Pagsinapol 3, Natigayon

Amot ni Noel G. de Leon.

Natigayon sang 29 Agosto 2016 ang ikatlo nga Pagsinapol sang Hubon Manunulat sa Book Latte, Robinson’s Iloilo, alas singko sang hapon. Gintambungan ang pagsinapol sang mga miyembro sang Hubon Manunulat nga sanday Norman T. Darap, Maria Dulce V. Deriada, Gil S. Montinola, Early Sol A. Gadong, Noel G. de Leon, Rey Salem, Rex Hidalgo, kag John E. Barrios.

Ginpangunahan ni John Barrios ang diskusyon sa malip-ot nga sugilanon ni Peter S. Nery (Donato Bugtot) nga una nga ginhatagan punto ang importansya sang maayo nga representasyon sang tawo kag kultura. Para kay Barrios kinahanglan nga mangin responsable ang mga manunulat ilabi na gid kon usaron nila sa ila sinulatan ang mga partikular nga tawo kag kultura sa sosyodad.

Ginsundan ini sang sugilanon ni Jonathan Jurilla (Ulan sa Bulan sang Abril) nga ginpangunahan ni Dulce Maria V. Deriada ang diskusyon sa pagsugod sa pagrebyu sang mga hitabo sa sulod sang teksto. Para kay Deriada, adbentahe ang simplisidad sang naratibo ni Jurilla ilabi na kay tuman ka komplikado sang mga karakter sini sa sugilanon. Ginpaathag man ni Rex Hidalgo nga dako ang papel sang manunulat ilabi na gid para makonteksto sang mga manugbasa ang sugilanon kon lantawon sa perspektiba sang manunulat.

Ang ulihi nga sugilanon amo ang sugilanon ni Genevieve L. Asenjo (Turagsoy). Ginpamunuan ni Early Sol A. Gadong ang diskusyon sa bulig ni Gil S. Montinola. Ginpaathag ni Gadong kag Montinola ang importansya sang pagpasulod sang bag-o nga estilo kag form sa pagsulat sang sugilanon sa Hiligaynon. Para sa ila, importante nga mangin agresibo sa pag eksperimento ang mga bag-ong tubo nga manunulat ilabi na gid ang mga nagaentra sa Palanca kag may bag-o nga sensibilidad sa ila mga sugilanon.

(Gikan sa wala: Dulce Maria Deriada, Rex Hidalgo, Norman Darap, Early Sol Gadong, kag Noel G. de Leon.)

Ang Pagsinapol isa ka bulanan nga aktibidad sang mga miyembro sang Hubon Manunulat (apang indi man limitado lang sa mga miyembro sini) kon sa diin luyag estoryahan, debatihan, kag iapresyar ang mga sinulatan sang mga manunulat sa Bisayas Nakatundan ilabi na gid ang mga sugilanon nga tagdaog sa tuigan nga kontes sang Palanca. Tinutuyo sang Pagsinapol nga dal-on sa mas kritikal nga diskusyon-diskurso ang paglantaw sa mga sinulatan sang mga manunulat.

Sa luyag magtambong sa bulanan nga pagsinapol sang grupo, makig-angot lang sa Facebook ni Early Sol A. Gadong ukon i-like ang Facebook page sang Hubon Manunulat.

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Si Noel G. de Leon sa subong nagatudlo sang Filipino sa University of San Agustin samtang iya ginatapos ang iya Master of Education (Filipino) sa University of the Philippines Visayas. Sya ang nagapamuno sang Kasingkasing Press, Inc.

Darap sa Ikatlong Espasyo at Gadong sa Kuwarto: Pagbasa ng Kuwento ng Dalawang Ilonggong Manunulat

Darap sa Ikatlong Espasyo at Gadong sa Kuwarto: Pagbasa ng Kuwento ng Dalawang Ilonggong Manunulat

John E. Barrios

Universidad ng Pilipinas Visayas

1.

