Across the Abra River, after the town of Tgyum is Laganilang, the town where the father of Mg. Trining lived. In front of his wooden house, hanging on the wall for the public to see is a large placard:
“REMIGIO BRAVO
NOTARIO PUBLICO”
My uncle was the only Notary Public in that town. He notarized contracts, the sale of property and animals, and received his fees mostly in kind, such as rice, corn, tobacco, animals of different sizes, breeds, and ages!
He gave me a pair of horses, which were registered in my name with the idea that if they multiplied, I would have something to finance my going to school in Manila.
But the people taking care of the horses claimed that they were drowned when the Abra River overflowed its bank.
Whenever Tata Equio came to Bangued by horseback, he would take me for a ride around the block. Then we would go to the market to buy “Chicharon” and “dinaguan” for supper.
He liked to drink a lot and slept in our “BANGSAL”, or open-air bathroom, at night under the moon and stars. He had a big belly and his face was pockmarked with smallpox scars.
Every weekend I used to go to Lagangilang for vacation. We went swimming with Mg. Trining in the Abra River, where we fetched water for cooking and drinking.
During a dysentery epidemic, I witnessed a procession of coffins passing the houses from the church to the cemetery. The people there were “TINGIANS,” who were uncivilized non-Christians wearing G-strings, mostly.
Their women wore lots of beads around their head, neck, and arms. When the beads were removed, they left a sort of tattoo on their skin.
The Tingians were known for their skill at mangkokolam, or witchcraft.
Tata Equio showed me a bottle of coconut oil with some kind of plant growing inside the bottle for anti-kolam.
Mrs. Lasnedrid, wife of Comm. Lasnedrid, P.N., got some money from the Marcos Foundation to make a study of Kolam as an A.P. professor in the Science Department.
When we visited her in Navy Village of Ft. Bonifacio, she told us that the way to be protected from Kolam is to stick matchsticks in the hair.
Her two houseboys were from the Tingian tribe of Abra.
Tata Equio also took me along to Manila to visit Mg. Trining in the PGH, where she was a student nurse. We rode a bus on the dusty road. On the way I climbed to the top of the bus, lodged myself between the luggage, and slept as the bus traveled at night.
In Manila we stayed in a house that had a Chinese store in its first floor. We ate rice and boiled eggs every day.
Tata Equio took me to the Post Office, where I rode an elevator for the first time. It was such a thrilling surprise to me and a great wonder for him!
I walked from our house in Sampolve District to the PGH and was able to see Mg. Trining. She was very much surprised to see me. How I got there, being new in Manila, is amazing!
When Mg. Trining graduated in 1937, Tata Equio attended her graduation. I was then a Corporal, P.C.
Leave a Reply