"Shak-oy siyu!" The magic words were spoken. Instantaneously all our 8-10 year old boys leap off the backside of our school about a four foot drop, and go bounding down the trail for recess hooping and hollering all the way like a bunch of Indians on a warpath. Shak-oy is what we always play for recess except for the occasional game of tag. All you need is a pair of shoes and you're good to go. The rules are very similar to kick-ball. Here in Emrang the kids play shak-oy before school, during recess, and in the afternoons, really any chance they get. Many times Kiley and I can hear them playing across the valley.
It has been fun learning to live in a new culture. Living up in the mountains where you are surrounded by nothing but nature, sound travels exceptionally well. At any point of the day or night you have a general sense of who is home, what they are doing, who is crying, and who may be sick. One evening we got to listen in on our neighbors attempting to kill a rat that was hiding in their roof hoping to feast on their rice later that night. Other times we get to listen in on the playing of a Palawano guitar before we go to sleep. It's fun to be so in touch with you're community simply by keeping your ears open.
With the excellent opportunities of communication this culture has adopted megbenseg (mug-bun-sug). It is what you might picture trail calling as. Everyone develops their own cadence, so you can actually identify who is who just by their megbenseg. Kiley and I have both taken to making our own calls and enjoy learning to communicate in this new fashion.
Some times the megbenseg is used when you are by yourself and you are wondering where all your friends are so you can get together and play shak-oy. Or perhaps you are leaving for the lowlands for a day or two and you want to let everyone know you are headed out. In which case it is appropriate to megbenseg back to send your farewell. The megbenseg is also a great way to show your excitement. Anytime you hear a large group of people together doing their own version of the megbenseg you can be sure someone has just lit their newly cleared land for their uma (farm) and soon you'll be able to hear the roar of the flames if not see them.
Another unique aspect of this culture is the ba'ag, which is more or less a loincloth the men sometimes where. More and more you see the traditional t-shirt and shorts being worn, but every now and then you'll run across a ba'ag. My first encounter happened in Kementiyan when Bikwa came walking through with his tukew (2-cow) or machete tied around his waste and a tabig (basket) hanging from his head on his way to gather and sell food. My second encounter took place at the clinic when patients from Kebgen (Cub-gun), a village from the other side of the island came for medicine. Getting an assessment on him was certainly a new experience. I never know when I'll come across a ba'ag next but everytime I do it is always surprising. One of the most startling encounters happened here in Emrang. Our school kids had called us up to come play shak-oy with them, and here two of our 14 year old boys had rolled up their shorts into a ba'ag. You would think they would be embarrassed with us being their teachers in all, but it didn't phase them at all. Some aspect of a culture are easier to embrace then others, and this one is certainly taking more time.
It was a Wednesday and the dismissal for recess had just been given. One of the boys had snagged my sandals in the bustle down the hill. By the time I arrived the infamous game of shak-oy was already in session. Feeling especially pagud (pa-goo-d) or worn out that day I opted to watch the game while sitting against one of the big mango trees. Little did I know how eventful this game of shak-oy was going to be. It all started when someone got the idea to play shak-oy in a ba'ag. Like monkey see monkey do another pair of shorts got rolled up till each of the young boys had their "ba'ag" on. If any of them were lacking energy before they sure weren't now. They were all jumping around megbenseging like a bunch of hooligans feeling their testosterone no doubt, and here I was in the back getting all the view! When I thought it couldn't get any better everything came to a climax when a giant elupian (centipede) from the tree tops above fell in the middle of all of them. Elupians have a nasty venom that causes a lot of pain if you're ever bitten by them, so naturally every elupian gets killed on the spot. No sooner had the doomed creature hit the ground then the boys picked up anytime in reach to be used as a weapon against it. All rushed at the elupian smacking it with whatever they had in hand. It quickly split in two and so did the boys. In a few seconds there were only pieces left, which were quickly discarded into the kerikutan (curd-i-couton) or jungle, and then everyone was back to playing shak-oy as if nothing had happened. Such is life in the mountains of Palawan, Philippines.
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