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The Newsletter of The Reflection, The Official Student Publication of the School of Education Volume I Issue no. 3
TULA NING POETA LAUREADO. Mr. Frank Guinto delivered a full-hearted Kapampangan poem which amused the audience during the Kebalwan 2020.
March 2020
Distinguished Kapampangans grace Kebalwan 2020
Photo by Daphne Nicole Medina
SEd wins big on UDays Kapampangan events
By Abelardo Jr. Cortez
By Abelardo Jr. Cortez
T
he School of Education bagged three awards on the two events under the Kapampangan category last University days 2020. Becoming another symbol of SEd, the department’s Majigangga stood tall on the festival of giants during the opening parade which took place on January 29. The Majigangga competition was recently added to the list of events for the University Days 2020. The said competition was actually inspired by the Majigangga Festival, a Kapampangan adaptation of the Higante Festival, showcasing giant puppets as symbols of evil. Consequently during the awarding ceremony which happened that night, the department attained the first place in the Majigangga competition. Another Kapampangan event was the Dalit which is a songwriting competition. It was held a day before the opening ceremony of the University days. Camille Surla, a first year SEd student, was the representative of the department as both the songwriter and singer of her piece entitled, “King Pipumpunan Tamu.” On the closing ceremonies of the University days, it was announced that Surla got the 2nd runner up award for Dalit and was also declared as the Best Song Interpreter. “As a college, winning was merely our secondary goal because our utmost aim was to represent the talents and creativity of the School of Education. Although challenging, I hoped that there will be more activities that would awaken our Kapampangan spirit,” said Khyla Nicole Canlas, the SEd Councilor in charge for the two events.
Renowned Kapampangans from different disciplines graced the Kebalwan forum 2020 with the theme: Pamangambul queng Amanung Sisuan, showcasing the beauty of the Kapampangan language last March 05 at SJH Academic Hall.
Kebalwan is an annual forum that addresses different relevant topics about the society, which is originally hosted by The Social Studies Circle (TSSC). This year, it was co -organized together with the Kapisanan ng mga Mag-aaral sa Filipino (KAMFI). Four speakers were invited to talk about different topics celebrating the Kapampangan language and discussing several possible ways on how the Kapampangans, especially the youth can preserve it. They are: Mr. Marvin Punsalan, the head of the Institute of Kapampangan Cultural Heritage Studies at the City College of Angeles; Dr. Nestor de Guzman, a part-time Filipino professor at Holy Angel University; Mr. Eugene Ngo, the founder of the Taram Kalis brand; and Mr. Joel Mallari, an experienced Kapampangan researcher. Moreover, Kebalwan 2020 exhibited different talents from local
SYMBOL OF PRIDE. The winning Majigangga entry of SEd portrays pride as one of the sins/ evils in the festival of Giants. Photo by Justhine Kaylo Lao
A Walkthrough Beauty, Truth and Meaning at Clark Museum
Kapampangan artists. Two spoken word pieces were delivered by members of the Paper Soul, a group of spoken word artists based in Angeles City. The most awaited performance came from Mr. Frank Guinto, who was a Poeta Laureado. He became famous for starring in the award-winning Kapampangan film, “Ari: My Life with a King.” “Munang dili, buri kong dinan kapasalamatan deng memandake king kekaming pigsadyang okasyun. Anyang kayari ning aldong ayta, asna kung karakal kabalwan ikwa menibatan kareng tagapagsalita, na sana anti mu rin kareng sablang tinagun ming taga albe,” Milker Gutierrez, president of KAMFI, stated. The audience for this year’s Kebalwan were senior high school students of HAU under the Humanities and Social Sciences strand.
