Why Mosquitoes Hum
Adapted from the Visayan folktale
The king of all the animals was very tired one evening and wanted to rest. But he could not sleep because he kept hearing the high-pitched, croaking laughter of his frog guards outside his chamber. Enraged, he summoned his guards and ordered them put to death in front of him.
“But sire,” protested the frogs, “it was only because we saw the snail crawling by, carrying its house on its back. It was a very funny sight, so we could not help laughing.”
The king thought this seemed reasonable, so he allowed the frogs to live. He then summoned the snail and ordered it put to death before him.
“But sire,” protested the snail, “it was only because the firefly was flying around with its lamp lit. I was afraid it might set fire to my house, so I carried my house with me to keep safe.”
The king thought this seemed reasonable, so he allowed the snail to live. He then summoned the firefly and ordered it put to death before him.
“But sire,” protested the firefly, “it was only because the mosquito was out hunting, and I couldn’t see it in the dark. I was afraid it would bite me, so I kept my lamp lit to watch out for it."
The king thought this seemed reasonable, so he allowed the firefly to live. He then summoned the mosquito and ordered it put to death before him.
“But sire,” protested the firefly, “it was only because I must hunt in order to eat, as the firefly must light its lamp in order to see, the snail must have its house in order to hide, and the frogs must croak in order to communicate. Surely you will not kill me for following my nature?”
The king thought that this, too, seemed reasonable. He therefore summoned all the animals involved and told them, “Mosquito, from now on you must hum as you hunt, so that the firefly will not have to keep its lamp lit all the time. Firefly, you must light your lamp only when you truly need to see, so that the snail will not be frightened. Snail, you must carry your house all the time, so that everyone will become accustomed to the sight and will no longer be amused. And frogs, if you must laugh, you must do so only in low and melodious tones, so that I may sleep.”
So no one was put to death, and each of the animals survived and thrived according to its nature and the dictates of the king. And this is why frogs have low and musical voices; why snails carry their houses on their backs; why fireflies blink on and off all night; and why mosquitoes hum when they hunt.
Flash Fiction
By Anne Kristine Coleman
Filipinos are known for oral literature back in the ages. As Filipinos lean towards written scriptures, several writers begin to enhance the old techniques and styles in writing and inventing new ones. Non-conformists broke rules set up by the Philippine board of literature and surprised critics; some even wowed them. Because of the constant development of Filipino writer’s styles, new forms of literature are born and some cannot even be categorized because of unfamiliarity.
In a usual short story, certain elements are found such as the theme or the main essence of the whole story line, the characters who make up the movement of the story (usually there is a protagonist and an antagonist, major and minor characters), a plot which are the incidents or sequence, a cause and effect, foreshadowing of events, suspense, conflict, exposition, crisis, climax and resolution; there are also some other key ingredients namely the setting of course, the story’s point of view, irony, imagery and symbolism.
But Filipino writers ingeniously came up with a technique to make a short story “shorter” but still contain all the elements of the former. Filipino writers figured out that a literary form called Flash Fiction could do the job; telling a story completely but finding shorter words in the Filipino vocabulary to take the place of long, descriptive words, but the shorter words will have the same imagery, same symbolism and same descriptions for the story to take place just the same.
A Flash Fiction also has a plot, characters, setting, etc., but the literary work lets the words do the talking. The words describe the events as they happen, which creates a picture in the mind of the reader. The only difference is, in a flash fiction, the story should take place in just one day and the words should not be more than 400.
This particular Flash fiction was originally a Visayan Folklore, it was adapted to experiment how it would result when put into the form of flash fiction. The result; the same story, different structure; only fewer words and immediate turning of events.
Bawal Basahin ang Nakasulat Dito
Bob Ong
"WHAT'S THE PROBLEM???" ang tanong ng bago kong boss sa isang kasamahan.
Kasama ako sa sasakyan na hindi makaalis-alis dahil sa red tape. Mukhang naghihintay pa ng pampadulas ang mga kinauukulan. Kuripot ang amo kong banyaga. Hindi nagbitiw kahit singkong duling. Makakalabas daw kami sa gate nang hindi nagbabayad ng kung ano-ano dahil yun daw ang ligal. Ma-prinsipyo. Bilib ako.
"That's why the Philippines remains so poor!" sabi nya. Mainit, pagod kami, at medyo buwisit. Doon nag-umpisa ang buwisit na kwentuhan. Na-culture shock daw siya sa Pilipinas pagtapak niya dito anim na taon na ang nakalipas. Laganap daw ang lagayan... at hindi sa pamamaraang patago. Hindi nya maintindihan kung bakit pumapatol daw tayong mga Pilipino sa ganito, gayong tayo rin ang nahihirapan. Kaya may mga nangongotong, dahil may nagpapakotong.
