Part 1: Yves

A. Presentation Title: Pagtabok: Eastern Visayas Literature (Special Topic 3)

B. Group Information:

Giray, Yves Gerald E.

Poblete, Rommel

Pajarito, George

Pajares, Geselle

Evasco, Maricel

De Saville, Paolo

C. Specific Topics:

1. Introduction to Waray and Ninorte-Samarnon Literatures

- Introduction to Eastern Visayas Literature by M. Alunan in Sa Atong Dila

- The Literature of Eastern Visayas by M. Alunan in Tinalunay

- The Literature of Eastern Visayas by V. Sugbu

2. Siday/ Poetry

- Mahjong san mga Gamhanan (Oscar Muncada Monje)

- Pagtug-on (Mark P. Bonabon)

- Burong (Aivee Badulid – Eastern Samar)

3. Short Fiction

- Nano Kay Diri Mamingaw sa Amon Baryo (Jeremy Evardone)

D. Objectives:

1. Describe the early literary traditions in Eastern Visayas.

2. Identify the different literary forms in Samar and Leyte.

3. Discuss the development of siday/sidai as Waraynon poetry.

4. Acquaint with the recent developments in Waray literary studies.

5. Determine some problems in Waray literary production and scholarship.

E. Content and Discussion:

1. Waray and Ninorte-Samarnon Literatures

a. Introduction

Eastern Visayas is composed of the islands of Samar, Leyte, Biliran and the smaller

outlying islands. In terms of political divisions, it is made up of six provinces, namely Northern

Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte. As of Census 1995, the

region’s total population stood at 3.5 million with Leyte having the highest population

concentration at 1.5 million, and Biliran, the smallest population at 132 thousand.
 The region is humid, and has no definite wet and dry seasons. It is generally

agricultural and its main crops include coconut, banana, potatoes, cassava, abaca, and

sugarcane. Its other source of income is fishing. Frequent occurrences of typhoons have

perennially disturbed the economy of the region but people seem to have adapted well

enough.

The City of Tacloban is the major center of trade and commerce and education in the

region.

The mountain ranges that traverse the islands of Samar, Leyte, and Biliran have

influenced the development of dialectal varieties of Waray and distinct speech communities.

In Leyte, the Central Cordillera that bisects the island has provided the condition for the

establishment of two distinct speech communities, the Waray and the Cebuano, and the

growth of dialectal varieties of Waray. In Biliran, a similar speech situation exists. The hilly

and mountainous terrain of Samar has contributed to the rise of Waray dialects, and likewise

has nurtured a small number of Cebuano speech communities.

The 1995 Census Report reveals that there were more than 2 M speakers of Waray

and 1.2 M speakers of Cebuano in the region. About 80 per cent of the total population in the

region were registered functionally literate – that is, being able to read, write, and count.

b. Early Literary Traditions

The literature of Eastern Visayas refers to the literature written in Waray and Cebuano

by writers from the region. Of the two, it is Waray literature that has been collected, recorded,

and documented by scholars and researchers, a movement largely spurred by the interest of

German priests, managing a university in Tacloban City, who saw the necessity of gathering
and preserving the literary heritage of the region. It is in this light that whenever East Visayan

literature is written about, it is usually Waray literature that is being described.

Earliest accounts of East Visayan literature date back to 1668 when a Spanish Jesuit by

the name of Fr. Ignatio Francisco Alzina documented the poetic forms such as the candu,

haya, ambahan, canogon, bical, balac, siday and awit. He also described the susumaton and

posong, early forms of narratives. Theater tradition was very much in place – in the

performance of poetry, rituals, and mimetic dances. Dances mimed the joys and activities of

the ancient Waray.

Waraynon folk literature include such forms as the puplonganon, patigo, some folk

songs and poetry, and susumaton or oral narratives. Some of the folk materials may have

come from antiquity, surviving in the tongue over time and historical exigencies. They give a

glimpse of the waray sensibility and its expression in language. They also allow a comparative

view of literary evolution.

The practice of literature in Leyte and Samar was mainly oral. Vilches points out that

the Waray language community has a well-developed oral literature, generally referred to as

luwa, “a spontaneous verse or oral discourse, usually in verse,” until the 17th Century. Then

the Romanized alphabet was introduced, and it quickly supplanted the baybayin. They

learned to read in Spanish which became the language of learning, worship and government.

It became imperative to learn Spanish if one were to rise in the society of the period. There

may have been attempts to write in Spanish during this period, but no evidence of this activity

survived the passage of time.

Spanish sovereignty ended in the Islands at the turn of the 20th century. This period

also marked the beginning of American rule among the islands. “The introduction of
democracy and popular education by the Americans provided a stimulus to cultural life,

resulting in the emergence of literacy and the educated group,” notes Vilches in her paper,

“A Preliminary Survey of Waray Poetry,” a central essay in Gregorio Luangco’s Kandabao

(1982). According to Vilches, written poetry was born in the interim years between the end

of the Spanish rule in 1898 and the early years of American colonization which started shortly

thereafter. Periodicals proliferated, serving as venue for the publication of Waray writing. An

Kaadlawan was reputedly the first, founded by Iluminado Lucente (1906); others include La

Voz de Leyte (1907), An Makabugwas, Noli Me Tangere, Pahayagan Sine nga Akademya san

Binisaya sa Samar ug sa Sidlangan san Leyte (1925), Eco de Samar y Leyte (1911–1940), An

Tingog san Kabisay’an (1927), An Lantawan (1928–1942), Leyte Shimbun (1942), The Courier

(1959).

With three centuries of Spanish colonization and another period of American

occupation, old rituals, poetic forms and narratives had undergone reinvention. A case in

point is the balac, a poetic love joust between a man and a woman. According to Cabardo,

the balac retained its form even as it took new names and borrowed aspects of the languages

of the colonizers. During the Spanish period, the balac was called the amoral; during the

American occupation, it was renamed ismayling, a term derived from the English word

“smile.” According to a literary investigator, in certain areas of Samar, the same balac form or

ismayling has been reinvented to express anti-imperialist sentiments where the woman

represents the motherland and the man, the patriot who professes his love of country.

Siday is the time-honored form of literature in Eastern Visayas, and one can readily

see the influence of orality in this body of works, especially in its adherence to rhyme, stanza,

patterns, and meter. The poetry in the 1900s reflected the social functions of poetry in these
bygone eras: to praise, to express mourning and lamentation, to celebrate places and

persons, to harangue and inspire patriotic fervor, to castigate and criticize. The forms and the

themes of siday devised during this early period persist to this day in Leyte and Samar.

c. Literary Forms

Modern East Visayan literature, particularly Waray, revolves around poetry and drama

produced between the 1900s and the present. The flourishing economy of the region and the

appearance of local publications starting in 1901 with the publication of An Kaadlawon, the

first Waray newspaper, saw the flourishing of poetry in Waray.

In Samar, Eco de Samar y Leyte, a long running magazine in the 1900s, published

articles and literary works in Spanish, Waray and English. A noteworthy feature of this

publication was its poetry section, An Tadtaran, which presented a series of satirical poems

that attacked the changing values of the people at the time. Eco likewise published occasional

and religious poems.

