabuyan, which comes when the bonanas
blow. Another they call Cavay; it is when they weed their fields. Another they call
[Cabuy: crossed out in MS.] Yrarapun; it is the time when they begin to harvest the rice.
Another they call Manalulsul, in which the harvesting is completed. As for the remaining
months, they pay little attention to them, because in those months there is no work in
the fields. (*This could explain the significance of the number 7, but certainly allows for
speculation on the importance of the moon to ancient Ilongos)

MEANING MESSAGES, THEME AND MORAL LESSONS

KNOWING AND WITNESSING ILONGGO CULTURE

The islands of Western Visayas are home to some of the sweetest and most cheerful
people in the Philippines, an undeniable observation once youve gotten to know the
Ilonggos. For one thing, they reside in the sugar capital of the country, with tourists and
locals carrying boxes of piaya and biscochoupon leaving the islands to share with their
loved ones in other parts of the country. The Ilonggos are also a friendly and caring
people, and their bright and welcoming smiles can make anyone feel right at home.
The Hiligaynons, or the Ilonggos, are a subgroup of people from the Visayan region who
speak Ilonggo. It is interesting to note, however, that the different Western Visayans have
distinct traits that add to their own beauties as cultures. Perhaps looking closely at these
traits will help us gain a deeper understanding of where they come from, as well as a
deeper appreciation for the Ilonggo culture as a whole.
Kaon ta!
When visiting an Ilonggo household, it is common for the guest to be asked the
question, Naka kaon ka na? (Have you eaten?) Ilonggos are very particular about their
food, and will only eat the absolute best. One difference between the Ilonggos from Panay
and those from Negros Occidental is the type of food that theyll proudly serve their
guests.
For Bacolodnons, theres nothing that can compare to their famous chicken inasal. While
each local has their own go-to restaurant to satisfy their craving for it, tourists flock to the
Manokan country for the experience of eating chicken the Bacolodnons way with some
garlic rice drizzled with chicken oil, a sawsawan of toyo, calamansi, and sinamak, or spicy
vinegar with garlic, ginger, and chili peppers, all eaten with their bare hands. They also
love a big bowl of cansi, a soup dish with a tinge of sourness that is made from beef, bone
marrow, and batwan, a fruit indigenous to the area.
Then, whether its a big dinner to celebrate an occasion or just a simple meal with the
family, therell always be room for dessert and there is a wide variety to choose from.
With the sugar industry dominating Negros, there is an abundance
of piaya and napoleones, a light flaky pastry filled with custard and topped with sugar
icing. Several dessert cafes and restaurants also await, with native delicacies such
as inday-inday, a sticky rice cake with grated coconut and muscovado, and kalamay hati,
coconut milk and brown sugar stirred into a sticky and sweet paste. When it comes to
sweets, Bacolodnons know what theyre talking about.
On the other hand, Panay has its own variety of flavors inspired by many different
cultures. It is common for Ilonggos from Panay to serve Spanish-inspired dishes
like paella, lengua, and callos, although the province is also known for its Chinese-
influenced dishes like pancit molo, siopao, and of course, batchoy. The Ilonggos also
have their own version of traditional Visayan foods like pork lechon, and lechon manok,
both prepared with lemongrass. Additionally, thanks to Panay Islands diverse and healthy
marine life, there is never a shortage of mouthwatering seafood dishes, especially from
areas around Villa Beach. Never ones to deny a guest the best food Iloilo has to offer,
they will surely fill each breakfast, lunch, dinner, and merienda with these unique and
scrumptious dishes.
Finally, all Ilonggos have a penchant for desserts, and those from Iloilo have a whole
roster of breads, pastries, and sweets that might confuse you at first at least until you
try them. There are bakeries on nearly every block in Iloilo, and they are stocked full
of biscocho, butterscotch, galletas, barquillos, and bibingka. One can also indulge in
Iloilos many types of kakanin ibos or suman, butong-butong, pulot, and the
famous bayi-bayi.
Realizations, messages and learnings about Ilonggo Tribe

