A Visit (2)

BY RAYMUND VILLANUEVA
Bulatlat

Apo, naimbag nga rabii
Let us in, we are tired and soaked by the rain
Your hearth is lively
Welcoming us with its warmth

Inang, this watercress soup is delicious
We do not have this back home
Your upland rice is sweet
Ours are soft yet tasteless

Ading, please move over
Forgive us but we must rest
Do not worry, our feet are clean
Washed by your cold water outside

Tomorrow, apo, inang, ading
Tell us your story over coffee
We know that people of the hudhud
Have many to tell us lowlanders

Play the gangsa, dance the pattong
Look into the camera
Speak to the microphone
For we do not know much

Tell us of the time when the mountains were green
And the streams were clear
Show us where the wild boars roamed
Where you picked gold from stones

We will be back some months from now
We hope to bring good news
More importantly, we hope to see you
Still home, up here, among the clouds

We shall dine on watercress soup
Drink coffee, eat red rice
We will dance to the gangsa
In solidarity, in victory.

May 16, 2009
Alimit, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya
2:25 p.m.

* Apo—a salutation to elder persons / Naimbag nga rabii—good evening / Inang—mother / Ading—younger sibling / Hudhud—Ifugao folk song sung by Ifugao women while harvesting rice / gangsa—brass gongs / pattong—traditional Cordilleran dance