Village hopping in Bulusan

Three villages in one day resulted in priceless images (partly shown here). It was a trip that left me wondering why it took me so long to set foot on these wonderful local spots of my hometown. Never too late though.

First Stop: Buhang  (San Vicente)

Mapaso, Indigenous Healing ground

Rock Beach as spectacular backdrop for Mapaso

Hot waters shoot out from the low cliff's crevices to pour unto the seas, hence the name, Mapaso.

Second Stop: Bagacay (San Ramon)

This unknown mountain beauty is a serene river in the village of Bagacay.

A brief stop on our way back  from the village of Odikin  for this unexpected sight in Bagacay.

Third Stop: Odikin (Santa Barbara)

Shy village girls of Sta. Barbara (Odikin)

More than a century-old partnership, Karagumoy and Pili

Pili trees: magnificent as mansions in Santa Barbara

With Oya Choleng and Mabel for a souvenir shot with Santa Barbara. The Saint protects them from lightning coming from the Volcano (Bulusan) says Oya Choleng (Soledad Freo).

Sta Barbara is located around 2km from the PDZ (Permanent  Danger Zone) of Bulusan Volcano where century-old (and older) pili trees are to be found.  Photos of which to be released in my succeeding blogs.

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil (except for the last photo).
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Images of Ash Wednesday in Bulusan, Mierkoles de Sinisa, February 13, 2013

The sound of school children talking at the same time some at play had the sound of the collective singing of the cicada, only several times louder. This prompted the priest to stop several times in the middle of the on-going mass of the Ash Wednesday event  to remind the children to moderate their noise. The mass went smoothly though. In a town where all the children know each other, the noise is understandable. Children can convert any event into a playtime mode even as solemn as this occasion.

I was able to take both the before and after photos of the Lenten commencement ritual known in Bulusan  simply as Pakrurosan. The official name though is Mierkoles de Sinisa (Miercoles de Ceniza) as mentioned  briefly in the mass. I t is Ash Wednesday to many. This year, the date falls a day before Valentine's day.  I promised a friend that every major occasion in Bulusan will have a corresponding photo and a short anecdote of what transpired. Hence, these images.

The good thing with religious occasions in this community with an almost 400 year history of Catholicism (Parish of Saint James the Greater) is that the parishioners go with the rhythm of the religious rituals with out much ado. In Bulusan, the children were as eager to be the first in line for the sign of the cross be marked on their respective foreheads. It helps also that the present Parish priest is well liked. Father Edu Fulay's familiarity of the place and its people stems from the fact that he hails from a neighboring town. His patience for the children's uncontrollable noises during the mass was admirable.

The photos were taken by me as fast as I could so as not to call attention to myself since I was taking these photographs at a closer range--near the altar.

Placing the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads was done by the Parish Priest assisted by lay ministers and a nun.

My own sign of the cross was a little lighter than last year's. But that is another story.



Photos by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Tuob as Indigenous Knowledge: Aligning with the Elements of Nature

As an apprentice for the bobo maker I listened to every word he says. After the weaving sessions that took around several days of 'chop-chop' (segmented) demonstration of  'bobo' weaving steps, Inggo, explained that the process of integrating the object to the sea has in fact not yet commenced.

"This is my old bobo and this one (lifting the other bobo)is the newly woven one. I cannot just immerse this new bobo fish trap into the sea. I have to follow my accustomed rituals as taught to me by an old parabolong (medicine man cum village shaman).

The same items used for the traditional tuob as commonly practiced, the 'kamanyang', 'oliva' palm leaves from the recent 'hosana' are to be utilized in the tuob ritual. The additional material and the most important in this particular tuob specifically done for my bobo fish traps are the pieces of pandan leaves gathered near the shore as the final ingredient in the 'tuob' explained Inggo. The numbers must be in the odd number never in the even. 3, 5 and 7 are odd numbers.

Tuob is a ritual of cleansing and blessing at the same time. It bestows the object a sense of invulnerability to bad luck and to shoo away unfriendly spirits that will cause it to not function properly in the tasks ahead. It aligns it to the good elements of nature and attracts the good chi and thus more fishes will lend itself to be caught in it. This is in sum the purpose of the ritual the way I understood  Inggo.

"I prepare these items when everyone is asleep and I see to it that there are no people in my route to the sea so as the remaining embers of  the tuob materials will be able to float freely to the sea unencumbered free from the prying eyes of curious onlookers. In a 'bagol' (half coconut shell) the materials are earlier made into a fire to produce the thick smoke so important for the tuob process. The smoke must bathe the newly woven bobo fish trap entirely for several minutes.

After the ritual, the remaining embers are brought to sea as quickly and secretly as possible to be floated unto the vast unending sea inside the same 'bagol' used in the tuob.. This I believe is a symbolic act that pays homage to the spirits of the sea.

"One must not look back after the tuob's remaining glowing fragment is set to float to the sea. You must go back as quickly as possible leaving the embers in the half coconut shell floating to the vastness of the ocean with its remaining smoke finally extinguished by the ocean breeze."


Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines