THE COCONUT TREES OF TALOCTOC

Photo by: Maiylah of Maiylah's Snippets

One of the most peculiar things about the barrio of Taloctoc that had remained in my memory after all these years - were the coconut trees that dotted the backyards of every nipa hut in that small village.

One can see a few avocado or santol trees but -always- there would always be a coconut tree in each backyard.

The children were used to scaling the tree like it was just a guava tree.

We had even "Coconut Climbing" as one of the games played during fiestas and celebrations.

Coconut oil is also found in every home. It is a part of the "First Aid Kit" of every household. It is made used of as a balm for burns, stomachaches, headaches, arthritis, muscle aches and so many more medicinal purposes.

It is with coconut oil that medicinal herbs were soaked and preserved and were eventually used by native healers.

It also adds delicious flavor to food like in vegetable dishes. Native cakes or sweets were mixed with coconut oil to enhance their flavor. The clear tasty, liquid that comes from fresh coconuts are excellent beverages.

What's definitely amazing is that every inch of this tree proved to be extremely useful for the villagers.

The bark had been used to built "bridges" (yes coconut bridges-they're sturdy-mind you!)

The leaves when fresh, could be turned into household decors and when they had dried, could be made into stick brooms.

The outer part of the fruit are trimmed into husks.

The inner hard part of the husks are polished and made used of as bowls. (You should see one of them -unbreakable bowls -very durable whether with hot or cold dishes..and water tasted different when using one of these containers.)

Well, for the roots - (no they're not useless!), they are planted again for propagation.

Indeed, whenever I see a coconut tree . I remember Taloctoc - my small paradise!


ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER:



Maiylah has her own wonderful blog entitled : " MAIYLAH'S SNIPPETS.

She is a good writer and photographer rolled into one.

She takes her own photos for her blog and has a beautiful collection of them.

Visit her blog and immerse yourself in her brand of vivid photography and good posts.

Read The Adventures of the Kalinga Man...(Fiction)

CHAPTER 1- UMMA AYAM SINSANA (WHERE ARE YOU NOW?)

The mournful chant reverberated through the small four walls of the hut…” Aieeeee”.
Guinnaban - 9 at that time - was cowering in the eerie shadows. He was staring at the wrinkled woman wailing for the gaunt, pale corpse laid on the long table. The head of the corpse was at a grotesque angle, nearly severed totally from his body.

“ Uma nangwa kansika anna?”” ( Who have done this to you?) the woman wailed even louder.

“Aiieeeeee”….. everyone joined in and the hut became a cacophony of mournful cries.

The barrio captain motioned to the elders for a conference and they filed outside, their faces grim and murderous. When they were outside, a heated and frenzied debate took place.

Finally the barrio captain raised his arm and said, “ Intakkon no, umma uwayon yo, ittod tako kanida de kingwada.”( Then what are we waiting for? Let’s avenge his death.)

And so a full blown “tribal war” had began.

READ MORE OF THIS...

CHAPTER 2 - UMMA AYAM SINSANA (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)

As soon as they arrived in Lubuagan, Guinnaban was baptized to Christianity by Fr. Belucci and named Benedict, after St. Benedict. To Guinnaban, the name symbolizes hope and courage - and he liked the sound of it!

The abrupt change of environment though had made him and his family uncomfortable. There were sad moments that they thought of going back to the simple life in the barrio as it was difficult to adjust to the ways of the progressively booming town. The good priest however, insisted that they stay on as he knew Benny had the intellect to pursue a much needed education.

The following school year, Fr. Belucci enrolled him at the Parish secondary school.
On the very first day, Benny was already taunted by his classmates. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Benedict” he would reply.

“Benedict? that's a fancy name, huh? Far from your ugly, Kalinga name.” then the group roared with laughter.

READ MORE OF THIS...

CHAPTER 3 - UMMA AYAM SINSANA (WHERE ARE YOU NOW?)

“ Mr. Benedict Lomiwan is hereby voted as president of the class,” the instructor announced.

It was barely his third week in the University, but everyone in class already knew him. It would be impossible not to! He always got the highest scores in their quizzes - even in algebra - which everyone considered “very difficult”.




It was in Algebra and English that he excelled - a deadly combination. Some students were good in Algebra but not in English, and vice versa. Only Benny, did good in both and that made him an “Outstanding” student. He knew that by being in the Dean’s List of scholars, he would do justice to the sacrifices of his parents and Fr. Belucci. He had enrolled in A.B Political Science as he had plans of becoming a lawyer someday. College exposed him to the various cultural minorities in the country and people were less discriminating because of ethnic origin.

READ MORE OF THIS...

CHAPTER 4 - UMMA AYAM SINSANA (WHERE ARE YOU NOW?)

" I call this meeting to order", there was a hush inside the stuffy room, and everyone fell silent.

" The authorities have already threatened imprisonment should we refuse to give in to their demands." the presider was a stern, swarthy man in his early forties.
We have enlisted the support of our University students to create public awareness of what the government is trying to do." he motioned to Benny.

" Our plan is to campaign among our peers in the University to support our cause. Progress should be permitted but not at the expense of our families and homes. The Dam will be obliterating parts of Tindayan and Sakyan and the entire municipality of Mangala , Liba and Taloctoc... " as Benny was saying these, there was a lump forming in his throat.

" Apparently, we don't get the benefits of this enormous project," a female voice continued. " We need to join forces, forget about our thirst for vengeance and make a concerted effort to fight for what we hold dear - our ancestral homes."

READ MORE OF THIS...

CHAPTER 5 - UMMA AYAM SINSANA (WHERE ARE YOU NOW?)

