Tang Onroy is
one of my favorite characters from Purok Pinagkaisan in Banton. He
lives just across our house. He is short, perhaps 4 feet 9 inches,
small frame, probably only 85 pounds, bald, and perhaps a true native
of Banton.
Somehow, people
fear him because they believe he has "anting-anting"
(supernatural power) and that he communicates with the dark side.
He hardly strikes
a conversation with others and even with his neighbors.
It is believed
that during Holy Week periods, he goes into seclusion, meditates for
one week in a Guyangan cave and communicates with spirits. People
say that this is how he gets his "anting-anting".
I am never afraid
of Tang Onroy but I am always curious of what he does, how he spends
his time in Guyangan, how he catches snakes with just a sickle or
with his bare hands, or so the rumor goes.
Sometimes, he
is seen parading home, coming down from his Guyangan farm carrying
a short pole with a snake hanging at one end…curious children
following him. The site of a snake is quite awesome, especially to
kids. This is one of the reasons why some believe that Tang Onroy
has "anting-anting", because he catches snakes with
no special tools. I know he cooks the snake for food, but he keeps
this only for his family.
Perhaps Tang Onroy
represents the last true native Bantoanon, only slightly touched by
foreign and modern influences. I had been to his house several times
and notice that he and family practice day-to-day living different
from most of Bantoanons.
His house is very
simple, front wall is rough planed hard wood, the rest of the sidings
are nipa, and roof is made of cogon. The floor, which is elevated
about two feet from the ground are split bamboos secured with "rattan"
or "nito" tie strips. The house has two small bedrooms,
small "sala" (living room), and a kitchen. The wall dividers
are nipa. In each bedroom has one "kaban" (foot locker),
and on one corner, rolled "banig" (mat made of buri).
In the "sala" is a long rough bench made of "ipil"
(ivony hard wood), and in the kitchen is a small table with short
bench on each side, a "gining" (small earthen jar)
and a "tadyaw" (large earthen jar), four "porcelanas"
(metal plates coated with porcelain enamel), two "sartins"
(metal mugs coated with porcelain enamel), a "hungot"
(dipper made of coconut shell), couple of wooden/coconut shell ladles,
a bolo, a small knife, and three "kuyons" (earthen
cooking pots). Another "kuyon" with broken top, for
scrapped food, sits on one corner of the "banggerahan"
(raised flat form where they wash dishes and store utensils).
There is a "sig-ang" (flat form for open fire cooking)
on one side of the kitchen and on top of the "sig-ang"
is a "biyador" (blow pipe). A rattan basket hangs
over the "sig-ang" and often time, there are also dried
octopus hanging from bamboo skewers. Under the "sig-ang"
are firewoods. Basically these are all they have, plus two small "lamparas"
(home made kerosene lamps from discarded bottles).
As I said, Tang
Onroy is only slightly touched by modern civilization. He does not
go to church. He does not practice those Spanish and American brought
cultures. And I don't think he goes out to vote. This really puzzled
me for years. For many, he would be considered ignorant, uneducated,
backward, and very poor. But these made me more curious. People like
Tang Onroy has very special place in my heart.
Perhaps, Tang
Onroy is a direct descendant of the Mangyans, the supposedly first
inhabitants of Banton according to some historians. Perhaps, Tang
Onroy's ancestors came from Mindoro where a particular Mangyan tribe
speaks "Ban-gon" language, a language with many words similar
to Bantonanon words. Examples are "iraya" (upstream, upland),
"ratag" or "patag" (lowland, flat), "sinukuban"
(covered), "kalibutan" (whole surrounding), "kalag"
(soul), "panudlak" (something to push or start), "magbugkos"
(to tie), "pamag-uhan" (new or something that follows),
"paragayan" (to put into, like a plate), "hagkus"
(to tie or wrap around), "sagpan" or "pamanpan"
(to cover slightly), "tuhugon" (to pierce or skewer) "tabigon"
(to push aside). Perhaps the word Banton came from the word Bangon.
If pronounced like "Batan-gas", then it would be Ban-gon,
which is very close to Ban-ton. Perhaps, Tang Onroy practiced farming
the same way the Mindoro Mangyans practice. Perhaps, he practiced
the same fishing techniques. Perhaps, he practiced the same non-Christian
ways as the Mangyans. Perhaps, we failed to see these things in him
because we are so focused with generalization, the modern, and what
we believe should be according to how we were taught. Perhaps, we
intentionally shut off our mind because we don't want to be associated
with the Mangyans, which by the word alone brings shame to some people.
The word Mangyan has been substituted to mean "ignorant".
But Mangyans are now considered as one of the last bastions of pre-Hispanic
colonization. They actually have a form of writing. Their weaving
techniques are in my opinion more complicated than those that I have
seen in Banton. According to historians, the tribe survived after
all these many years because they retreated to the inner lands of
Mindoro when the Spaniards pushed them from coastal villages.
Tang Onroy in
my opinion really never had "anting-anting". He is just
different from many Bantoanons and I think he is greatly misunderstood.
He practiced differently from many Bantoanons and perhaps doing what
is handed down from his ancestors. For example, he practiced the primitive
swidden individual farming technique and raises annual crops like
"kamote" (sweet potato), "giyabon" (taro), "balinghoy"
(cassava), and "araro" (arrow roots). He is just being himself,
the real Bantoanon. For some, his ways are weird and mysterious and
for the Christianized, he would even be described as pagan and evil.
But to me, he represents a treasure of culture, greatly unnoticed
because he intentionally or unintentionally failed to adapt to a new
norm.
In tribute to
the discoverer of the now famous "hanging cave" of Guyangan,
I introduce a pure speculation, based on my very little unscientific
research that Bantoanon language and the name Banton perhaps came
from a tribe and language called Bangon, one of the seven distinct
Mangyan tribes in Mindoro. A migration movement from Mindoro to Banton
is very possible, or could it have been the other way around? To date,
there is no connection made between Mangyans in Mindoro and Banton.
Perhaps there is, and with the influence from surrounding regions
like Bicol, Bantoanon developed into a distinct language?
