"O tagbalay nga dungganon/ kong sarang kami pasakaon
kong inde kami pasakaon, reli yang kami sa silong..."
"Vamos mga pastorsyetos makadto kita sa Belen
tagsan ninyo magaduaw kag inanak sang Birhen..."
These are opening lines of Christmans songs in Banton. The first, a pure Bantoanon carol rendition performed by the Hermanas de Maria, the second, an Ilongo/Hiligaynon version sang by the Hijas de Maria during nativity mass.
The Hermanas de Maria were enthusiastic and spirited. They caroled from house to house ‘til the wee hours of the morning’. The daigon (night caroling) persisted for years despite the preponderance of the Ilonggo/Hiligaynon prayers and songs. For example, Bantonoans recited the "Our Father" in Ilonggo, "Amay Namon" or the offerings in song during the "Flores de Mayo", "magudyaw kitang magkanta/magsaulo kay Maria, claveles kag azucena/ aton ihalad sa Iya.."
Banton town was an "open house" during Christmas day. Anyone - friend, stranger, Nacionalista or Liberal party loyalist - could literally visit a house. No questions asked. Godchildren were expected to visit their godparents during Christmas day. In our time, pinawikan (sweet rice wrapped in coconut palm leaves) was the prized catch of the day, lording it over the smaller version but a diamond shaped beauty, the suman. Of course, a house which distributed the centimo or osang bagong coins invited a long line of well-wishers.
Our Christmas tree was makeshift - branches of trees were tied to a common trunk to form a shape of a pine. We dreamed of snow, Santa and "chestnuts roasting on an open fire." Reminiscence bring ambivalence and disappointment. Now, as we mature, we find more meaning on such terms as colonial mentality, cultural indoctrination through "miseducation" , Americanization, ad infinitum. Perhaps finding one’s identity is indeed, a slow and painful process.
The Bantoanon identity or our "Pinoyness" for that matter deserves a second look. We have been stereotyped to the max: "mahugor, mabinuligon, maka-Dyos, matinahuron". My gosh, recite a litany of all the known adjectives in the dictionary and the Bantoanon looms as superhero. Genius. The flip side is, we, Bantoanons should take a serious look at ourselves.
Our coral reefs, for instance. Last April, I skin dived in the Togbongan shallows and hunted mussels, (sarinlab). I gathered a half full plastic can of these seashells. Then, for the first time in more than thirty years, I spotted a stone fish (bantoy) atop a young coral growth. I also saw a seahorse swaying with the current her tail entwined in seaweed; a butterfly fish magnificent over a blue starfish; the parrotfish scourging food on the sandy bed; a school of flat fish their silvery bodies glistening as they swam past the unsung heroes of the deep. This ephemeral experience is priceless. Yet, when you heard that "chemical" fishing is used by "some" of our kasimanwas, the anger at our own ignorance of the blessings of the sea stung deep. "Some" might dismiss it as irrelevant. However, if the relevance that one small coral could take hundreds of years to grow sinks in, our will to destroy might cease.
Molave. Pre-Spanish Banton was teeming with these trees as evidenced by the huge big molave columns in the old church and in some houses in the town. When lanson building was in its heyday, locally grown and wild molave trees provided the local craftsmen with the necessary timber for the ships. Local artisans handcrafted the church icons in molave. Molave was the ideal substitute for bamboo hand tool impliments. What discourages us to plant these trees? It seems there’s an unwritten code in each barangay: the freedom of the pig or goat, to roam as they please.
There are pitfalls in writing the history of Banton. The late Prof. Gabriel Fabella tried despite the paucity of research materials. His book, on Banton, Calatrava, and Corcuera, seems to suggest that he relied mainly on Mateo Menez’ unpublished "A Brief History of a Typical Philippine Town." Culture and historical notes are best enriched with tangible sources. Prof. Fabella missed one of these: the old Banton pueblo cemetery. Buried under the weight of the DECFS (?) high school building, are tombstone dates, names, and probably niches of Recollect friars. How about the oldest burial textile cloth found in the caves of Toctocon? It’s an important historical find - a pride of Banton. However, Prof. Fabella somehow did not write about its cultural ramifications.
Maaring ka recodo et Nasunogan ay imaw et pinalangga et Makaako. Ka hunasan et kaling baranggay ay maaari tan-ang pambato et kaugaliong "natural beauty" sa Bantoon. Ogaling yang pay asa liwit-liwitey et ato paino-ino katong mga nahihinabo kag waya pa nasikwil ka ulirang kagandahan et recodo. Kong ka hunas ay gab-i, maramong tawong nagpapanuyo. Katong inra mga rayang binu-ot ay pay mga kanrilang nagpapayong-payong kong masran sa mayado, lalo-ey kong ikaw ay asa baguntor ag nakaingkor sa osang rakong bato. Ngasing, pay kinang recodo et Nasunogan ay nasukyat et matayum alangalang yang sa ato rakong pangabay nak ka "progreso" et banwa ay mas matahum pa kong ka mga natural nak kahimtangan ay maliso ag maislan. Halimbawa, maramo pa bagang mga sihi o mga isra nak nararakop kong hunas sa Nasunogan? Maaring waya-ey siguro dahil nak kag mga "corals" ay nalihok ag guing pangtompon-tompon agor nak ka mga motor ag lanson ay ingua't mapasilongan ag mapunrohan. Napupuros ka osang tawo et yangkag rotong mga tahapong naglikwar - laloey et katong ka recodo et Nasunogan ay bayay et mga sihi, ampas, kasoy-an, mga rakan, mo-ong ag mga tilik...
Ni-o ka idamong tribong Bantoanon? Ka siling et iba ay
sungka. Maaring buko dahil kong ato kaykayon ka guing mathan et sungka, sa Africa kina
nihalin. Karang-karang? Pa'y duda kita dahil kong asuliton, uso'y sa mga anak sa Europa
lalo-ey siguro sa Espanya, ogaling yang buko bagoy o kuadan, sanga et kahoy nak pine o iba
pa. Kong sa ako, ka idamong bagoy ay tribong Bantoanon. Nak asi? Nakabasay baga kamo et
mga idamong tradisyonal et Pilipinas? Pay waya nasasambit ka idamong bagoy. Kada ngani,
pay sa Bantoon, Sibale ag Simara yang ka maramong tawong ayam magbagoy. Sa mga kabatan-on
nak Bantoanon, buko malupos ka pag-idamo et bagoy. Sa pagpaligir yang et bagoy ag
pagbaliar-ar, kamo'y ahapu-on!