Pinangat by Tantin TolledoFrank V. Peñones
Pagkakakan nin Tinuktok
Kabilugan nin saiyang hawak sa simong palad:
luway-luway ngona siyang kargahon,
ibugtak asin sa tsinang plato pahigdaon.
Dangan an mata ipirong
mantang pinaparong
nagbuswak na olor
nagpapagiromdom
nin gata, doros-dahon.
Atyan, magian na hubadon
gakod sa gubing niyang natong.
Sunod, ibiklad,
garo nagbabalad,
an puting tipong niyang laman.
Alagad, pugulan an kahidalian.
Huling bunga man siya nin pasencia
kaya tama sanang taan man siya nin seremonya
siring sa mga Hapon sa tsaa.
Giromdomon si nagguno kan bunga,
an langkaw na sinakat niya.
Siring man si nagpino, naggabot
kan hilom ka'ning hamot
garo tanglad na pinulpog.
Pakatapos dilaan nin dikit,
lipotok niyang sarsang mahamis,
maalsom, maharang an namit.
Dangan, magsibnit nin sadit
mation an saiyang lumhok
asin magkurahaw:
Viva la virgen!
Eating Tinuktók
Its fullness in your hand,
lift it slowly and lay it down
on its porcelain bed.
Then, eyes closed,
inhale its perfume
carrying memories
of coconut cream
and wind among leaves.
In a moment, lightly untie
the ribbons of its taro leaf dress.
Then unfold,
lay bare,
its white flesh.
But not with haste.
Mark: it too is Patience’s fruit,
deserving of ceremony,
like the Japanese to their tea.
Remember him who picked the nut,
the height he climbed.
Too, those who minced and refined,
drew out its secret scent
of crushed lemon grass.
Afterwards, lick
daintily with the tip of your tongue
its cream: sweet, sour,
not a slight bite.
Then, take the smallest pinch,
feel it melt on your tongue,
and scream:
Viva la Virgen!
Translation by Frank V. Peñones and Marne L. Kilates
NOTE
Tinuktok (minced) is a popular viand in the Rinconada area of Camarines Sur in Bicol with the common ingredients of minced young coconut meat mixed with either river crab or shrimp; and local spices like lemon grass, pepper, garlic and onion, all of which are wrapped in small rectangular packets of taro leaves then boiled to tenderness. Once cooked, they are topped with thick and spiced coconut cream.—FVP
With its additional ingredients of river crab or shrimp, tinuktok would be a variation of the popular pinangat (photo above courtesy of Tantin Tolledo's blog). But there is an actual variation of the quintessential pinangat of Camalig town in Albay, which is the inulukan, precisely filled with river crab or ulok. Though not visually distinguishable, each has its own delicate taste worth celebrating in a poem, as Frank does.—MLK
Old tracks, from the National Archive. The Philippines has one of the oldest railroads in Southeast Asia. Its neglect and eventual decay is an example of government's bankruptcy in terms of safeguarding both national assets and the national memory. Bikolanos and Pangasinenses(along the South and North rails, from Legazpi to Damortis, would probably vote to the presidency anyone who can rehabilitate and upgrade this part of the national culture.
Vic Nierva
An Pagkahapon sa Sakong Banwaan
Mamansayan ko an nagmamaris-maris na kalangitan
asin titiponon an paghidaw na haloy nang namamatean.
Huli ta an pagbalik liwat sa haloy pang panahon
kun nuarin tibaad an langit dai na ako malindongan.
Titiponon ko man an natatadang init asin lanit kan saldang
na minaburubulawan mantang minahiro paibaba
patago na sa likod kan Mayon o Asog o Isarog.
Titiponon ko pa an pagmate sa pag-ultanan
kan paabot na lipot kan pagkabanggi asin
an ikog kan imbong kan aldaw
mantang hinihiling an nagrurulupad-lupad
na mga balinsasayaw. Titiponon ko man an mga tingog,
an mga boses, an kaogmahan kan sakong mga kahimanwa.
Titiponon ko an mga ini, asin ilalaog sa sarong lalagan
na bubukasan ko tanganing iwarak an laog sa langit
na minalindong man kan dagang sakong padudumanan.
Para sa mga Bikolanong nasa balyong dagat
Afternoon in My Homeland
Long will I look at the shimmer of sky
and save in my heart all the loneliness of days.
For coming back in time I cannot know,
perhaps only when this sheltering sky is gone.
Let me gather what’s left of warmth, on my skin
the bite of sun glimmering like gold,
setting down behind Mayon or Asog or Isarog.
Let me gather some more what’s left
between the coming nights of cold
and the tail-end of summer warmth,
as I watch the fluttering and flight
of sparrows. Let me gather and save the voices
and the words, the joy of people in my homeland.
I will save and gather all these, store them in a vessel,
which I will open again to scatter its contents
under the sky that will shelter me too where I am bound.
For Bikolanos abroad
Translation by Marne L. KilatesRafael Banzuela
An Lalaki sa Poon kan Bulkan
Anas na lapak an saiyang mga palad
Dai na mati an gabat kan mga unsag
Sa buhay kan asadol asin minasbad.
Turog sa tanglay, pukaw sa daplos
An lalaki sa poon Bulkan Mayon
Dusay sa daga, daing tunong an igos.
Igos tios, ogak tigbak iyo man giraray
Sa sumada kikaabotan daing pagka-iba
And pagkakan aro-aldaw maluto, gulay.
Kung magtangad, langit; dumuko, dugi
Mangalagkalag man mahiling awot,
Pananaw abot sana sa hahaleon na ati.
Niyog, paroy, batag, doma, mga gulayon
Dolot sa banwa tanganing dai magutom,
Kan lalaki sa poon kan Bulkan Mayon.
Mga palad na pano ki lapak dai na bati
Dagos an angos sundo sa sunod na uson,
Sa unsag kan buhay ngorol na an mati,.
Man on Volcano Slope
All rough callus is the palm of his hand,
Numb to the weight and fall of the strokes
Of a life spent toiling with bolo and hoe.
Asleep, dog tired, he is wakened by sweat
The man on Mayon Volcano’s slope;
Intimate with earth, he never shuns toil.
Toil and suffer, idle and die, is all
It adds up to: each day no different
As he feasts on green vegetables and rice.
Look up, there’s the sky; look down, mud,
Gaze around and all there is weeds,
Horizon is a pile of dirt he must clear.
Coconut, paddy, banana, root crop, green leaves:
Gifts to the town to keep hunger at bay,
From the man on Mayon Volcano’s slope.
All the callus on his palms he no longer minds,
He lives between each surge of sulfur and mud,
Each stroke of a life dulled at the edge.
Translation by Marne L. Kilates
Hut in Tiwi by Abdon Balde Jr