SIKLUBAN: A Walkthrough
Mi-indu da ring Kapampangan
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Kapampangan Mythology
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The Image | Volume I Issue no. 3
A Walkthrough Beauty, Truth and Meaning at Clark museum Written and Photos taken by Loraine Clavo, Chesa Filosofo and Abelardo Jr. Cortez
A
re you the type of person who's accustomed to gaining a lot of knowledge about your immediate community or are you more interested in exploring and having fun with your friends? It will be no surprise to us if we hear some who will respond, "Both!" Well, in that case, we suggest that as we did, you take the words of Maira Kalman who said, "A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can." Among the museums within Pampanga, we decided to visit the Clark Museum. Located at Clark Freeport Zone, this museum is a repository of a community's collective memory of Clark's colorful history. As the narrative found inside it suggests, it is one of the ways of remembering not
only the events that shaped Clark into what it is now but also the lessons that led to its transformation from a US Military base into a world class Philippine investment and tourism zone. This museum first opened to the public on 1997 based on the idea of former Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president, Retired General Romeo David. During our visit there, we found out that the museum was now divided into four major galleries: Gallery 1 - Between Arayat and Pinatubo Geo Hub for the Filipino Spirit, Gallery 2 People's Industry and Ingenuity, Filipino Spirit in Craft and Ritual, Gallery 3 - Clark Air Field, The Filipino Spirit rechanneled, and Gallery 4 Clark Freeport, Celebrating the Filipino Spirit Renewed and Rising. Some may realize that Clark Museum has some-
The Image | Volume I Issue no. 3 how changed compared to its past design, displays and galleries. This is for the reason that Clark Museum underwent rennovations which were initiated and completed by the CDC management, who collaborated with academic and Kapampangan heritage experts and thematic display professionals to develop the concept and design of the museum. After the renovations, Clark Museum was inaugurated on January 26, 2015. As we roamed around the museum, we were filled with wonder and enthusiasm. We thought of ways in which the principles of informal learning could be applied to what we want to do as students and future teachers. We enjoyed the various displays on the museum such as replicas, dioramas, artifacts, historical photos and among others. We were full of varying emotions, our steps were lively as we study the artworks that were displayed - each portraying different messages, creatively and effectively communicated to anyone who will see. Indeed, we walked through beauty, truth and meaning while we were at Clark museum. The main event of our visit there happened when one of the museum staffs invited us to watch a free show on the 4D theater. There, wearing our 4D glasses added to the ecstatic feeling the multidimensional experience brought to us upon watching the documentary film, entitled, “Rise from the Ashes,� which is all about the beginnings of Clark. After the show, we were left with no
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words to describe our experience but we know that our smiles were enough for us to say that the experience was indeed "wonderful". At about 5 o'clock, we realized that it was already time for us to retire from our day's duty as we bid goodbye to Clark Museum. The "Solid, kasaya!" from us was actually just a glimpse of what we truly felt during our stay there. Looking back, we knew that Clark Museum taught us a lot of things about our heritage as Kapampangans. It helped us to improve our understanding of who we are now, as a product of our history. It made us wonder more and be excited on the beauty, truth and meaning that the future has yet to offer.
Tips for anyone who's interested in visiting Clark museum: 1. Bring your student ID to get a free admission to both the Clark museum and its 4D theater. You'll regret not bringing it after paying a total regular fee of 200 pesos. Be practical guys! 2. The museum is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The schedule of the 4D theater is as follows: 9:30 to 9:50 am | 10:40 to 11:00 am | 1:30 to 1:50 pm | 3:10 to 3:30 pm
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The Image | Volume I Issue no. 3
Photo s by Albert Foronda and La Sagrada Expedicion
Mi-indu da ring
Kapampangan By Lester Samson and Nicole Diane Liwanag
“With their unwavering faith and love to Christ and His Blessed Mother, prayers have been heard and miracles were seen in the province of Pampanga. Many Kapampangans testified these living phenomena that the Mi-Indu poured to their devotees.”
