THE YBANAG LITERATUREof the Cagayan Valley (Region II)

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A BRIEF BACKGROUNDon the Ybanags of the Cagayan Valley

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WHAT IS AN YBANAG?

The Ybanag or Ibanag are concentrated on the Provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela. The Ibanag are among the minority of Filipino people that live along the banks of the Cagayan River. They are the most assimilable and adaptable among groups of the Filipino people. On Cagayan, Ibanag are more found in Tuguegarao, Abulug, Pamplona, Camalaniugan, Lal-lo, Amulong, Iguig, Penablanca and Aparri towns.

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The Ibanag are agricultural people and clanish, so in a barrio, each one is relative of someone. Being easily assimilated and adopted, they are easily influenced by people around them. This is evident in their taste of food, clothing and language. Ibanag is derived from bannag 'river'. It is closely related to Gaddang, Itawis, Agta, Atta, Yogad, Isneg and Malaweg.

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Marriage customs, to great degree, have been made simple. Expenses are now borne by both parties unlike before when the groom's parents shouldered all wedding expenses. Preparations may not be very lavish but the umune-ca presents and maginterga, are still parts of marriage customs, likewise the gala is, sine qua non especially in rural wedding.

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Today, Ibanag practice their traditions and customs especially in the far-flung barrios. And most of the Ibanags in towns no longer adhere to these customs because they are economically rich and educated and this initiated modifications in their traditions and practices. The Ibanag are engaged in fishing and farming. Many of them are already educated and blended with the cultural majority.

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WHAT DID THEY SPEAK?

The Ibanag language (also Ybanag or Ibanak) is spoken by up to 500,000 speakers (the Ibanag people) in the Philippines, in the northeastern provinces of Isabela and Cagayan, especially in Tuguegarao City, Solana, and Cabagan. Most of the speakers can also speak Ilocano, the lingua franca of Northern Luzon

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THE YBANAG FOLK LITERATUREEpics, Riddles, Songs, Proverbs, etc.

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Ibanag folk literature, like any other literature, is the expression of Cagayano's joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, love and hatred, the very ingredients that whipped up all the literary genre handed down to us.

The Ibanags, like any other groups of people, meet life in all its naked conflicts: man versus man; man versus environment or society; man versus himself; man versus his conscience, nay, man versus his God.

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All these conflicts, since the glorious days of Ibanag legendary heroes, Biuag and Malana, and since the heroic times of Magalad and Dayag, have brought enmity, disunity, divisiveness, lust for wealth and self, and to use the words of a sociologist, ethnic violence and suicide.

This in the span of some five hundred years, Ibanag folk literary, and Ibanag balladeer, verzista, the Ibanag minstrel, rural folk and countryside mystics composed and handed down volumes of folk literature advocating love, peace, justice, honesty, unity, morality, reconciliation and betterment of life style.

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Ibanag folk literature is didactic, moralistic, predominantly sentimental, romantic, socialistic, comic and spiritual--all aimed at uniting the Cagayanos, brave like the kasi or wild cock that challenges them to greatness at sunrise; mission-oriented like the Bannag on whose banks their forebears were rooted; graceful as the bamboo that bends in the winds of challenges; sturdy as the Manga in the typhoons of controversies.

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THE YBANAG LITERATURE

SALOMON

SONGS

RIDDLES

VERZO

PROVERBS

AUTHORS and

LITERARY PERSONS

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AUTHORS AND LITERARY PERSONS FROM THE CAGAYAN VALLEY

Edith TiempoRogelio M. Acoba

Ruperta V.R. AsuncionCirilio A. Barcena Jr.

Prescillano N. Bermudez

Bagnos G. CudiamatFrancisco Dela Cruz

Pacifico DolesRenato Paat

Fortunato Serna

Amigable AdvientoReynaldo AndresRogelio Aquino

Edilberto K. TiempoDionisio S. Bulong

Samuel CorpuzCristina Gervacio-

Gallato

Benny LopezFranklin MacugayValeriano Martin

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IBANAG MYTH

WHY THERE IS HIGH TIDE DURING A FULL MOON Long, long ago only gods lived in this world, the earth, seas, and sky were ruled by three different

powerful gods.The sun god, who ruled the sky, had a daughter. Luna enjoyed going around the heavens in her golden chariot.  One day she found herself taking another path which led her outside her kingdom.  She wandered on until she reached the place where the sky met the sea.  Beautiful and unusual sights greeted her eyes. As she was admiring the beautiful things around, a voice startled her.   It asked, "Where has thou come from, most beautiful one?“ Turning around she saw a young man who looked much like her father though fairer.  She wanted to run away, but when she looked at him again, she saw that he was smiling at her.  Taking courage she answered, "I am Luna, daughter of the sun god."

The young man smiled at her and answered, "I am Mar, the son of the sea god.  Welcome to our kingdom."  Soon the two became good friends. They had many interesting stories to tell each other.  When it was time for Luna to go, they promised to see each other as often as they could, for they has many more tales to tell.  They continued meeting at the same spot until they realized that they were in love with each other.

One day after one of their secret meetings, Luna went back to the heavens full of joy.  She was so happy that she told her secret to one of her cousins.   The cousin, jealous of her beauty and her happiness, reported the affair to the sun god.  The sun god was angered at his daughter's disobedience to the immortal laws.  He shut her in their garden and did not allow her to get out.  Then he sent a messenger to the sea god informing him that his son Mar disobeyed the immortal law.   The sea god, who was also angered by his son's disobedience, imprisoned him in one of his sea caves.