Baryo, Banwa, at ang “Ikatlong Espasyo” sa Tunggalian ng Tradisyonal

at Moderno sa mga Sugilanon ni Norman Darap

Si Norman Darap ay isinilang sa siyudad ng Maynila ngunit lumaki sa baryo ng Cadabdab sa Tubungan, Iloilo. Siya ay nag-aral sa lungsod ng Iloilo.  Mahalaga itong banggitin dahil halos ito ang makikitang tunggalian sa kanyang mga sugilanon—ang tunggalian ng baryo at banwa—sa kanyang aklat na Pagpauli sa Tamarora (Kasingkasing Press, 2015) na binubuo ng limang sugilanon.

Sa mga sugilanon ni Darap, ang baryo ay hindi isang saradong espasyo. Palagi itong pinapasok, kung hindi man pinakikialaman, ng banwa at ang kakuntsaba nitong siyudad. Sa tagadalang sugilanon ng koleksiyon na “Pagpauli sa Tamarora,” ang baryo ng Tamarora ay nanatili na lamang sa imahinasyon ng pangunahing tauhang si Auring. Si Auring ay kinuha ng kanyang anak na babae sa baryo at inilipat sa banwa dahil hindi na siya kayang pagalingin ng manugbulong ng baryo, kasama na roon ang kanyang babaylang anak na si Dado, na iniwan ang pagiging inhenyero at sinundan ang yapak ng amang isa ring babaylan. Naniniwala ang kanyang anak na babae na doktor lamang ang makakabuhay sa kanya. Isang medtech sa isang ospital na malapit sa banwa ng Miag-ao ang kanyang anak. Subalit kahit na “nadagdagan” ang kanyang taon ng pananatili sa mundo, ang kagustuhan ni Auring na bumalik sa baryo ay hindi mawala-wala. Sa bandang huli, nakamit niya rin ito ngunit bilang halusinasyon na lamang—ang sinasabing mili-segundong pagkakataon na matupad ang lahat ng ninanais ng isang tao bago siya tuluyang malagutan ng hininga.

Maituturing namang isang penetrasyon ng siyudad, ang mas maunlad na kakambal-espasyo ng banwa, ang pagbabalik ni Budak sa Tubungan, Iloilo mula sa siyudad ng Cebu. Ang edukasyon at modernisasyon ng siyudad ang naghubog kay Budak para tumbahin ang tradisyonal na pnaniniwala ng kanyang mga magulang.

“Indi, ‘Nay, a! Buot ko silingon, gusto ko lang kon nga dal-on naton sa doktor si Nong Bugol. Didto mahatagan sya sang eksakto nga bulong...

‘Nay, basi nagsala kamo. Wala ako nagapati nga natabuan si Manong. Kon mariit ang sapa, kon nakapanghalit gid man sya sa mga tamawo, tani dugay na sya nag-ayo sa pila ka beses niyo nga pagpaubra sa babaylan,” aha ni Budak. (26)

Subalit ang syudad ay hindi isang kaaya-ayang espasyo para sa nanay ni Budak. Tulad ng baryo, ito ay napasok na rin ng “syudad” ng Tamawo. Sa pananaw ng kanyang ina, ang ginawa ng mga tamawo sa “nababaliw” na kapatid ni Budak ay ginawa rin nila kay Budak.

“Ay, yawa! Ngaa mas nakabalo ka pa sa amon haw?... Sang nagkadto ka sa Cebu, wala ka natabuan didto? Mas mariit didto. Sa lima ka tuig, ginkuha ka man sang mga tamawo sa amon kay sa pagbalik mo diri, may lain ka na nga dala!” Singgit sang iya iloy samtang gapalamula ang iya guya.

