An Omega Kan Satuyang Osipon

Sa kapinunan linalang kan Dyos an langit asin daga, ini an sa Daan na Tipan. Sa Bagong Tipan, sa sarong ebanghelyo sinurat: Sa kapinunan: an Tataramon, an Tataramon:pasiring sa Dyos, asin Dyos an Tataramon. Duwang pagpuon ini kan sa hiling kong nagin timbangan kan magiging osipon kan kinaban sa Bikol na nasakop, binilog-bilog, asin padagos na tinutubos kaining Katolikong agimadmad puon kan orog pang pinabagsik ini kan imprentang nag-abot sa Naga kan huring mga taon kan ika-19 siglo, mantang an rebolusyon sa sentro, sa Manila, hinog na sa puon.

Osip sa Vocabulario de la lengua Bicol kan prayleng si Marcos de Lisboa, sarong verbo, gawi nin pagtaram, nin pakikiolay, nin pag-aratubang, ta lambang pampang may kahampang. Oosipon na nagin orosipon pagsagka kan iba pang panahon. Sa librong Henesis, maabot an basol sa babayi pagkatapos na ini nakipag-osip sa halas asin nagkakan, dangan tinangro pa an saiyang agom na lalaki na iyo man an nag-osip sa Dyos kan ginibong paglapas sa tugon, na kapinunan pa sana, an tugon,  dai nungka magkakan kan bunga kan pinangangalad na kahoy. Huli ta tibaad sana, mabunga ini nin iba pang osipon arog sa kun pano an Tataramon maninitawo sa paagi nin sarong babayi. Sa Henesis, an halas asin babayi nagin oroboros, huli ta sinda nagorosipon, puon kaidto, takod na an saindang osipon, puon kan kapinunan, sagkod sagkod-pa-man.

An osipon kan paglalang, an pagkakasala asin pagtubos kan tawo sa kasalan, nagpuon sa sarong babayi na si Eba, an alphang ina, asin babalukaton ngapit man ni Maria Nazarena sa paagi kan pagtugot na sa saiyang kakanghan, mangyayari an ‘pagkanilaman’ kan Dyos bilang tawo. Si Maria an kakanghan kan makakamhan huli ta itutugot nya man ini sa paagi kan saiyang pagtaram. Fiat voluntas tua, mangyari lugod sigun sa inuusip mo, bako nang halas an kaulay kan babayi, arkanghel, sarong merkuryo, asogeng mabulos pasiring sa panahon nyato na kada alasais nin banggi, sa pagbating kan kampanaryo, uutruhon an pag-usip kan babayi asin anghel, bilang pangadying gikan sa Bagong Tipan. Nagin orasyon an oosipon.

Ini an Tataramon na nanitawo, gurang na propesiyang totoo sa mga suanoy na relihiyon apwera sa Kristiyanismo, asin ngapit sa omegang bisyon kan apostol na si Juan an babaying tinalaan na magrunot kan payo kan halas sa hardin, iyo man an babaying lalamagon kan dragon, an suanoy na halas na mawot sakluton an babayi asin an omboy kaining aki. 

Ining eternal na binalus-balusan kan babayi asin kan halas iyo an hinihiling kong kakanghan kan satuyang mga osipon na padagos na nagbubulos, nagdadanay bilang sarong gawi nin pag-usip na sa tataramon na Bikol, nagigin pagbiklad, pagsumbong, pagtuyaw, pagpagamiaw, pagpapadagos siring na sinabi kan gamgam na si Yling sa mala-epikong rawitdawit na Ibalon, na ipapadagos nya na sana sa sunod na aldaw an pag-usip kan kasunod na parte kan saiyang osipon. Panuga an pag-osip arog kan mga pamibing pakikiolay ta pabalik sa Dyos, sa daan man o kan bagong tipan.