In Leyte, An Lantawan, which has extant copies from 1931 to 1932, printed religious

and occasional poetry. It also published satirical poems of Bagong Katipunero, Luro, Datoy

Anilod, Marpahol, Vatchoo (Vicente I. de Veyra), Julio Carter (Iluminado Lucente), Ben Tamaka

(Eduardo Makabenta), and Kalantas (Casiano Trinchera). Under these pseudonyms, poets

criticized corrupt government officials, made fun of people’s vices, and attacked local women

for adopting modern ways of social behavior.

With the organization of the Sanghiran San Binisaya in 1909, writers as well as the

illustrados in the community banded together for the purpose of cultivating the Waray

language. Under the leadership of Norberto Romualdez Sr, Sanghiran’s members had literary
luminaries that included Iluminado Lucente, Casiano Trinchera, Eduardo Makabenta,

Francisco Alvarado, Juan Ricacho, Francisco Infectana, Espiridion Brillo, and statesman Jaime

C. de Veyra. For a time, Sanghiran was responsible for the impetus it gave to new writing in

the language.

The period 1900 to the late fifties witnessed the finest Waray poems of Casiano

Trinchera, Iluminado Lucente, Eduardo Makabenta, and the emergence of the poetry of

Agustin El O’Mora, Pablo Rebadulla, Tomas Gomez Jr., Filomeno Quimbo Singzon, Pedro

Separa, Francisco Aurillo, and Eleuterio Ramoo. Trinchera, Lucente, and Makabenta were

particularly at their best when they wrote satirical poetry.

The growing acceptance of English as official language in the country strengthened

these writers’ loyalty to the ethnic mother tongue as their medium for their art. The

publication of Leyte News and The Leader in the twenties, the first local papers in English,

brought about the increasing legitimization of English as a medium of communication, the

gradual displacement of Waray and eventual disappearance of its poetry from the pages of

local publications.

Where local newspapers no longer served as vehicles for written poetry in Waray, the

role was assumed by MBC’s DYVL and local radio stations in the seventies. Up to the present

time, poetry sent to these stations are written mostly by local folk – farmers, housewives,

lawyers, government clerks, teachers, and students. A common quality of their poetry is that

they tend to be occasional, didactic, and traditional in form. The schooled writers in the

region, unlike the local folk poets, do not write in Waray nor Filipino. Most of them write in

English although lately there has been a romantic return to their ethnic mother tongue as the

medium for their poetry.

 Waray drama was once a fixture of town fiestas. Its writing and presentation were

usually commissioned by the hermano mayor as part of festivities to entertain the

constituents of the town. Town fiestas in a way sustained the work of the playwright. In recent

years, this is no longer the case. If ever a play gets staged nowadays, it is essentially drawn

from the pool of plays written earlier in the tradition of the hadi-hadi and the zarzuela.

According to Filipinas, an authority on the Waray zarzuela, the earliest zarzuela

production involved that of Norberto Romualdez’ An Pagtabang ni San Miguel, which was

staged in Tolosa, Leyte in 1899. The zarzuela as a dramatic form enthralled audiences for its

musicality and dramatic action. Among the noteworthy playwrights of this genre were

Norberto Romualdez Sr., Alfonso Cinco, Iluminado Lucente, Emilio Andrada Jr., Francisco

Alvarado, Jesus Ignacio, Margarita Nonato, Pedro Acerden, Pedro Separa, Educardo Hilbano,

Moning Fuentes, Virgilio Fuentes, and Agustin El O’Mora.

Of these playwrights, Iluminado Lucente stands out in terms of literary

accomplishment. He wrote about thirty plays and most of these dealt with domestic conflicts

and the changing mores of Waray society during his time. Although a number of his longer

works tend to be melodramatic, it was his satirical plays that are memorable for their irony

and humor, the tightness of their plot structure, and the specious use of language.

The hadi-hadi antedates the zarzuela in development. It used to be written and staged

in many communities of Leyte as part of town fiesta festivities held in honor of a Patron Saint.

It generally dealt with Christian and Muslim kingdoms at war. Today one hardly hears about

hadi-hadi being staged even in the Cebuano speech communities of the region.

Fiction in Waray has not flourished because it lacks a venue for publication.
Part 2: Rommel

d. Recent developments in Waray literary studies

KANDABAO. One of the most important offshoots of this enthusiasm was the

Sanghiran san Binisaya founded in 1909 under the leadership of Norberto Romualdez, Sr. The

mission of Sanghiran was to “cultivate, refine, and enrich the dialect spoken in Samar and

Oriental Leyte” (Vilches in Luangco). It counted among its members Jaime de Veyra,

Iluminado Lucente, Juan Ricacho, Casiano Trinchera, Francisco Enfectana, Espiridion Brillo,

Francisco Alvarado and Eduardo Makabenta. The Sanghiran drew up the rules for usage of

the Waray language and tried to revive the use of certain terms that had been supplanted by

borrowings from Spanish. It sponsored contests and urged writers to use Waray for their

expressive endeavors. Poetry and theater also flourished in these early years.

Adelaida Filamor points out in Kandabao what she perceives as common themes in

Waray folk poetry: filial love, the innocence and chastity of women, tall tales, drinking songs,

didactic tendencies, sentimentalism, sadness and despair over unrequited love and infidelity,

nature. To Filamor, the poetry of the folk reflects the sweetness of the Waray temperament

that “belies the ferociousness that lurks within him, a deep spiritual consciousness that sees

a divinity in every creation of nature; and a zest for life that is almost hedonistic.” This paper

is valuable for its generous inclusion of several popular pieces which we had culled for the

book.

Another paper in Kandabao is by Gemina Aurillo “Selected Vernacular Writers of

Leyte.” She breaks down Waray writing into three periods: from 1900–1920; 1921–1941; and
1945 to the present. The list produces a total of thirteen writers whose combined works over

a fifty or sixty-year period, make up the canon of the Waray siday: Francisco V. Alvarado,

Francisco Aurillo, Esperidion M. Brillo, Vicente I. de Veyra, Iluminado Lucente, Eduardo

Makabenta, Ceferino D. Montejo, Ricardo Octaviano, Agustin El’ Omora, Juan Ricacho,

Norberto Romualdez Sr., Pedro Separa, and Casiano Trinchera. Aurillo’s purpose for raising

these writers was to assert Waray presence in the body of national literature: The books on

literature, she noted, shows the abundance of literary works in the different regional tongues

… Such names appear as the immortal Francisco Balagtas in Tagalog, Pedro Bukaneg in

Ilocano, Crisostomo Soto in Pampangan, Vicente Ranudo in Cebuano, and Flavio Zarragosa

Cano in Hiligaynon. But literary historians may have erred by omission by failing to note the

literature in Waray, the language common in Leyte and Samar.

To be specific, Castillo and Medina, Tonogbanua, and recently, Veloso, Enriquez and

Alejandro discussed the works and mentioned the poets and writers in English, Tagalog,

Cebuano, and some other dialects, but never in Waray. Panganiban and Panganiban casually

mentioned the fact that “Norberto Romualdez of Leyte, who became a Justice of the Supreme

Court, wrote plays, sociopolitical essays, and folklore.” But that is all. They did not mention

that the versatile jurist and statesman had written extensively in the Leyte vernacular in which

he is acknowledged as the first grammarian of the language.

Sugbu’s Tinipigan brings out Filomeno Singzon and Pablo Rebadulla. On the Samar

side, Charo Nabong-Cabardo names the best Samar poets: Jose Gomez, Tomas Gomez,

Filomeno Singzon, Vicente Dira, and Vicente Panzo (the poet laureate of Calbayog City). But

these poets do not show up in Ani IV which she edited for the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. The works of these poets are hard to come by, no matter what reputation of

excellence they might enjoy.

