Old Filipino Counting Words, a Manila Forest and Spanish Colonial Bridges in the Philippines

One thing I love about this pandemic quarantine is the amount of free time one has to appreciate one's culture. We Filipinos are still so colonial minded that we cannot see the beauty of our own country, both past and present. Sometimes it saddens me but it's better to do something about it right?

No one should force others to love their own country and heritage. It is our right to like what brings us joy and appreciate anything we fancy. However, if one does not know how to love our own culture then one does not know this oft quoted statement supposedly by Jose Rizal. "Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita, mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda." (One who does not treasure his own language is worse than a beast or a putrid fish.)

_{Rizal Park a.k.a. Luneta Park}

Not only should we Filipinos appreciate our national language, we must also know how to love our country and culture. Often we only see the negative things in our life but why can't we see the goodness in life as well? We are too focused on trying to make a living that's why.

I would have loved to write this in Filipino too but I'm writing this for the educated Filipinos who prefer English and other cultures rather than our own. Heck perhaps even Filipino expats love our country and culture more than we who live here in the Philippines. Especially the Filipinos in the US. They always harp about being Filipino Americans or Filipinos are Asians too, discrimination and what not. Expat Pinoys still try to teach their children the language and culture to preserve their "Filipinoness". But the older generation of expats actually tried to hide themselves as Pacific Islanders due to discrimination back then. I know because I've read such stories in expat Pinoy groups on Facebook or the posts I see online.

Do you remember I even wrote about discovering the Filipino American Heritage Month in America? I never knew there's even such a thing because I live here in the Philippines. Apparently acceptance in a foreign land is a big thing in the US. _{(Hah! Most of them have never experienced how it is much harder to deal with acceptance in your own country when you don't look like the "natives". Only when they come here would they experience it, especially when they do not know how to speak Filipino. Also, having mixed blood/nationalities is never easy when you look different from most of the population. I want to laugh but okay, we all got our own issues.)}

Anyway I'm getting too far off the topic at hand so let me just get right into it.

Old Filipino Counting Words

As I was saying, thanks to the quarantine I have discovered and found out a lot of interesting things about our culture. Four months ago I saw a post on Facebook and wrote a comment about it.

Yesterday the page owner finally replied to something I had completely forgot about. This caused me to be amazed at what I discovered all over again, so much so that I posted about it in all my social media accounts... (Ooops, I've yet to post it on Instagram though, haha.)

I was unaware of the words angaw and ati as counting number words in Tagalog (basis of Filipino, the national language). On tagaloglang.com you will see this entry for the word angaw.

A quick online search led me to a French site and book file(?) on these old or probably ancient Tagalog counting words.

It may not be fascinating to others but imagine if you are a business minded person and a nationalist then you discover something you never knew about your culture. Wow. It's just mindblowing. Count to million using angaw or billion using ati. Apat na ati for four billion or sampung angaw na piso for ten million pesos. Oh wow. I just love it.

And guess what else I learned about my country today?

The Beauty of Arroceros Park: The "Last Lung" of Manila

I live in Quezon City so I only know about several parks here like the famous Quezon City Memorial Circle, Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center and La Mesa Ecopark. The only park I am familiar with in Manila is Luneta Park. I lived along Taft Avenue in Manila in college but I never was able to travel much at the time. I was always studying and spent my free time on a computer outside of the university so I was never able to go out and about. My friends weren't the traveling kind nor the slacker types so I all I knew was home, school, school paper and going to the malls when I had to buy school stuff. Sad I know but hey I was such a good girl. Hahaha.

Eherm anyway so some years ago and last year, Arroceros Park was a hot topic because a certain president wanted to turn it into a gym or whatever. _{(Good lord. See how some people lack a sense of love for nature? They only know and think about money money money that they forget how nature nurtures humanity. Egads. Good thing COVID-19 and quarantine is here to make us more aware of taking care of the environment, among other things.)} I think this why the people behind I-Witness created a documentary about the "suddenly famous" park. Frankly I've never even heard of it until I saw all the social media posts about it due to various hullabaloo.

I was once able to discover where it is simply by walking to find another place. Remember the time I posted about looking for the post office so I can send some One Opti Juice to London? Well apparently it was a different park, haha.

And so after watching an intriguing documentary about Juan Luna on YouTube, I found myself watching another one. (Sorry but this doesn't have any English subtitles mainly because it is a Filipino TV show episode. Just watch the visuals.)

This is how I finally discovered why it is worth saving. There's only one forest in Manila and that's Arroceros Park. If anyone would try to destroy it then where else would all the different bird species and other animals go? Where else will people go to relax and connect with nature inside the city of Manila? It's sad there are already walkways and buildings in it but what can you do when most people do not know the importance of having forests? This is why I love Mayor Isko Moreno. He officially declared it as a permanent forest park and even plans on expanding it. Hurray!