Tinahak namin ang Navotas papuntang pier. Akmang-akma ang lugar para lalo akong balahurain ng employer ko.
"Manila (Metro Manila) is one of the dirtiest cities in the world" sabi nya. Parang musika sa tenga ko ang sinabi nya. Muntik ko na nga syang ilaglag sa sasakyan. Pero mas malakas ang sipa ng katotohanan. Madumi nga yung lugar na yon. "And it stinks, too!" dagdag nya.
"Filipinos hate Manila the way Americans hate New York", sabi ko. "Who loves busy, polluted cities, anyway?" Tumango sya at sinabing alam niyang marami namang magandang lugar ang Pilipinas, pero hindi nya pa napupuntahan. Aha! Claire Danes syndrome, hinusgahan nya ang buong bansa ganong kili-kili pa lang nito ang nakikita nya!
Pero maganda nga ang tanawin sa aming paglalakbay. Mga batang walang panty at nilalangaw ang mukha. Mga kalalakihang walang t-shirt at bagsak ang katawan sa shabu. Mga babaeng... mga babaeng... wala kaming gaanong nakitang babae, dahil natatakpan sila ng sampung anak nila na abala sa pagsuso. Ayos din ang mga tenement. Sa malayo mukhang mga parihabang "smokey mountain". Sa malapit mukhang bangungot.
Yan ang view sa kaliwa namin. Gusto ko sanang tukuran ang mukha ng boss ko para huwag nang makalingat sa kanan kung saan mas maraming tigyawat ang Pilipinas, pero nakita nya pa rin: mga basura, bahay, at bata na hindi mo malaman kung ano ang alin dahil sa kapal ng itim na usok ng mga sasakyan.
Marami syang komento, sinabi ko na lang, "Well, what do you expect from a third world country?" Talo na ko. Tama na ang yabang.
Pinag-usapan namin ang tungkol sa negosyo niya... na nauwi na naman sa gobyerno natin. Sandamukal daw ang mga buwaya, red tape, graft, at corruption dito. Tinanong ko kung baka dahil lang sa kulay ng balat niya kaya siya ginagatasan. Ang sagot niya: "No, Filipinos do it even to other Filipinos!" Kitang-kita ko ang pagbagsak ng bandera ng Pilipinas sa sinabi nya, naramdaman ko pa ang pagtama ng flag pole sa ulo ko! Nagdugo.
Maiintindihan niya raw kung mahihirap ang magnanakaw. Pero sa bansa natin, mga mayayaman ang malilikot ang kamay...mga edukado, titulado, at nasa gobyerno. No, Filipinos do it even to other Filipinos. No, Filipinos do it even to other Filipinos. No, Filipinos do it even to other Filipinos. Patuloy ang pagtugtog nito sa isipan ko.
Ikinuwento niya rin ang ginawa sa kanya ng isa niyang empleyadong Filipina. Pinagbalakan syang pikutin nito. Oo nga naman, instant fortune 'yon kung saka-sakali. Mahahango sa hirap ang pinay na iyon at ang kanyang pamilya.
Aba, andami na nating success stories na ganyan. Kahit ang leader ng bansa, ganyan ang konsepto ng pag-unlad.
Napag-usapan ang kultura, ang sex. Mababa rin ang tingin nya sa mga Filipina. Sabi ko e marriage before sex ang kultura sa Pilipinas. Umiling sya, Pinoy daw mismo ang nagsabi sa kanyang pakawala ang mga babae dito at mag-e-enjoy sya. Sabi ko, "Those are b~tches and the guy who told you that is a pervert." Professional at kakilala ko pa pala ang nagkuwento sa kanya. @ssh*le.
Totoo ang mga kuwento ng boss ko. Nakakangilo sa ngipin, pero totoo. At bagama't nakakapikon siya minsan e mabait at mabuti syang tao. Sa bayan nila, hinihikayat ang mga tao na umunlad. Dito raw sa atin, pag umuunlad ang tao, hinihila pababa. Nakakatakot mag-negosyo kasi yari ka sa mga "tauhan" ng gobyerno. Pag nakitang namumunga ka, babatuhin ka nang babatuhin hanggang sa malaglag ang mga prutas mo. Walang pinagkaiba kung ligal o iligal ang negosyo mo... maglalagay at maglalagay ka rin sa mga kinauukulan. Bakit ka pa magli-ligal???
Hindi ko na babanggitin ang negosyo at bayan ng amo ko. Hindi pinag-uusapan dito kung "racist" siya o mas maraming kapintasan ang bansa nila. Ang issue dito ay TAYO. Hindi ako naiinis sa mga sinabi nya. Naiinis ako dahil TOTOO ang mga sinabi nya.