THE ANTHOLOGIES. Vicente I. de Veyra. Probably the first anthologist to collect Waray

literary materials was Vicente I. de Veyra, one of the stalwarts of the Sanghiran. He entitled

his early work Hinugpong nga mga Siday, Garaygaday, Titiguhun, Liaw-Libang, Diwata (1914).

But de Veyra’s work did not enjoy a wide circulation as would have been desired, perhaps for

lack of capacity to produce copies in that period. Much of de Veyra’s work is contained now

in the Waray Museum Blogspot.

RAYMOND QUETCHENBACH, SVD. In 1968, Fr. Raymond Quetchenbach, SVD joined

the staff of the Divine Word University (DWU) in Tacloban City. He saw the need to safeguard

the cultural heritage of the Waray people and established the Leyte-Samar Research Center.

He volunteered to curate the DWU museum. The Center published the bi-annual Leyte-Samar

Studies Journal. Raymond Quetchenbach published Lineyte-Samarnon Poems in 1974 in the

Leyte-Samar Journal. This was followed by Gregorio Luangco’s Kandabao, a collection of

essays on Waray literature, and Waray Literature, an anthology. The Journal lasted for

twenty-four years and stopped publication only in 1992. Four years after, DWU itself shut

down after losing a bitterly contested labor conflict. A complete set of this Journal is said to

be available in the archives of the University of Michigan.

ANI IV. The next effort was Ani IV No. 1, dated March 1990. Ani is a literary journal

produced by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Ani IV was dedicated entirely to Waray

writing. The issue was edited by Charo Nabong Cabardo, Fra. Paolo Maria Diosdado (Casurao)

and Aniceto O. Llaneta. The book contains twenty-seven pieces representing the works of

some nineteen contemporary writers. Included in this collection is a transcript of “Mga Luwa
nga Amoral,” poetry about courtship and love, and ismayling, a verse joust similar to the

balitaw of the Cebuanos. A play by Fra. Paolo Ma. Diosdado (Casurao) entitled “Papa Pablo”

is also included. Diosdado-Casurao is a well-known contemporary playwright with a published

collection of plays to his name. Aniceto O. Llaneta writes in the contemporary poetic style.

Llaneta also appears in this book as author and translator under the penname Estrella

Maqueda. Among the authors noted by Nabong-Cabardo, et. al. are Filomeno Singzon, Pablo

Rebadulla, Tomas Gomez, Oskar Monje, Sabas Abobo, Connie Sison, and Crescencia Beso, but

the works of these authors are not all represented in the collection. Ani IV’s limited range

does not yield enough materials to provide a reasonable overview of Waray writing from the

Samar end.

JAIME BIRON POLO. Thirteen years after Luangco’s work was published, Jaime Biron

Polo came out with his Panulaan at Dulaang Lineyte-Samarnon (1994). Polo’s interest was to

bring Waray literature into the mainstream of national literature, and the way he saw to do

that was to translate the materials into Filipino. Even the table of contents in his book was in

Filipino. He did take care to include the original texts in his book, but the effort was flawed by

textual inaccuracy. Further, there was no effort to distinguish the writers from Samar and

those from Leyte, neither was there an effort to represent them equitably, if that were

possible at all. The writers of Leyte dominated this book as they did the Luangco books. This

gap is significant because there are dialectal differences among the speakers of Waray in the

west, east and north Samar, as well as in Leyte Oriental the Waray-speaking part of Leyte

Island is referred to. The lingua franca in the southern part of Leyte is Cebuano.

Victor N. Sugbu. Polo’s work was followed close by Victor N. Sugbu’s Tinipigan (1995).

Sugbu’s chief interest was to showcase the best of Waray writing from the Sanghiran poets
up to the 1990s, the inclusive dates of the works covered by his work. His field work in

preparation for the book, as he wrote in his introduction, turned up little poetry and much

“ethnographic memoranda.” We may surmise that the works in Tinipigan represent the canon

of Waray writing. Three other scholars wrote critically about Waray literature: Clarita Filipinas

and Victor Sugbu who both wrote essays on the plays of Iluminado Lucente, and Duke

Bagulaya whose master’s thesis was on contemporary Waray literature. His book is entitled

Writing History: Mode of Economic Production and 20th Century Waray Poetry (2006) and

may be the only book-length critique ever done on Waray literature so far.

Occasional poet. There developed about the 60s the phenomenon of the

“commissioned” poet. A known poet in the locality might be requested to write a poem for

an occasion such as a wedding anniversary, a birthday, the retirement of an honored

employee, the coronation of a fiesta queen, eulogies and poems of praise for a priest, a

teacher, a mother or father. A local bard presented the siday at the important gathering. The

bard is chosen from among those in the community with proven eloquence and performance

ability. But this is not all, the paragsiday must also be a man of status, such as the town mayor,

the governor, someone of high honor in the community.

The siday thus played an important social function. At the same time it was a temporal

object, its importance depended much on the occasion, the specific purpose for which it was

produced, and the public event in which it was performed. It passed into oblivion once it had

fulfilled its function. The paragsiday may produce the poem for free as a member of the

community; or he might do it for a fee, hence it may be likened to a “livelihood.” Once the

occasion had passed, the poem also passed into neglect. A new one would be produced when

another occasion called for it.

 Mitotic verse. This use of the siday predisposed to mitotic versification. Mitotic verse

is the term used by Resil Mojares to describe the near uniformity of themes, insights, literary

techniques and modes of versification that characterized Visayan poetry from the early 1900s

to as late as the 1960s or even beyond. Mojares was writing about Cebuano poetry, but he

might as well have been referring to Waray poetry too. In this period, Mojares writes, “one

witnesses the triumph of Spaniard metrics and a concern for correctness. The refinement of

language was a popular preoccupation as writers debated problems of vocabulary and such

principles of poetry such as sukod (meter), ugtok or kudlit (accentuation), and bagay (rhyme).

However, the concern for correctness and harmony (kananoy) combined with romantic

notions of the Poet (Magbabalak), also locked Cebuano poetry into a “poetic” mode that had

its limits: the overcultivation of certain kinds of diction and sentiment, such that Cebuano

poetry acquired a mitotic quality (read one and you’ve read them all).”

The dodeca-syllabic line, the quatrain, and the rhyme were imperatives of poetry that

no poet worth his salt dared to trespass. These techniques were practiced with excellence by

Iluminado Lucente and his contemporaries. The poets that came later became more

preoccupied with linear excellence and less attentive to the overall design of their poems,

narrative content and logic, all of which Lucente clearly had control of even in his long poems.

Performance poetry. Despite the lack of venues for publication, social indifference,

and the breakdown of customs and social patterns invoking the use of poetic language in the

second half of the Twentieth Century, Waray writing continued, finding a venue for

expression in the performance level. It found its audience in such events as the town fiesta

when an important guest, the governor, for instance, might be obliged to recite a siday to

honor the fiesta queen. The siday may highlight the inauguration of a new school, a new dam,
an irrigation system; a siday may be pulled out to welcome a new arrival or bid farewell to

someone who setting off on an important journey.