Sa Ibalon, na iyong suanoy na ngaran kan rehiyon na Bikol, binanggit si Oryol na aki ni Aswang, an gurang na kaiwal ni Gugurang huli ta hinabas ni Aswang an kalayo gikan sa Bulkan Mayon tanganing ibariwas ini sa katauhan. Nadangog ta na an siring na bersyon ki Prometeo kan mga Griyego, dai binanggit kun tano nag-aki si Aswang nin halas-babayi, alagad sa pag-usip dapit ki Oryol sa rawitdawit na Ibalon, magsasaro na tingog kan babayi asin halas, alagad dai magriribay an pag-usip sa babayi man o sa halas puon pa kan osipon sa Eden, mala ngani ta sa Breve Noticia ni prayleng si Jose Castaño, si Oryol sarong tampalasan asin iyong nagguguyod sa mga lalaki tanganing manambay, maghabas, asin manggadan huli sa mga padaya kaining anan. An pag-agid sa tingog nin babayi, an padaya kan halas na si Oryol. Ta nagkakalaman kita sa pag-osip. Kaipuhan na mahiling an siring na mga paghiling sa babayi bilang kasaro o sarong halas nagpapadagos sagkod ngunyan, an dikotomiya kan marhay (Maria, beata) o maraya pa (Eba, kondenada) na iyong pigbibiklad kan isyung ini, ta sa kapinunan, an osipon.

Si Oryol, Osong na Oroboros 

Sa kinatudan na pag-adal kan literatura sa Filipinas, nagin kapaki-pakinabang an peryodisasyon asin ‘genrefication’ tanganing padalaganon an sarong paagi nin paghiling sa nagin agi-agi kan pagtalubo kan minimidbid na literatura. An mga rehiyon iyo an maogbon kan sinasabing nasyon. Alagad sa katiripunan na ini, mawot nyamong lampasan gamit an pagtaong duon na an mismong pag-usip na nagpapadagos sa pagsarayod asin paghinanyog kaini. Nagpapadagos an mga pag-usip sagkod ngunyan, nagbubulos, nagriribay, nagsasaralak-salak an mga tataramon, sa radyo man o sa pulpito, dawa sa social media, muraway na nagmumuraway. Nagigin mga osipon asin awit puon ki dwta sagkod sa mga parapasyon na nag-aagrangay sa ginibo sa Peñaranda.

Imbes na mga panahon o tyempo (Panahon kan Kastila, mayo pa su mga Kastila, Panahon kan Amerikano, o tyempo Hapon), an ginagamit na mga muhon, marhay gayod na hilingon an figura ni Oryol bilang an osong na oroboros, an danay na nagdadanay, na yaon sa satuyang agi-agi, ta an sulog kan satuyang osipon,  tuminurong luha huli sa gamgam na naglayog parayo, iyong nagin salog, nagin sapa, nagin danaw na dakula, ini an girumdom na nagtatakod satuya tanganing dai kita matagalpo arog kan agom ni Lot na nagin figura nin asin mantang pigpapauranan nin kalayo an saindang syudad. 

Bakong pagkatagalpo arog ni Handyong sa atubangan kan pugot na payo ni Rabot, kundi pag-apod asin pag-awit kan kansyon nin mga tawong-lipod na iyong tingog na nangungurog arog kan rawitdawit igdi ni H. Francisco V. Peñones na nakagamot man bako na sana sa Griyegong konsepto kan omega kundi minsan sa pinag-aaplas na pain reliever na an apod Omega, na sigun ki Peñones iyo man an nagsadol saiyang gibuhon an rawitdawit dapit sa inang nagsapo nin mga pisikal asin historikal na pagsasakripisyong gakod sa imahe kan babae sa puon kan matagom na kahoy nin Eden asin an krus sa kalbaryo.

Sa isyung ini, mawot nyatong ipahiling na an mga paukod asin ariwaga, kun siring bakong maninigo sanang pagparahilingon bilang mga ‘katutubo’ o taal na forma nin literatura, na ini yaon na bago pa an pag-abot kan Katolisismo, asin patotoo kan gurang na sibilisasyon na parati tang ipinag-oorag-orag. An pag-usip nagpapadagos dawa mayo nang mga osipon arog kan mga ginibo ni Ana T. Calixto kan dekada 50, alagad yaon pa man giraray nagpapadagos sa pag-usip sa tataramon na Bikol man o sa Filipino o sa Ingles alagad uya na nagluwas na ngani an mga bagong nobela ni Abdon Balde, Jr., Niles Jordan Breis, Emmanuel T. Barrameda, Napoleon Arcilla, asin Anthony Diaz sa mga minimidbid tang satuyang tataramon.  