Hinali nga gin-uyatan sang Iloy ang tiyan ni Budak. “Ini, ano ining sulod sang tiyan mo? Ini timaaan nga natabuan ka man sa masiok nga syudad. Damo ka man sang nasalapay nga tamawo didto. Amo ‘na nga ang Amay sang bata mo, wala gid nagpakita kag indi namon makita. Wala ka gid naghalong sa syudad, Budak.” (26)

Pero sa bandang huli, matapos makunan si Budak dahil sa pagkakatulak sa kanya ng “baliw” na kapatid, nagdesisyon si Budak na bumalik sa Cebu at harapin ang mga “tamawo” sa syudad na yaon. Iniwan ni Budak ang Tubungan, isang baryo at espasyo na winasak ng syudad ng Cebu at ng hindi nakikitang “syudad ng Tamawo.” Ang kanyang pagbabalik sa Cebu, sa kabila ng dala-dalang kaalaman na ito ay “syudad rin ng Tamawo,” ay nagpapakita ng pagtatagumpay ng syudad kontra sa tradisyunalismo at paatras na buhay ng baryo.

Ang pagtatagumpay ng banwa kontra sa baryo ay karaniwang nakaangot sa mga institusyon tulad ng edukasyon, kalusugan, at sa teknolohiya. Tinumba ng medtech  na anak ni Auring sa sugilanong “Pagbalik sa Tamarora” ang kanyang pangarap na bumalik sa Tamarora sa pamamagitan ng opinyon ng doktor at gamot na kanyang iniinom, tinumba ang baryo Tubungan sa “Ulubrahon” ng moderno at modernisadong  deklarasyon ni Budak na produkto ng kanyang paninirahan sa syudad ng Cebu kontra sa babaylanismo, at sa sugilanong “Pinihakan,” ang konserbatibong pananaw ng baryo sa homosekswalidad ay kailangang talikdan at hanapin sa ibang modernisadong lugar. (Iyon nga lang ang pinapangarap puntahan na syudad sa Saudi Arabia ng pangunahing tauhang nars ay wala ring garantiyahang bukas sa homosekswalidad.)

Tanging ang sugilanong “Ngipon” ang nagbigay ng solusyon kung paano magtatagumpay ang baryo sa banwa. At ito ay sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng karahasan—ang pagtaga/pagmasaker sa mga tauhang impluwensyado ng banwa. Sa sugilanon, kailangang patayin ni Sidoy ang mga magulang ng kanyang nobya na si Arlene para mawala ang hadlang sa kanilang pag-iibigan. Ayaw ng mga magulang ni Arlene na ipakasal ang kanilang anak na maestra sa isang magsasaka lamang. Ngunit natuklasan rin ni Sidoy sa bandang huli na kahit si Arlene na umiibig pa rin sa kanya ay nalamon na ng banwa. Sa mga taon na kanyang inilagi sa banwa ng San Jose ay nalimutan na niya ang baryo at nahawa na rin siya sa gawain ng banwa. Inireto siya sa isang lalaking tagabanwa at ‘di kalaunan ay nabuntis. At para hindi tuluyang magtagumpay ang banwa, pinagtataga/minasaker din ni Sidoy si Arlene at ang kanyang tiyahin na kasama niyang naninirahan sa San Jose. Ginamit ni Sidoy ang itak/binangon bilang mapagpalayang teknolohiya ng karahasan.

Halos lahat ng mga tauhan na naipit sa tunggalian ng baryo at banwa ay humantong sa lungkot, kung hindi man pagtatanim ng galit sa kapwa tao at sa lipunan. Si Auring sa “Pagpauli sa Tamarora,” ay kailangan munang mamatay bago “makita” ang baryo ng Tamarora, si Budak sa “Ulubrahon” ay kailangang iwan ang baryo at ang mga magulang para muling harapin ang syudad, si Sidoy sa “Ngipon” ay kailangang pumatay at gamitin ang bundok—ang inakong espasyo ng mga rebelde— para mailigtas ang baryo sa impluwensiya ng banwa, at si Vincent sa “Pinihakan” ay kailangang iwan ang baryo kung saan nagdesisyong manatili ang minahal na lalaking si Louie. Tanging ang sugilanong “Olayra” ang nagtapos kung saan ang pangunahing tauhang si Olayra ay nagkaroon ng posibilidad ng kaligayahan.

