by Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Banggerahan Then and Now
Ang banggerahan in the days of my grandmother was essential in every household. What was it for? That was the place where we kept the banga (drinking jar made of clay) and most often, the banga was made in Albur lakip na ang gripo.
At times, the clay jar didn’t have the gripo attached to it, hence, a dipper (made of coconut shell plus a handle) was always ready for anybody to use. The dipper was called hungot.
Gitakob lang kining maong hungot sa banga ibabaw sa usa ka pinggan nga maoy silbing tabon sa banga. Mahibaw-an nimo nga dugay na ang banga kay gilibutan na man kini sa lumot nga maoy makadugang sa kabugnaw sa tubig nga gibutang sa banga. (The dipper is simply placed on top of a plate that serves as the lid of the jar. You will know that the jar is old because it is already surrounded by moss which will add to the coolness of the water placed in the jar.)
Mineral water placed in plastic containers was unheard of at that time. Drinking water came from nearby wells or spring and placed in the banga dapit sa banggera itself, In this place, near the banga was a receptacle for drinking glasses. The washing area for the glasses and plates was just across for the convenience of anybody who wished to wash his glass/plate after use.
All of these came to my mind after typhoon Odette hit Bohol and as an aftermath, the supply of drinking water became and is still a problem. Everybody was scampering for water.
Makita nimo ang mga tawo nga ijahay ug kawos ug tubig sa Baliaut ug sa atabay. Baclayon had an abundance of atabay from the Spanish time when every barrio (barangay) and every karaang balay had an atabay. With the introduction of the water system, the atabay slowly got neglected.
Another use of the banggera for us growing up with my
manang was as a hiding area for our halilika. Musaka mi sa pangke sa banggera aron adto namo isuksok and halilika. Children of today may not know what halilika is. It is a kind of flower that blooms on Christmas time. The place where my Lola went to evacuate during the war was called Tunga and it was in this place that there was abundance of the halilika.
Tunga is the boundary of Albur and Baclayon and if you go to the place now, it is teeming with development complete with solar lights and subdivisions
abound.
Talking of the banggera now, I would say that all of these are gone from my possession at the Poblacion of Baclayon. The last one situated at my pagatpat house, was blown by Odette. She also brought my kitchen halfway down to the sea. I have not yet bothered looking into where the remnants are as of now. I have just cleared the house in Taguihon. I just don’t want to dampen my spirit.
Here in Taguihon, where I am now, I have two banggeras; one is for my solar lights and the other is for storing the groceries. It has become a daily ritual for me to put the solar things waking up. The banggera is facing east so the creeping sunlight greets us everyday; even if most of the days now are cloudy. But with my banggera I let the merry sunshine in.