Kun kaya mawot nyatong susugon laktawan na an mga pormularyong nagsasadol sana na isipon an satuyang mga panurat asin pag-usip sa lente kan mga historikal na konteksto. Laktawan ta na ini. Kaipuhan ta nin bagong kaosongan, tanganing makahali kita sa mga rigmat na ini na nagsasagin-sagin satuya bilang mga pagmangno, mga hagkus na binuburabudan kita sa liog. Kaipuhan tang patandayogon an satuyang mga osipon asin hilingon na nagpapadagos pa man giraray an pagtaram, pagsalak-salak kan mga Bikol dawa sa panahon na ini na igwang makuring paghadit sa nagluluyap na bagsik kan artificial intelligence, an ad infinitum kan satuyang panahon.

Awt pa lugod na sa paagi kan isyung ini, maipahiling tang nagsusulog an mga tataramon, an mga kaisipan, an mga buhay asin ta an kaosongan na ini iyo an silaod, an labtik kan isip, an balos sa pagsubol sa tawo paluwas sa paraiso. Ini an kuminalpos na silaod. Ta igdi sa mga babasahon, dai na nanggad pa masasaroan an babaying nakanuod na sa padaya kan halas man o kan pagtuya-tuya, pagbulabagi kan lalaki huli ta sya an enot na nagkakan kan bunga na nagin dahilan nin iba pang mga pagbunga, sa daga man na ini o sa saiyang tulak, mga bungang nagbubunga nin bunga na, bunga pa, mamaon na kinukuspa sa alang-alang tang kinaban. Burabod na minatambod satuya arog kan omegang babayi, naglalahid, nagmamati kan kulog, bago tibaad iyang paglayog, oroboros ining binabados kan satuyang tikapong panahon, nagtitimo-timo, fuera Dyos, fuera hulog.

Pagsusog, Pagdakit ki Ku£akog

Sa sarong osipon gikan Catanduanes, kinakaipuhan ni Tilmag, agom ni Ku£akog, na magdakit gamit an buto ni Ku£akog pasiring sa Tabaco, tanganing magkua nin kalayo gikan sa bulkan. Sa osipon, suruguon an agom ni Ku£akog. Kaipuhan nyang magbalyo sa ikinabuhay tanganing sinda mabuhay. An pakinabang ni Ku£akog iyo an saiyang dakulang buto, papadakulaon nya sana ini tanganing makaabot an puro sa ibong, tibaad dyan sa Tabaco, tanganing an babayi iyo an magkua kan kalayo. Tulay para sa kalayo. Ini an kalayong ginagamit sa pagluto kan mga bingkay na iyong kakanon kan higante. Arog kan kalayong pig-aagawan ni Aswang asin Gugurang, kalayo man an magiging dahilan kan kagadanan ni Tilmag ta mahuhulugan nya an buto ni Ku£akog dahilan tanganing magsulnod an buto kani asin mahulog sa dagat an agom, asin dai na giraray pang mahiling.

Sa arog kaning osipon, igwang maguguno na tibaad an kalayo iyo an masasabi nyatong kapinunan asin katapusan kan mga osipon. Kalayong pigtutubodan na iyong inot na nagtipon sa mga tawo, sa palibot nin amak, tanganing magtipon maghiras nin mga osipon. Sinasabing an pagkani-tunog kan enot na mga tataramon, kagubay kan pagkadikubre nin tawo nin kalayo. Kalayong iyo man an yaon sa tulak kan dragon, tibaad na andam sa pagtumtum sa tataramon, sa kinaban, sa gabos. Sa kalayong ini na pigdidikit-dikit ni Tilmag asin an inikit ni Aswang guminikan an satuyang mga tataramon.

Sa ibang osipon na luyap sa ronang Bikol, naghahanap si Ku£akog nin bagong agomon, may pigtutubudan na gira nya na yaon sa pampang kan salog sa Minalabak. Arog kan mga lalaki sa osipon ni Ana T. Calixto, an agomon nin matubis na babayi iyo pa man giraray an mahamis na burak sa hardin na orog karahay sa gabos siring ki Beatriz Triumfante. 

