by: Khristin Fabian
"Capiznon" is derived from the word kapis, a seashells used to make square panes for windows and the suffix "non" for people. The term refers to the culture, language, and people of Capiz province.
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HISTORY
Folk history recorded in the Maragtas by pedro Monteclaro says ten Bornear datu landed at a site now known as San Joaquin town in Iloilo province. They purchased Panay from the Aeta, cultivated the land, and renamed the island Madya-as. They divided it into three communities: Irong-irong, Akean (which includes the Capiz area), and Hamtik. These were loosely united under a government called the Confederation of Madya-as.
When the Spaniards led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came to Panay from Cebu in 1569, they found people with tattoos, and so they called it Isla de los Pintados. How the island itself came to be called Pany is undertain. The Aeta called it Aninipay, after a plant that abounded in the island. Legend has it that Legazpi and his men, in search of food, exclaimed upon the island, pan hay en esta isla!. So they established their first settlement in the island at the mouth of the Banica River in Capiz and called it Pan-ay. This was the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines, the first being San Miguel, Cebu.
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RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
The early Panayanon believed in many gods. Bulalakaw, a bird which looked like a peacock and could cause illness, was said to live in the island's sacred mountain called Madya-as. A chief goddess was believed to reside in the mountain of the nearby island of Negros Occidental. Shw was called Laon, after whom Mt. Kanlaon is named. Mediators to the gods, also said to be the first priests, were: Bangutbanwa, who prayed for good harvests and an orderly universe; Mangindalon, who interceded for sick persons and prayed for the punishment of enemies; and Soliran and Solian, who performed marriage ceremonies. Manunubo was the good spirit of the sea.
The kama-kama are dwarfs living in earth mounds, and are lazy and fun loving. The tamawu/taglugar are spirits that can be either friendly or evil. They live in resplendent palaces that look like mere boulders to the human eye. When they find a human being attractive, they entice the person to join them; this peculiar act of courtship is called yanggaw. The dwindi is a dwarf residing in a mount of earth. The lulid sa bangsud has a big head, but a small torso and limbs. One who disturbs the mound where it resides falls ill. The agta is a very dark, hairy person living in the forest. Although a trickster, it is helpful to people. The amamanhig is a dead person who has returned to life and simple echoes everything that mortals say; it has lost the power to think. Hiwit or barang is a ritual that gives one of the power to inflict pain on an enemy.
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VISUAL ARTS AND CRAFTS
The traditional weaving method of pina is called pili or sinuksuk. This is a floating weft technique accomplished after cloth weaving. A typical design is a cluster of five-petal flowers surrounding a butterfly. This is repeated in a series along the borders of the cloth.
During the Spanish period, capiz shells were used for window panes on houses and convents. Today, these shells are strung together to make chandeliers or glued together to make lampshades. Shell chimes are strung together in two or three graduated tiers and sometimes painted.
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LITERARY ARTS
The patugmahanon (riddle) is a word game played by adults and children at social occasions, to while away the time, to create camaraderie among warring parties, or simple to entertain. It reveals the people's values, institutions, traditions, customs, and humor which is sometimes risque.
The hurubaton is most revealing of the natural environment and material culture of the Capiznon. The strong odor of ginamos (fermented small fish) is used as analogy for one's foul secrets, as in the proverb.
The most popular type of narrative poetry is the kumpusu/composo a ballad the topics of which range from historical events to love affairs of some people and social conditions. On the other hand, there are kumpusu that are fictional narratives with a didactic purpose. Prose narratives consist of tales, fables, and legends explaining the origin of place names, land features such as caves and forests, and other elements of nature such as root crops and animals.
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PERFORMING ARTS
The toltog palanog, a clay flute, is the earliest musical instrument in Panay. It has three holes at one end and two at the sides. There are several kinds of tulali or bamboo flutes, including the pasyok, a child flute made of stiff rice straw; the dios sios, a set of reeds of different lengths, tied side to side; and the budiong, a shell, with the pointed tip cut off.
The tan-ag, made of two pieces of light wood, is the earliest percussion instrument. A set of these is called the dalutang, The bunkaka or takup is a section of bamboo with a split end. It is held in the right hand and struct against a pole in the left hand. Different ways of striking cause variations in rhythm.
The roots of Capiznon drama are, in ritual, such as the babaylan rites for appeasing spirits and curing the sick, which include mimetic elements and chant; and second, in the verbal games played at wakes. In the rituals, sacrifices are offered, prayers chanted, and symbolic dance motions made.
Religious drama and dramatizations in Western Visayas include the forms found in other regions; the soledad on Easter morning, the taltal or passion play on Good Friday; the easter procession of the resurrection, in which a boy and a girl dressed as angels recite poems to the Christ and the Virgin; the Constantino in May, dealing with the finding of the Holy Cross; the pastores or da-igon at Christmastime, in which songs are sung by the "shepherds" worshipping the infant Christ.
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REFERENCES:
Buckland, Ralph Kent. In the Land of the Filipino. New York :Every Where Publication, 1912
Clavel, Leothiny S. "The Oral Literature of Capiz" Master of arts thesis, University of the Philippines 1912.
Fajardo, Libertad V. Visayan Folk Dances. Manila, 1966
Fernandez ,Doreen Gamboa. The Iloilo Zarzuela: 1903-1930.Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press,1978.
Funtecha, Henry F. Popular Festival in Western Visayas, Monograph Series No 1. Iloilo:Center For West Visayan Studies, University of the Philippines, Iloilo,1990
Galende,Pedro G. Angels in Stone. Pasay City:G.A. Formoso Publishing,1987.
Monteclaro, Pedro A. Maragtas. Iloilo: El Tiempo 1907.
Orosa-Goquingco, Leonor. The Dances of the Emerald Isles. Quezon City : Ben-Lor Publishers,1980.
Philippine Craftsman. Vol.1, No 4, ( Oct. 1912),332.
Regalado, Felix B. snf Wuinyin N. Gtsnvo. History of Panay: Central Philippine University Press, 1973.
Reyes-Tolentino, Francisca. Philippine National Dances. Manila: Silver Burdett Company, 1946.
Romualdez, Norberto. "Filipino Musical Instruments and Airs of Long Ago." Lecture delivered at the Conservatory of Music, University of the Philippines. Manila: National Media Productions Center, 1973.
RR's Philippine Almanac: Book of Facts 1990. Aurora Publications, 1990.
Zialcita, Fernando n. and Martin I. Tinio Jr. Philippine Ancestral Houses. Quezon City: GCF Books, 1980.
CCP Encyclopedia of Arts and Literature.
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