7 years ago
Those Magnificent Fishermen of Manlayo ( The Pioneer Fishermen)
Hello mga ka-tropang manlayuhin, eto uli ang inyong lingkod
na si lola basyang jr. Let’s open our
liwayway ng Manlayo para mag-kwentuhan
uli tayo. this is the continuation of my
story about those magnificent fishermen
of manlayo.
A year after these pioneer fishermen from Labac, Naic Cavite
migrated to Manlayo (named after the formed portmanteau—Manalo plus malayo, using the first 3 letters from
Manalo and add to the last 4 letters from malayo thus become “manlayo”) these
happy go lucky Cavitenos started celebrating their barrio fiesta marking their
first anniversary of their migration to our beloved Manlayo. The festivity is almost 2 days celebration,
for so much extravagant preparation.
The decoration of boats is so much fun as i remember—of course,
that consists of eating all kinds of goodies, halos nabawasan na ang handa sa kain at inom (mga guys eh toma-toma
na), habang nagde-dekorasyon ng mga bangka na gamit nila sa pangingisda. They have to use their own fishing boats to
bring them good luck in fishing at night like the palakayas, largaretes, basnig (tres
palos later came), galadgad
trolley and sibid (this is my
favorite because it’s small and easy to operate either by motor or
sagwan). These flamboyant fishing boats
are ready to roll the next day for the “fluvial parade or korakol” out in the sea with the Saint Nuestra Senora de la Paz
aboard the chosen boat.
Each year the chairman of the korakol assigns boat to use as the carrier for the saint to the fluvial parade. This is surrounded by other boats beautifully decorated too and people are dancing to the music of the band the barrio barangay hired for the whole day. Since then they celebrate Manlayo every 31st of august. I think they change the date for the fiesta now. This festivity is to commemorate their success in fishing and thankful to our patron, saint Nuestra Senora de la Paz in giving wealth from the ocean. We called this korakol the pride and joy of the manlayonians (now the next generation calls it Manlayuhin). This is like the Independence Day in America July 4th big celebration.
This dancing on the boats and parading around the saint
aboard the special boat is the most joyous — pasa todo ang sayaw hanggang
tumabi ng aplaya. Then we do the street
dancing going to the town church that time because we didn’t have the chapel
yet in Manlayo.
The Cavitenos are
known for maluho sa pistahan—maraming
handaan at inuman. Ito ang
pinaka-memorable sa akin. as far as
i remember, pinakamasayang celebration namin ito….sky is the limit sa katuwaan. Some people were passing out while dancing
due to heat and exhaustion. Somehow these
magnificent fishermen of Manlayo will
break their piggy banks just to have all kinds of foods and drinks.
After the street dancing — smorgasbord time….all you can
eat…. then the most eventful is the beauty contest and dancing all night. i was always one of the kids that time
watching (till i drop dead), the good dancers
do their exhibition in ballroom dancing.
Those were the product of the Manalo
clan, from Itang Marcos children, Itang Nesto, Itang Andong, my space here
will not be enough to name them all.
With honor and pride here are the Manlayonians who excel in dancing—my apology if i forget to mention the others—from Itang marcos family…Tiya Dioning, Bella, Mering, Anita, marte and luna (baang), and hermie (R.I.P.) . Then from the family of Itang Andong—Rodolfo (R.I.P.),Carmelita,
Anelia, Justiano, Ben, Conching and I don’t remember seeing the others
danced. Itang Nesto….Nene, Indang and Ibot.
Inang Alegring Family—Norberto,
Noli, and others… those were the dancers from the clan of the pioneer
fishermen.
Hangang sa susunod na
kabanata, si Lola Basyang Jr ay duling
na sa antok. Goodnite….see you again in
my next episode. Thank you so much for
reading my short nobela dito sa liwayway
ng manlayo.
republished from: My Blog of wordpress.com
(with permission by the author)
