Dapithapon

Poetry by | November 16, 2008

Pagod na ang araw
Sa pagmamasid sa luntiang
lupain.
Kasiyahan at hinagpis
itim at puti
paglaya at paglisan
pagbangon at pagkalugmok
pagtangis
buntong-hininga
lahat ay pauli-ulit.
Kaya siya’y hihimlay muli
sa likod ng asul na kabundukan
at sa kalangita’y ipipinta
ang pulang anino
nagbabasakali sa paggising niya’y
may pagbabago.

—
Unang inilathala sa Liwayway Hunyo 16, 2008. Si Krisini Nanini ay nasa 4th year ng kursong AB International Studies major in Asian Studies sa Ateneo de Davao University.

Pangapog: Thanksgiving for a Bountiful Harvest

Nonfiction by , , | November 9, 2008

The Pangapog festival is celebrated by the Samas of Samal Island located in Davao Gulf to thank the spirits of their ancestors for a bountiful harvest. A ritual is performed and then a feast follows it. This feast is celebrated annually, around the month of August.

The Pangapog festival that we witnessed began with a huge preparation both for the ritual and for the feast. After the materials for the ritual were arranged around an altar called the bunga, the balyan, the datus, and other selected members of the Sama tribe gathered around the bunga.

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Mission Possible

Nonfiction by | November 9, 2008

I settled at the back of the Toyota pickup, crouching on the floor. I reached inside the bag and wore my shades and sahal, ready for the long trip ahead. Definitely, this was not one of the top ten things I wanted to do before growing old. But I was going anyway. And I came quite prepared. I had plenty of water, and an umbrella besides. I was joining a medical mission hosted by the Southern Mindanao District of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP.)

The mission consisted of around twenty volunteers, including five doctors. I was one of three from the youth sector of the church. It was 8am, and cold, the sun hidden behind the rain clouds. We were going to a far-flung barangay at the foothills of Mt. Apo in Matan-ao, Davao del Sur.

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Love Poem Macabre

Poetry by | November 2, 2008

The chico brown feel and
scent and taste of you
keep me shamelessly honeyed
honeyed for hours after and
I can taste you even more
in my midmorning coffee,
even when you have been gone a week.
I taste you everywhere.

When are you returning from the
restlessness of our travels?

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Ing Ginoo sang Kuros asta yang Iso / The Crucified Lord and the Boy

Fiction by , , , | November 2, 2008

Bahin ngini na istorya sang iso na Mandaya. Ngini na istorya yahitabo kuno sang pirmero na kalinaw ngawong yatapos da ing giyera. Ngansian na simbahan awon bagasay na kuros.

Awon adlaw na yanilhig ngini na iso, tanto ng pagpanaw-panaw naan ika-banggaan naan yang bagasay na kuros. Nakay wa kasayod na iso ag mag tabang-tabang sang pari. Awon ngawong yang iso daw unan ngiyan iistorya naan. “Sin-o ing yaglansang kanmo? Unan ing sala mo na i-aman saan kaw nilan? Wa pa kaw gayud nilan bado-i. Hala, awon karsonis ko sang kuwarto dahon ko lang ngawon ngani kay ipa-suot ko kanmo. Igutom da kay unay kay abay kaw magbitay ngansaan. Mal-aw pagpanihapon adahan takaw ng makaan. Apangutanahaon takaw uli nasa i-amansaan kaw nilan?”

Continue reading Ing Ginoo sang Kuros asta yang Iso / The Crucified Lord and the Boy