Heavenly bodies, ‘camote’ and Igorot weddings

Heavenly bodies, ‘camote’ and Igorot weddings

By Maurice Malanes, Inquirer Northern Luzon

Page A14

BAGUIO CITY -- A STORY was told about the late Lakay (elder) Talin-eng of Kibungan, Benguet who got stuck in the middle of a pulley-operated tramline, which Kankana-ey folk used to employ to cross the Amburayan River in neighboring Kapangan town.

As he sought help, the elder was said to have prayed, “Ilam ay Agew, laton met ay bakenak mangakew (O Lord Sun, You know I’m not a thief).”

It was a prayer of a man, who felt he was being punished for some wrongs he did not commit. So for him, the sun, which was either regarded as an all-knowing god or a representation of some supreme being, could attest to his clean record.

Talin-eng failed to pull some rope so the tramline got stuck midway across above the river.

In their prayer rituals, traditional Igorot priests would invoke the sun, the moon and the stars to guide them and bless their harvests and other livelihoods.

Besides being revered as some kind of divine objects, heavenly bodies have guided the daily lives of Igorot folk, particularly in farming.

Until now, some upland folk in Kibungan plant certain crops during a certain phase of the moon. They believe, for example, that it will be more auspicious to plant camote (sweet potato) cuttings and bean seeds on days between beska (equivalent of first quarter lunar phase) and teke or full moon.

According to them, crops planted or seeds sowed when the moon is beginning to reappear after lened (new moon) will grow as the moon’s phases turn into a full moon. They, therefore, avoid planting after full moon when it fades out into a new moon.

To the Kankana-ey folk of Kibungan, the period between the first quarter and the full moon signifies birth, growth and hope.

Even rituals for activities such as wedding, thanksgiving and burial are set on days between the first quarter and the full moon.

The phase after the full moon is called bakas, which literally means destruction or fading out. Kibungan folk believe that crops planted during this period are not as productive as those sown before the full moon.

Any day before the full moon is also believed to be the appropriate time for a new couple to wed because this period signifies growth and progress or an unfolding into something full or abundant.

While Igorot cosmology is generally considered part of the group’s folk tales, organic farmers claim that this traditional cosmology has some scientific basis.

Greg Kitma of Baguio City, who considers himself a biodynamic organic farmer, says the level of gravitational pull of the moon varies during its different phases.

The earth’s gravitational pull also reacts in certain ways during the different phases of the moon or during certain planetary or star alignments.

These gravitational processes affect how plants grow in the same way that there is high or low tide during certain lunar phases, says Kitma.

He follows a cropping calendar based not only on the phases of the moon but also on other movements in the solar system.

He says it would be good to plant root crops such as potatoes and yam during certain phases of the moon when its gravitational pull is weaker than that of the Earth.

But crops such as beans, tomatoes and eggplant are best planted during a full moon, when the gravitational pull of the moon is stronger, he says.

“Our ancestors were actually more scientific than we thought,” said Kitma, an Ibaloi.