ALIGUAS MANGALDAN: Celebrating Life, History and Culture of Mangaldanians

Silag tan sinamet

by Djoma de Guzman

The "silag" palm tree is almost extinct in our town of Mangaldan. As Atchi Marie Aquino-Junio recalls from her childhood days, the silag was the source of a sweet nectar processed into an almost crystal clear light-bodied syrup called, "sinamet". This was an almost organic-standard, naturally processed (like extra virgin olive oil) sweetener used to enhanced the flavor of the glutinous rice, "ansacqet", rolled into smooth and velvety textured one-bite rice balls cooked in creamy coconut milk, a native delicacy ("Kakanen") called "kineler". A spoonful of "sinamet" would be enough for a single serving bowl of warm "kineler". A whole glass of sinamet would put you to the high heavens as the alcohol content, subtle and almost unnoticeable, puts your spirits into high gear. It does not have the aristocratic color of the "reds" (cavernet savignon, merlot, shiraz...); it could nonetheless enduced a hearty conversation in an extended dinner beneath the cool shade of a blossom heavy mango tree.

The sinamet is extracted by tapping the blossom bud of the silag. A bamboo tube is tied to the cut tip of the blossom branch and the silag slowly releases a light sap collected into the tube. The silag can grow as tall as 30 - 40 feet and the gatherer will have to carefully climb the tree to check how much sap has already been collected.

I found a few remaining trees of the silag in Sitio Malikto, Barangay Talogtog. And the people I talked to said that nobody climbs the silag anymore to gather the sap for sinamet. Having become accustomed to a more leisurely lifestyle, the folks find climbing the silag as too risky. So I return to Canada empty handed, without a bottle of ancient sinamet to share with Atchi Marie. On the next trip this year, I will make it a point to stay long enough to encourage someone to climb the silag and process a sinamet.

Mangaldan's Unsung Heroes

by Djoma de Guzman

I recently took a four-day side trip to visit our hometown Mangaldan to take the first steps of a mission to document our culture and history . . . before it is lost in the so called pace of development. Aliguas Mangaldan has so far been a forum for celebrating the life of Mangaldan migrants, often referred to by our kabaleyans who remain in the town as, the better-off Mangaldanians. The brief sojourn into our barrios (barangays) shows the grit and determination of our kabaleyans at home as they keep their heads above the water and continue to provide for their families.

I wish to thank my very close friend Konsehal Arthur Leo Moulic Fabia and spouse 'Mare Noemi for hosting me in those four days in Mangaldan, providing me with a car to move around. Likewise, my gratitude to Poblacion Barangay Kgd. "Jojo" Jose Yap Fabia for driving me through the barangay roads to look for "Mangaldan's Unsung Heroes".

They keep the economy going. Some of them are the remaining guardians of a culture and history that is slowly disappearing: manag-asin, manag-barang, papay makers, patupat and nilatik bakers.... Deep into the night, the town's slaughter house is in a hectic pace preparing the meat supply for the following day. At midnight, the vegetable and fruit vendors unload their produce while the nilatik, puto, patupat and casava cake bakers deliver their goods to retail outlets. In the early morning hours, vegetable gardeners cultivate their fields, the asin makers light up their 'pogons' while the barang and papay makers sharpen their tools to start their craft. The day comes to a full cycle in the late afternoon as the 'ingkalot' and the 'tupig'  are laid out in the main street to provide the people's evening food fare.

There was another discovery in this trip. One of 'Tio Demy's" (Demetrio Gonzales) students in Bari Elementary School (1983-84) is now a Music and Arts teacher at Mangaldan National High School. Jerome Guba Estrada was kind enough to provide Aliguas Mangaldan with a marching tempo version of Tio Demy's "Abante Mangaldan". I have used this beautiful score to provide the background music for a slide presentation of Mangaldan's Unsung Heroes.

Turn on your computer's audio and view the presentation. Double click on the image bar. If you have a broadband connection, things should play out easily. If you are back home, in our town, you may have to wait for a full minute before the presentation opens.

If you wish to have a copy of this presentation just click on this link: Download UnsungHeroes.2.wmv