Pangasinan Anlong: Oral Tradition into the 21st Century

Santiago B. Villafania

Sonito Para’d Manangalin Kamarerua

No nagnap la’y liwawa’d letakan

Marleng a sinmener so bilunget
Dengel mo so laineng na dagem
Ta agmo la naerel so bekta

Kabuskag na payak na kabuasan

Tan mapalna so asul ya tawen
Nengneng mo ira so ganaganan
Matalag a nanengneng ed kugip

Tan agmo panermenan pinabli

No melagmelagen ka’y karaklan
Wala’y ibilunget na mata ra
Dalanen da so kipapasen ta

No magmaliw lan dabuk so laman

No mangangga la’y agew ed banua

Kapag sinagap ng araw ang kalangitan sa umaga

At ang malalim na kadiliman ay gumagawa ng isang marangal na pag-urong
O pakinggan ang musika sa air fleeting
Para sa hindi ka maaaring muling makuha ang matalo

Kapag ang umaga ay kumakalat ng kanyang mainit na gintong mga pakpak

At ang kalangitan ng zafiro ay hindi malalim
Tumingin sa labas at pista sa iyong mga mata ang mga bagay
Na bihirang makita mo sa iyong panaginip na natutulog

Huwag kang makaramdam ng minamahal na pilgrim

Kung iisipin ng mundo ang iyong mababang kalagayan
Darating ang isang oras kung saan madilim ang kanilang mga mata
At sila rin ay mahuhulog sa ating sariling kapalaran

Isang walang laman na shell upang mabulok sa alikabok

Kapag ang ating mga araw sa araw ay dumating sa nakaraan

Sonnet To A Pilgrim Soul

 When the sun gilds the sky in the morning
And deep darkness makes a noble retreat
O hear the music in the air fleeting
For you can never recapture the beat

When the morning spreads her warm golden wings

And the sapphire sky is wordlessly deep
Look yonder and feast with your eyes the things
Which you seldom see in your dreamful sleep

Don’t you feel forlorn beloved pilgrim

If the world will mind your lowly a state
A time will come when their eyes will grow dim
And they too will fall on our self-same fate

An empty shell to decay into dust

When our days in the sun come into the past

Sonito para sa Buhok ng Buhok Paraito

Hindi hihigit sa dalawang oras

Marleng isang sinmener kaya bilunget
Ikaw ay tulad ng isang balaraw
Ta agmo la naerel so bekta

Bahagyang simpleng kapintasan

Kulay bughaw si Tan
Nakita mo silang mabuti
Ang pagkawala ng isang mabuting relasyon

Hindi na kailangan ng paglilinis

Hindi ka clown
Walang baluktot na mata
Iyon ang paraan namin

Walang aliw at alikabok sa bakuran

Walang kidding
The first half of the twentieth century is said to have been the Golden Age of Pangasinan
Literature, but indubitably without succeeding in establishing Pangasinan as a popular
literature. The emergence of umaanlong (poet) in the said period produced excellent
poems written in the vernacular but only few were published. There was not even an
anthology of poetry published in that period. Anlong was not the principal expression of
our writers in that era.

The Pangasinan anlong or poetry was once predominantly oral: tumatagaumen and
umaanlong performed poems. Often, it was accompanied by kutibeng (ancient guitar)
and/or tulali (a kind of string instrument similar to kudyapi or lyre.) One good example of
Pangasinan oral poetry was the Petek, a kind of poetic joust similar to the Tulang
Patnigan of the Tagalogs. When the written form of poetry became dominant, oral poetry
became unpopular.

I. Literary Influences & the Pillars of Pangasinan Literature

One of the questions writers get asked often is who their literary influences are. I will
only talk about three major writers from Pangasinan who contributed into the
development of our literature, but not necessarily the writers who influenced my writings.

Pablo de Guzman Mejia (1872-1934)

Mejia was a playwright, poet, painter and composer; the Father of Pangasinan Language,
Prince of Pangasinan Poets and Balagtas of the North. Aside from his zarzuelas, Mejia
was known for his Bilay tan Kalkalar nen Rizal (Life & Teachings of Rizal) written in
verse form. He also translated Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios (Kaonoran kon Patanir) into
Pangasinan. He founded the Awiran na Pangasinan (Pangasinan Academy of Letters) and
became the editor of the publication Tonung (Uprightness) which lasted for a decade
(1924-1934).