Luna stayed in the garden for sometime.  She was very sad at not being able to see Mar.  She longed to be with him again.  Feeling very restless one day, she escaped from the garden.  She took her golden chariot and rushed to their meeting place.  Mar, who was imprisoned in the sea cave, saw her reflection on the water.  He wanted to get out to meet her.  He tried hard to get out of his cave causing unrest in the sea.  Luna waited for Mar to appear, but he did not come.   Then she went back home very sad.  Each time she remembered Mar, she would rush out in the golden chariot to the meeting place in hopes of seeing him again.

The fishermen out in the sea believe that each time Luna, the moon, appears, the sea gets troubled.  "It is Mar trying to escape from his cave,"  they say.

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THE YBANAG SALAMON

Salamon is the best example of Ybanag literature. It is an epic song, comprised of over 2,500 lines and is perhaps best known as the longest Christmas carol in the world. Part ritual and part life instruction, the Salamon is part of the Ybanag oral tradition of passing down wisdom from one generation to the next, using the Bible as inspiration for the benefit of the young.

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Taking its’ name from the biblical King Solomon, the Salamon is the story of Jesus’ conception and birth. It is mostly anecdotes about his early life and the observations of Mary and Joseph. Each verse is intended to give a short lesson, and the singing of the verses is intended to bring prosperity and hope for the upcoming year, while assuaging grief over the trials of the past year. Typically sung by people gathering throughout the Christmas season, the singing is traditionally accompanied by the eating of chocolate and rice cakes. The traditional accompaniment is a type of five stringed indigenous guitar, known as a cinco-cinco.

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A true Ybanag legend, village elders would be the ones who would undertake the writing down of the lyrics in book form, painstakingly written, often blessed, and kept as a treasured keepsake. Typically the cover is adorned by the sign of the cross, and this heirloom is often passed between the generations as a way of instructing the young in the ways of the past. The song is intended to instruct the young in proper morality, intended to be a source of reflection. It is forbidden for young people to write the lyrics, as it is said that the wisdom of age is the only way to understand the meaning.

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A BRIEF VERSE

The Virgin Mary and Joseph on their flight to Egypt from the soldiers of King Herod, with the Baby Jesus in Mary’s arms, passed by a farmer sowing grains, and Mary asked:

Anni i ibini wagi? (What are you sowing, brother?)Said the farmer: Batu i paddag gunak ku ibini. (I am sowing pebbles.)Said Mary: Batu nga imulam, batu nga emmu gataban.(Pebbles that you sow, pebbles that you reap.)

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Cagayan Epic

Biuag and Malana

PROVERBS

Ibanag "unoni" or proverbs are either in prose or poetry. They are preachy and pedagogic as well as theological.

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Awan tu umune ta uton ng ari umuluk ta davvun.(Nobody goes up who does not come down)

The above is an advice to those who on reaching the peak of their success look down, and even insult and oppress the poor and the lowly.

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Mamatugu ka ta gayan nga manututtu ta matam.(You rear a crow that pecks your eyes.)

It reflects the Ibanag's abhorence and loathe against those who are ungrateful. Ingratitude has caused feuds, violence and vendetta.

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I buruasi nga inikkao, nu ari atazzi, alawa nikaw.(Borrowed clothes are either loose or tight.)

Among the many interpretations of the above proverbs, the most fitting today is one addressed to Cagayano leaders: "Power, Authority and Leadership." A borrowed privilege which cannot please everybody among the governed; that since it emanates from the people. While they are in power, they must use that power rightly for the people.

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VERZO

The Ybanag verzo is similar to the coplas of the Spanish. It is a song composed of four lines (thus making a verse) and has a rhyme. Oftenly, verzistas composes the verzo impromptu during an occasion like a wedding or a baptismal ceremony.

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Examples of a verzo are the osse-osse and kilingkingan. The verzo is also an expression that show the Ybanag’s determination on love, courtship, and war, despite and in spite they are considered a minority group in the Philippines. They believe that this is why they survived oppressions like the Martial Law.

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Arri ka mavurung taKabaddi ku lalung, kuakKu mamayappak, kannakKu utun, gukak.

(Worry not my being a small cock,For when i fly to attackI never miss my mark.)

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SONGS

The Ybanag awit are psalms about love, and the message that it usually portray is about a promise, a confession, an assurance of one’s love to another, or about a sacrifice one can offer to his dear one. The diffusion of the songs from the Ybanags and its singers went to the peak of its level during the time where the male (babbagitolay) sings serenades for the female (magingnganay) they wanted to be their wife.

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AN YBANAG COURTSHIP SONG

O lappaw a makayaya      Nga inimmi-immian na mata,      Pare nakuan tu ari ka matay,   Tape manayuk ka gugammay.

      (O lovely flo'er      My eyes behold forever,

      May you not wither, nor die,      That long you be gem of my eye.)

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Folk Songs Other folksongs are love songs most often

with promises, pledges, assurances, lessons to teach and guidance to give.

The growth of Ibanag songs and singers reached its peak when the haranaor serenade in rustic communities was both a form of nocturnal recreation among the "babbagitolay" and a way of starting courtship for a "magingnganay."

There was a stalemate of folksong production and serenading during Martial Law days and during the twenty-year rule of the Old Regime when the freedoms were curtailed, and when the province became a critical area.

Love folksongs were common during weddings and other socials.

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RIDDLES

The palavvun or riddles are used by the Ybanags as a recreation or, in some forms, as a combat to measure intelligence

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POPULAR YBANAG RIDDLES Pira y levu na

Vulauan y unag na - Illuk(What is golden that is surrounded with silver? - Egg)

Adalam nu mapangariananbabbaw nu malannapan - Poso(Deep when decreasedShallow when increased - Well)

Sinni pano y tadday mga babayKanan na baggi na a maguroray - Kandela(Who can be the lovely ladyThat eats her own body - Candle)

Ngisi nu matolayNafuraw nu matay - Bavi(Black when aliveWhite when dead - Pig)

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