By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Do you remember the
Ginantang, Tinuhog, ug Tinapok?
The fifties and the sixties were post war years. Those were the times when the Philippines was considered the Tiger of Asia, a period of rebuilding the nation as a post war era. The peso to dollar exchange rate was: one was to two until the nation went into foreign borrowings and there was what we called as the floating rate. Developments were foreign funded. Unya kay utang man kadto, pagabayaran gayud sa mga tawo.
Niadtong panahona, ang bugas ginantang pa. Families had simple dreams and needs – not wants. It was normal to dream but our dreams were within the bounds of realities. Niadtong panahona, maayo gyud ug duna moy basak aron dili mopalit kanunay ug bugas. If you had a ricefield, no matter how small it was, you were truly blessed. This was true if you had honest nga mga sa-op. We called them tenants.
The tenants before were true to their words in the sharing of products. There were no memoranda of agreement, yet, both the sa-op ug ang tag-iya sa basakan, magdumdom gyud sa ilang mga saad. Ang mga sa-op magtoltol ug hatud sa abot sa ani ngadto sa tag-iya sa basakan. I remember the ani sprawling on the yard cradled by wide pieces of banig nga magsilbi ug buwaranan. After drying the ani, this would be placed in the basanday.
The practice of my Lola Danday before was to sell a portion of our harvest stocked in the basanday. Why? It was her way of getting some amount to reimburse whatever she spent for the plete sa ani ug pagaling sa humay inig ka-uga na human kini ngibuwad.
The favorite ricemill of my Lola Danday before was the Bustrillos Ricemill. It was located near the Digal Photography Studio. Mosulod mi kilid sa Digal studio unya adto mi magpagaling sa humay. Usa ka gantang sa tipasi pagabayran ug 50 centavos sa pag-galing. And 1 ganta of rice was equivalent to 2.5 kilos.
Nowadays, we measure fish, vegetables, rice, corn, etc. by kilos. Naa pay panahon nga inig-abot nimo sa imong balay, kung timbangon nimo ug balik ang imong pinalit, kulang na sa timbang. “Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang”, matud pa sa salida. Alang-alang man pud ug mubalik pa ka sa merkado aron padugangan ang kulang. Dako nang gubot sa kalibutan.
Then, during those times, all I could see were red/pink grains of rice. There was no Camia, Jasmine, Washington ug uban pa. Ang puti nga bugas kaniadto, among tawgon ug memis. But we seldom ate memis. We preferred red rice kay bus-ok ug busog. And my Lola Danday practiced FIFO – first in, first out. Ang tipase nga ipagaling, FIFO gyud ang sundon. Mamaligya ra mi ug bugas kon moabot na pud ang bag-ong ani especially that Planting Rice, then, was done once a year. There was no irrigation system; we were simply dependent on the rain. And God gave us the rain that we needed. Kaniadto wala poy madunggan namo nga magbugno tungod sa kahakog sa tubig.
You can just imagine, when i was newly married. With my 10 pesos in the wallet, my basket was already filled to the brim. And that was our budget every day. Gasul then was nine pesos. No need for money deposit for the tank. Dili pud ko kalimut nga na-una mi ug palit ug yuta kay sa among pagpalit ug refrigerator.
I wonder when will it happen when a kilo of rice would only cost 20 pesos. Mr. President, please allow this situation to happen.
Kaniadto, ang isda ug karne tinuhog pa ug tinapok – dili kinilo. If you would buy fish or meat, you would ask: “Pilay tapok ani?” But now, you would ask: “Nganong mahal na man ning kilo ani? Dili na ba gyud mu-os-os ang presyo? P200, P300, P400 lang gyud kanunay ang kilo? To retain its freshness, ang isda kaniadto, tinuhog ang baligya unya puston ug dahon sa saging, isulod gyud sa basket ug dili sa echo bag.
Before, with your 10 pesos, your basket could already be filled up with tullingan. Mahimo na ka magluto ug tulingan tinap-an, inun-onan, pinirito, tinula, ug uban. Asa ra man tong panahon sa likomlikom diin magbugjong ang mga mananagat pagdapit sa mga tawo kung daghan ang kuha? Apan karon, DOLLAR ug GOLD na ang tulingan. Mga politico, asa ra man mo? Aguy unsaon na ni? Wa na gyud mi palitpalit ug isdang til-ugon. An among palliton pirme na lang tamarong, anduhaw, perit.
Our vegetables are following the trend. Ang kada tapok kay dili mo menus sa bente pesos. Ang imong nanampiling nga kuarta, dali ra. It is now a must that when you go to the market, you have to bring those bills with the Philippine eagle, including the 3 Philippine heroes with the mother of pearl at the other side.
Gimingaw gyud ko sa ginantang nga bugas, tinuhog nga isda, ug tinapok nga utanon.