K
apampangans are widely known as religious devotees throughout the history. Various images, churches, and festivals are very much alive up until now in the whole province. AMLAT Way back then, Pampanga was the breeding ground of Socialism before and after World War II, as it also became the center source of Communism. With this in mind, chaos and threat flung like dangerous weapons reigning of terror throughout the province but not until December 11, 1948 when Most Reverend Cesar Ma. D. Guerrero from the Archdiocese of Manila came to Pampanga. The said priest was formally hailed as the Archbishop of Pampanga in
September 8, 1949. He, himself found a remedy to the violent scenery happening in Pampanga by founding the Crusade of Charity and Goodwill, on the third Sunday of February 1952, through a meeting with Msgr. Andres Bituin, Fr. Diosdado Victorio and Doña Rosario Gonzales held at the Rectory of San Guillermo, Pampanga. Seven women of charity called Damas de Caridad were selected through their manifestation of charity and good will. The Seven Damas do not only represent the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin, but they were also tasked to collect Lamac or the offerings in kind for the poor, to kindle the charitable trait of the people in the province. In addition, Doña
Jacinta Tayag of Bacolor was the designated recamadera (care taker) of the Blessed Virgin.
Virgen De Los Remedios or Indu ning Capaldanan is the chosen title for the image of the Blessed Virgin as it gives touch for the people, especially to the poor and the cure to the social ailment of Pampanga that time. The title Remedios came from the Kapampangan word Remedio/Remedyo which means to remedy, cure or fix. The Virgen De Los Remedios image is located in the parish of Baliti, San Fernando Pampanga. The image was meant for the crusade all over the province. The inauguration of the Crusade of Charity and Good Will started on May 1, 1952 in Masantol
together with Bishop Guerrero, Pampanga Governor Rafael Lazatin, the mayors and priests of the towns in Pampanga. Charity through the crusade served as the bridge of lasting peace all throughout the whole province as holy masses were celebrated consistently. Rosaries were recited for 24 hours, missions and catechesis occurred, priests calmly waited for penitents in confession, donations for lamac grew, and unity, faith, peace, love were restored throughout the strength of prayers and deeds of the Kapampangans. During those previous times, the love of the people for the Blessed Mother grew. In fact, most of the families have a little shrine of the beloved Indu in their window at home, as a sign of welcome to the
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The Image | Volume I Issue no. 3 Virgen De Los Remedios whenever she visits their town during crusades. Great things continue to happen, seen, and felt in the whole province of Pampanga. With the clear and observable faith, and undeniable love of the Kapampangans to Blessed Mother, Bishop Guerrero was convinced from the people’s voices that the Virgen De Los Remedios be declared as the Mother and Patroness of Pampanga. Pushing through with it, Bishop Guerrero passed the Petition to His Eminence Federico Cardinal Tedeschini, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Architecture, Vatican City, requesting His Holiness Pope Pius XII the honor and glory of having the Canonical Coronation of the Blessed Virgin image with the title, “VIRGEN DE
LOS REMEDIOS – ING INDU NING CAPALDANAN.” From the request of the Kapampangans, Vatican issued the Decree on the Canonical Coronation of the Virgen De Los Remedios image on July 15, 1956. Followed then by September 8, 1965 at the grounds of Pampanga which marked the beginning of the Canonical Coronation of the Mother and Patroness of Pampanga, Virgen De Los Remedios – Ing Indu ning Capaldanan. Present in this event were Most Rev. Egido Vagnozzi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, assisted by Honorable Governor Rafael Lazatin, Archbishop Pedro Santos, Diosdado Macapagal and an estimated of 70,000 devoted Catholics, mostly Kapampangans.
