In search of a usable past

Last Wednesday we had a very heartwarming experience in the launching of Argao In Search of a Usable Past.  Written by Paul Gerschwiler, the book is a publication of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) in fulfillment of its mission “to implement initiatives that will serve as an instrument in preserving local culture and heritage, and to make the people of the present generation, especially the youth, understand and appreciate history, culture and heritage and their role in the development of the nation.”
I like the term “usable” because I found many uses of the book’s content. In our current effort to be nurturing regarding the environment at the same time  letting the young people join us we can remind them that: “Basically, our ancestors’ spiritual life was deeply rooted in their closeness to nature. They regarded themselves as a part of, rather than superior to or separate from, nature. Nature was spirited, often personified, and demanded respect and worship in all its appearances.”
Another quote that would encourage environment-friendly values among the young discusses practices. With colonial control of the economy, Argawanons experienced poverty. The author describes their response: “The Argawanons adjusted to the new economic situation in their own way. They simply employed one of their amazing qualities, which they still possess till this day: a simple and frugal way of life. They returned to a previously practiced and actually never-abandoned modest self-subsistence, tilling their land for their own consumption; rearing livestock; catching fish and other seafood; building their houses and boats; weaving their clothes, blankets, towels, sails, hammocks and ropes and making use of their natural environment. This kind of ‘lifestyle’, using a modern term presupposes an enormous amount of independence.” Aren’t simplicity and frugality suggested lifestyles that will make us inclined to conservation?
A very practical interaction with the environment can be observed in the preparation of the famous Argao torta. “Torta was supposedly a by-product of the construction boom. For the construction of massive stone walls mortar was needed as binding material. This mortar was essentially produced by mixing egg whites with lime. The workers brought chicken eggs, probably hundreds of thousands of them, broke them, separated the egg white from the egg yolk and used the whites for the mixing of mortar. This procedure, of course, left a tremendous amount of egg yolk. It is an oral tradition that the Argawanons did not wish to waste such an amount of precious dietary staple. Thus, they found ways to make good use of it, and out of it resulted the Torta de Argao.
Torta was made of egg yolks and two other major ingredients, namely lina, which is the early morning-fresh and non-fermented tuba or coconut toddy, and pork lard. Tuba was used instead of yeast and lard contributed a very particular taste. These three major ingredients were mixed with flour, sugar, milk and butter or margarine. Then this batter was poured into molds and left to rise for several hours. It is believed that, in order to get the true taste of a torta, it needed to be baked in special ovens locally called hudno, where both the top and the bottom were heated, and that only coconut husks and shells should be used to nurse the fire.”
I was thrilled about what the book shares regarding gender relations. Regarding women and their opportunities, the author had these to say: “During Spanish rule, women in Argao continued to enjoy respect and independence. Like in pre-colonial days, they were still working as weavers and spinners. If they so wanted, they could engage in trade. Some enterprising ones indeed ran their own stores or were trading merchants. These activities came to a peak when precious clothes, embroidery and decorative accessories found an attractive market among the affluent city elite in the second half of the 19th century.
“Their social independence also showed in the fact that they did not need to be married to be professionally successful in their work or trade, and that having children out of wedlock was socially accepted and no discriminating taboo was imposed for it.
“In every respect, the Argawanon women were part of a liberated, open-minded community, which had retained from pre-colonial times a culture of equal rights for both genders.”
So it was not surprising that in the school of the late 19th century,  almost half of the students were females. And among the teachers were: Cornelia Miñoza, Filomena Lucero and Sabina Mondragon.
They even have Bonifacio Miñoza who actually passed a resolution, in spite of criticisms, in support of women’s suffrage.
A very important use of history is to inspire our young to live meaningful lives full of caring and commitment. This I found in the narrative on the family of Hilario Davide Sr. We read about how he and his wife, Josefa Lopez Gelbolingo raised seven children with discipline and reared them to be hardworking and responsible, not in luxury but in a modest household. They all became highly productive professionals. Hilario Davide Sr. himself started as a teacher and eventually rose to become a division superintendent of schools. Upon retirement he founded the Colawin Education Foundation. He had considered “his principal mission: education as a means of unchaining the poor barrio folks from the shackles of ignorance and liberating them from poverty.”

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