Another notable writer was Pedro U. Sison. He was a revolutionist, playwright and a poet
known for his long picaresque poem entitled Bilay day Sisira ed Dalem na Danum (Lives
of the Fishes Under the Water, 1939), a satire against or about the dirty politics of the
political elite during his time.

Maria Prado Magsano (1883-1968) was a writer/novelist, editor of Silew (1936-1948)

and Founder of the Pangasinan Courier. Magsano studied at the University of the
Philippines as a “special student’. She was the first female teacher from Pangasinan who
passed the civil service and taught at the Philippine Normal College (now PNU) for 20
years. In the 1930’s, she was active in the promotion of women’s rights when she became
the president of a large women’s federation known as The Women Suffragists. She was a
President Awardee for Women’s Rights in 1966. Most of Magsano’s short stories and
novels were published in Silew and later in Sandi’y Silew, the vernacular section of the
Pangasinan Courier. Her writings are said to have set the direction for old and new
writers in Pangasinan. (Balon Silew 2004).

II. Literary Silence (1960s-1990s)

After Magsano, there was a paucity of published works and abrupt change in the literary
environment of the province. Pangasinan was dying as a literary language. Though
Pangasinenses speak their language with gusto, it did not help in giving it a greater
literary standing. While it is true that English and Filipino put a check on the spread of
Iluko it did not really help the Pangasinan position.
Dr. Ma. Crisanta Nelmida-Flores in her introduction to my book Balikas na Caboloan
(NCCA, 2005) noted that, “In recent times, vernacular writers dwindled in number as
more and more Pangasinan writers educated and exposed to foreign literatures and
periodicals shifted to English.”

Thirty-five years before, Fr. Fidel of Amurrio wrote that, “Starting since the uprising of
Serrat in 1816, Iloko settlers were coming to Pangasinan, especially to the barrios of the
boundary towns. This gave origin to the strange phenomenon: many Pangasinanes gave
up their language for the language of those who came to make a living among them.”
(Pangasinan History and Literature, 258).

The literary silence was only broken after 30 years or so with the publication of the
special issue of ANI (a literary publication of the Cultural Center of the Philippines) in
1992.

The dame of Pangasinan love stories and novelletes, Leonarda C. Carrera (Amor Cico)
published her Matuan Panangaro as early as 1983 followed by Tongtong 1 & 2; and Short
story writer Dr. Linda Andara (now Grubb) published her Gamal: tan arum ni ran antikey
ya istorya in 2004. Both Carrera and Andaya also wrote poetry in Pangasinan language.

Eight years later after the publication of ANI, the Ulupan na Pansiansia’y Salitan
Pangasinan (Association for the Preservation of the Pangasinan Language) was founded
in Lingayen. The group adapted Magsano’s Silew as the official publication of the
Ulupan and named it Balon Silew (New Light). Ulupan celebrated its 10 th year
anniversary with the publication of an anthology of Pangasinan poetry and essays, and a
children’s book.

III. The Poet Regionnaire

In his Nobel Lecture, Czesław Miłosz (t͡ʂɛswaf miwɔʂ) pointed out that “Every poet
depends upon generations who wrote in his native tongue; he inherits styles and forms
elaborated by those who lived before him.” But that is not the case for me who gave
myself to this kind of avocation—that is, to writing poems in Pangasinan.

I started writing poetry in my native tongue in 2001, and relied solely on my mastery of
the spoken language and instinctive phonetics to come out with my first poetic attempts.
It was still patterned, however, after the manner of my contemporaries who wrote in
English and Filipino. Although I tried to maintain a certain image of a poet who wants to
revive the petrified state of the Pangasinan anlong.