The zephyr breeze caressed her upturned face and diffused into the thin moisture of sweat that seeped through her skin.. She gasped, seemingly in need of air. Her eyes were closed, like a maiden in repose. She had delicate, gossamer wings on - flimsy, undulating appendages - that were gently flying her higher and higher up the clouds. She moaned and her thighs quivered as each exquisite rivulet of sensation coursed through her body.
Photo by: Theogo
Benny, kissed her mount of Hedon once more as another moan of pleasure escaped from her .
The building desire that Benny felt had reached its crescendo. It was more than he could bear now. His mouth on hers, he gently lowered himself into Julia. When skin touched skin - two became one - and their bodies were lost in the miasma of pleasure and ecstasy.

READ MORE OF THIS...

A HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO ALL OF YOU!

THIS BLOG HAS WON THE 1ST RUNNER UP IN THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED "OKAY KA, PINOY KA" ON BROOD ONLINE CONTEST FOR FILIPINO BLOGS.
TO ALL THOSE WHO VOTED FOR MY BLOG .
THANK YOU!

ACCORDING TO BROOD ONLINE, AND I QUOTE:

"Prime ClassTraders bags the first ever Search for "Okey Ka, Pinoy Ka!" Blogs with a total of 50.83 points and gets ahead two closest rival, The Clamor of Kalinga (49.50) and Taboan Mindanao (49.17). Prime Class Traders took the edge in the online votingwith 65 votes for 12.5 points total while Taboan Mindanao was the top pick of the judges with 46.67 points. "

Thanks to the Judges:
Woobie - a seasoned blogger and author of Evilwoobie.com; TeamPZ - entertainment blogger of Mind Relaxing Ideas; and Julia Aquino - one of the most successful celebrity-entertainment blogger in the blogosphere. Her blog Julia Aquino in blogspot is one of blogs success stories.

UNQUOTE.
For more information about the results, visit BROOD ONLINE.

SUBMIT NOW - MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Write an Article About How TV Violence Can Affect Children and Earn 1,000 EC Credits!
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO WRITE AN ORIGINAL ARTICLE ABOUT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF TV VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN AND EARN AN EASY 1,000 ENTRECARD CREDITS.

This is NOT a contest , all submissions will be accepted and awarded 1,000 EC credits, EACH.

THE CRITERIA ARE:

1. You must be an Entrecarder.

2. The article must be original, if you use quotations from other authors, you must acknowledge your sources.

3. The topic must talk about the negative effects of TV violence on children.

4. It maybe a poem, an essay, a short story, or a personal experience.

5. Drawings will be accepted too, but there should be a brief explanation of what the picture portrays.

JOIN NOW! Let's makes the world a safer place for our children, and our children's children.

All entries will be published in this blog: A Campaign For Non-Violence On TV

If you want to send an entry, just leave a comment in this post and I will send my email through your EC dashboard.

For more information, visit this blog: A Campaign For Non-Violence On TV

THE BANAUE RICE TERRACES

Kalinga- Apayao is one of the 4 provinces consisting the Mountain Provinces. The other 3 are Benguet, Bontoc, and Ifugao. Although all of these four are categorized as "The Mountain Provinces", there are distinct cultural differences of one province that identifies it from the other.

Some of the best scenic spots in the Philippines are found in these provinces. Kalinga - for the Chico River and Mt Patukan - where the Sleeping Beauty Lies, Benguet is where the second highest peak in the Philippines is found, and Ifugao - where the well known - Banaue Rice Terraces nestles.

The Banaue Rice Terraces - is considered by Filipinos as the 8th Wonder of the World. This formidable structure had survived hundreds of years and stands as a monument to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the native farmer who had built layers and layers of rice paddies, atop mountainous terrain.



Just like the Pyramids of Egypt, one would marvel how bare hands - with minimal equipment(stone and clay) - could erect a complex structure such as these.

Although The Banaue Rice Terraces is not found in Kalinga, Ifugao is considered a good neighbour, and anything pertaining to "The Mountains" is considered Kalingan.








Allow me to introduce the Lady responsible in taking these pictures.

These pictures were photographed by Jenn of Jenn Was Here
who so generously allowed me to use them in this blog.

Although Jenn is an indoor person, she was persuaded to join a summer trip around Northern Philippines.


Jenn and an Ifugao Wood carving


Her favorite color is violet but her personal paraphernalia are in red. (Don't ask me why). Her artistic side has many facets - photography (let the pics convince you), she can cross - stitch; she can also create cards for persons she care about. Right now, she is into scrap-booking. (Jenn, how could you have enough time for all of these? and you are also into blogging!).

There is this one liner that indicates this lady has her childlike insouciance intact; she says :" My eyebrows are still virgins. They haven’t been trimmed or plucked yet."

Jenn, thanks again and more power to you!

For more pictures and articles, visit her blogs at:
Jenn Was Here
Shutter Happenings
Le Kulitszie Familie
Memories By Jenn

THE IGOROT COSTUME

Camille of Memoirs of a Med Student, is a 22 yr - old, lovely Med student who has interests in books, movies , food and - believe it or not - PC games and basketball.
Aside from pursuing Medicine, she also puts aside time to watch movies and to read books by Coelho and other well known authors. Her blog is very stimulating because of the diverse interests that Camille has. Go visit her blog at Memoirs of a Med Student.




Although she is not an Igorot in blood; she had done justice to the ethnic beauty of the Igorot costume. She is holding the traditional wooden shield in her left hand and the spear in her right. She is also wearing the colorful native beads and the headress.

This picture was taken during a visit to Baguio - the Summer Capital of the Philippines.

Thanks Camille for allowing me to use your picture in my blog.