Si Olayra sa sugilanong “Olayra” ay anak nina Minang at Akuy. Misteryoso ang pagkabuntis at iba ang kulay ng balat, buhok, at mata ng anak ni Minang kayat maaaring paniwalaan na may kinalaman ang mga tamawo sa kanyang panganganak. Nang magdalaga na si Olayra ay nagkaroon ito ng kasintahang tamawo na nangangalang Geraldo. Tutol ang mga magulang ni Olayra sa kanyang pakikipagrelasyon sa tamawo kayat ipinakasal siya sa isang binatang nangangalang Noli. Nagkaroon sila ng anak na si Natalia na kamukha ni Olayra at sa kasalukuyan ay siya namang nililigawan ng tamawo. Para mahinto ang pagkabaliw ng anak at tuluyang lubayan ito ng tamawong si Geraldo, sumama si Olayra sa dating nobyo at namuhay sa syudad ng mga tamawo.

Kung ang kaligayahan ay ang kawalan ng kalungkutan, masasabing hindi ito naranasan ng kahit isa man sa mga tauhan ni Darap maliban kay Olayra. Ngunit si Olayra ay hindi buo ang katauhang mortal. Ang pagkuha sa kanya ng tamawo ay nangangahulugan lamang ng pagbabalik sa kanyang pinanggalingan.

Ang mundo sa imahinasyon ni Darap ay espasyo ng kalungkutan na dulot ng pakikipagtunggali ng baryo sa bayan, ng bayan sa baryo. Ito ay sa dahilang, ayon kay Rolando Tolentino, ang tunggaliang ito ay nagdulot ng sitifikasyon ng modernidad. Subalit itong proyekto ng pagpasok ng “kaunlaran” sa baryo ay hindi naman talaga tumatalab dahil ang sentro (banwa/syudad) ay walang sapat na kapangyarihan para bantayan ang baryo.

[P]aratihang aproximasyon ng sentro ang ginagawa sa bayan (banwa), at paratihang aproximasyon ng bayan (banwa) ang ginagawa sa kanayunan (kabaryuhan) Ang dobleng aproximasyon sa bukid (baryo) ang siyang espasyo ng kawindangan ng nosyon ng kapangyarihan. Dahil wala ito sa mata o poder ng kapangyarihan, may sariling artikulasyon at interpretasyon ang bukid (baryo) sa bayan (banwa) at sa sentro. Kahit pa inaapi, maaari itong kumausap, namamaang-maangan o tumaliwas sa namamayanging kalakaran. (Tolentino 2007, 232)

Kaya nga’t maaaring pagtatagain/masakerin ni Sidoy ang mga alagad ng banwa at maibaling ang “krimen” sa mga rebeldeng nakatira sa bundok , pawalang-halaga ni Budak at anak ni Auring ang ulubrahon ng mga babaylan, iwan ni Vincent ang Tubungan, at itanghal ni Nanay Minang ang “ikatlong espasyo”—ang syudad ng mga tamawo. At maiakdang ang tanging kaligayahang makakamtan lamang ay ang posibilidad ng syudad na ito.

Sa ganitong konstruksiyon ng sugilanon, tinumba ni Darap ang mundo ng totoo (real) at iniangat ang mundo ng di-totoo. Si Darap ay masasabi nang pumapasok sa pagsulat ng postmodernismo kung saan ang mga mundo at espasyo ay nagtatagpo at sa bandang huli ay naitatanghal ang hindi makatotohanang pananaw na lagpas sa abot ng pangangatwiran ng tao.

2.

Pagnanasà at pagkagising: diskurso ng sekswalidad

sa mga kuwento ni Sol A. Gadong

“Norms create deviants.” Ito ang isa sa mga sinabi ni Michel Foucault na may kinalaman sa kaayusang panlipunan. Sa kaso ng kasarian, ito ang maaaring magbigay-kahulugan sa mga gawaing may kinalaman sa sekswalidad o praktis angot sa napiling kasarian.