Pig-oosip ko giraray ining osipon na ini ni Ku£akog tanganing ipahiling an pinupunto kong rarom kan mga osipon na arog kan sinurat ni Emmanuel T. Barrameda. Sa “Bangkera,” an buto ni Ku£akog, pinag-aapunan na sana nin sugok nin mga babaying mawot magbados. Sa Obando, Bulacan asin minsan sa Tigaon, Camarines Sur, huli ki Santa Clarang pinong-pino, nagdedebosyon an mag-aragom, nasayaw tanganing magbados. Alagad, sa osipon ni Barrameda, an nagmamawot na magbados, agom nin sarong pastor. Kristiyano alagad bakong Katoliko kaya tibaad pigtugot na kan agom kaini na sungkoon an buto ni Ku£akog tanganing balubagion ini nin mga bunay. Mayo man mawawara kun magtubod. Sakripisyo daw an mga sugok na pigtatapok sa buto ni Ku£akog o kaosongan sana ini ni Barrameda tanganing magin pasugmadan sana kan mas dakulang osipon na mawot nyang ipamati, na an duwang babayi ngapit, an bangkera asin an sakay kaini, magkakaigwa nin mas hararom na klase nin pagbunga nin bagong relasyon, bunga ini na minatambo bako sa tulak, kundi sa hirog, sa lugar kun sain hali an enot na babayi. Ta kaipuhan parati an pagbados huli ta an milagrosong pagbados na ini, na nagin nang masakit asin timbang-buhay, puon kan nagkakan an enot na babayi kan pinangalad na bunga, asin iyo man an nagin dahilan tanganing sa sarong pag-osip kan anghel ki Maria, masusugpon, mariribayan an osipon, na mabukas kan tata kan langit, tanganing an tawo makabalik giraray sa Dyos sa paagi kan pagiging tawo kan Tataramon, na nagin siring huli sa pag-oho nin sarong bayi.

Kaya ngani tugot na isipon na an osipon saro man na tulak sa laog nin saro pang tulak, bunga kan bunga asin kun maihahampang ta an mga ini, arog kan osipon ni Ku£akog sa osipon na “Bangkera,” orog na napusog an pakasabod kaini sa mga osipon kan suanoy na panahon pasiring sa kinamumutagkan nyato.

Siring Man ki Ana T. Calixto asin Angela Manalang-Gloria

Sa arog kaining pagsususog ki Ku£akog, muya kong darahon an pagbasa nyato sa osipon ni Calixto asin sa saysay ni Raniela E. Barbaza asin an saysay ni Niles Jordan Breis, parehong pagsusog.

An pagsusog ki Calixto asin sa saiyang mga osipon an nagin proyekto kan iskolar na si Barbaza sa saysay na “Ang Osong na si Beatriz.” An mismong pag-adal nya sarong pag-oosipon asin osipon naman na masasabi huli ta sa loba ni Barbaza, may pigtataong bago an mga osipon ni Calixto sa diskurso kan banwa asin nasyon, kan taal na Bikol sa gibong tataramon na Filipino. 

An kaosongan na yaon man sa mga arkitipal na pigura arog ni Juan Osong, iyo an naging pundasyon kan teorya sa naratibo asin estetika ni Barbaza na sigun saiya, an mga osipon na ini na sinurat sa tataramon na Bikol, lalo na an osipon na “Kuminalpos an Silaod,” sarong pagpapagamiaw nin dakul pang mga identidad asin pagmidbid bako sana nin sarong klase nin Filipino. Alagad an kaosongan na ini bako na lamang ni Juan o kan lalaki kundi yaon naman sa mga karakter na babayi na iyong nakakasaro sa panahon na timbang-buhay an pagtumang sa patriarkiya. Para ki Barbaza, nilagpasan ni Calixto an parati nang paghiling sa babayi siring kan pigura ni Oryol o ni Eba na makasalanon asin bubon nin kasusupgan.   