Asphyxiated by the scarcity of outlets to publish my works, I resorted to seeking

publications in the web and even created my own personal website Dalityapi to showcase
poems in Pangasinan language. Part of Dalityapi is the Makata, intended as a multi-
lingual poetry blog but would eventually become an international poetry journal in 2000
when some of my online friends submitted their works for publication.
 Since 2001, half of the contributors of the Makata were
foreigners. Filipino poets/writers included: Leo Fernandez Almero,
Estelito B. Jacob, Alexander Agena, Melchor F. Cichon, Maria Luisa
Jalandoni, Rowan Canlas Velonta, Rolando A. Carbonell, Rodrigo
V. Dela Peña, Jaime Jesus Borlagdan, Lynette B. Carpio, Zig Carlo
M. Dulay, Dennis Espada, Anthony Pabon, Joseph Reylan B. Viray,
Ella Wagemakers, Niña Catherine Calleja, Phillip Kimpo Jr., Rey
Tamayo Jr., Rachel Chan Suet Kay, Noel Malicdem, Kristina V.
Cajipe, Jake F. Ilac, Camilo Villanueva Jr., Frances Angela C.
Torrelavega, Roselier Levi G. Azarcon, Junelyn Delarosa, Raul
Funilas, Lolito Go, Silvana Zapanta, Manuel Lino G. Faelnar, Kris
Alingod, Ravelth Castro-Belicena, Noahlyn Maranan, Erwin S.
Fernandez, Hazel Calventas, Mary Ann Cariquez, Florentino B.
Lorenzana, Maria Carmina A. Reynaldo, Mark Angeles, Willie R.
Bongcaron, Sergio Bumadilla, Jesamyne Diokno, Napoleon
Resultay, Nelson Singson Dino, Alegria Imperial, Aliazer S.
Abdurajim, Frederick Lim, Jen Macapagal, Wilfredo G. Villanueva,
Angelo B. Ancheta, Michael U. Obenieta, Noel Sales Barcelona,
Marie Bismonte, Jose Jason Chancoco (Bicol & Filipino editor) and
more...

Foreign contributors included: Duane Locke, Christopher

Mulrooney, Averil Bones, Monique Nicole Fox, Kevin Eather, David
Sutherland, Erin Elizabeth, Judith Gorgone, Linda Dominique
Grosvenor, Janet I. Buck, John Bryan, Eoin Dunford, Ashok
Bhargava, Aurora Antonovic, Nick Zegarac, Keli Stafford, Srinjay
Chakravarti, Bill Mitsuru T. Shimizu, David Zorc, Tyler Joseph
Cusick, Ron P. Nhim, Pat Paulk, John G. Hall, John Faucett, C. W.
Hawes, Christopher Major, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal, G.
David Schwartz, Robert Wilson, Janet Lynn Davis, Iliana Ilieva,
Rositza Pironska, Tammy Ho Lai-ming, Luis Benitez, Stella Jones,
Janaj Yanay, Silvia Favaretto, Bishnupada Ray, Christopher
Barnes, Guillaume Berne, Eduardo A. Cong, Dawn Bruce, Afrah
Al-Kubaisi, Cyril Dabydeen, Walter Ruhlmann, Arti Honrao, Arthur
Leung, Yassen Vassilev, Mario Rigli, Munir Mezyed, Vijaya
Kandpal, Marius Chelaru, Ryan Chakravarty, Daniel de Cullá, Ute
Margaret Saine and more...

I joined the Ulupan in 2002 primarily because I wanted to know more about the older
generation who wrote in my native tongue. I was the youngest member then and have
already written most of the works that would eventually be ritualized in the pages of the
Balon Silew. But I wanted more for Pangasinan poetry. I wanted to bring it out from its
provincial root, beyond its borders.
I self-published my first book entitled Pinabli tan arum ni’ran Anlong (Beloved and Other
Poems) in 2003 with just 1000 copies and also upon the encouragement of Jaime P.
Lucas, the founding father of the Ulupan. Some of the poems included in Pinabli were
sent to the NCCA for its UBOD New Authors Series which came out in 2005. I continued
to write in both English and Pangasinan, joined poetry groups like Km64, Pinoypoets and
online literary groups. It was during these times that some of my poems have appeared in
local and international print and web publications: Philippines Free Press, Philippine
Graphic, ANI, Philippine Panorama, Sunday Times Magazine (Manila Times),
Magnapoets, The Heron’s Nest, HaikuHut’s Short Stuff, Ygdrasil (Canada), Crimson Feet
(India), In Our Own Words 1 & 2 (US), Picolata Review, MindFire, Crowns and Oranges:
Works by Young Philippine Poets, Literary Apprentice, Ipu-ipo sa Piging, etc.

