Luwa

Have you ever heard of luwa? Well, I'm not as lucky as you are. I just got a chance
to pick it up three years ago in some of our in-school workshops designed by
Palanca awardees Dr. Leoncio Deriada and Prof. John Iremil Teodoro. And at first
sight, I simply fell in love with it like Romeo charmed by Juliet.
A bahandi of some sort, luwa is Ilonggo's version of tanaga of the Tagalogs and
haiku of the Japanese folks. It is usually made up of four rhyming lines with every
line having 5, 7, 9 or 11 syllables. Meaning, if the poet chooses 7 syllables, all
the lines or saknong's must also have same number of beats. Of course, the medium
is Hiligaynon, our native dialect.
Here's one biting example:
Kon ako ang mamana
Pilion ko ang daku mata
Kon wala kami suga
Patindugon ko sa tunga
This luwa masterpiece is not just side-splitting. Underneath its literal message,
it also shows something that carries more weight. In fact, it may mean a lot of
things worth telling. For me, the big eyes represent marital fidelity or genuine
love. And whenever problems beset the family, this man, though ugly as owl, will
always be there to light the home up.
According to Prof. Teodoro, luwa was originally recited by Ilonggo natives during a
vigil (pamilasyon) in the wake of a beloved kin. It is at first intended to be
funny and lewdly suggestive to appease the dropping shoulders of the relatives of
the departed. And just like a living animal, it has evolved into an elegant genre
of proud indigenous poetry in our time.
This week in Ateneo de Iloilo, another weeklong creative writing seminar sponsored
by Ripples publication is being facilitated by Prof. Teodoro and two of his
University of San Agustin associates (English teacher Arlene Moscaya and Irong
Irong publication editor Elsed Togonon). From the 40 or so high and grade school
students who are in attendance, permit me to give you some of their latest luwa's
to electrify your impulse of delight a bit. Who knows? You might also fall in love
with the craft and be a luwa scribbler (or at least reader buff like me) someday.
Let's start with some of the works of grade schoolers. Here's an evocative version
of Flor Jelyn Gafate:
Ang init nga pan de sal
Ginlu-ad ko sa Rizal
Wala na 'ko ka hambal
Kay nasawsaw sa Royal
Grade Four writer Adrian Paolo Cordero tells:
May isa ka Hapon
Daku-daku buy-on
Nag-restling kahapon
Naguba ang ngipon
Here's Paolo's second attempt with a hint of hilarity:
May isa ka putot
Pirmi lang ga utot
Pagtapos 'ya lupot
Ang buli gakipot
Pebbles' editor Ennah Faye Tolentino says:
Didto ayon sa Cubay
May nagsinggit diyos ko day!
Kay ang iya nga balay
Gin ubos gid sang anay
Apparently remembering the wretched state of street kids, Gerrod Villaruz says
May isa ka dalagita
Ngalan niya si Sampaguita
Ginasupot libo ka lata
B'was damo na siya kuwarta
Gerrod gives another lifelike situation:
Ang akon nga Nanay
Pirme lang gapanghayhay
Paglakbay sa taytay
Nahulog iya paypay
We now stretch to some of the works of the high school participants.
Ripples feature editor Kariza Espinosa vividly quips:
May tawo sa dalan kaina
Gapangayo sia tani kwarta
Hambal ko parehos man lang ta
Upod ta giyapon kaon tanga
Sophomore Daphne Barce suggests:
Sa akon pag-abot
May tawo ga tulok
Nahuya magpalapit
Kay nga-a… nahadlok!
Getting more serious, Barce says:
Didto sa amon baryo
Damu ga tiro-tiro
May naigu nga tawo
Pakadto na ang dyaryo
Another sophomore, Julio Bartolome Torres, shouts:
Hoy babayi nga law-ay!
Sa imo pagkiaykiay
Si Nonoy nagapangilay
Pati idu nagalaway-laway
Newton Aaron Llorente, for his part, jokes:
May isa ka lalaki
Guya niya daw babayi
Natipalo sa kalye
Nahulog iya pante!
Samantha Regalado jabbers:
Didto sa Antique
May isa ka lalaki
Nga pirmi lang gahibi
Kay indi siya kapangihi
Perhaps a personal experience, Anzell James Gregory Tendencia spots:
Sang ako nagalakat didto
Kakita ku isa ka tawo
Pulis gatabid sa likod 'ya
Duda kun ano iya ubra
Not contented, he suggests:
Kahapon ako nakasaksi
Nagpundo madasig nga taksi
Nanaog babae nga seksi
Gabitbit mabugnaw nga pepsi
Taksi? Seksi? Pepsi? I'm sure people in Yulo will smile reading this seemingly
familiar luwa subject.
Just yesterday, the participants were asked to write luwa's under the theme “The
Passion of Christ,” in recollection with the Holy Week. Here are some of the crops.
Romellaine Arsenio cries:
Pilato, Pilato
Puno ka sang husgado
Pero nga-a desisyon mo
Gadepende sa tawo?
Michie Senoron wonders:
Sa adlaw sang Biyernes Santo
Alas Tres! Napatay si Kristo
Sa Dominggo sang pagkabanhaw
Wala na tawo nagawawaw
Desiree Allen Cadiena ponders:
Sa iya pagkabanhaw
Ang tanan nakalikaw
Ila sala natunaw
Sa Iya gugma uhaw
Ilych Mana-ay snuffles:
Napatay lang isa
Krus ang trono niya
Ang ginbilin sa iya
Salbaron kita
Kariza Espinosa scorns:
San-o ka pa mahinulsol man?
Perte ka gid ya ka kabalan
Gusto mo makatilaw sang balbal
Nga ginbatyag 'ya sa pagtaltal?
Luwa is also called tanaga if it is written in Filipino. Here's one made by Sophia
Hinola:
Hindi ka nagreklamo
Kahit tumutulo ang dugo
Ni hindi ka sumuko
Kahit sadyang nabigo
Cadiena, for her part, spots:
Pumunta sa parokya
Tumugtog ang kampana
Iba'y 'di nakapuna
Diyos ay gising na pala
Biting, right?
But that's it for today. I hope the articles make sense to you, for it does make
sense to me (or at least it does rejuvenate my lazy sensibilities). With praying
arms, I wish I could still bring you some more raw poems from the kids in our
little seminar in Ateneo.
Remember this: Kid's may sometimes say the darnest things. But some, for sure,
creatively wake us up a bit.