Sa syudad kan Tabaco, harani sa may simbahan an harong ni Angela Manalang-Gloria (1907-1995) na dating pagrorogaring kan Smith and Bell Company, sarong kompanya nin abaka kan siglo de oro kan nasabing tanom. Kaya may duwang historical markers an nakalaag igdi, enot ta saro ini sa pinakadakulang klase nin harong sa banwaan na inaapod na “bahay na bato,” asin ta naging opisina ini kan sarong pamusong kompanya, asin huli ta ini nagin eerokan ni Manalang-Gloria na giraray na nanitawo sa osipon ni Breis na nanitawo man sa Tabaco asin sa saiyang pagsuysoy girumdom nya an mga maraot na tataramon na pinagsabi ki Manalang-Gloria na ngapit mabibisto nya bilang sarong bantog na parasurat asin minimidbid pa bilang literary matriarch sa Filipinas, alagad huli ‘daa’ kan saiyang pagiging balo asin pangangaipo na ipadagos an negosyong binayaan kan agom, binayaan an pagsurat tanganing ipadagos an paghanap-buhay. Sa saysay ni Breis na “Kung Tawagin Siya’y Angela Buruka,” pig-apod si Angela na “Buruka,” gurang na aswang na pigdudulagan kan mga aki arog ni Breis.

Dawa an mga kaanak ni Breis, may tumang na paghiling sa pararawitdawit. Maraot an ugali ta tibaad sobrang dunong, sobrang yaman. Dai dapat angay sa sarong babayi. Pakaisipon kun pano o tano an sarong nagsurat kan “Revolt from Hymen,” iyo man an masabing an tiyaon ni Breis, na igwa ining ‘gatak na buday’ tanganing balubagion an pagkatawo kan kapwa nya babayi, kaiba an estado sa buhay kaini. Tibaad.

Sa Bikol, an gatak na buol, an gatak na ngabil, an gatak na kamot, mga tataramon ining mapanas kun tuyaw, tatsar, ining sasabihon. Kaya maihahapot, suhay sa hawak daw an pagsurat ni Angela? Katal sa daga? Mararang dila ining si Angela. Bako siyang arkangel na masabi na paladan ka sa babaying gabos, kundi ta an buday mo gatak, siring kan buol, siring kan kublit sa bilog mong hawak.

Tutubuson, totoo ni Breis an pagkatawo ni Manalang-Gloria sa hudyan na parte kan saiyang pagsaysay, asin ikakamundo nya ngani na mas midbid pa kan mga taga-Tabaco an artistang si Aya Medel, na kaidto baguhan pa sanang nagpupuon-puon pa sana sa mga pelikulang pig-aapod na ST. Ngunyan mas midbid pa man giraray gayod si Aya Medel ta igwa na ining Japanese restaurant sa Tabaco, mantang sa huring bisita ko sa harong ni Manalang-Gloria, makusog an tanog na hali sa radyo kan parapadyak, mainiton an hapon, nag-aagi an pirang awto na aram mong pasiring sa pantalan na maduman sa Catanduanes. Puon kan 2020, dati pa man giraray an kamugtakan, dai pa pig-iirahay an itaas na parte kaini na naraot kan bagyong Rolly, iniisip ko, asin inuusip kan boot ko kun sain daw nagtago, nagpaipli an aking si Breis, tanganing dai sya mahiling ni Manalang-Gloria, inisip ko an pirang linya kan “Revolt,” habang pighihiling ko an wakwak na harong kan pararawitdawit, alagad dai ko matandaan an mga linya sa tula, asin mantang pigpara atid-atid ko an pakarapak kan harong ni Angela, mayo akong ibang madangog kundi an agid-sa-tingog kan tiyaon ni Breis na kan nabaretaan na gadan na si Manalang-Gloria, an sinabi sana man kaini, maray man.

Sa ibaba kan harong ni Angela, yaon an tayaan nin lotto, yaon an bantay, sinaro-saro ko an mga numerong luminuwas, mayo pang gana. May gugo sa atyan na banggi an 6/58 asin nasa 70 milyon na an jackpot. Luminuwas ako asin binasa ko giraray an mga historical markers, tinayaan ko an mga numerong nahiling ko, an petsa kan pagkamundag asin kagadanan ni Manalang-Gloria, nag-isip pa ako nin ibang numero, an plate number kan awto ko. Tibaad lamang makangana.

