FIESTA, AND LIFE IN WARTIME SARIAYA From THE SARIAYAHIN FIESTA AND LIFE OF YORE By Eric J. Dedace The coming of the Japanese and the Pacific War in December 1941 changed the lives of the Sariaya townspeople just as it changed the lives of everyone else in these islands forever. Our elders still remember the fearful confusion that occurred when they were forced to leave the town and sought refuge in the surrounding countryside, with the alarming noise of Japanese ship cannons bombing Mauban and Atimonan at Lamon Bay, a good many, many kilometers away resounding in their ears! Yet, amusement still found its way into their hearts even amid the uncertainties of the times as when “Tatay” Ernesto Ocampo Dedace (born 1926) recalled the knowing smiles generated when a “Mamalahin” relation on whose house they went to suddenly blurted, “ Aba, ay hindi pa daw ‘rindir’ ang mga Kano ah? ” Hindi pa daw “rindir!” ….. (“Rindir “ meant “surrender”). More amusement occurred when his older brother Domingo(1921 – 1991), accidentally hit the galvanized iron wall of the house with his elbow , resulting in a loud bang that made his maternal uncle, Eusebio Ocampo (1894 – 1975) shout …”Ayun, pumutok na naman!” The old bachelor thought it was still cannon fire from the Japanese invaders….. Whatever, they stayed in Mamala for more than a month before returning back to town and tried to lead what normalcy in life they could muster amid the new order of things. Meanwhile, Ms. Josefa Albrando – Idea or “Tia Ipang” (1920 -2007) and her elder siblings’ families including her widowed mother “Inanang Sencia”, stayed put in their neighborhood even when the Japanese came. By then, she was herself already married, with his first born, ‘Narding’ and her sickly husband, Marianito Idea, was forced to continue working as a driver for the transfer of cargoes and merchandize to other places. Life was getting hard and everyone should work very hard to earn their keep. The coconut industry which was the lifeblood of Sariaya temporarily ground to a halt and Sariayahin students in Manila had to go home because schools were closed. The people had to learn how to live under the shadow of the so - called “Land of the Rising Sun”, and adapt to the code of its militarist government then being implemented on its newly - conquered Asian neighbors. Indeed, life then was suddenly, very different, what with the resulting scarcity of commodities all around not to mention the strict adherence to discipline and doctrines that the Japanese imposed on the people. Ms. Gregoria Luna – Bitong or “Tita Goring” (born 1920) and the rest remember that except for the very young and the very sick, everybody was required to carry long bamboo poles or “sibat” outside of the house, be it the market, the church or wherever in town. His father Nonilon made a “sibat” for everyone in their family which they left outside the door of their house, so they remember to bring one automatically, if they have to go out. Failure to do so would mean trembling disciplinary repercussions from the “Kura-Kura” shouting and growling Japanese sentries roaming around! Tatay even recalled how everybody stacked the floor of the vehicle they were riding to Lucena with the “sibat”, that there was scarcely any room for placing one’s feet! That vehicle was called the ‘Rikuun Kanri Kyuku’, a rickety old bus that used charcoal as its fuel such that passengers got their nostrils sooty in the process. Another vehicle was the improvised and funny - looking ‘Dokar’, which was a horse-pulled Calesa whose wheels were replaced with rubber tires. Accordingly, bringing those bamboo poles every time was a mark of being a good person and a law abiding citizen. As part of disciplinary routine, everyone woke up very early at five in the morning with the ringing of the church bells as their faithful alarm clock. Heading for the grassy fields south of the Sariaya East Central School with their “sibat” twin in tow, they were led by officers of the Sariaya Youth Club such as the late couple Mr. Leoncio Cadiz and Ms. Guadalupe Alcaneses. Arriving at the appointed place at dawn, they proceeded with the mandatory marching drills popularly called “Its-Ne-San-Se-Go-Rok-Hits-Hats”, Nippongo or Japanese for counting one to eight, which everyone shouted in their respective columns. Accordingly, those drills, supervised by Japanese soldiers and their Filipino cohorts who were members of what Mr. Antonino Quejano (1914 – 2013) referred to as the “United Nippon” or the U.N., widely known as the “Makapili”, were done as a form of defense training against the Americans and the Filipino Guerillas. At the end of the hour or so proceedings, each column was made to rush one person at a time, to pierce a “saha ng saging” provided in front of them, shouting “Yaaaah!” in the process. As such, some of the young men including ‘Tatay’ had other ideas, and they used the “Its-Ne-San-Se” undertaking to execute their plans. In those days, there was a curfew at night till the dawn hours so they pretended to seriously conduct an extra “Its-Ne-San-Se” drill to be exempted from it all. Lugging their ‘sibat’ as always, those who knew how to play musical instruments even brought their own guitars and violins for the purpose, en route to the appointed meeting place, the Alcantara house along Calle Talavera (now Quezon Avenue) between eight and nine in the evening. They then proceeded to do their march drills on the streets until they reached their destination, the house of the young lady who was to be the subject of their “panghaharana”, as requested by one of their colleagues. Unlike in those diabetic-sweet and romantically unreal scenes in