Maria Gabriela C.

Abion

The tigsik sa sili by Abdon M. Balde is about chili. Bicolano people are very famous
for cooking delicious food especially when it has chili where we became better known for our
bicol express specialty and because of this the author toast it using TIGSIK.

Bikolanos are known from being expressive: funny, hilarious & romantic. Tigsik was
one medium they used to express their thoughts, especially during the olden times. Originally
as form of impromptu versing, it is more popularly known as a form of rawitdawit (bicol
poetry).Tigsik is a form of literature in the Bicol region of the Philippines.The Tagalogs are
known for “balagtasan” or the tradition of debating in verse.

The Bikolanos, too, has a similar art and it is known as “Tigsikan”Through a unique
type of literature from the Bicolanos they used Tigsik to show or toast something. Filipinos
from the Bicol region write in a style known as tigsik. This type of literacy resembles
Japanese haiku in some ways, which also have three phases but do not follow the 5,7,5
pattern, making them distinct in terms of the quantity of syllables utilized and the rhythms
they produce. Before, Tigsik was just used for amusement, especially on important and joyful
occasions for the locals. Some of the humorous pieces have twisted content, but as you
learn more about it, you realize that it also has a deeper meaning that imparts knowledge
and values.

Asking someone from Bicol now if they know what Tigsik is will likely result in some of
them not knowing, as the descendants of the bicolanos have historically been bad at passing
down the legacy of their own literacy, which has now been utterly destroyed by time. I
support this form of literacy so that the marvels of Bicolano literature won't be lost to time.