The Omega of Our Osipon

Osipon 
noun | stories, particularly of an oral nature passed across generations

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” says the Old Testament. In the New Testament, in one of the Gospels: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 

I believe that these two beginnings became the weight by which we measure what would become the osipon of Bikol, a land conquered, shaped, and redeemed again and again by the Catholic imagination. An imagination that, at the tail end of the nineteenth century, was given new life with the arrival of the printing press in the city of Naga, after revolutionizing publishing in Manila.

“Osip” in the 1865 Vocabulario de la lengua Bicol by Marcos de Lisboa is a verb, a mode of speech, of conversation, of confrontation, as every shore implies an opposite. The conjugation “oosipon” becomes “orosipon” with the passing of each era. 

In the book of Genesis, the blame fell on the woman after she spoke to the serpent, ate what was forbidden, and offered the same to her husband, who then admitted their  transgression to God. The eating of the forbidden tree gave rise to other stories, such as the one about the Word becoming flesh through a woman. In Genesis, the serpent and the woman formed an ouroboros, their stories becoming intertwined until the end of time after speaking to each other, after their osip.

The story of creation, of sin, of banishment, and of humanity’s subsequent redemption, began with a woman named Eve, the alpha mother, who would be redeemed thereafter by Mary of Nazareth when she accepted becoming the instrument for God’s incarnation as flesh and man. From the moment that she assented, she became the creator of our Creator. “Fiat voluntas tua,” “Thy will be done,” for it was no longer the serpent that the woman was speaking to but an archangel, whose words would flow like mercury to our present time every six o’clock at night, at the sound of church bells, when we take this conversation between woman and archangel from the New Testament and repeat it as a prayer. The conversation transforms into a benediction.

In old prophecies found in many ancient religions, including Christianity, the Word is made flesh. Followed by apocalyptic visions from the Apostle John: the woman prophesied to crush the head of the serpent from the Garden will also be the woman destined to be hunted by the dragon, an ancient serpent seeking to devour the woman and her child.

We can suppose that this eternal conflict shapes osipon: our way of revealing, of complaining, of reprimanding, of shouting, of teasing stories just like the bird Yling does in the epic poem, Ibalong, when its unknown speaker says that the next part of the story will continue the following day. Storytelling is a promise akin to our pleas during prayer to the Lord, whether in the Old or the New Testament.

In the epic Ibalong, which shares its name with the ancient name of Bikol, the figure Oryol is mentioned as the daughter of the creature Aswang, whose old enmity with the god Gugurang originates from Aswang’s theft of the fires of the Mayon Volcano in order to give it to mankind—a tale we have also heard from the Greeks in the form of the Prometheus myth. It wasn’t explained in Ibalong why Aswang bore a child in the form of a she-serpent but, in the stories about Oryol, the serpent and the woman speak with one voice. In the same way, the stories we tell about women and serpents have remained the same since their conversation in the Garden of Eden. So much so that in Fr. Jose Castaño’s Breve Noticia, Oryol is a malevolent force who tempts men into indolence, theft, and murder through the power of her seductive speech. Her trickery is rooted in her imitation of a woman’s voice. 

It is key that we see the conflicting ways women are viewed as either a companion or a serpent. The dichotomy between good (Mother Mary, beatified) or good for nothing (Eve, condemned) is what this folio tries to illuminate.

Oryol, the Ouroboros of Mischief

In the study of Philippine literature, periodization and genrefication became useful tools and methods to look at its flourishing and its history, with the national literature originating from its constituent regions. Nevertheless, it is our intention in this folio to go beyond this framing and insist that it is in the act of storytelling itself that we continue to speak and to listen to these osipon. Our way of telling stories continues to this day. It flows, it barters, and it mingles in various ways from the radio to the pulpit, even on social media—all this glory being glorified. All of these become “osipon” and songs, too, like from those of the artist dwta.

Instead of using time periods or eras like the Precolonial Period, Spanish Period, American Period, or Japanese Period in our exegesis, we prefer to use the figure of Oryol as an ouroboros of mischief, the one constant, the one who walks on our path, because the flow of our stories are fallen tears from a bird that flew away. Tears that became a river, which became a stream, which became a lake. 

