Gone has the old rural cultural heritage – III

There used to be another old folk legacy, religious in tone and topic, and originally based on a written script, and recited lengthily during Lent or “Mahal nga Adlaw” observance, known among baryohanons as “Pasyon”. Its rendition is through a song in monotone, hardly any variation at all in pitch, or tune, with a prompter dictating each line, and repeated by the group consisting usually of old women. A joke even circulated that the prompter cautioned to no one in particular to close the window, lest the lighted candle be snuffed out by the wind, thus: “Sirhi ang bintana kay mapawong unya ang kandila”.  And this was also picked up in rote by the singing group.

Levity aside though, after the 60’s, one hasn’t noticed that the “pasyon” of the old religious practitioners, like, the “beatas”, during the Lenten season has been observed or perpetuated.

Of course, there is the “daygon” or “panaygon” during yuletide season. In rural settings, the “orig” carolers used to have a narrator/prompter dictating every line of a Christmas song, say, the story of nativity or the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger, of how the three kings paid tribute to the Holy Child, or such other biblical vignettes about Jesus Christ. In short, it was not just any song that the “manaygons” would dish out, invariably complemented by a guitar and/or other string instruments, like the now rare and dying “harpa”.

The “balak” facet of the rural folklore and oral literature of yore was a common denominator in the “harana”, “balitaw/linambay/kuratsa”. “kulilisi”, and even in the “drama”. Significantly, the “balak” was often in measured cadence with regular rhyming scheme and, not just the easier free or blank verse.

One special occasion that a “balak” was rendered among the barrio folk, or during town fiestas of old, was as a tribute to the beauty queen during the coronation night. Another old practice, was to feature a “balak” contest among local bards.

And, also common among the various forms of rural cultural activities of the past, was the indispensable presence and participation of the string instruments, such as, the guitar, or “sista”, the “bandorya”, the tenor, and the “baho”. As a group then, certain localities dubbed them as the “kumparsa”, as the precursor of the later “rondalla” or string band.

Other than the atavistic or superstitious elements of the “mga tabunong kaagi” in Cebuano customs and traditions, the Castillan influence was very predominant. The florixity of expression, the oozing sentimentalism, the high-flown tone and tenor, and the uniform theme of romantic melodramas, and such maudlin verbosity, are unmistakable indicia of Spanish progeny.

It’s quite a pity and a loss – “anugon kaayo” – that these old Sugbuanon lore and grassroots facets of our “buhilaman” have gone or are going to waste and unpreserved. Perhaps, should cultural renaissance come to their rescue, the few living oldsters in their 80’s up, in the countryside could be tapped as potential resource persons by researchers. And, some children or grandchildren of locally known bards now deceased, might still have some fading notes, or old scripts or writings, etc. stashed in their old “kaban” or “baul” of ancestral homes. Who knows?

The likes of the late piano virtuoso Marcial Samson who a few years ago commendably resuscitated on tv the old Cebuano favorites – “lunsayng awit nga Binisaya” – has been a shot in the arm for the renaissance of, at least, Sugbuanon ballads. Presently, there’s also on tv the “Handurawan” program featuring the revival of our very own songs and musicality by Ester Alferez, the “kinablit” gift of Rommel Noval, and their core group of singing talents. Hopefully, before they fade to the sunset, the cudgels to perpetuate the “kinaiyang Sugbuanon” be picked up for posterity.

To recap, the unusual interest of Ex-Congressman Jose “Dodong” Gullas in reviving the old Cebuano cultural arts to preserve and further enrich the Sugbuanon folklore and literary wealth, is a welcome and salutary move.

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