Did you know? Greeneries/Plants in the city help bring down crime rates. I read that from an online article several years ago. Well think about it, why would it not be true when seeing nature is so relaxing, right?

Anyway, from learning about city forests, I now present to you our centuries old bridges.

Old Spanish Colonial Bridges and the "Secret" Inscriptions

So hey, I'm on a roll watching local documentaries. I'm so happy they decided to release these documentaries to watch for free online. Perhaps I was just unaware they have this on YouTube but I'm glad to do a marathon on these than any other shows.

Unlike in the US it seems we are unable to monetize everything. Our TV shows do not have boxed sets for anyone to buy and enjoy at home. So many good old shows aren't shown on cable/TV anymore so how else will the younger generation know about our culture and history? Most educated people prefer to watch American or British shows plus anime and Korean Dramas.

I doubt if you will find majority of parents these days who enjoy showing their kids about Philippine stories or history lessons. We are so immersed in other countries' cultures that we do not know much about ours. How will we even share it to our children when most want their kids to learn English? Many parents prefer their kids to watch Sesame Street and Baby Shark or foreign nursery rhymes instead. Sad to be colonial minded eh? Not that it's wrong but I say it's just too much American culture instead of a balanced one.

This is why I'm spreading these documentaries for all Filipinos who can read this. At least more will discover about our own culture thru this post. A lot of people do not know about these because they do not have anyone in their circle sharing it for their awareness. Well here it is. Most Filipinos may not get to read this but at least more can be exposed to these as opposed to nothing.

An independent Philippines is such a young country compared to America and most especially first world countries that have never been conquered or occupied. However of course our history is rich in various cultures, thanks mostly to the Spaniards who named and occupied the Philippines for more than three centuries. This is why we have "ancient" bridges still existing today even if most were built in the Spanish eras.

I hope you enjoy reading this even if you are not a Filipino.

Okay so this was the next documentary I watched. The translated title says "The Secret of the Old Bridge." Sounds like a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book right? Haha.

These bridges can be found in Laguna and Quezon provinces. Based on the documentary, the "secret" is actually the masonic carvings found on the stone pieces used to build the bridges. It is probably a passive-aggressive act against the Spaniards who forced early Filipinos to build the bridges without pay.

Isn't it nice to know such things about Philippine history? We get to appreciate old things like bridges. We realize the importance of preserving old relics in order for each one to tell us all about a part of our history .

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Out of everything I wrote, which one did you find most interesting? What do you think about all of these?

Originally posted on Travelfeed.io / Steemit / Hive.

Philippines' "Witch Dog": Native and Ancient or Not?

Hey there! I found something new to share with y'all about my beloved country. Everyone out there is hatin' while I'm here finding a lot to love about the Philippines. Here's one fascinating bit of info about local wild dogs.

"Witch Dog", an Ancient Native Breed in the Philippines?

I used to be a dog lover. Well maybe it was because we had several dogs when I was little. That was some childhood. Haha. Then while growing up, I got exposed to a cat and the rest is history! 😆

Still I think dogs are cute. Our dogs then were known as askal (aspin) because hey they were not purebred or anything. Just random dog offspring from whoever owns them. I have no idea because I was too young to even know about such things. Haha.

And then today I find out something shared from a Facebook PH Heritage page. It's a recent feature story by Esquire PH magazine. Look at that!

_{Photo by Tom Asmus}

Ever heard of a wild dog that would not breed with other dogs? How about one that has sharp claws, can climb trees, hunt cobras and probably existed since ancient history? This is what the aso ng gubat (forest dog) is. (It should be called asong gubat though, it's grammatically correct than just aso ng gubat. So I shall be using the latter onwards.) 

Philippine indigenous dog researcher Tom Asmus says this kind of dog is not easy to raise at home. It can survive on its own in the jungle. Locals in Bukidnon, Mindanao call it the tiger dog and asong gubat. In Luzon it is called bird catcher while in Visayas it is a witch dog.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

The Lumads (indigenous people) have an oral mythology about the asong gubat

The Lumads in Bukidnon have passed down for generations ancient oral mythology about the asong gubat. According to lore, anyone who hurts an asong gubat will be cursed. Kill one and your entire family will be cursed.
“Most Filipinos think that the asong gubat is only a myth and does not exist,” says Asmus. “But the Lumads see them on the same level as humans, with some considering them as forest spirits.”
The existence of such ancient lore suggests that the asong gubat is not just a mere street dog, but is an ancient indigenous breed of wild dog.

The Asong Gubat, Whose Bloodline Could Be 36,000 Years Old

_{Photos by Tom Asmus.}

Asmus has 10 of these dogs. He said when these are released in the wild they can kill domestic animals or livestock. It doesn't matter if it's a chicken, a rat or a cat. Whoa. Sounds dangerous to be kept at home eh? Look at those very sharp claws...