This continuity will save us from the despair that Lot’s wife experienced when she became a statue made of salt while her city was being showered with fire and brimstone. We shouldn’t despair at the passing of an era like Handyong did in Ibalong while in the presence of the beheaded Rabot. Instead, we should call out and sing the song of invisible spirits continuing, as in the poem included in this folio “A Omegang Babayi (The Omega Woman)” self-translated from Bikol-Rinconada by H. Francisco V. Peñones. The poet not only alludes to the Greek concept of the Omega, but also to the ointment called Omega, readily available everywhere in the Philippines, applied to the skin as a pain reliever. According to Peñones, this inspired him to write the poem about a mother who suffered both physical and historical slights.

In this folio, we would like to show that early literary forms like the paukod (proverbs) and the arawiga (aphorisms) should not be dismissed as inferior or merely Indigenous forms of literature. They have existed before Christianity even reached our shores and are proof of an ancient civilization that we continue to glorify. The act of storytelling persists even though particular stories, like the ones written by Ana T. Calixto in the 1950s, are no longer in fashion. But contemporary Bikol stories, whether written in Bikol, its many regional variants, Filipino, or English, still embody our traditions of storytelling, as shown by new novels written by Abdon Balde, Jr., Niles Jordan Breis, Emmanuel T. Barrameda, Napoleon Arcilla, Mia Tijam, and Anthony Diaz—names that we hope will be familiar to those who speak our language.

Let’s skip the formulaic way of looking at our literature and our osipon through a purely historical lens, and go beyond this kind of thinking. We need new tricks so that we can break free from this quagmire that bogs us down while pretending to give us insight. We need to go on nourishing what makes our osipon osipon, and ensure that Bikol continues to be spoken and that its dialects intermingle, especially now, with the increasing influence of artificial intelligence, the ad infinitum of our time.

Through this folio, we hope to show that words, thoughts, and lives continue to surge freely and that this mischievous streak in the Bikol literary tradition is a snare we set up, a trick we keep on playing, a reprisal for being turned away from paradise. This is what it looks like to have escaped the snare. Through these readings, the woman, who has been deceived by the serpent, will no longer be fooled. She will no longer be the object of man’s reproach and anger just because she took the first bite of the forbidden fruit, an act that would bear fruit both in the womb and on the earth. Fruit that would bear other fruit and, for the sake of continuing the world, fruit that we chew, and then spit out. This is a spring that nourishes us like an alpha woman, an aswang, who anoints us and who takes away our pain before she flies away. She is an ouroboros made pregnant by the deficient times we live in as she mouths: “Fuera Diyos, fuera hulog.” “If not for God, there would be no fall.”

To Follow in Ku£akog’s Footsteps

In a story well known all over Bikol, the giant Ku£akog looks for a new wife, believing that there are signs that the wife he is looking for can be found by the shores of the river Minalabak. Ku£akog believes marrying a dainty woman is like plucking the sweetest flower from a garden, as do the the men in the stories of Ana T. Calixto—including Don Lope, who fails to successfully court Beatriz Triumfante in “Kuminalpos an Silaod (Slipped the Snare)” translated from Bikol by Mia Tijam.

In one story from the province of Catanduanes, Ku£akog’s wife, Tilmang, is given the task of crossing the sea to Tabaco to grab the flame from a volcano. Ku£akog helps with this quest by having his wife use his erect cock as a bridge between Catanduanes and Tabaco. A bridge for a piece of flame, the same flame needed to cook the seafood they eat to survive. Akin to the flame that Aswang and Gugurang fought over, this flame eventually causes Tilmang’s death when she falls from Ku£akog’s cock to the sea, never to be seen again. The human wife needed to cross towards another life in order for them to live.

