by Telly Ocampo
My youth and the treasures from the seas, the land and the air
It has been raining the last few days. It’s cold and seldom can we see the sun. On days like these, comfort food in your youth comes to mind.
Some of these are binignit, maruya, biko, budbud, ug daghan pa. But even these kinds of food are not anymore that affordable. We used to have abundance of these in our kitchen, but, the situation is not the same nowadays. Who would ever think that a few pieces of bago leaves would cost P10. Gamay ra gyud na kaayo na bugkos. I remember the time that bago was arranged like a chain and one chain was worth 5 centavos only. Usa ka butok valor ug usa ka daku. I wonder if today’s young boys and girls know what “usa ka daku” is. I doubt if they have seen one. Usa ka daku is a big brown copper coin. We used to have this kind of coin in my youth. With that copper coin called “usa ka daku” we could already buy a piece of candy and a sheet of paper for school material.
Why did I happen to think of the “usa ka daku” and the binignit, maruya, budbud, biko ug daghan pa? It is because during these rainy days, most of the time, I am glued to my chair with all my thoughts of youth rushing back to my mind. And thoughts of my young years always would strike back to how affordable things were.
Sayon ra gyud ang paahon kaniadto. Yes, everything was easy to come by. Pwede ka mamuwak ug lubi apil ang kujamis alang sa imong pama-init. Sagulan lang ug kamay, mabusong ka na. Lisud man usab ang kwarta kaniadto, apan daghan ang gitagoan sa silong. You might be asking what the silong was? Anyway, there were no bungalows before. We had stilt houses and the lower floor was a sort of a bodega where you could find all our “stored” products. Didto sa silong among ibutang ang mais, ubi, apale, camote, ug hinuktan nga manok lakip na ang ilang mga pugaran. Our silong was an all purpose open place fenced with bamboo slats. You would really be amazed at how our binuhing manok would roam around our perimeters – outside the silong – but at dusk all of them would come back to the place for the night’s rest.
During my youth, there was peace and quiet. The evening serenity would only be disturbed by the sweet voices of serenading men visiting houses of friends. Seldom would you hear crimes of passion brought about by land conflicts and illegal drug operation. Ug diha may mga kawat nga mahitabo kaniadto, kadto rang pangawat sa manok samtang nangharana ang ubang mga pilyong batan-on. We really had peace in its true essence of the word.
I also miss the wealth on the shores of my youth. Ang swaki, tambajang, aninikad, kinhason, lumot, gubaguba, ambang, ug gagmayng kasag, maoy naka-adunahan sa kadagatan sa akong kabatan-onan. We didn’t worry what to eat, if we were just loyal to the products of the seas and the shores.
In my youth, food was in abundance. We had products both from the land and the seas. We also had blessings from the trees. What with all the kamunggay, bago, kamatis, tangad, luya, and sibuyas from our backyard. What with all the litub, komongkomong, sijok, tujom, bungkawil, kibow from the shores. What with all the saging sab-a, gabi, lubi, boongon, manga, bayabas, kolo and duma in our midst?
My husband is 81 years old. On his birthday, I requested somebody to look for tambajang ug swaki as two of our special menus. These are now sold at the Dao market in Tagbilaran City. I realized that what we used to gather FOR FREE from the shores are now sold at P100 per bottle for swaki and P70 per kilo for tambajang.
I’m really missing the days of my youth – the wealth of my youth.
The lomot is totally gone. Nada as in nada. Nothing as in nothing. Even the buskay and the kaykay are becoming scarce. How could we ever bring them back?
There was a time when the Ayala Foundation tried to help in establishing a marine sanctuary in Taguihon, Baclayon, Bohol. But that had negative support from the community.
Now, I understand and fully support the advocacy of a small group against a waterpark all in the name of tourism. It’s about time for us to protect God’s given gifts: the wealth of the seas, the land and the air.