Weddings, baptisms, funerals were all occasions for the recitation of a siday,

commissioned for that very specific event. The poet in commission tended to harness lines

and phrases he had learned or remembered from the popular stock. The repetition which we

might dismiss as unoriginal may actually be what his “clients” expect, taking their comfort and

pleasure from something familiar. Aside from keeping true to the accepted meter and tonal

patterns, orality further compelled its practitioners to keep favorite phrases, tropes, themes,

allusions and other modalities in memory for easy reference. In its own way, orality promoted

a certain kind of textual stability.

Women poets. No women poets of any importance ever showed up in the period

between 1898 to 1970. Men wrote about women in predictable ways: they were praised as

goddesses or inspiring muses, or vilified as cold and faithless Jezebels, verbally whipped for

being extravagant or capricious. Male poets portrayed themselves as long-suffering victims

of the coldness and cruelty of women. No woman poet ever stood up to talk back within this

nearly one-hundred-year period of patriarchal dominance.

Nabong-Cabardo notes one woman poet in Ani IV, Crescencia Beso. In 1962, Cecilia de

Achas published a poem entitled “Di’ Sala han Dampog”; in 1966, Margarita Nonato of

Calbayog wrote “An mga Tuig.” Both poems are meditations on life and death, time and

human suffering, safe topics that did nothing to cut down the demolishing male gaze or

modulate the strident voices of the male so dominant in Waray poetry, or even revealed

insights that are particular to women. This is part of the silencing of women which feminist

critique of literature points out.

 Attrition and death. The enthusiasm for writing in Binisaya did not last beyond the

generation of the Sanghiran writers. The public school system instituted by the Americans

was adopted after independence and English remained as medium of instruction. The

fledgling Philippine Republic adopted Tagalog as basis for a national language which was to

be called Filipino. These two languages assumed dominance in Philippine life—English, the

official language, the language of government and commerce, and Filipino, the national

language. Only English and Filipino were allowed in the schools.

From the early 1900s onwards, Philippine schools were producing English language

readers. The educated find little use for Binisaya in their pursuit of their careers. The

intelligentsia were no longer interested in writing or reading poetry in the mother language

as they were in the flush of the short-lived victory against Spain. Binisaya became the

language for the marketplace and the streets, without status, pride and honor among its

users. The stringent political atmosphere of Martial Law which Marcos declared in 1972 and

which lasted until 1986, may be counted among the conditions which discouraged the

creation of poetry, not only among speakers of Waray but also in the whole country. But

Martial Law also heated up the milieu for the creation of subversive literature. Samples of

these pieces appear in the subsection entitled “Mga Siday han Kagiosan” in Sugbu’s Tinipigan.

Francisco Aurillo who, writing in the 90s, made social commentaries in verse in his

weekly column. In this way Aurillo continued the tradition of the Sanghiran poets who wrote

social commentary in verse for the periodicals, the main outlets for poetry during the post-

Spanish era. By the 80s Agustin El O’Mora was practically writing alone, almost without any

hope of publication. A consummate and prodigious artist, he was said to have written five

thousand poems and sacred music in his lifetime, the last of the giants of the Sanghiran.
 Song remained the most enduring venue for expression in the language. In the 70s

and 80s Pablo Rebadulla wrote “Basuni” and “Uwata,” which to this day, enjoy the popularity

of a folksong, well-loved and remembered. When I came to Leyte in 1982, the average college

student was reading in either English or Filipino. There were no reading materials in the

mother tongue. Lucente and Makabenta were still household names, but no one among the

young had read any of their works. It might be said with some degree of accuracy that Waray

literature had gone back to its preliterate state but in a much bigger way with the advent of

radio. This phenomenon, however, was hardly confined to Waray—it was country-wide, and

affected practically all local languages. Literature in the local languages was largely ignored.

Keeping the languages out of academe had resulted in the marginalization and degradation

of the culture they embodied.

Waray Literature that had bloomed with so much exuberance in the first half of the

20th century, withered on the stem, so to speak, overtaken by the social and political

necessities of the second half. In fairness, this was not the intended effect of the national

language policy. The situation had prompted the poet and critic Bienvenido Lumbera to

declare many Visayan literatures dead for obvious reasons: No new literary pieces were being

created in these languages and there was no readership for whatever materials still remained.

But deep in the recesses of communal memory, the Warays still kept faith with their language

and its poetry.

Part 3: George

e. Problems in Waray literary Production and Scholarship

 After over centuries since the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, of rallying for national

freedom, out of foreign rule, decades since ousting a dictator, Leyte and Samar provinces

remain Waray.

Most Leyte-Samarnons have already gotten accustomed to being called Waraynons;

hence, it has been challenging to grapple out of such a derogative label. Waray literally

translates to “nothing” in English. The term itself discredits Leyte and Samar’s rich history,

culture, literature, and their contribution to the national cultural milieu: Waray history, Waray

culture, Waray literature, Waray identity (No history, no culture, no literature, no identity)

that makes Leyte-Samarnons Waraynon (Destitute).

Their rich culture and historical narratives mirrored in the verses of their siday,

however, belies the notion that the Waray is truly Waraynon.

The siday is one of the earliest poetic forms in Eastern Visayas documented by Fr.

Ignatio Francisco Alzina around 1668 characterized as dodecasyllabic in structure and was

originally chanted to praise the beauty of a woman or bravery of a man. In the early 1900s,

the overall structure of the siday was fixed in dodecasyllabic meter with an AAAA rhyme

scheme and was usually written in quatrains or octaves.

The themes tackled by the siday have deliberately changed overtime, from being

merely a mean of exaltation to an expression and evocation of dissent and patriotism, such

as when English written literatures boomed and became a trend during the American era, the

siday, among other regional literatures, proliferated and contested the rising English canons,

criticizing the American rule, and depicting the clamors of the Filipino masses.
 A similar case scenario happened during the Martial Law. The siday of the 20th century

manifest the masses’ condemnation of the Marcos regime. In fact, a great number of

retrieved siday in the study of Dela Rosa 20th century Ninorte Samarnon Siday: A Collection

and Translation were revolutionary verses authored by the members of the New People’s

Army (NPA).

In the present, the siday still tackles the same varied themes: progressive,

environmental, and romantic, to name a few. Its intrinsic elements, however, underwent

major changes. With the domination of the Western culture in the country, the siday, in order

to preserve its space in the modern era, needed to adapt. As a result, the modern siday lost

its definite meter and rhyme scheme, and has adopted some aspects of the modern and pop

culture.

Despite the changes that transformed the siday to its more westernized form today,

it remains the literature of the Leyte-Samarnon masses that speaks the language of the

masses.

The siday is only one of the many regional literatures pushed to the periphery by the

Tagalog and English canons in the early 1960s which were only greatly recognized two

decades later by literary critics and scholars due to the realization that “regional literature

will have to be considered more seriously before the label Philippine Literature can assume a

more valid meaning as a concept that encompasses not only literature in the Tagalog-

speaking regions and/or Philippine Literature in English, but the works produced outside the

cities.” (Reyes, 1987)

Through the years, Waray literature faced several hurdles before being recognized for

what it really is today. One of the notable challenges faced by the said literature was the
looming Tagalog Imperialism in the 1980s which considered Tagalog as the dominant

Philippine language as discussed in the third chapter of John E. Barrios’s Kritikang Rehiyonal.

Such was also mentioned by Resil Mojares in his On Native Grounds: The Significance of

Regional Literature that aside from the literatures written in the foreign language medium,

Tagalog-written literatures were considered the ruling literature in the past, and thus,

uncritically equated with national literature. This kindled a resistance against the Tagalog

language and literary canons, and fueled the drive to carve Waray literature’s own space at

the center of Philippine literature.