I tell these stories about Ku£akog to show the depth and precursors of our osipon, such as those written by Emmanuel T. Barrameda. In Barrameda’s story in this folio—“Bangkera (The Boatwoman),” translated from Filipino by Eric Abalajon—women who desire to be pregnant throw eggs at the rock formation imaginatively named Ku£akog’s Penis. Similar rituals are practiced at Obando in Bulacan, as well as at Tigaon in Camarines Sur, where married couples who want to conceive a child show their devotion through a dance performed in front of Saint Claire the Pure. In Barrameda’s story, these superstitions are stripped of their Catholic vestments and returned to their local origins. 

We can think of osipon as wombs within wombs, fruits that would bear other fruits. When we place each story on the opposite side of another story, like those of Ku£akog birthing the story of “Bangkera,” we sharpen the connection between all our stories from ancient times, to where our stories are now.

In this manner, Raniela E. Barbaza builds upon Calixto’s osipon in her essay included in this folio “Ang Osong na si Beatriz (The Osong That is Beatriz),” translated from Filipino by King Fernandez Almero. According to Barbaza, Calixto’s stories offer new insights on the discourse between the people and the nation, between Bikol and Filipino.

The mischief apparent in archetypal figures like Juan Osong is central to Barbaza’s theory of narrative and aesthetic. Barbaza proposes that these osipon that were written in Bikol, especially “Kuminalpos an Silaod (Slipped the Snare),” translated from Bikol by Mia Tijam, display different identities and recognize that there is more than one way of being Filipino. For instance, mischief is no longer the exclusive domain of men and of characters like Juan Osong. Now, female characters engage in trickery in order to subvert patriarchy. For Barbaza, Calixto went beyond the traditional way of looking at women as figures of sin and of shame, beyond Oryol and Eve.

Our Subversive Matriarchs

In the city of Tabaco there is an old house near the church. There are two historical markers by the house. The first marker indicates that it is one of Tabaco’s largest examples of the architectural style known as “bahay na bato (house of stone),” and that it was once the headquarters of Smith and Bell, a company that sold abaca back in Tabaco’s heyday. The second marker indicates that it was once the abode of Angela Manalang-Gloria (1907-1995), an acclaimed writer. Manalang-Gloria lives in the osipon of the writer Niles Jordan Breis, who himself grew up in Tabaco. In his essay in this folio, he remembers the malicious words that were said about Manalang-Gloria, who he will later come to know as a literary matriarch of the Philippines. Yet, because she was a widow and had to run the business that her husband left, she turned her back on writing. In Breis’s essay “Kung Tawagin Siya’y Angela Buruka (And We Call Her Angela Buruka),” translated from Filipino by Floraime Oliveros Pantaleta, Manalang-Gloria is referred to as a buruka, a scary old crone, a monster that figures in the nightmares of children like Breis.

Some of Breis’s family share this malicious view of the writer. They say that her lack of courtesy is because of an excess of knowledge and an excess of wealth. Both of which, they say, are unbecoming of a woman. This same woman, despite what would seem like a genteel upbringing and a talent for words, was also known for her foul mouth when dealing with the townspeople. Let us ponder why or how someone who wrote “Revolt from Hymen,” a poem so before its time it scandalized an all-male panel of a national writing contest, could be referred to by Breis’s aunt, and indeed the whole town, with such a misogynistic epithet. 

On my last visit to Manalang-Gloria’s house, the radio was blaring from a passing pedicab, the afternoon was sweltering, and cars were passing by on their way to the docks to go to Catanduanes. Since 2020, the house’s upper floor has remained in a state of disrepair after it was damaged by Typhoon Rolly. I thought about Breis, who has described hiding himself as a child in order to avoid being seen by Manalang-Gloria. I thought about a few lines from ”Revolt from Hymen” as I took in the writer’s dilapidated home, but the lines escaped me. I couldn’t think about anything else except Breis’s aunt who, upon hearing the news that Manalang-Gloria had passed away, readily said, “That’s good.”

At the foot of Manalang-Gloria’s house is a place where you can buy lottery tickets. The clerk stood guard as I checked the day’s winning numbers. I didn’t win anything. Later, there would be another draw for the lottery and the jackpot would have reached 70 million pesos. I then went outside and read the historical markers again, taking note of all the numbers I saw—Manalang-Gloria’s dates of birth and death—and then I looked for other numbers, noting the plate number of my car. If I bet on these, maybe I would win next time.