old Filipino movies, the Sariayahin lady concerned did not open the windows wide to acknowledge and enjoy the musically - rendered adulation in an affected coy and demure manner, for the windows remained tightly shut all throughout. They conducted at least three serenades during those nights of good – natured amusement which would have been over before twelve midnight. Mr. Gregorio Idea said that “Its-Ne-San-Se” drills were also being done in the barrios, like the ones that they were subjected to in Morong. Mrs. Veneranda Alcantara-Albufera and Mrs. Angelina Idea-Dedace (born 1928 and 1929 respectively) remember being part of this one-of-a-kind undertaking as very young teen agers. They tagged along with their elder brothers and sisters, likewise bringing their very own “sibat” and moving as fast as they could for fear of the Japanese soldiers alongside them. The young Veneranda used to take part in drill competitions, when those from the barrios headed to town to participate in a very long parade of people carrying their long bamboo poles, and to compete in the day-long tournament. Meanwhile, the young man Antonino used his wily resourcefulness to avoid participating in it, by going to Lucena with his “sibat” to stay at the house of his elder sister Encarnacion and her husband Mr. Vermundo de Leon, a policeman who hailed from the town of Alabat. Miss Juliana Rama (1904 – 2004) on the other hand was one of the very few teachers who still taught during wartime because unlike the high schools, elementary schools remained open then. From the Sariaya Central School, she was assigned to Lutucan with Misses Aquilina de Luna as well as sisters Beatriz and Soledad Mariano and Mr. Francisco de Castro. The female teachers stayed at the house of an old couple in front of the school, whose daughter, Rosa, became the wife of Mr. Emmanuel de Castro, the elder brother of their co teacher. They used to ride the LTB and the Calesa but if there wasn’t any vehicle available, they gathered their courage and hailed Japanese cargo trucks full of food and supplies. According to Miss Rama, they used to sit on top of sacks full of rice and held on to dear life because the road was very bad. The Japanese did not harm them because they had high regards for teachers. On rare occasions when there weren’t even Japanese cargo trucks in sight, they just asked permission from houses along the road to stay for the night and then left for Sariaya early in the morning. “Tita Goring” said that although there was a marked lessening of the erstwhile festive atmosphere of the pre War years, credit should be given to the Japanese for their tolerance of Filipino religious heritage, so long as they adhered to the new order. The three-day Sariaya Fiesta continued to be held and observed though the people had to carry their “sibat” for the afternoon masses and the processions as well, a curious sight for everyone! Accordingly, there were no “Banda ng Musiko” from Laguna because there weren’t that many vehicles for transport during those times and that made a big difference. But being naturally carefree and fun-loving, the Sariayahins still cherished their September religious traditions as the prevailing circumstances and their resourcefulness allowed them. The table settings though far less sumptuous than before were still enough to stimulate the senses and invite everyone to partake and enjoy characteristic Sariayahin hospitality. In 1942, Tatay’s elder sister Ms. Esther Dedace – Alcala or ‘Tia Esther’ (born 1919) learned of a scholarship being offered for Filipinos who would like to learn Nippongo, the Japanese language. With schools closed, she cannot teach and with nothing else much to do, she went to Manila and applied for it. She was accepted and she proceeded with her Nippongo lessons at the San Andres Elementary School where it was being taught. She was able to complete the ‘Katagana’ and part of the ‘Kanji’ course, but she was not able to take up the ‘Hiragana’. Returning home thereafter, she found practical use for it when one day, a restless Japanese soldier came to their house cum bakery talking in an angry tone and walked back and forth as if looking for something. Nervous but determined, she approached him and spoke in fluent Nippongo which so startled the man. When asked how she learned his language, she told him that she is a ‘Sensei’, the Japanese word for teacher, and suddenly he calmed down and apologized because of his high regard for teachers. He said that he was just very hungry and Tia Esther gave him something to eat, after which he left. Not long after that, she was hired as a Nippongo teacher in far off Calauag town and she went to live in the house of the Cabangon family. The eldest daughter of the Cabangons, Rizalina, had just been married to Engr. Eladio Alcala (1912 – 2007) of Barrio Pantoc, who in few year’s time would become his brother-in-law. She taught the Japanese language there for only a few months and soon went back home. Another opportunity came to teach Nippongo in neighboring Candelaria so she went there and lived in the house of her maternal uncle, Pharmacist Isidro Jumawan, a 1912 graduate of U.S.T. whose elder daughter, Pilar, was her childhood playmate. She always left for Candelaria early Monday morning in a Calesa and returned home on Saturdays. One day, while attending a seminar for Nippongo teachers in Lucena, she met an elderly Japanese teacher, who took a great liking for her. As it turned out, he had a daughter who looked like the young Esther. Upon learning that she took Calesa rides in going to Candelaria, the Japanese told her to ride the charcoal - fuelled “Rikuun Kanri Kyuku”, bus