Back in 2015, he submitted DNA samples to the World Canine Genome Project. The received dogs’ genotype data hasn't been analyzed by a canine geneticist yet though.

Could It Really be An Ancient Native Breed?

I'm sure some of you are wondering how it's possible these animals are descended from ancient ones... Well if the Bukidnon Lumads have that long of an oral history then who are we to question it?

_{Photo by Tom Asmus.}

The people in the FB heritage group I'm in started debating in the comments about the age of the Earth and the dog looking like Vietnam's Phu Qouc or a hyena. Some shared stories of how fierce, brave and awesome this dog breed is. They say mountain people (from Northern Cordillera) and indigenous tribes (B'laan of South Cotabato) use them for chasing wild deer and hunting wild pigs in the forest. Sounds cool right?

In any case, if it's really not a 36,000 year old native dog breed then this kind of canine is still fascinating. My only wish is these do not get too domesticated and bothered in the wild. We don't want to make the wild ones extinct or endangered like our giant crocs.

What do you think about it? Ever seen one of these?

Originally posted on Steemit / Hive.

Me and Volcanoes: A Hashed Out Twitter Thread

When I was in a provincial high school, we had an assignment about volcanoes. This was a time when the internet wasn't that developed yet so encyclopedias were the best things in the world.

Learned a lot about volcanoes, especially Vesuvius & Krakatoa.

My Volcano Story

Okay, so I have not had any scary encounter with any dangerous natural phenomenon (Thank GOD! 🙏 🙏 🙏) and I hope I never. Even so I still have my own volcano related story. Hehe.

As I was saying, I went to two libraries just to be able to write something. One of them was in another high school library where my mom worked. (She was a piano teacher for a time.) The other one, I don't remember anymore... I think it was in a provincial or municipal public library.

Hey, where else would a high school student back then find encyclopedias and do research except in the only place full of books-you-don't-need-to-buy! 😆 These days we just do an online search but I miss those days when we need to look up encyclopedias to learn more about anything in the world.

So anyway, wow I was happy to do research on a fascinating topic. It's one that I rarely think of too. Even as an adult I rarely have any thought about volcanoes or mountains.

If you say beach, ocean or rivers now that's more likely in my head most of the time. Hehe.

After I finished writing my short essay/article/research paper, I was of course pretty pleased at what I accomplished. I mean, it was the first time I had to do research in high school. Lol.

Seriously. It wasn't in any of our textbooks so of course I had to find out details from other books.

On the day of passing the assignment, I found out I was the only one who did it. Omg. 😱 The horror!

No one told me everyone didn't have anything to submit. I assumed they did until our teacher started giving a sermon because I was the only one who submitted an assignment. I mean WTF?!? WHYYY?!? I was talking to some classmates before that class started and nobody even thought to tell me? Huh. Or wait, it's not like I announced to the world that I was proud of my assignment. Come on, who does that? 😂

Oh to be in a position of feeling proud of my accomplishment but ashamed of "letting peers down".

That's all.

But wait there's more...

I'm sure it wasn't all bad for my classmates. We all got an earful even if I was the only one who submitted something. I also heard every word she said to them.

When you love learning about nature while most people don't

That my friends is why loving the researching, writing & sharing process can be a disadvantage sometimes.

Especially if you're in a place that aren't exposed to such behavior and people are just happy to live the daily simple (student) life.

I mean, if you like learning about interesting things in nature then you'd also be amazed at what you find out. You would naturally enjoy researching about topics you don't know about. You'll get that mindblowing feeling everytime you learn about all the fascinating things on our planet.

Ah but then again, it wasn't a science high school anyway. And most people aren't environmentalists too or have no appreciation of nature, even as children. Sad huh? (These days the youth are learning to appreciate it more because of social media. )

Eventually I started to conform with the rest of my classmates even up to graduation. Yeah I still did my best to be a group leader when needed and also study even when I was demotivated to excel. I was still on the honor roll and graduated w/ honors. 🤷 That's good enough for me.

And so I write...

These days everyone is free to write stuff after researching anything online and talking to people. Much better if one earns from it. Way better.

In June 2018 I got my first official article writing gig. Well, somehow it was not as fun as writing whatever you feel like writing and sharing to the world. Uhmmm. 🤔

I don't think I ever stopped writing anything online too. From online journals to write/post to earn sites, I'm there. I can write an ebook too, I'm sure! Heck I can even write a book if I could bring myself to finish a novel. Haha. I'll have to do that soon to remove it from my bucket list.

Perhaps I will open a Patreon account one day. Who knows? It's a great time to be alive now when we can do almost anything & get away with it.

This post is an expanded version of my Twitter thread. Couldn't very well say a lot in each tweet so why not tell more on here, right? 😉

Originally posted on Steemit / Hive.