Sa pag-uwi ko sa bahay naisip ko: Bakit ang Hong Kong at Singapore, hindi naman gaanong nabiyayaan ng likas na yaman pero maunlad? Bakit ang mga Hapon, b*bo mag-English pero mayaman? Sa Pilipinas kahit bawal magtinda sa sidewalk, may nagtitinda. Kahit bawal magtapon ng basura kung saan-saan, meron pa ring tapon nang tapon. Paano pa kaya uunlad ang bansa natin nyan?
Disiplina lang kaya talaga ang problema sa atin? Sigurado akong kahit sa mga sandaling ito, may isang Pilipino na bumabasa ng isinulat ko dito kahit na sinabi ko nang bawal ito basahin. Tigas talaga ng ulo!
Rise of a New Form of Literature
By: Maria Espie Vidal
“BAWAL BASAHIN ANG NAKASULAT DITO!”
This is the title of Bob Ong’s foreword in his second book titled Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ang mga Pilipino. Despite the warning, many (and I admit to be one) went on reading what he has written under it. And also I admit that it is painful facing the truth about our race—of how corrupted our society is and how other race may have perceived us.
Ironically in spite of his anonymity, Bob Ong has reached a success in a short length of time that no scholarly writer has ever attained (well maybe not). His works had influenced a wide range of readers from students to scholars. He has reached more people than any intellectually stimulating books on the shelf of National Bookstore.
However, Bob Ong’s style remained unacceptable in the academe. His choice of language and vulgar approach raised the eyebrows of intellectuals and scholars who belittle Ong’s philosophy.
Most of his works are a collection of “memories” and “observations” of our culture’s flaws which he comically illustrates. He uses humor as an approach to depict the already rotten system in our society.
Old School Refurnished
In a forum in UST last February, Mr. Eros Atalia, a UST professor (who by the way is compared to Mr. Ong), has left a challenge to future writers.
Since literature has been around long enough to cater to different kinds of ideas and themes, it is obvious that in today’s time these are of a cliché. This is where Mr. Atalia’s challenge lies: “gawing bago ang lumang kwento (to make an old story sound new)”.
Many writers have long been exposing the corrupted and rotten side of our society way back to Spanish Era. Activists have unfailingly rally on the streets and spreading the injustice of our government through propagandas. Perhaps, this is the reason why people have grown tired of listening, watching and reading news. They already know that story. They have already mastered that scene. There’s nothing new.
Bob Ong and many others, though they are of the same ideologies and concern with other intellectuals, have used a different approach to indicate same points.
Ong narrowed down our societal problems into the littlest defects of Juan de la Cruz in an environment we are normally in. His injection of humor serves as a tactics to sort off soften up the punch in the punch line.
At the end of his stories, we can notice a sudden change of mood from comic to serious. From that zoomed-in focus, he again widens the lens and places the context from that simple defect to the whole society.
That certain Juan de la Cruz can represent the whole society simply because he is a part of that whole and what is reflected by the whole is seen (though maybe partially) in its parts.
At the end of the day, Ong and his colleagues still has narrated a story that has been told for years already but in a different angle. This is perhaps the reason why Ong has been successful. He made a boring old fact sound new and also less mind-numbing.
Nevertheless, classification of Bob Ong’s work remains an argument whether or not it is non-fiction. His books are of a mixture of fictitious stories, autobiographical and editorial.
And like what Mr. Atalia said in is forum, there will come a time that this new form of literature that Ong as popularized will be accepted by the academe—a reflection of creativity of our race.
Like the Flowing River: Thoughts and Reflections
By Jessica Bajet
Paulo Coelho, the author of the best-selling novel The Alchemist has successfully published another masterpiece, a breathtaking collection of his life experiences compiled into one book, Like the Flowing Rivers.
Surprisingly, Paulo touches us with his first hand experiences which he retold, indirectly encouraging us to a journey similar to his. Each short story written in the book gives us conflicts and lessons which we may experience in our daily lives too. The texts are so easy to ready since Paulo was able to play with the simplicity of words without exaggerating his thoughts. The book is comprised of 102 short stories having a total of 299 pages.
Perhaps, Paulo entitled it Like the Flowing Rivers because just like the flowing river are our experiences which we can be drawn to any circumstances which we do not expect, more likely putting our feet is his shoes. Just like his other books, Paulo works on what it really means to be alive- that gives his readers a certain connection with himself like most writers do.
Here are some lines I personally picked from the book to you a better comprehension on what is this book all about.
* sometimes, we are so attached to our way of life that we turn down a wonderful opportunity simply because we don’t know what to do with it.
* Even when a friend does something you do not like, he continues to be your friend
* Any action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure
* The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants at all
* You cannot argue with force