It would take rigorous and continuous effort to preserve the space of the siday in the

national spectrum. To enrich it further it should put at the center of Leyte-Samar literary

studies, which is what it is currently lacking.

On the bright note, with the tireless labors of local writers and organizations, Waray

literature, along with the other literatures from the regions, is already slowly being widely

recognized. This development does not only benefit the Waray, because as what Mark

Bonabon—an educator and one of the well-known modern siday writers from Northern

Samar—said, “waray literature, and all other regional literatures should [indeed] be part and

parcel of the national literature, because the national literature could only be truly “national”

if it embodies the regional literatures. The canonization of regional literatures would also lead

to the intellectualization of regional languages, which in turn would help develop a truly

national language.”

The siday is the poetry of both Leyte and the Samar provinces, but in the past years,

as per Reynel Ignacio’s personal observation, “many of our literatures, anthologies,

chapbooks, and Siday collections, were produced from Leyte,” only a number were from the
Samar provinces. This does not mean, however, that siday from Samar is neglected. The

problem stems from the limited publications that would publish the siday.

For instance, Dela Rosa was able to retrieve numerous siday from Northern Samar. A

great number of these, however, before her retrieval, were unpublished and thus unavailable

to the public. The same problem persists today, “[t]here are many writers who write siday in

Northern Samar but we can barely read them because the publication for the siday is still

limited,” Reynel Ignacio said.

Another challenge the siday faces, added Ignacio, is its range of readership: “Young

writers emerge from the creative writing workshops in the region like Lamiraw and university-

based workshops. There were many writers in Northern Samar who became fellows of these

workshops but only few continue to write. Perhaps because only a few read siday. To be

honest, we [siday writers] are the only ones reading our works. As of now, I only know very

few writers in Northern Samar.”

The greatest challenge that the siday faces today is on “how to convince young people

to venture into writing siday. This is because English is seen by many, especially by the youth,

as the privilege language; hence, they spend and expend much more time learning English

than Filipino or Ninorte Samarnon,” said Bonabon.

“DepEd and CHED should reach out to local writers and organizations to create and

indigenize teaching-learning materials to educate and reeducate the youth on the importance

of regional languages and literatures. Also, the support we could get from LGUs and NGOs to

sponsor seminars, workshops, and contests is crucial to help further this endeavor to

champion siday,” Bonabon added.

 The pursuit of maintaining the place of the siday in the national spectrum has already

greatly contributed to the enrichment of Waray literature. All it takes is will and perseverance,

and love for one’s own culture. “Writing is a poor man’s job because writers rarely, barely

earn a living from writing. Most siday writers have full-time jobs. We just juggle between work

and writing. Take the case of Pablo Rebadulla, of Trinidad Pinca, of Jeremy Evardone, of

Reynel Ignacio. We write siday because primarily, we wanted to contribute to the regional

literature, and to inspire young people to write in their mother tongue,” answered Bonabon

when asked as regards the status of the siday and the siday writers in Northern Samar.

Current organizations that actively and tirelessly work in championing Eastern Visayan

Literature are KATIG (Katig-uban han Magsusurat ha Sinirangan Bisayas), which annually

conducts Lamiraw Creative Writing Workshop funded by the NCCA and has recently published

Pinili: 15 Years of Lamiraw which could be accessed and freely downloaded from Freelipiniana

Online Library of UP, CALAO (Calbayog Literary Arts Organization), and ALAG (Abaknon

Literary Arts Guild).

Fortunately, the pandemic have little to no effect to the siday writers’ community. On

the contrary, the pandemic offered them an opportunity: “The online platform has been very

helpful in championing Waray literature during this time of pandemic. Despite the

intermittent internet connection, advocates of Waray literature still persevere to conduct

online workshops and webinars. Siday writing contests are facilitated via social media. Also,

online journals like Kabisdak give much more space to regional literary forms, like the siday,”

said Bonabon. The utilization of the digital media for this purpose made workshops and

webinars on the Eastern Visayan Literature reach a broad range of participants, giving it its

due exposure.
 The siday has still a long way to go before it could become part of the canons, but its

gradual development could already be considered as a huge leap in giving Eastern Visayan

Literature its due recognition. The siday’s existence in the Waray Literature proves that the

Waraynons are not destitute—they have history, they have culture, and they have their own

literature.

2. Siday/ Poetry

A study titled, “An mga Siday han mga Samarnon ug Leytenhon: Identidad,

Kasaysayan, Mga Isyu, at Kalagayan nito sa Kasalukuyan” Siday/ poem was defined as:

Ang Siday, na istandard na katawagang Waray para sat tula, ay ginagamit o binibigkas

upang purihin ang kabayanihan ng mga ninuno, ang kagandahan ng isang babae, o ang

katapangan ng isang mandirigma. Maririnig din ang mga siday sa tuwing mayroong

pagpupugay sa isang mahalaga at sikat na tao sa kaniyang kaarawan, sa tuwing may naihalal

o nailuluklok sa kanyang mataas na puwesto sa gobyerno, pagbisita sa isang lugar o bayan, at

pagpupugay sa isang taong namayapa na (De la Rosa).”

Ang Siday ay puno ng talinghaga at masasabing ang porma nito ay nanggaling sa mga

patigo o titigohon(salawikain) ng mga Leytenhon at Samarnon (Cabardo)

Bago pa man dumating ang mga Espanyol sa ating mga lupain, mayroon nang sariling

panitikan, partikular ang mga pabigkas na anyo nito, sa mga isla ng Samar at Leyte. Ayon kay

Gracio, ang pag unlad ng pagsusulat at paglilimbag ay hindi nagbigay ng katiyakan sa pag-

usbong ng literaturang Lineyte-Samarnon.

a. Mahjong san mga Gamhanan (Oscar Muncada Monje)

Introduction
Mahjong is a game from China that was developed in 19th century in China and has spread

throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players. The

game widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have also become

popular in Western countries. This game is a mind sport that requires tactics, observation,

and adaptive strategies. This poem depicts the issue or what will happened, and who will win

if a Priest, General, Judge, and Senator- these people who played a major role in the society

play mahjong.

Author’s Background

Oskar Muncada Monje is from Laoang Northern Samar. He is a poet, playwright, and

composer. He received Gawad Palanca Award in 1988 it is a literary award for Philippine

writers. Usually referred to as the “Pulitzer Prize of the Philippines”, it is the country’s highest

literary honor in terms of prestige. He is considered as one of the living pillars of Ninorte

Samarnon Literature. His famous works are Si Mana Cordapia Mahjong san mga Gamhanan,

Pitad, Inop, Lamiraw, Subasko, Namilingpiling lugod an Diyos etc.

The Work and Its Analysis

Mahjong san mga Gamhanan

by Oskar Monje

Kuntâ an swimming pool

Mahagkot. Marasa lumangóy.

Pero didí sa freestyle sa

Mahjong san mga gamhanan

Nagtitikapasô lâ—hasta an pitsas

Nag-aasó. Nagharubas na

Badô sirá Obispo ug Henerál

Kaatubang sirá Judge ngan Senadór.

Balasa: Breast stroke Mandarín.

Human Rights: hanginán,

Ecology: flower lâ itón.

Kay kun kong ngan sagasâ,

May bayad gihapon.

Bihira an before the fifth

Kundî si Heneral nagdaúg

Dayon. Triple an bayarán; mayaon

Pa nakulób nga secret.