Ang mga kuwento ni Sol A. Gadong sa Nasà sa Dulo ng Dila (Kasing-kasing Press, 2015) ay mapanubok na hakbang upang bulabugin ang konsepto ng “maayos”. Sa anim na kuwento na nakasulat sa tatlong wika (Hiligaynon, Ingles, at Filipino) sa koleksiyon, karaniwang maayos na nailalahad sa mga kuwento ang kumbensiyon na kailangang sundin at igalaw ng mga tauhan. Ang mga tauhang hindi sumusunod at nagtatangkang baguhin ang mga kumbensiyon ay karaniwang nasa tabi o kung hindi man ay nagtatago. Ang pagsuway karaniwan ay diktado ng sarili—isang sariling naghahanap ng indibidwalidad. Sa madaling salita, isang sariling iba sa nakararami.

Sa kuwentong “Dungan sa Lanton” halimbawa, ang karakter ni Sophie ay kailangan pang umalis ng Filipinas at pumuntang Amerika upang makita ang kanyang sarili o ang pagiging tomboy. Ang Amerika ang nagpamukha sa kanya ng kanyang sarili at ito rin ang nagbigay-lakas sa kanya para magsalita at gawin ang gusto niyang gawin. Nahawa na lamang ang kanyang kaibigang si Tin. Kung hindi pa inunahan ng balik-Pinas na si Sophie ang tigil-Pinas na si Tin ay hindi pa maiaakda ang homosekswal na relasyon. At tulad ng mga konseptong “feminismo,” “homosekswalidad,” “LGBT,” at iba pang may kinalaman sa pag-akda ng sekswalidad, ang Amerika/Kanluran ang palaging “nagpapasiuna” at nagagaya na lamang sa Filipinas. Ngunit wala nga bang ganitong kasarian sa ating bansa bago dumating ang mga dayuhang Kastila at mapanakop na mga Amerikano?

Mula sa diksiyonaryong A Study of Akeanon Grammar: Dictionary of Root Words and Derivations ni David Zorc, et. al. (1969) ay mababasa ang salitang “asog” na ang katumbas sa Ingles ay “tomboy”. Ginamit rin ni Francisco Alcina (2005) sa  History of the Bisayan People in the Philippine Island, ang salitang ito para tukuyin ang isang homosekswal na lalaki. Kalaunan, tinukoy rin nito ang mga (lalaking) babaylan na kumalaban sa mga Kastila. Ang “asog” ay pwedeng tumayong henerikong salita na humahakop sa konsepto ng homosekswalidad sa parehong babae at lalaki.

Si Nagmalitong Yawa ng epiko ng Panay (sa Hinilawod ni F. Landa Jocano, 2000 at 2011) ay nagtataglay ng mga katangian ng asog. Siya ay parehong babaylan (makapangyarihan)  at binukot (itinagong babae). Para tulungang makalaya mula sa pagkakabihag ng isang milyong masasamang binukot ang kanyang magiging bana na si Humadapnon, siya ay nagpalit-anyo at naging isang lalake at nagpakilalang Buyung Sunsumakay. Dahil dito nagawa niyang buksan ang kuweba ng Tarangban at patayin ang isang milyong binukot gamit lamang ang kanyang iwa (punyal). Ang pag-ako niya ng katauhang pang-lalake ang nagbago sa kanya upang maging isang asog.