that plied the roads in between towns that time. Saying that the bus would have been that crowded already when it reached Sariaya from Lucena, the kind old man remedied the situation. He rode the bus from Lucena and reserved a seat for her to sit on when it arrived in Sariaya en route to Candelaria, and then he travelled back to Lucena. Despite being nervous and uncomfortable, lest “guerillas” would ambush the vehicle along the road and find her in the company of a Japanese, she did not turn down the offer for fear of offending him and so the arrangement went on throughout her short teaching career in Candelaria. Sometime late 1942, the family of Tita Goring’s paternal half – sister Catalina went to the town of Libmanan, Camarines Sur and she thought of going along with them for a short vacation. Unfortunately, train travel to Bicol was stopped and so, she was stranded there with her Ate’s family for the rest of the war years, thus missing the life that she led with her very own family in the occupied Sariaya. In June of 1943, at the Albrando-Carlos-Idea household along Calle Talavera, “Tia Ipang” gave birth to her second child, a daughter whom they named “Juanita”. It was the middle of the war years, the town was relatively peaceful since Sariaya was, unlike other places, not a hotbed of resistance. Aside from the elementary grades, the Tayabas High School in barrio Iyam, Lucena also had classes that school year of 1943-44, and my father, Ernesto, was in his senior year then under Miss Paciencia Daleon (1912 – 2012), together with town mates like Segunda de Castro (born 1926) , Magdalena Villadiego (1926 – 2013) and “Pudoy” Driz among others. His parents paid for his board and lodging at a house near the school, with Segunda de Castro and sisters Estella and Thelma Rama as housemates. On Friday afternoons after class hours, he would ride his bicycle to buy Cassava flour and “Sangkaka” at barrio Cotta for their bakery, and then travelled back to Sariaya for the weekend in the gathering dusk. On rainy days, he had his raincoat handy to protect the precious commodities. With flour for bread and sugar already scarce, resilient and creative bakery proprietors resorted to using cassava flour available in Cotta in Lucena, as well as ‘Sangkaka’ or ‘Pakaskas’ for sweetening. ‘Tatay’ said that they were only able to produce Coconut Pie and ‘Tortaryal’ with that since everything else was strictly flour-based and subject to its availability then. Aside from selling Cassava Cake or ‘Budin’, there was another innovation, Cassava crackers! In the latter, boiled cassava was pounded ‘Lusong’ style then mixed with salt, a little ‘Pakaskas’ or ‘Sangkaka’, baking powder and melted pork fat or lard, as shortening gave it delicious and flavorful crispness. The dough mixture for crackers was passed on a roller before being shaped on previously cassava - floured molders prior to baking. These were well received by the customers, at times almost like the Fita biscuits of today. Resourcefulness amidst wartime scarcity also resulted in two other baked innovations, ‘Mamon’ and even ‘Pianono’ with ‘gabe’ or yam filling using rice flour from pounded pure ‘Dinurado’, which ‘Tia Esther’ swore were even more delicious than the flour-based ones, particularly the day after they were baked. To augment their bakery’s sales, “Tatay” would bring some of the newly-baked goodies to the “Cabaret” at Calle Rizal Ibaba and sell them to the Bicolana “Baylarinas” clad in their signature tightly-clinging fancy dresses, as well as to their boisterous and tipsy local patrons. That way, their bakery business went on, much to the appreciation of the bread-starved public especially during special occasions like the town Fiesta. Accordingly, these “Baylarinas” came here during the pre war years, attracted by the notion of rich Sariayahins living almost “Sybaritic lives” in their big, intricately-designed, brick-roofed beautiful homes full of European and American fixtures brought about by the coconut boom years, that lined the center of town. They even brought their families with them to get away from the difficult life they led in Bicol during those times. Some of them even married into the local population and settled here for good. Sometimes, ‘Tatay’ would ride his bicycle and head towards their family landholdings at barrio Santo Cristo where he gathered dried coconut parts namely the “palapa” and “uyo” into many piles. He would then ignite them with matches to burn and collected the resulting ashes with the help of “Pedro”, the son of their “katiwala” couple “Mamang Toning” and “Aling Bebang” who hailed from Laguna. Then he would bike his way to nearby Lutucan to tell storekeeper Mr. Santiago Carlos about his collected ashes before going back to Santo Cristo. Mr. Carlos would follow and weigh the ashes with a hanging balance like the one being used by meat sellers. ‘Tatay’ earned around thirty pesos on the average for the whole day’s effort which was a huge amount of money from way back. The ashes were in turn sold to the Chinese who turned them into soap. Accordingly, the ashes were mixed with water and the resulting liquid was run into a fine sieve, after which certain chemical ingredients were added before the mixture was cooked in a large “Kawa”. The mushy liquid was then poured in a very large “bandeha” several inches thick to cool and harden, then cut into desired sizes prior to selling. Those were difficult times so there was no distinction between its use either for bathing or washing clothes. It was soap period!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 08:35:46 +0000
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