Waray mo. Bayad syimpre.

Exempted si Monsignor nga

Perdido. Nagda-diversion lâ—

Dî’ bale. Sayô nga pontifical mass

Lâ itón. Buwás dayon…

Si Judge makasayô na-paw:

Doble an bayad sa ngatanán.

Nagsunód-sunód an kabig nirá

Henerál ngan Senadór; basta

Lista lâ ngun-a si Monsignor.

Gin-una magpintas nga Padî nga Waráy:

Fr. Edgardo Kangleon: Pong!

Fr. Rudy Romano: Pong!

Ginsunód dayon an blitzkreg nga snacks:

Fr. Tulio Favali: Pong!

Fr. Cesar Ligaspi: Pong!

Fr. Carl Schmitz: Pong!

Fr. Mario Estorba: Pong!

Fr. Dionisio Malalay: Pong!

Fr. Narciso Pico: Pong!

Fr. Alejandrino Abing: Pong!

Fr. Rex Mansmann: Ups, standing par.

Fr. Nerelito Satur: Pong! Pong!

 Todas!

Iskalera. All up

Siyete pares. Jai alai

Kong ngan sagasâ

Secret ug royal nga flower

Sige lâ an barayaráy. Warâ

Tugbusay. Tubtob maagahon.

Pwe! Si Obispo sige an kapirde

An kanya mga kapadian

Ginpa-kong-sagasâ:

“Ad mahjongrem

Potentiae gloriam!”

Mahjong would seem to be the purview of ladies of leisure in the Philippines, or

wherever else it is played around the world, indulged in by all socio-economic classes. It’s a

pastime that transgresses the boundary between leisure play and full-scale gambling. A

typical foursome at play, doing the Chinese version.

The siday “Mahjong san mga Gamhanan” of Oscar Muncada Monje is one of the most

controversial contemporary literary pieces because of the vibrant flavor of symbolism used in

the poem. Knowing all of the context of how mahjong is played isn’t necessary to analyze the

poem. To deeply understand the symbolisms used is to understand the historical aspect of
the text (transition period- Marcos, EDSA, post-EDSA). It requires an in-depth awareness of

how those times shifted in the lives of the Filipinos.

The title itself can be viewed as the gamble of life. In the first two lines, we can infer

that the writer tries to convince us the unlikeness of mahjong to a swimming pool by simply

using two different descriptions “mahagkot” and “nagtitikapaso”. It could mean, the fate of

the people can be likened to the two contrasting terms. Their lives are exposed to two

opposite directions. As we continue with the poem, it consecutively mentions names that

pertains to prominent individuals in the society. They are the important people of the church

and the government who gamble our fate. They are at war and during this fight, their true

identities were revealed which is reflected in lines “Nagtitikapasô lâ—hasta an pitsas/Nag-

aasó. /Nagharubas na/Badô sirá Obispo ug Henerál/Kaatubang sirá Judge ngan Senadór” and

they are just doing it for their own (ecology: flower la iton). Which

The lines “Dî’ bale. Sayô nga pontifical mass/ Lâ itón. Buwás dayon…” may mean to

say that the church is just using the people to either expose or conceal its power depending

on the situations. During the times that the government stabilizes the press, the Church acted

the lead to pronounce their rights.

The poem also depicts the conflict that arises among them because everyone’s target

is to win the game which resulted to clash of tricks and techniques. This happened when these

people were the ones who rule the land during Marcos regime. The government is powerful

to lay its hands to the country by building boundaries.

In the succeeding lines at the last part of the poem, the word ‘pong’ is mentioned

repeatedly which can mean that it is given emphasis. It is coined to names of priests who were

considered victims during those times of oppression.

 In conclusion, this text was written to awaken everyone’s minds. Those times were

the hardest transition ever. We are not in control of our own fate, rather we were blinded by

lies we wish to believe in. Did we really restore our democracy during the EDSA Revolution?

Did these people whom we believed are forerunners in the restoration of Philippine

democracy from decades of oppressive and autocratic rule of Ferdinand Marcos did this

genuinely or did they just gamble us?

Form

The poem is an open form or mixed form of poetry. It consists of 37-lines with

inconsistent meter patterns, rhyme or any musical pattern. The poem is rich in literary

devices. Not to mention the use of metaphor, in the first two lines “Kuntâ an swimming pool/

Mahagkot. Marasa lumangóy.” But it was followed with a term opposite to it.

But it uses repetition of words, alliteration and occasional rhymes at the ends of lines.

On the other hand, words used present a more vivid meaning. This can be referred to as “open

form” or “mixed form” of poetry.

Commentary

The poem “Mahjong san mga Gamhanan” written by Oscar Muncada Monje features

the rich cultural background in the Philippines specifically with the influence of fellow Asian

country China. It is an “open form” of poetry with diverse elements. It is a celebration of the

importance of knowing the rules in playing the game that adds up to the chance of winning

the game. It also highlights the names of prominent individuals in the society, such as Obispo,

Heneral, Judge, Senador, Monsignor and Padi. The terms were commonly linked to influential

persons in the society.

 Looking back at the poem as a whole, one must consider the setting which is within

the same locality because the players are within the same game.

Structurally, the poem consists of 37 lines. No consistent rhyme scheme is followed.

The fact that the author does not rely upon rhyme to produce sonorous effects places more

on symbolic terms which can be found in every lines of the poem.

In fact, the author’s style of comparing two unlikely things and uses familiar figures in

the society gives us a clearer overview of what the poem actually means. The concept of

attaching terms to each figure seems natural and closest to reality. It is also important to note

that the way the author writes the poem is inviting because of its exact word choice and its

vivid meaning. The author’s intent is clearly to relate a very meaningful scenario in life to

invoke awareness of what one can do in spite of different status in life.

b. Pagtug-on (Mark P. Bonabon)

Introduction

The poem “Pagtug-on” written by the talented writer Mark P. Bonabon is one of the

contemporary masterpieces in the 21st literature. “Pagtug-on” exemplifies the beauty of local

color in the literature of Northern Samar. The poem is written in the Ninorte-Samarnon

dialect, with focus on a local character, and the poem can be inferred was set in the beautiful

place of Northern Samar. In addition, the culture reflected in the poem gives us a glimpse on

the rich tradition of Nortehanons when it comes to courtship. It is the direct way of comparing

two unlikely things in a more interesting and practical terms.

Author’s Background
 Mark P. Bonabon is a writer and senior high school teacher from Biri, Northern Samar.

He has been a writing fellow to various regional and national creative writing workshops:

Lamiraw (2017 and 2019), Iligan National Writers Workshop (2018), Palihang LIRA (2020),

Palihang Rogelio Sicat 14 (2021), and 10th Kritika La Salle National Writing Workshop on Art

and Cultural Criticism (2022). Some of his works have been included in print and online literary

anthologies, and have been published in national magazines like Philippines Graphic,

Liwayway, The Modern Teacher.

He is a member of Katig-uban han Magsusurat ha Sinirangan Bisayas (KATIG), and

Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo (LIRA).

The Work and Its Analysis

PAGTUG-ON

by Mark P. Bonabon

Diday, pamati sini nga akon sagdon

Antes mo batunon sa “oo”

An nangingint’res sa imo,

Adi mun-a an imo angay himuon—

Agdaha siya sa iyo balay basi kumaon,

Pamahaw, panginudto o panihapon.