MILAGRU With their unwavering faith and love to Christ and His Blessed Mother, prayers have been heard and miracles were seen in the province of Pampanga. Many Kapampangans testified these living phenomena that the Mi-Indu poured to their devotees. "Numerous miracles and answered prayers are attributed through the intercession of Virgen De Los Remedios. Marriages are strengthened, families reunited, sick get healed and disputes are settled." — Vidal Aguas, Focal Person of 59th Canonical Coronation of VDLR at CA “Whenever I visit her church in Baliti, I really feel that I am at home. It is where I prayed for my mother when she was hospitalized and then the next day, miraculously, she got well…” — Albert Foronda, a devotee of VDLR de Baliti (2013) “Dakal a experience a milagro king indu. Lalu na nyang panaun a magkasakit ku king pamagaral. Mi stop ku king pamagaral ku. Inanyawaran ku na sana makapagaral ku ulit. King panahun ayta ing sitwasyun masyadung masakit. Ing kayadwanan ku kanita mipahintulutan kapamilatan na ning Indu.” — Jay Sy, a devotee “For me, ing every day na milalabas ka or migigising ka at healthy ka keng life mu, blessings na ita ibat king Mi-Indu.” — Jayson Galura, a devotee
“A miracle that I can attribute is when I prayed for a co-worker who went through series of operations. One is breast mass excision for a lump that was discovered on her right breast and a cyst on her uterus that caused her bleeding. When the surgeries were done and biopsy was made, the findings showed that no malignancies were shown. And she was able to recover faster and went back to work.” — RJ Venzon, a devotee SELEBRASYUN The Canonical Coronation of Virgen De Los Remedios happens every September 8, which is the Nativity of the Blessed Mother. For Kapampangans, it is a belief that it is a day of obligation to attend the mass and coronation in honor to their patroness and the birthday of Mama Mary. Annually, the image of Virgen De Los Remedios was honored through laying a golden crown in her head and the image of Sto. Cristo Del Perdon through laying a bouquet of sampaguita between the edge of its cross. In the history of celebration, the coronation took place in four destinations: Nepo Quad, Angeles City, Clark Expo and Clark Parade Grounds located at Clark Pampanga, and Capitol (Municipal Hall) of San Fernando, Pampanga. With grandest preparation for the celebration, different Vicariates are assigned yearly to host the annual coronation of Mi-Indu.
PANGWAKAS The ways of the Almighty God are indeed remarkable; darkness may come but light will always be there, shining upon us. The Canonical Coronation of Virgen De Los Remedios and remembering the passion of Santo Cristo Del Perdon consistently continued as it reached the 63rd last September 8, 2019. The original image of the Blessed Virgin is beautifully present in the Virgen De Los Remedios Parish in Baliti, San Fernando. While the second image or the Canonically Crown image of the Virgen is at the chapel of the Arzobispado De Pampanga (Chancery) located at San Fernando, Pampanga.
Virgen De Los Remedios or also known as Indu ning Capaldanan gives resemblance on how a mother loves and takes care of her children against any form of harm and bitterness in life. The Blessed Mother brings us closer to Christ our Savior, her son. With our hands in praying position like our beloved Virgin, our prayers surely had been heard by the Father. “”
To Jesus through
Mary,”
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apampangan mythology is unlike any other mythology. While Greek, Roman, or even the deities of Philippine mythology were depicted in human form with unimaginable powers, in our very own mythology, our deities are in fact, in animal forms. Kapampangan treasures and values the environment since nature is personified as Kapampangan gods, while humans are not lesser nor higher. If we are to look closely at the different myths around the world, humans are usually in the service of the gods. This does not apply in our context as we are not the center of the universe but rather a part of it. After all, nature came first, before us, humans. Respecting nature has always been highlighted in our mythology, as well as in our culture. Pointing a finger at plants (tanaman) or mountains is considered an insult, because our ancestors treat the latter wonders as their grandparents. This is where a familiar term “nunu” comes in who will punish you for doing such a thing, as if you disrespectfully pointed at your actual grandparents. If a person unintentionally pointed a finger on them, in order to not trigger the wrath of the nature, the person must bite the finger he used to point and jump around. Of course, there are much more stories and customs that we Kapampangans