Thursday, September 30, 2010

Manobo Mass, Anyone?

I joined the First Friday mass today. The mass that I attend during first Friday of the month is usually in the English language. When the entrance song was sang, it was in acapella, there was no accompaniment. They sound good, anyways, but I kept on figuring out what language the priest is using. He does not look a foreigner either. One thing for sure, I never heard of it before.

The priest then introduced himself, he belongs to the SVD (Society of Divine Word) order. He's a missionary who has been living for 16 long years in a Manobo community in Agusan del Sur educating the people there and building a school. That's when I figured the dialect he's using is a Manobo language. The choir was composed of Manobo children and they sang the Eucharist songs in the Manobo language flawlessly. There were also few songs sang in the English language and that's when I appreciate more their singing prowess. They sound like angels singing from nowhere making every word of the song and the meaning of it live and linger in your heart.

His sermon was striking, compelling and heartwarming. He told of a story of one Manobo family. When the wife gave birth to her daughter, the husband went to his relative and sold his daughter, the newly born one for only 1,000 pesos! The heartless buyer, just got the baby away from the weak mother who just recently given birth. The sad part is, the money was spent by the father in drinking spree. The elder sister, who is now his student in the school he founded always drool in tears whenever she remembers about her younger sister whom she never know the whereabouts now.

He made the choir sang in the Manobo language and after singing, he explained the message of the song to us since we did not understand the language. It tells about the predicament that lumads are experiencing in the highlands. They feel deserted, unloved and unaccepted by the community of other dominant groups of people who inhabit the island of Mindanao or Philippines. Is it because they lack education? Is it because they live in the highlands, literally far from the comforts that life could offer in the plains? Are our hearts plastic, empty and indifferent from what they feel? They are also Filipinos just like us. They also have feelings just like us.

Friends, what do you feel when you see a lumad? How do you treat them? Do you feel you are superior over them? Have you encountered one of them? Share with me your thoughts....


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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

My Dream Car

Have you seen the Ford F-150? I know you do. I really like that pick up truck. Its big, powerful and slick too. Just by looking at it, you know it can be monster off-road, since every now and then I would visit my mother outside of the city, the road going there is just too rough for just a simple car, so having an F-150 would be a walk in the park. Although the cost of buying one is really that expensive for my part but having one would be a dream come true.

My close friend Joey, a former office mate of mine, who’s now based in San Diego told me that having a car is great but you should be familiar with some of the features and accessories of the car, that’s the advice he got from some of the mechanics in the San Diego auto repair, warning indicator such as the CEL or check engine light should be present said Joey.

Wow, I cant believe there’s that much things to consider before buying one hahahaha, all I know is that if there something wrong with the car, I would just go to an auto shop and let them do their thing.

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Durian Season

I have been wanting to eat durian. It is in its peak season this time here in Davao City for the "king of all fruits" . You can see durian fruit displayed anywhere in the city, may it be in markets, sidewalks of streets and carts by peddlers. A lot of the people take advantage of the very low prices due to its abundant supply.

After me and hubby got out from work, we agreed to eat durian at Rizal Street. Native variety only costs 15 pesos per kilo. I prefer the highbrid variety because it has thicker meat unlike the native variety which has a big seed. The man selling durian introduced us a new variety apart from the famous ones like chanee, kob, puyat. It's called "dunyang" and I asked the seller if it's really delicious-creamy and sweet and he said yes.

He selected one for us, a very big one and it's 4 kilos! Yes, really huge and when he opened it, hee made me taste it and it was really yummy. Here are some photos we took...
durian eaters around us


me...satisfying my durian craving...



Yummy durian meat


huge one...this durian weighs 4 kilos


native variety of durian


the seller showing us the meat when he opened the one we chose


Saturday, September 4, 2010

Weaving



replica of women weaving. photos taken at Davao Museum

A Mandaya legend says that, the good spirit Tagamaling taught a Mandaya woman how to weave abaca fiber and make the designs. It took the woman three months to master the art of producing the textile dagmay.

Among the Bagobos, it was the spirit Baipandi, who taught the weavers tie dyeing (ikot) method and the designs woven into fabric. Baipandi also taught them the art of embroidery and beadwork.

Indeed, in the past, the art of weaving is a sacred activity. There were many taboos associated with it. As the weaving area was a sacred ground, where the spirits were actively inspiring and guiding the weavers, it was off limits to the male members of the community. Violation of the taboo carried stiff penalty.


Source: The Textiles of Southern Philippines
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August Top Ec Droppers

I would like to say a very big THANK YOU to all my visitors for the month of August and to my top EC droppers. I'm very grateful for your support guys. God bless us all.


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Dropper # of drops
Lakbay Philippines 22
elai's precious angels 17
Laane on the World 17
My Daily Catch 16
sweet nothings 14
Funky Town Disco Music 11
Life With Roxxymetal 9
New Hot Topics - Get Them While They Last!! 7
Laane's Path 6
Positive men 6

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