by Fatima V. Lim
Six months since she arrived
And yet she does not speak
She must have been chained
This I guess from the bruises
On her wrists. But she will not
Let me touch them.
She trembles at the sight
Of tall men, more so at those
With shadows on their lips.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Bienvenido N. Santos
if time took longer than the blood rushing to my face
or the pace were gentler than the flow of everlasting
covenants I would with dedicated slowness remove my clothes
piece by piece and fold them into a corner of your life
and go back to them only after a quest of fingers and tongue
on every rumored treasure the pirates in your childhood
might have hoarded while the glass mountains close by
repeat the motions but not the fire of stone and ice
naked we are most faithful to the vows we shared
this is the closest we can come face to face with loss
reckoned in terms of what little remains after a while
a tarnished coin in your hand a wilted paper boat in mine
ni Iluminado Lucente
An Iruy nga Tuna matam’is pagpuy-an,
Kay diin man siplat purus kasangkayan,
Hahani an hingpit nga ak’ kalipayan,
Hahani hira nanay pati kabugtuan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Narrated by Anicio Pascual of Arayat, Pampanga, who heard the story from an old Pampangan woman.
Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a brave and powerful datu who had only one son. The son was called Pedro. In the same place lived a poor wood-cutter whose name was Juan Manalaksan.
Pedro was rich, and had no work to do. He often diverted himself by hunting deer and wild boars in the forests and mountains. Juan got his living by cutting trees in the forests. One day the datu and his son went to the mountain to hunt. They took with them many dogs and guns. They did not take any food, however, for they felt sure of catching something to eat for their dinner. When they reached the mountain, Pedro killed a deer. By noon they had become tired and hungry, so they went to a shady place to cook their game. While he was eating, Pedro choked on a piece of meat.
Read the rest of this entry »
A Tinguian Folktale
Read the rest of this entry »
A Tinguian Folklore
One day a little boy named Elonen sat out in the yard making a bird snare, and as he worked, a little bird called to him:
“Tik-tik-lo-den” (come and catch me).
“I am making a snare for you,” said the boy; but the bird continued to call until the snare was finished.
Then Elonen ran and threw the snare over the bird and caught it, and he put it other boys to swim.
While he was away, his grandmother grew hungry, so she ate the bird, and when Elonen returned and found that his bird was gone, he was so sad that he wished he might go away and never come back.
Read the rest of this entry »
An Excerpt from the original Filipino text of the Ibong Adarna corrido
By Anonymous
CORRIDO AT BUHAY NA PINAGDAANAN NANG TATLONG PRINCIPENG MAGCACAPATID NA ANAC NANG HARING FERNANDO AT NANG REINA VALERIANA SA CAHARIANG BERBANIA
Virgeng Ináng mariquit
Emperadora sa Langit,
tulungan po yaring isip
matutong macapagsulit.
Sa aua mo po’t, talaga
Vírgeng ualang macapára,
acong hamac na oveja
hulugan nang iyong gracia.
Dila co’i iyóng talasan
pauiin ang cagarilán,
at nang mangyaring maturan
ang munting ipagsasaysay.
At sa tanang nangarito
nalilimping auditorio,
sumandaling dinguin ninyo
ang sasabihing corrido.
Na ang sabi sa historia
nang panahong una-una,
sa mundo’i nabubuhay pa
yaong daquilang monarca.
At ang caniyang esposa
yaong mariquit, na reina,
ang pangala’t bansag niya
ay si doña Valeriana.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Bryan Mari Argos
It’s natural – anybody from Western Visayas,whether currently or formerly residing in should love Hiligaynon to the highest level possible.
Hypocrisy is the appropriate word for people from Western Visayas who claim that Hiligaynon is something to be ashamed of. Assuming that there are no hypocrites among those of us from this part of the country, I would like to try and test how deeply in love we are with this language. If you can answer the following ten questions correctly, then your love affair with our very own language is confirmed. Go on, dive into it.
1. Give at least three Hiligaynon words that mean ‘to carry’, each word, although meaning ‘to carry’ refers to where the item is carried.
Read the rest of this entry »
ni Bryan Mari Argos
Mabuhinan na ang akon tinig-ang
Bisan ang talagbasan.
Ang sud-an nga duha ka pantat
Mangin isa na lamang bisan
Naga-surong sang semilya
Ang aton pantatan.
Ano abi, kay tuyo mo nga paawason
Ang aton talagbasan, kag ang pantatan
Himuon nga bangrusan,
Gani, ginpili mo nga manyaga
Sa malayo nga lamesa, kun sa diin
Ang tinig-ang ko,
Ang sud-an,
Madimdiman na lang
Sa paghanduraw.
Read the rest of this entry »
A Tinguian Folktale
One day a man who had been to gather his coconuts loaded his horse heavily with the fruit. On the way home he met a boy whom he asked how long it would take to reach the house.
“If you go slowly,” said the boy, looking at the load on the horse, “you will arrive very soon; but if you go fast, it will take you all day.”
The man could not believe this strange speech, so he hurried his horse. But the coconuts fell off and he had to stop to pick them up. Then he hurried his horse all the more to make up for lost time, but the again. Many time he did this, and it was night when he reached home.
*The Tinguian is a tribe from the mountain province of Abra. They call themselves “Itneg”.