By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Trece Klase sa Biyernes Santo
It is the tradition of our hometown to prepare a recipe with 12 kinds of vegetables with ingredients for the nilubihan utan sa Biyernes Santo. Our old folks would say that the 12 vegetables (including ingredients) represent the 12 Apostles and the subak sa utan is Jesus Christ. The vegetables and ingredients that you are to prepare will have to be those that are grown from your backyard except for the ones that you can buy from the market.
During my grandmother’s time, there were vegatables that could be picked from the surroundings as they were in abundance. Some were clinging to the trees, others were crawling on the ground. Nangumbitay man gyud kaniadto ang mga utanon duol sa kusinahan sama sa bago, tambalijong, sikwa, alugbati, ug tawong. Usahay, ang mga kalabasa nagkamang ra sa yuta. Iapil pa gani namo ug utan ang mga udlot sa mga kalabasa . Unya segurado man gyud mi nga diha mi ubi nga kinampay, kabusok ug karlan. And all those which we didn’t find in our garden, we had to buy from the market. The purchase of these products had to be done on Holy Wednesday because stores would be closed starting Maundy Thursday until Good Friday. Amo usab nga hinumduman nga ang utan alang sa Biyernes Santo, sagulan gyud ug ubi ug gabi aron molawot. Butangan pud ug monggoes. Basta ug dili moabot ug 12 ka mga utanon apil mga ingredients, mangita mi ug udlot sa kujapa aron maoy idugang. This is a kind of spinach that has thorns and they just grew and scattered around the yard during those times.
The 13th ingredient is the subak, that represents Jesus Christ. Kaniadto, TINUHOG NGA BUWAD SA SANGA gyud among isubak kay daghan man ni sa Pamilacan Island. Now the SANGA is an endangered species and this is one of the reasons that people are prohibited from catching and selling it.
SANGA , during those days, was very expensive. In the 90s, it cost P1,000 per kilo. If there was no SANGA for our subak sa 13 klase nga utan sa Biernes Santo, we used the TINAP-AN ug pinikas nga BULAD. But I have found an alternative: the dried kijampaw. Today, the kijampaw is already an endangered species, too. But I still see some kijampaw sold in the market. As early as February this year, I started to buy this kijampaw until I was able to gather a total of
5 kilos. And how do I cook the kijampaw? Like the SANGA the linabog recipe is my favorite. Now, I remember Lino Real; he had the best linabog. I am happy to say that through the years of of trial and error, I have already mastered the linabog. My Dessa at the Blue Apartelle, after 27 years of service to me, has developed her own cooking techniques for the linabog. And now I have Marcelina Jumang-it and Helen Ayaay. Marsing has become Dessa’s assistant while Helen does the washing and the upkeep of the kitchen utensils. Mind you, these 3 “angels” of mine would say that: it is still best to cook in your clean “dirty kitchen” where the aroma could be felt by the senses.
Holy Wednesday and Good Friday are days spent as some kind of reunion for us, the cousins as we prepare our Carro of the Senior Jesus Nazareno. We used to gather at the Karaang Balay and my pagatpat house for this event. But now that I’m in Taguihon, the venue has automatically transferred to this place. So we gather after the procession.
Last Holy Week observance, I missed my
Cousin, Daria Realista. She is my partner in
food preparation for the reunion and presently, she is in new Zealand visiting the families of her two sons who are already residing there.
So, don’t forget the Trece Klase sa Biernes Santo to usher in your Black Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday.
Till next Semana Santa!
12 “klase” nga utan nilubihan
Carro of Senior Jesus Nazareno
Procession during Semana San