• PSR 22(1974): 117-133 SAGADA CLIPPINGS Sagada Social Studies No.7 (March 1956) Selections from THE SAGADA POSTBOY Originally published 1952-56 (see terminal Note, below) • 23 December 1952. Marriage Feast in the Iii. All through last night and today was heard the Keeping the traditional custom are seven beating of the ganzas and the singing of the couples celebrating the babayas (marriage feast debate in a form of a ballad by the men and day) today. Mr. Apolinario Molina - a Dangwa women. This yearly pagan fiesta, as we night bus driver - is one of them. Friends of the term it, shows the proportion of pagans to celebrants from other towns and barrios are Christians. The number of men goingout to the invited. This is the time when near and distant patpatayan, sacred spots where the pagan men relatives come to know each other as they go to pay homage to their gods before starting gather for the wedding. The weddings are their fiesta, is decreasing cNery year. Around accompanied by the beating of the gangsas and two-thirds oflast year's celebrants wasseen this native dances. At the door of some houses you year. With more prayers of the Church for the .. may see pine trees. That is the sign that conversion of the heathen, this yearly pagan wedding feasts are being celebrated in those begnas, we hope, will become Christian merry­ houses. makingand not the worshipping of idols. 15 January 1953. Sagada Milestone. Awaw-a, 19 March 1953. Abebs (edible beetles) are here 80, the grand old man of the Lusban dap-ay of with us again. The noisy munching of this Demang died at his home after more than a delicacy on the supper table will not matter. month's illness of suspected stomach ache. He What matters will be the passing of belated died at two o'clock last Tuesday afternoon and news during the suspended time of waiting, it was just taken to the caves this afternoon will be the hustle bustle hurry, the pushing, following the pagan burial customs. Surviving crowding, bumping into one's head, the bn.sh­ are his wife, two daughters, six grandchildren, ing of elbows, the sheer joy and excitement as and eight great-grandchildren. grandparents, parents, aunties, uncles and small ones pick up the beetles. All these of course 19 February 1953. Camote Preservation. This is will be accompanied by the flying, buzzing and • the time when camotes are matured in crawling of the beetles. How long this season abundance. Since matured camotes cannot stay will last no one knows. We are only sure that in the ground any longer, they are being dug for this occasion will repeat itself year in and out. preservation. Camotes are preserved by being sliced into thin pieces and dried in the sun for 13 May 1953. Abeb and AnlJy. On May Sth, three or more days depending upon the heat. before sunset, we made our way towards the Camote flour can be obtained from boko (dried birthplace of many abebs. Messrs. Cullano, camote). The dried carnotes are used as a Federis, Balanza, Lardizabal and Carlin were substitute for fresh camotes when there is my companions. We soon carne within the heart scarcity of new roots. of the abeb territory which I thought looked 8 March 1953. A three-day "Begnas," yearly like the Grand Canyon. I neversawit except in pagan ceremony, started in Sagada yesterday. pictures. When night came we all went home. • 117 118 PHILIPPINE SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW • On our way we found anay (termites with evening came the youngest asked to take a bath wings). We filled our baskets with them to add but the oldest daughter went home, leaving to ourabeb. the two younger sisters to take a bath. Upon 20 May 1953. Across the River in Dongyowan reaching home she told her mother that she in A/ab, where Mrs. Basco and I went for a visit worked very hard whereas her sisters did two weeks ago, is a bamboo grove, which the nothing but play. Her mother believed what pagan people keep sacred. It is said that if a her daughter told her' because of her muddy bamboo tree is cut, a storm or sickness will clothes. The mother decided to punish the come on the people of the community. Mrs. other two sisters for not helping in the work. Basco, being a Christian, did not believe this. When the two younger sisters reached home, . She cut three bamboo trees to be used for their mother whipped them. The youngest making her pig troughs. The pagans shouted at received the most severe punishment. She her that she would be blamed for any misfor­ was not allowed to go near or eat with her tune to come. Unluckily for two days after that sisters. The next day they went to the fields there 'wasa strong wind. The pagans telephoned to work again but the youngest child could Mrs. Basco to return the bamboos, but she did not work well because she was always thinking not do so. They therefore demanded a chicken of how she could escape from her family's from Mrs. Basco's mother as a fme. Let us pray severity. She wished that she would become that those people will soon give up their pagan a bird, and immediately her wish came true. beliefs and tum to God. She flew on top of a tree and sang, "King biding, king biding," which means "At last 4 July 1953. (by M. HowSagadaGot Its Name. I am free, at last I am free." Bayang) Although our industrial decadence has reached its height during the Spanish epoch, we 11 July 1953. Sagada is not only admired for • are indebted to the Spaniards for giving usthe its natural beauty but is also abundant in its name of our town "Sagada." The story is that a forest resources. On the mountain called group of armed soldiers, perhaps under the Ampacao which bounds Sagada and the Westis command of de Goiti or Salcedo, finally the place where men go to mangkik (catching reached our door. These soldiers were wel­ of birds at night with a net). Blueberries and comed by a naked, tall, and young fisherman, wild tea grow in abundance. The tea tastes just who carried a fishing basket on his back. The like imported ones. If this could be prepared name of this basket is sagada. The Spaniards with modern methods there is a possibility that were inspired by the natural beauty of the place it would surpass foreign tea. so that they asked its name from the fisherman. The proud native, thinking that the soldiers 8 August 1953. On my way to Demang this were asking him the name of what he was week, I met a group of eight-year-old girls carrying, responded boldly, "Sagada." The looking very happy. I asked them why they • Spaniards therefore reported to the King of were happy that day. They all said cheerfully, Spain that Sagada is the name of the place "Can't you see that we are able to attend where naked but hospitable people are found. school the whole day .instead of having our Sagadameans a fishing basket. younger brothers tied on our backs? Today is Obaya (staying-home day in the iii) so our 8 July 1953. The Origin of the Biding (Rice mothers are at home to take care of them. Oh! Bird). (by R. Galiga) Once there was a mother we wish the old men would always shout Obaya with her three daughters. One day the mother so that we could go to school every day." sent her daughters to weed their rice field. When the girls reached the rice field, the 12 August 1953. A group of cooperative youngest of the three began to work very farmers built an irrigation system from O-od hard. The second played with the mud and (the outlet of the Sagadaunderground river) to made her clothes and hands very dirty. When Gabot (the fields below Namsong), but the • • SAGADA CLIPPINGS 119 fanners who own fields near the outlet pro­ is round like a pingpong ball and grows on hibited the farmers' use of the water. When crumbly soil. It is delicious, especially when these latter fanners were not able to stop the fried with onions. There used to be plenty use of the water by the co-ops, they appealed along the way to school, but now before they to the Court of First Instance in Bontoc. The even grow bigger than the eyeballs, they are court decided that the cooperative fanners will taken for the next meal immediately before any use the extra water from January to June. one else gets them. Everyone who tastes atayan cravessome more. 19 August 1953. When you happen to be visitingDemang during typhoon days, we hope 19 September 1953. Monday was the beginning you will not be surprised to see groups of ofagreatpagan feastui the village because it was young girls and boys with banana leaves as the first sowing of the palay seeds. Whenit will raincoats or umbrellas walking very happily in be an inch tall then all the fanners will put their the rain. Where are they going? The girls to the seeds in the seedbeds for planting in November. boys' houses and the boys to the girls' to pop This day is called Dayday. The people this day com. In the old days they let them pound palay celebrate by cooking rice flour with meat in the while one popped com but now parents think center, wrapped with gabi or chayote leaves.