learned from our grandparents. Now that we have introduced the main focus of Kapampangan mythology, let us dive deeper into the Creation of the Universe which will be shown in two versions. SIKLUBAN VERSION 1: The Great Needleworker A big spider called Mangatcha dwells in the heavens (banwa) who knitted (mengatcha) the universe (sikluban). The spider knitted threads that showed how our lives are entwined and through it, we are all connected. As proof, when we are born, our palms have traces/pattern of the sikluban or the katcha-katcha of our lives. With the use of a bamboo needle (sikwan), Mangatcha continued to “katcha” the Sikluban until he incidentally let go of the bamboo needle due to old age. The needles fell on Dapu
The Image | Volume I Issue no. 3 the crocodile, and thrust it on Lawut’s stomach (atchan) which later became the Mt. Sinukwan or the Mt. Arayat. SIKLUBAN VERSION 2: The Magalang Version The universe is inside a coconut shell (bikan) which was cut in half. The parting of the coconut shell resulted in bikan lalaki and bikan babayi. Bikan lalaki has more buko while bikan babayi has more coconut juice in it. The bikan lalaki is the Imbang Matwa (Father Sky) where Bathala the King Fisher rules over the Banwa (Heavens). Indung Lawut (Mother Ocean) is the bikan babayi where Dapu the Crocodile reins over Lawut. One day, Bathala got hungry and looked around to gather some food but found nothing. Dapu ate most of the fishes in the sea while the remaining ones retreated on the bottom of the ocean, scared of being eaten by the crocodile. The king fisher saw Dapu sleeping with its mouth open and saw food bits (tinga) stuck between its teeth. Bathala went inside the mouth of Dapu to scrape the food bits and by the time he landed at the mouth of Dapu, he was called Salaksak. Salaksak went closer to the food bits, however; Dapu grabbed (sigpang) and swallowed the hungry Salaksak. He got inside the stomach of the crocodile where his body melted. This caused Dapu’s stomach to explode and Salaksak’s soul ascended to the heavens which became Aldo (sun) and Bulan (moon). Aldo and Bulan are big burning birds in the heavens. Aldo burns in blinding white flames while Bulan in burning red flames. Back then, there was only one ruler in Banwa, now they’re two. Aldo and Bulan fought each other over the ruler ship of the heavens. They fought non-stop to the point that Banwa slowly burned due to the strong intensity of the two burning celestials.
A thought crossed their minds, and that is to go behind Dapu’s back where the land (Yatu) was. It was where the mountains, plants and vegetables grow. The two deities used bamboos (kuwayan) as their weapon of choice, which ignited the fight even more. One time, while in the heat of the battle, Bulan got exhausted (menikal) and unintentionally dropped his weapon. Aldo took this opportunity to attack Bulan and stabbed him in the eye.
Sikluban:
Bulan let out a scream of pain and knelt in front of Al-
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The Image | Volume I Issue no. 3
Right there, Bulan surrendered to Aldo. Aldo pitied his foe and reflected on why they fought in the first place. He helped the Bulan to stand up, and they decided to split the rulership that resulted in Panaun. Whenever it’s bright and warm outside, it is the Aldo who rules over and calls the time of the day “aldo” while the Bulan rules during the dark which was known as “bengi”. The two rulers decided to reside on Yatu because they experienced living in here. On Yatu, Aldo was called Apung Suku for he won the battle against Bulan. “Suku” which means tuktuk or peak. Bulan became Apung Malyari since, for him nothing is impossible. Despite being defeated in the battle, he managed to rule on the earth. Aldo decided to live in Mt. Arayat where Sikwan and Mangatcha reside while Bulan decided to live in Mt. Pinatubo where the river flows.
where people work. The third offspring is called Ugtu, which means kapalyan-palyan. Altogether, the three daughters of Aldo and Indung Tibun/Datu are known as Atlung Mariang Sinukuan (Three Maria Sinukuan).
Although there are many stories on how the universe came to be, our Kapampangan mythology stands above them all. For we believe that we are descendants of the children of the deities, and there’s no doubt that we take pride of our identity as Kapampangan, as well as our mythology.
Now that Aldo is with Dapu, the crocodile was known as Indung Tibun. As time passed by, Aldo and Indung Tibun/Dapu had children of their own. Their first offspring was known as Munang Sumala (dawn) is the sunrise or “munang sikat ning aldo”. People described her as a giant snake/ serpent with golden scales. She is also known as the Indung Kapampangan ning Pampanga river.
