A long time ago,
around the islands of the Philippines when life was simple, luxury
was rare but goodwill was abundant, people share. And share they do,
whatever little they have.
When a neighbor
wants to move his house to another place, the men in the neighborhood
would roll up their sleeves, flex their muscles and altogether lift
the house to the new location (of course this would have to be a nipa
hut!).
During sad events
as in joyous occasions, like weddings and funerals, people assist
each other by preparing food, cleaning the house, or putting up temporary
tent or roof extension.
The whole village
is one big family.
But the spirit
of sharing is best evident in eating and sharing of food. One neighbor
might prepare a simple dish. But she does so in large quantity in
anticipation of sharing it with her neighbors.
Most Filipinos
refer to this as "bayanihan", that well-cherished Filipino
tradition that is slowly becoming a thing of the past. In some islands
of Romblon, people refer to this as "sanrokan". "Sanrok"
is an Asi term (one of Romblom's main languages) for "sandok",
a ladle or in those days, a coconut shell dipper used by most Filipino
housewives to serve food. So when a neighbor happens to pass by the
house just as you have finished cooking a dish, most likely the favorite
inaslom (fish and vegetable stew), it is only natural to dip some
into a bowl to offer to the neighbor. Generally though, Sanrokan encompasses
not just sharing of food but also time, talent and resources.
RDL-CLEAR, a globally
based Romblom group behind Sanrokan News Magazine, believes in the
spirit of sharing as a means to help the province and the Philippines
in general. Along with it are the values of unity, commitment and
hope for a better future. That is bayanihan. That is Sanrokan. The
origin may be humble, the source almost unknown, but the message is
universal: We can achieve more if we are united.
Through sanrokan.com,
we hope to share with our readers around the world a taste of what
the province has to offer. That is, until you can get there yourself!