In 2007, with the help of the maverick Chief Commissioner of the Komisyon sa Wikang
Filipino (KWF), Dr. Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco and the president of Emilio Aguinaldo
College, Dr. Jose Paulo E. Campos, I was able to secure a publishing grant for my second
book Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villenelles. It is quite ironic that a work in Pangasinan was
funded by non-Pangasinenses.

Malagilion was hailed by Cirilo F. Bautista as “a boost to Pangasinan literature”. He even

encouraged me to send copies of the book to the National Book Development Board and
Manila Critics Circle. That same year, it was selected as finalist for Best Book of Poetry
in the 27th National Book Awards. My first and first so far for Pangasinan as there has
been a literary work submitted or nominated in the said award body.

In his Breaking Signs column in the Panorama, Bautista wrote, “This second book by
Pangasinan’s leading poet today is impressive in both form and substance. Villafania has
created 300 sonnets and 50 villanelles in his own language that attempt to reflect the
primacy of native culture and return the poet to the central stage of social life.” And from
that day on, I have always considered Cirilo F. Bautista as my surrogate father.

In 2009, a fellow Pangasinense and an indie filmmaker, Christopher Gozum produced

and directed the first full-length film in Pangasinan entitled Anacbanua (or Child of the
Sun). Gozum used selected poems from my two books as voice over narration providing
concrete ideas and emotions to the cinematic images presented. Again, I wanted more for
Pangasinan poetry. I wanted to bring it out from its provincial root, beyond its borders but
Christopher Gozum has elevated the Pangasinan anlong into visual poetry so to speak.
Anacbanua had its World Premiere in the 11th Cinemanila International Film Festival and
won the Lino Grand Prize and Best Director Award for the Digital Lokal category.
Pangasinan poets in the 21st century will not emerge from the fossilized remains of their
literary past, because they or we do not have one to look back into. Rather, the
Pangasinan poets are a paradox, distinct and unique like the rare kind of epiphytic plants
that have been pushed on the verge of evolution and virtually disappeared. Like these
epiphytic plants, they will thrive in a different time and place bound by a collective
instinct and determination to survive until they will evolve to produce a seedpod for poets
who will write Pangasinan poetry as easily as speaking the language.
And to end my short talk, let me share to you F. Sionil Jose’s letter to me, “I am sure that
in the future, Pangasinan, Zambal, Pampango will die and will be taken over by Tagalog
and Ilokano which, in a sense, are stronger because they have more people speaking
them. This is a fate that is inevitable and this makes you more important, with a challenge
which you must face. There must be a record of Pangasinan literature; if it can be
avoided, it must not die or that if it should--the dying should be long, arduous, and not
until a body of literature is left behind to be perpetuated in translation. There is something
very sad about a language dying because it means a soul, a culture is being snuffed out,
and with it--all that is good and memorable. Latin is dead, and so is Sanskrit--but the
literature in these languages survives because there were believers in these languages
who left behind indelible markers that time cannot erase. This is where people like you
come in. Carry this difficult burden because you are an artist, because you are Pangasinan
and because you are Filipino.”

And a quotation from The Aristos by John Fowles, “If we think poetry of least concern
among our arts, we are like generals who disband their best fighting troops. Cherish the
poet; there seemed many great auks till the last one died.”

Salaya and Masantos ya kabuasan ed sikayon amin. That to say, “A Blessed Morning to
All of You.”

From the author’s paper read at the Philippine PEN conference in Cebu last December
2010. Published in Manila Times / Sunday Magazine, March 13/20, 2011

Far Eastern University English & Literature Journal

http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=ELJ

Magnapoets ISSN1916-3010
Issue 8, July 2011 (Canada)
http://www.magnapoets.com/magnapoets/past-issues.html

About the author:

SANTIAGO B. VILLAFANIA, Pangasinan poet, is the author of poetry collections

Balikas na Caboloan (Voices from Caboloan) published by the National Commission for
the Culture and the Arts (NCCA) under its UBOD New Authors Series (2005) and
Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villanelles (2007). Malagilion was recognized by the National
Book Development Board and Manila Critics Circle as Finalist for Best Book of Poetry
in the 27th National Book Award.

He has been published in several countries and translated into several languages.
Villafania is one of the 11 Outstanding Pangasinenses and recipient of the 1st Asna Award
(Arts and Culture / Literature) during the first Agew na Pangasinan and also the 430th
Founding Anniversary of province in 2010. He is a member of Philippine PEN.