by: Marie Angeline Liquigan
Malitbog is one of the small communities located in the central region of the island of Panay and near the political boundary line that separates the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo. Topographically, it is never broad at any point; it consists mainly of islands, rolling hills and shallow valleys. Five streamlets cut across the heart of the barrio from the highlands of Capiz to the plains of Iloilo, where they converge to form the Malitbog brook. Deep run-offs taper from the hills to the banks of these streamlets, giving the area a checkered look from a distance. The upper portion of the community is steeper and cooler, while the lower section is somewhat warmer with abundant rain and green vegetation.
The intermediate location of the barrio between tall mountains and the plains gives it a healthful climate, characterized by abundant rain, relatively uniform humidity and gentle winds. Rains normally fall from 170 to 208 days a year, with an annual mean precipitation of 97.1 inches. Variations do occur; rainfall maybe more or less than twice the normal precipitation in any month of the wet season which starts in June. The dry season begins in January, lasting for six months, although rains may come in February or May. At any rate, local temperature is never extreme in either dry or wet season.
In spite of contacts with the outside world, especially with the Poblacion life, Malitbog has remained traditional. Communication is still a major problem. There are no roads to link the barrio with nearby towns or communities. What might be nearest to a road system is the rugged, narrow trail, which connects it to the national road about five kilometers away. Transportation is largely a sled- and- carabao affair. Products are hauled to the road either drawn sleds or over carabao backs, from where these are in turn brought to market by trucks or passenger buses. Sometimes men carry their loads on their heads, shoulders and backs. Often they attach these loads to both ends of a piece of bamboo, which they carry across their shoulders, a method locally known as tuwang-tuwang.
Newspapers and magazines seldom reach the barrio. Two popular vernacular magazines, which occasionally find their way into the hands of the farmers, are the Hiligaynon and the Yuhum, published in Manila and Iloilo City, respectively. These materials are read more for short stories, serialized novels, and comic strips than for the news. Transistorized radios have reached the barrio, but their possession is limited to a few who can afford them; hence, it will take some time for these can become an effective link between Malitbog and the outside world.
Mail is infrequent and letters, instead of being delivered by postal personnel, have to be picked by the addressees or by friends at the municipal buildings during market days. Privacy of communication is unknown; again and again, letters have been opened before being delivered.
There is no electricity in the barrio, although the construction of a multi million peso hydroelectric plant at the headwaters of the nearby Jalaur River has already been planned. Kerosene lamps that are either homemade or purchased from Chinese stores in the town supply lighting. At night, people carry torches or lanterns to light their way through narrow, slippery ridges. Some use battery-operated flashlights.
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THE PEOPLE
Malitbog's population consists of about 1000 subsistence farmers. This number represents the total membership of 97 households scattered all over the barrio. Each family unit counts from 6 to 10 members, mostly children, on the average. The relatively large number of children is partly explained by the belief that children are heavensent gifts, a grace from God, whose arrival, therefore, must not be controlled or interfered with; to do so is to commit a mortal sin. It is also explained in a more practical way with the saying that children are an economic investment; the more children one has the more one has upon which one can depend upon retirement from hard work. This explanation is supported by the local belief that every child, when grown up, means an extra farmhand, who will contribute to the family larder. Ironically, however, many Malitbog youths are out of the barrio in search of employment; those who stay marry young and establish their own families, independently of their parents.
The people of Malitbog, as a group, are very sensitive about their barrio. They would rather have anyone from within the community criticize it than hear a comment from an outsider. To them the barrio is the whole world, the entire Philippine society; since it is here that their immediate needs are met-it is here where they were born, married, and perhaps will be buried when they die. Thus, although internal differences may exist among them, the farmers usually act in concert whenever the whole barrio is threatened from the outside. The people's sensitivity is only matched by the manner, in which they rate themselves in comparison with those living in the neighboring communities. They, for example, regard the residents of the adjacent barrio of Kawayan, as a "bunch of quick hands." Anything of value-such as water buffalo, pigs, chickens, or goats-lost in Malitbog is first searched for in Kawayan before attempts are made to look for it elsewhere. Every newcomer is likewise sized up as to character in terms of his place of origin.
This attitude toward outsiders illustrates how the people of Malitbog conceive of themselves and regard non-members of their barrio. In effect, it implies the existence of a stable social system woven around their belief that everyone stands in close relations with each other and therefore is quite distinct and a part from those who are non-members. This is reinforced by local myths, which describe the people in the barrio as having common ancestors-Laki and Bayi.
Reference to these mythical ancestors, as a base in establishing affinity with a common tradition and with the community, is strengthened by local definition of group memberships in terms of ecological orientation. By ecological definition of group membership is meant the manner in which a group of people perceives of themselves differently from others by utilizing the geographical location and social boundaries of their place of residence as points of reference. Malitbog is divided into three sitios: Agsiw, where most residents are emigrants to the place; Maaplod, where the inhabitants are native to the place; and Aglupad, where the farmers are of mixed origin, that is, they are either native or emigrants to the place. These three sitios are not independent social or political units; they are merely subsections of the barrio. Local attachments to each sitio residence, however, are strong and among themselves the people are known as tiga-Agsiw, tiga-Maaplod and so on.
Internally therefore the sitio maybe defined as a spatial and social unit within the broader geographical dimension of the barrio. Its boundaries are sociologically well- defined. Most of their basic needs are met because it is here where most of their close relatives and friends reside.
Because of proximity to each other, only residents of sitio are often involved in-group activities like preparations for religious festivities, baptismal parties, wakes for the dead, and others.
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MATERIAL CULTURE
Malitbog's houses are found in clusters situated along narrow trails on top of ridges adjacent to the farms. Houses in each cluster range from 2 to 12. The standard house type is a square, four-walled, 1 to 2 room house with triangularly shaped roofs made of dry leaves of grass, locally known as cogon. It is generally raised above the ground on bamboo posts; props called sulay support the older houses from all sides.
Most Malitbog's houses are furnished with bamboo chairs and tables. However, the family eats on the floor, because tables are normally reserved for guests. Rice is emptied from the pot into woven trays called tubu and vegetables into tinplates called sartin; the Chinawares are kept for special occasions.
Older women wear patadyong purchased from traveling merchants or from dealers in town during market days. Weaving is a municipal specialization in Panay. The people themselves in Malitbog normally no longer weave their own clothing; their attire is of commercial cotton.
In planting or harvesting seasons, the women were addressed with long sleeves as protection from the heat of the sun and from sharp leaves of grass. On special occasions, they simply apply cosmetics on their lips and darken their eyebrows with eyebrow pencils.
The men wear short pants while working in the fields. Often they do not wear shirts and thus they work half-naked. During special occasions, they use long pants and well pressed shirts, smooth their hair with pomade and use some perfume.
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RELIGION
Malitbog has not escaped Christian influences. Two types of Christian orientations exist in the barrio-Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The founding of the Parish of Tapaz in 1844 strengthened the position of Roman Catholicism in the area, drawing more people into the fault of the church. When the Americans came in 1900, further changes took place. The construction of the national road connecting the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo, improved transportation in the area; more Catholic residents came and this resulted in the further spread of the new religion.
Protestantism was widespread in the area at the outbreak of the World War II in 1941. By 1955, the barrio was about 85% Protestant, and by 1960, the Protestant converts far exceeded the Roman Catholics.
This recourse to local practices suggests that inspite of outward manifestation of adherence to Christianity, traditional religions still plays a significant role in the lives of the people.
REFERENCE
Growing Up in a Philippine Barrio
Author: Landa Jocano
