Some Questions Left Unanswered


In the company of the municipal officials and some punong barangays, I went to pay my last homage to the remains of Nay Lagring yesterday. Her bereaved sons, Fr. Reynold and Bongbong were there to receive us. In the course of our conversation, my bolano asked me some clarificatory questions about my recent post here concerning the destruction of Balete in February 9, 1901 (Coincidentally, Nay Lagring gave up her spirit of February 9, 2012). As I listened to him, it dawn on me that there is so much to research and write about to fill up the empty spaces in the storyline of our local history.

I recalled that when I was starting with this ambitious task of ferreting out those lost memories of the Baleten-on people, I initially listed down some questions to guide me in this quest. Hereunder are some of those entries in that list:

  • Why is that that the patron saint of Balete is an archangel (St. Rafael) when the rest of Aklan and Capiz are historical persons?
  • How true are the claims of venerable men and women like the late Nay Lagring that a church made of bricks and goso used to stand on the site of the present Balete church? Who were responsible for its construction? When was that? 
  • If it is true that Balete used to have a church made of bricks, it goes to tell that that church was a powerful or rich church as bricks was not endemic of the place and that in the Aklan valley during the Spanish time, only the Calivo church was made up of similar materials. The rest were either made of stones (Malinao, Batan and Tangalan for instance) or light materials. 
The list of questions goes for several pages and there are more flowing like the pristine clear water of Jal-o up in the ilaya inside my mind. Precisely that I sympathized with my bolano, not only because his mother has gone up into another stage in her journey but also of the many questions he was throwing at me yesterday morning.

Today, we have lots of questions to ask. Tomorrow, maybe tomorrow, we shall live to realize that we have asked the wrong questions. Maybe.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Something About Tumbo (Cara y Cruz): A Hypothesis

Image
They say that mahjong is just a diversion, a recreation of some sort of the bored and the retired. But they say that cara y cruz is a different case. However you look at it--in both sides of the coin (pun intended), it is gambling and therefore those who indulged in it (read, the poor ones) are playing in conflict with law. And so, since yesteryears, people accepted those facts. Mahjong is recreational while cara y cruz or tumbo is gambling and illegal at that. An Alfonso showing its head and tail or if your prefer its "hari" & "corona" But I was amused at the scene of a group of individuals by an "island" at corner T.M. Kalaw and Taft Avenue I happened to pass by while doing research at the National Archives of the Philippines sometime in August 2010. I just alighted from the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at UN Station and was finding my way to cross T.M. Kalaw when I noticed a bunch of lot playing cara y cruz on the elevated concrete "isla
Read more

SOOTHING AS NIGHT WINDS ARE: An Interpretation of the poem by that title by Salvador B. Espinas

Image
Love is gentle, love is quiet Like any distant star; In loving by which we approximate the nature of love, we do not coerce those we love—as much as possible we give room for freedom to grow and respect each other’s independence, i.e., each other’s time of searching. In loving, the lover is like the distant star, manifesting his presence and yet quietly, not trying to obstruct or block the path of the beloved. He stands besides quietly assuring her of his gentle presence and constant attention. Love is beauty, love is music Soothing as night winds are. Lovers are enchanted by the wonders of creation. One who is in loved would often quips that everything seems beautiful and that “ life has music, rhythm and rhyme” –which actually is. Somehow, love enables man and woman to see reality as God sees it. As even in times of trouble, loves comes like night winds, soothing our weary mind and aching heart.
Read more

Maeocong, Chieftain of the Jae-o No More

Image
There was a time when the early settlers by the Jal-o regarded the river with a sense of foreboding. While it served as the main thoroughfare, their public baths and laundry pond, the river held many mysteries kept hidden among its lush mangroves and adjoining swamps and tributaries. Rumors and reports of actual sightings of monstrous amphibians wading its waters had been told in every household. The authorities had warned the villagers to stay out of the water especially at nighttime. Of those crocodiles, Maeocong was regarded as the dominant bull--the king of the Jae-o. He was long as a boroto (local banca) and heavier than an adult carabao. It was said that he was more deadly if paired with his favorite mate, Pingan Nonay . Together, they wreck terror along the Anao and Bag-ot swamps. For a time, the settlers tolerated their fear. They lived their lives by the Jal-o with that ominous awareness that they were not the masters of the river. But such fears had hounded them even in th
Read more