The second offspring is called Abak, described as “sinlag yang bagya ing aldo”. She is also known as Apung Guinu da reng Talapagobra, since it is the time of the day
In the middle of the day, animals hide because they are scared from the heat of Aldo. Food is nowhere to be found which is why Ugtu eats our shadows to compensate for his hunger. Kids are also not allowed to go outside during this time of the day because it is believed that they would get sick. We eat our lunch at Ugtu because we sympathize with Ugtu being born with no food to eat. Aldo rests in order for his last-child, Gatpanapun to be born. His son is known as Apung
Guinu naming Pamagpaynawa because he did nothing but rest and ride on the back of a carabao (damulag). As for Bulan, he and Dapu also had their children. Sisilim is the name of their first offspring and is widely known as the prettiest brown-skinned lady. When Sisilim was born, you could see and hear the crickets/fireflies celebrating. As the night is getting late, this is the time where Kapitangan, the second offspring was born. He is known as the Apung Guinu da reng Mapanako or the one praised by thieves.
Although there are many stories on how the universe came to be, our Kapampangan mythology stands above them all. For we believe that we are descendants of the children of the deities, and there’s no doubt that we take pride of our identity as Kapampangan, as well as our mythology.
By Eleila Gonzales and Shaina Sunga
Photo from Trekk’s Mountain Burger
do. The light of the Bulan dimmed because of what Aldo did. For the elders, the light of Bulan and Aldo originates from their eyes. The light in the sky was subdued since the other eye of Bulan was blinded.
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By Justhine Lao, Angela Cordova and Allysa de la Cruz
W
e, the Kapampangans, are known to have a rich culture and our province, Pampanga is well -known as it is branded as the “Culinary Capital of the Philippines.” One of the greatest prides and a major part of the identity of this ethnolinguistic group is its own language –Kapampangan, which is considered as one of the eight major languages in the Philippines. Yet, we all know for a fact that nowadays, Kapampangan is being considered to be a “dying language.” It is said that a language dies when it is only used for oral expression and it is not being used for written purposes. So, how can we maintain our identity as Kapampangans if we don’t make use of our own language? This is one of the reasons why Mr. Keith Liam Manaloto, a computer science graduate from University of the Philippines – Los Banos, created a mobile application named “Learn Kulitan.” Kulitan is a script or an indigenous writing system for writing Kapampangan. Since it was characterized as “ancient”, a lot of Kapampangans aren’t even aware of this kind of writing system, that’s why Mr. Manaloto created a way to spread awareness and knowledge about Kulitan by creating this application. “I developed this mobile application because I wanted people to know that a writing system for Kapampangan exists, and that it is quite different from Baybayin, a writing system which is used for writing Tagalog. Having the knowledge that it might additionally help in saving the Kapampangan language from extinction, also motivated me to finish the app.” People can learn Kulitan wherever they go since he explained the creation of the application to be “accessible as possible”, and if a mobile phone has access to it, then it is available. Mr. Manaloto also stated that the target users are the younger generations for he believes that they play a big role in preserving our culture and heritage. Futhermore, the mobile app has four main features that make learning the script as easy as possible, as Mr. Manaloto stated.
The Pámamásâ (Reading) page features a game similar to using flashcards for determining the Kulitan characters. The Pámaniúlat (Writing) page shows the user how to draw each Kulitan character on a step-by-step basis by allowing the user to trace each of the strokes, complete with guide lines and stroke numbers. The Pámanlíkas (Transcribe) page features two text areas—one for the Roman script and another for Kulitan. Typing on either text areas will show a transcribed text on the other text area. It works vice versa to make it easier for the user to recognize the characters' counterparts. Lastly, the Kapabaluan (Information) page features a Kulitan character table, a page about the history of the script, and another page about the rules and guidelines of writing it. As soon as the application was launched, Mr. Manaloto has received countless of positive feedbacks and support from people, especially from his family and friends who loved the concept and design of the app. Mr. Manaloto believes that learning Kulitan is important because it is a part of our identity as Kapampangan people. Indeed it is true that it is us, not anyone else, who can save it. Language is the soul of a culture and one’s identity. Therefore, we shouldn’t take a blind eye in learning our own language; we should explore and appreciate it more. Using Kapampangan and learning Kulitan should come hand in hand for it is part of our roots that will help us to grow and flourish our culture no matter how many years or decades passes by. As Kapampangans, it is a treasure that no one can steal from us. So, what are you waiting for? Learn Kulitan now!