Pero siya an sugua pagtug-on

 Ngan sa iya luto ka maghuhukom

Kun “oo” o “diri” an imo ibabaton.

Kay Diday, an gugma

Mala bugas nga ginsugna—

Kun latȃ, buwa-buwa;

Kun matagudtod, diri ungod-ungod.

The siday “Pagtug-on” is one of the contemporary literary pieces written by a

local writer which transpires in the rich locality of Northern Samar. As I read the poem, I

immediately realize how the writer loves his hometown by the vivid imagery and sensuality

that he offers on the plate. From the title alone, one can directly say that the poem’s recurring

message centers to the household chore “pagtug-on” or cooking rice in English which is

common in every family. Thus, we can say that the author displayed love for ordinary

scenarios in the life of the Filipinos, specifically of the Nortehanons.

The theme centers on the right decision of choosing a partner or saying “yes” to a

suitor. In the line, “Agdaha sa iyo balay basi kumaon”, is a common request to suitors to test

his decency and is also part of the Filipino tradition. This is still happening as of now and also

followed by most couples who are in the stage of dating or courtship. The terms used reflect

the rich culture of Nortehanons most commonly to natives here in Norther Samar. Bonabon

spares no detail to prove that beauty of local literature is within our eyes.
 From the first line, the author uses the name “Diday” which is a common name to

refer to a girl in the locality of Biri (author’s hometown) and its neighboring island-

municipalities. He is trying to convince us that the addressee is a girl to whom the poem is

being addressed to. In this sense, the speaker is trying to make a request to the addressee to

listen to what s/he speaks about. What I like about the poem is Bonabon’s strong sense of

remark by using a comparison of two unlikely things “pagtug-on” and love which are far more

different terms. They seem to just pop out from the poem, giving the reader an impression

that they could have been, and could very well be, real connected.

The speaker compares the types of “tinug-on” to the level of love one can offer to

his/her loved one which can either be true or not. Throughout the poem, the prominent

literary device used is simile which the author directly compared love of the guy to the “tinug-

on”. Also, in the fifth line, we can spot the use of alliteration in the words “pamahaw”,

“panginudto” and “panihapon”. This structure adds up to the rich flavor of the poem because

it conveys a strong sense of likeness with it comes to sound. We can surmise that the speaker

is one of the parents or grandparents, or any immediate relatives of a certain girl, older than

her and has an experience being in a relationship.

Most writers often base their characters on real life experiences. If I am going to went

deeper on the content, the speaker may mean to say that every girl should have a sharp

decision over saying “yes” to her suitor. If I may be so bold, this was quite an impressive word.

The ending reflected real scenarios of having either a “pagtug-on” which is “lata” or

“matagudtod”, to be more specific, can be likened to love.

In its entirety, “Pagtug-on” focuses on rich culture of Nortehanons having a strong

value on the “pagtug-on" which requires an exact mixture of water and fire to make its output
perfect. The same is needed when it comes to love. It should be taken cared of with the right

ingredients to make a perfect combination to make it perfectly great.

The concept is distinctly Filipino but essentially global. People anywhere around the

world wished to meet and be with someone who can give him/her the greatest and truest

love s/he deserves. In other words, the poem has a universal meaning which can make us

believe that true love is as precious and important as “pagtug-on”. Most importantly,

“pagtug-on” has a very large impact on the lives of our young generation.

Sometimes, they tend to give less attention to more important things in our lives just

like entering into a relationship. The role of time and effort which are inseparable and equally

significant to make love true and boundless were given less credit. In a wider sense, the poem

“Pagtug-on” is an eye-opener to our new generation. It is a mind-shifting piece that can

enlighten every reader’s view/s about love. It is a perfect piece for them.

Form

The poem consists of 13-lines with inconsistent meter patterns, rhyme or any musical

pattern. But it uses repetition of words, alliteration and occasional rhymes at the ends of lines.

It also features another literary device called simile that can be found in the eleventh line of

the poem. On the other hand, words used present a more vivid meaning. This can be referred

to as “open form” or “mixed form” of poetry.

Commentary

The poem “Pagtug-on” written by Mark P. Bonabon, is an “open form” of poetry with

diverse elements. It is a celebration of the importance of true love, not being simple and easy,
but requires time and effort. It highlights the term “pagtug-on” being likened to the essence

of courtship in the local.

In the first four lines, the author offers a descriptive way between the “pagtug-on”

and accepting one’s love. The author establishes the lines as an observer, using a first-person

perspective in his writing. His usage of this particular style alerts the reader that this poem

will entail a very personal dialogue in which he will directly relate his senses, experiences and

impressions. Indeed, the author immediately relates his impressions of the likeness of

“pagtug-on” to the ‘sweet yes’ of a girl to her suitor. In the sixth line, the author uses

alliteration of “pamahaw”, “panginudto” o “panihapon”.

The final four lines concludes by mentioning “Kay Diday, an gugma/ Mala bugas nga

ginsugna—/Kun latȃ, buwa-buwa;/ Kun matagudtod, diri ungod-ungod” reflects the direct

likeness of love to the cooked rice of variations.

Looking back at the poem as a whole, one must consider the setting which is within

the locality because of its typical use of word or name “Diday”.

Structurally, the poem consists of 13 lines. No consistent rhyme scheme just like a

sonnet, but rhymes can be found in lines. The fact that the author does not rely upon rhyme

to produce sonorous effects places more emphasis on alliteration. There are several notable

instances of alliteration in the poem including “pagtug-on”, “panginudto” o “panihapon”.

In fact, the author’s style of comparing two unlikely things epitomizes the poem.

“Pagtug-on” tells the story of a girl who happens to have a suitor and is in the dating stage.

The twist here is the decision depending on the result of “pagtug-on” of the man. The

concepts of refusal or acceptance is also an interesting topic especially to modern youngsters

who sometimes consider love artificially. It is also important to note that the way the author

writes the poem is inviting because of its exact word choice and its vivid meaning. The

author’s intent is clearly to relate a very meaningful experience in life to inspire others over

decision-making especially to very crucial topics. Above all else, this poem is timely yet

perennial because of how it relates to every generation. This can make them think a million

times before a final decision be made. This piece is a must-read one and I highly recommend

it to you.

c. Burong (Aivee Badulid – Eastern Samar)

Author’s Background

Aivee Badulid Hails from Dolores, Eastern Samar. Secretary of KATIG Writers’ Network.

Translator and editor. Writes Poetry in the variant of Waray spoken in Eastern Samar known

as Estehanon. She graduated at the University of the Philippines Tacloban College with a

degree of BA Communication Arts. Literature Communication. The most widely held works By

Aivee C. Badulid is Pinili: 15 years of Lamiraw -Napulo ug lima ka tuig han Lamiraw and

Tinalunay: hinugpong nga panurat nga winaray.

The Work

Burong (alang kan Pulano nga di nakakatultol)

ni Aivee Badulid

Namamalanga ka pa ada

‘tim’ pagbinaktas kawaog

Ha kagugub-an ‘tim’ mga hingyap, inop-

Di ngan’, ha pagbiniling nim’

‘tim’ di mabilngan nga kalugaringon

Ha ginhadian nira nga bulawanon –

Bang’ nagpabalyo ka na ha barani basi

Di ka na pung- awon

Di ka na manumdom

Pagliskad ‘tim’ bado

Pagturoy han dalan

Tipakat’ ‘tam’ balay portahan,

Kun hin-o hain san-o ka tiabot,

Ambot.

