{"id":1516,"date":"2017-08-13T22:16:19","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T03:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.henrydelrosario.com\/?p=1516"},"modified":"2019-10-14T12:15:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T16:15:42","slug":"ambahan-sa-sandaling-karimlan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.henrydelrosario.com\/?p=1516","title":{"rendered":"Ambahan Poetry & Baybayin Calligraphy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hanunoo woman inscribing on a bamboo tube. Photo reproduced here with permission from Jacob Maentz of http:\/\/www.jacobimages.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ambahan Poetry<\/h2>\n

During my research of Baybayin (ancient Filipino script) I ran into an ancient Filipino poetic form called the ambahan. While information is scarce on the internet on this subject matter\u2014 primary sources are even scarcer. Most of my information comes from the Mangyan Heritage Center in the Philippines and a Dutch anthropologist, Antoon Postma<\/a>, who did significant research into Filipino poetry (he lived amongst and married into the Hanunoo, a Mangyan sub-tribe in the island of Mindoro in the Philippines). Antoon Postma recorded hundreds of these poems and most famously collected some of them in his book: Treasure of a Minority<\/a><\/p>\n

The ambahan is a traditional poetic form of the Hanunoo Mangyans. Like the Filipino tanaga<\/a>, each line of the ambahan contains seven syllables. Many ambahans are about nature, life and death, love and relationships. As you read them, you get a feeling of humility and beauty\u2014  haiku-like imagery, Dickinson-like simplicity. <\/p>\n

An example from a collection by Mangyan Heritage Center in the Philippines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Hanunoo-Mangyan:<\/strong><\/td>\nTagalog:<\/strong><\/td>\nEnglish:<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ako nangos babayan
\nSaludan bansanayan
\nHog banhiwan man di wan
\nSis gubay-gubay lingban
\nHog linong was baaynan<\/td>\n		Ako nama\u2019y iduyan
\nBinibining marilag
\nMahimbing sa kandungan
\nSa gilid, sa dingdingan
\nTahimik na tahanan<\/td>\n		In my hammock, rests my love
\nMy wife, my sweet, so tender
\nQuietly we lay, side by side
\nIn this yard, a tranquil den
\nOur home, O calming delight!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In a literary paper<\/a> by Postma, he defines the ambahan as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. “a verse with seven-syllable lines,<\/li>\n
  2. that is chanted, almost recited, with an undefined musical pitch, and without the accompaniment of musical instruments,<\/li>\n
  3. has rhyming end-syllables,<\/li>\n
  4. contains many words that do not occur in the spoken Hanunoo language, whereas it is generally lacking in loanwords from Spanish, Tagalog or Bisaya, and<\/li>\n
  5. finally, uses a symbolic language to convey the idea expressed.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ambahans Are Social<\/h2>\n

    Ambahans poems are expressed in two forms:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Chanted or recited in social circles:<\/strong><\/span> During social gatherings (ie. festivals, burials) people would compete with each other in reciting ambahans appropriate for the occasion. People would intently listen, laugh, and cheer the informal contest of wit into the deep night.<\/li>\n
    2. Inscribed on bamboo tubes or slates to be sent as letters to their recipient:<\/strong><\/span> A person would write the ambahan, leave it on the side of the road, and a passerby would bring it as close to the destination as possible. This would take as many people as necessary to get to the recipient. Anecdotally, they say that a village had no secrets and a lover’s love letter was an enamor already well known!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The social aspect of an ambahan is an essential characteristic. According to Postma<\/a>, “the ambahan is different. It is primarily of social character. It does not stand alone, it is not for one man, but finds its true existence in the company of others. It is a social art, created by the Mangyan to enrich and enliven the community.”<\/p>\n

      Hanunoo Mangyans would memorize and create ambahans according to their own age level. Children would memorize ambahans fit for children but would use ambahans appropriate for an adult when they grew up and married. Even the elderly have ambahans to share the experiences of old age and death.<\/p>\n

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      Hanunoo woman inscribing on a bamboo tube. Photo reproduced here with permission from Jacob Maentz of http:\/\/www.jacobimages.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      \"\"<\/a>
      Photo of bamboo writing from Postma’s “Treasure of a Minority” 1972, p. 57.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      If you’d like to read more ambahans, I would follow these links!<\/p>\n