Like some kind of positive racism, Ilonggos are known to be malambing (gentle, soft-
spoken). It is a quality that haunts any Ilonggo whenever they go to another city and are
candidly asked to speak the Hiligaynon language. Apparently, the sing-song
pattern/intonation of the language tickles the people who come from other regions.
Another form of identity attached to an Ilonggo is the kind that gets depicted in film and
television: the atsayor housemaid identity. While it is true that a lot of Visayans (locally
called Bisaya, a name technically exclusive to those who are Cebuano-speaking
Visayans) move to Manila to work as househelp (submitting themselves to be called
one name altogether: Inday), this does not define the Visayan peoples in general. In
fact, our world from down here is far grander and more bizaare than what most
cosmopolites are used to.
Sizing up an Ilonggo is perhaps one of the most difficult things anyone can attempt to
do. What makes an Ilonggo an Ilonggo? What makes them unique? The long-winding
history and physical and social elements come into play in shaping a true-blue Ilonggo.

1. Ilonggos are generally gentle. We speak softly. There is always a certain amount of
meekness in the way we say things, and a smile usually accompanies it. The smiles are
most often genuine, unless you are given the sarcastic treatment which you would be
able to sense too. This is one quality that never gets old and we take pride on this, lest
we are challenged beyond tolerance.

2. Ilonggos are laid back. It is seldom that Ilonggos rush over work, or appointments or
meals. They like things to go winding and taking it easy.

3. A lot of Ilonggos are rich. This part deserves an entirely separate blog to explain this
bit of information, but to put it simply: Iloilo was the first Queen City of the South and
was the center for trade and governance outside Manila. Iloilo has countless banks in
every street and corner and families still keep the traditions of the old rich

4. Ilonggo women are beautiful its like an Inside-Out kind of beauty. Add that
quality to the genteel language and you get a Filipina as described in myth-like stories.
As for the men, the Negrenses hold the title in terms of having more goodlooking males.
Whether this has something to do with geography or the volcano, I have no idea.Rice
pounding during the early times (photo courtesy of the Provincial Capitol of Iloilo
archives)

5. Ilonggos are the most discriminating foodies. Because good food is a way-of-life in
Iloilo (even the poorest can manage to serve proper food to their families here), do not
attempt to promise any earth-shaking food experience that you are not sure of. Although
the typical Ilonggo would still compliment your food suggestion, you sure will be the next
table topic once they get back to the comforts of their comidor.

6. Ilonggos have a difficulty showing appreciation to a particular performance. Clapping

seems like a struggle. To make an Ilonggo crowd give a standing ovation is close to
getting a miracle. This behavior can be attributed to the elitist quality that have been
passed on from the Ilonggo familia regal systems.

7. Ilonggos never, ever show their real financial status with the way they dress or
behave in public on a regular occasion. You would see millionaires walking downtown in
short pants. Women who own lands of epic proportions do groceries at a wet market
and would ride the jeepney. When in social gatherings, the old rich NEVER talk about
their wealth and will not attempt to even give you a hint.

8. Ilonggos do not like being belittled. There is quite a good amount of pride running
through our veins. Once this part is ticked, it can be dangerous. An outraged Ilonggo is
very difficult to appease and are not easily forgiving.

9. Ilonggos are extremely stingy. In a good way, not too much of a Scrooge. They
always say ang hirap ng buhay(life is difficult) but really, that is more like a way of
letting you know that youre splitting the bill. In some places, lean months are
pronounced (like August til September). In Iloilo it isnt really an issue.

10. Ilonggos consider laughter as an assurance that everything is going to be alright.

We have been through horrible times and have made it to the headlines, but we
continue to celebrate the goodness of life and come together as a community of strong
regional identity.
And another thing:

11. Ilonggos are very religious, prayerful and spiritual. I am not saying this just because
we are the last stronghold of the Spaniards during the liberation thus acquiring an
extraordinary loyalty to the doctrines of the church, but maybe thats the kind of effect
on anybody who comes from a family that equates being an Ilonggo to being religious
too. Its not a bad thing, so there.