Ha ak’, ini la’t sayod-

Kahahalapad pa’t kalibutan

Nga’k puydi pagdaru-dalagan.

Ngan it’ dughan

 It’ dughan natututduan

Pagnawa.

Analysis

The poem Burong (alang kan Pulano nga di nakakatultol) by Aivee Badulid is a literary

piece that gives a glimpse of the psyche and belief of Leytehanons. The Title itself is commonly

heard from townsfolk referring to someone who got lost in his way. Pulano is the name

ascribed to men in general in the locality.

In the first stanza, it is immediately indicated that the persona is trying to come up

with answers to her own questions as to why the addressee is delayed in returning home. The

persona is thinking that the man amused in his wandering. His baffled mind filled with chaotic

thoughts and dreams may have addled him into a confused state and got lost in the process.

In the second stanza, the persona’s guesses became more melancholic. It finally

entertained the thoughts of her being replaced by someone nearer. He may have chosen to

settle at the one who is at arm’s length than taking the long way home back to her. The

persona is thinking that it is his way to appease his sadness and boredom while he is away.

She is guessing that he may have forgotten to wear his shirt in reverse manner, and because

of that he also forgot to tread the path to their house.

The next line expresses the dwindling hope of the persona. She acknowledged that

she has no knowledge as to when the man will finally return. After the wild guesses that she

made to comfort herself, she finally admitted that one thing is for certain: his return is

uncertain.
The last stanza emanates determination and understanding. It gives off a sense of renewed

hope and enthusiasm. In the first and second, and third stanzas, the persona is succumbing

to negative thoughts, the last one discards them. She is not giving up.

The poem could also be interpreted in different light. It could signify how some people

get “lost” in the track of knowing what is good or not. It is a message for those who have gone

astray and were beguiled by false promises and empty hopes. In a political viewpoint, this is

common. Some people seem to forget their principles upon catching a glimpse of money,

luxury, and power. The possibility and promise of comfort addle the minds of many, which

results to them disposing their values and beliefs.

Also, this poem can also be related to life and its lessons. There are times when we do

not tread the path that we were supposed to take. We take a different direction that is not

our original route. Or, in some cases, we experience delays while trying to navigate our

decisions in life. A lot of factors resulted to this detour. Most of the times, when the going

gets tough, we resort to things that are easier for us instead of continuing amidst challenges.

We can get distracted of the things around us that hamper our progress in reaching our goals

and dreams.

Another way of interpreting the poem is that it may refer to those people who seemed

to forget about their roots. It could refer to those who went away and cannot seem to

remember the province or the rural life. They might have been indulging themselves into

newfound comforts in a different place. While they are away, they have gradually forgotten

their values and beliefs. Despite this, those who were left behind, or even the province itself,

is waiting for their return.

Form
 The poem has an irregular structure, rhyming scheme, and meter. These had

effectively alluded to the confusion and uncertainty that a lost person feels as well as the

doubts of the one waiting for his return. Amidst all the things, occupying his mind, the man

may have lost not only his way home but also his own self. And the promise of comfort by the

“golden kingdom” may have lured him to stay and pacify his mind.

Commentary

This poem is addressed to Pulano. It is the Leytehanon counterpart of John or Juan in

Tagalog areas. Based on the title, the poem is being addressed to Pulano, a man who lost his

way home and is being ardently waited for the persona of the poem. A superstitious belief

was also depicted, that if one lost, he should wear his shirt in reverse to be back on track. The

persona never lost hope, she knows that her heart has a room for understanding and loving

as vast as the world.

In political viewpoint, ambitions fuel acts of deception, and people of authority take

advantage of them. Roads or paths are common analogies of seeking truth and hope, that's

why "tuwid na daan" is incorporated in campaigns to represent good governance

3. Short Fiction

Nano Kay Diri Mamingaw sa Amon Baryo (Jeremy Evardone)

This paper yields an analysis of an original Waray fiction titled Nano kay diri mamingaw

sa amon baryo yana nga gab-i. It is written by Jeremy Evardone, a native of Eastern Visayas.

The story is written using the first-person point of view or the vantage point of the main

character.
 The story emanates an eerie atmosphere. It chronicles the journey of the main

character, an unnamed female, traversing her way back home. Under the pitch-black night,

she kept on hearing disturbing sounds of a nail being hammered—a sound, which she and her

barrio believe signifies the making of a coffin for someone who just died. Her barrio is usually

quiet, especially after the sun goes down. But that particular night, the sound of hammering

was intensely ear-splitting. Although perturbed, we hear the main character reminisce her

childhood: going home from their fields (umahan) while riding in a cart tied to a carabao. This

was Evardone’s attempt to give us an overview of the main character without necessarily

deviating from the original setting.

As she rushes home to confirm if someone indeed died that night, she kept on having

the prickling feeling that it was someone she knew. It could be the old folks in their barrio, or

worse, one of her family. What she found staggered her even more. The barrio native that

died was indeed someone she knew, part of her family even. It was her lying on the ground

with a bullet piercing through her head and fresh banana leaves wrapping her corpse.

The writer artfully employed figures of speech to build the audience’s expectations.

For one, personifications: when she described how the rice fields whisper and how the birds

sing in glorious harmony. We also hear hyperboles and onomatopoeia: from the hammering

of nails that seemed to pierce her heart to her almost ghost-like and weightless body

journeying back home. I find these like the icing of a cake—adding life to the dull and plain

baked batter.

The author built up the story prodigiously from the start until the end. However,

Evardone did not leave us clueless. He sprinkled hints of who really died at the end throughout

the beginning and middle parts. One is when the main character recalled hearing gunshots
earlier that day and told us she could not remember what happened after. She even said it

was a military encounter. A keen reader would notice that this is a crucial hint of what will

transpire at the end.

The way I saw it, Evardone succeeded in masterfully sustaining the thrill without

sacrificing the story’s substance. I say this because as the girl was running, my anticipation

and eagerness to also find out who died intensified. When she finally arrived in their abode,

perplexed what happened because there was a throng in front of her, I too was extremely

baffled. She tried to immerse herself in the crowd while asking her fellow folks what

happened and who died, but not a single soul answered her back. It was like no one could see

or hear her. Speechless because she confirmed that one of her family died, she became ever

more aghast when their kapitan raised the banana leaves wrapping the corpse, she saw

herself.

The story’s ending is akin to scenes in classic horror movies where the protagonist

finds out the truth and a long deafening silence fills the environment. From the main

character’s vantage point, everything and everyone stopped—the people stopped talking, her

nanay and tatay stopped wailing, her brother stopped lamenting, the hammers stopped

thumping. The world was silent—it was the sound of her death.

The short story reflects the unfortunate fate of innocent people, who died because of

military shootouts. They are what some uniformed men unabashedly call “collateral damage.”

Evardone wrote this short story long before, but sadly, this unfortunate event is still

widespread up to this day. In conclusion, Nano kay diri mamingaw sa amon baryo yana nga

gab-i is a fantastic work of literature written by one of the greatest writers of Waray literature.

It has undeniable relevance to contemporary accidental killings of civilians due to military

encounters. Analyzing this piece from the lens of reader-response theory would indeed afford

anyone an enjoyable reading experience. More so, this fiction is deserving of our reverence

because it is an original Waray story, written by one of our own. It is a reflection of the

creativity of the Waray—something that is sadly overlooked and unrewarded by its own

community.