Masasabing isa sa mga naging katangian ng sinaunang asog ay ang pagiging matapang. Ang tapang na gawing iba ang sarili. Maging isang deviant. At ito ang ginawa ni Jing/Jinggoy sa kuwentong “Nagakaangay nga Panapton” ni Gadong. Imbis na magsuot ng bestida ay mas pinili niyang magsuot ng t-shirt at pantalon. Imbis na magsuot ng sandalyas ay mas pinili niyang magsuot ng rubber shoes. Higit sa lahat, imbis na makipagtalik sa lalaki ay mas pinili niya ang makipagtalik sa babae. Ginawa niya ito sa kabila ng establisado at normatibong pananaw ng lipunan—na laging ipinaaalala sa kanya ng kanyang nanay—tungkol sa tamang gawi at gawain ng isang babae. Pero postmodernong posisyon nga lamang ang inaaku ng texto ng kuwento. Ang “paglalantad” ni Jing/Jinggoy sa bandang huli ay nasa sakop pa rin ng pribado at indibidwalisadong espasyo—ang kuwarto. Halos ganito rin ang naging katapusan ng kuwentong “Tagpi-tagping Tala”. Ang karakter, kahit na muling nakipagtagpo sa babaeng m(in)ahal matapos ang ilang taong “paghihiwalay,” ay sa kuwarto pa rin nagkitang muli habang tini-text ang nanay tungkol sa katatapos na seminar na isa lang namang alibi. Kayat kung panoptikon ang silbi ng presensiya ng nanay (kahit ang koneksiyon ay selpon lamang), masasabing makapangyarihan at makapangyayari pa rin ang (di nakikitang) “titig” ng nanay.

Kung patuloy na nagtatago ang mga karakter na babae ni Gadong paano kung gayon maipapaliwanag ang pagkakaroon ng mga karakter na sumasama sa lalake matapos iwan ang mga naunang naging karelasyong mga babae sa kuwentong “Kuwentong MRT”? O ang palagi na lang napuputol na relasyon sa bagong magkakilalang dalawang babae na “nagpakaligaya” pa habang nasa eroplano sa “Flight”? Kung hindi mailalantad ang relasyong babae sa babae, ito’y papalitan ng babae sa lalaki o puputulin na lamang. Normatibo. Ang mamamayani pa rin ay ang normal na panlipunang kaayusan. Ang homosekswalidad ay isa na lamang istorbo na sa bandang huli ay maaari na lamang isantabi.

Sabi nga ni Foucault, “ang mga nagsasabi kung ano ang tamang gawi at gawain ay makikita kahit saan. Tayo ay isang lipunan ng titser na husgado, doktor na husgado, edukador na husgado, social worker na husgado.” Kailangan kung ganoon na gamitin ni Gadong si Nagmalitong Yawa mula sa epiko ng Panay para “paslangin” ang mga husgador sa lipunan. Sa ganitong paraan lamang makakalaya at makakalabas ng pribadong espasyo—ng kuwarto—sina Sophie, Tin, Jing, at iba pang tauhan sa mga kuwento ni Gadong.

Ang mga kuwento ni Gadong ay maituturing na pang-iistorbo upang gisingin ang kamalayang homosekswal. At hangga’t nagpapatuloy ang heterosekswal na relasyon, ang pagtakas/pagputol sa imbitasyon ng homosekswalidad, at ang indibidwalisasyon at pagiging pribado ng espasyo—ang pananatili sa kuwarto—ng dalawang babaeng nagmamahalan sa mga kuwento ni Gadong, malayo pa ang hinahangad na kamulatan ng lipunan.

Ang mga kuwento ni Gadong ay gising na, ngunit kailangan pang maging mulat.

  

  

Sinangguni:

Tolentino, Rolando B. Sipat at Kultura: Tungo sa Mapagpalayang Pagbabasa, Pag-aaral at

     Pagtuturo ng Panitikan. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. 2007.

Woman as Culture-Bearer in Magdalena Jalandoni’s Three Selected Novels (Analysis by Alice Tan Gonzales)

(Magdalena Jalandoni (1891-1978), Hiligaynon writer, had a prodigious career that has not been equaled so far in Philippine letters. Her extant works include 36 novels, 122 short stories, 7 novelettes, 5 corridos, 8 narrative poems, 231 short lyrics, 7 long plays, 24 short plays, 7 volumes of essays, and two autobiographies. Her many awards include, among others, the Pro Ecclessia Et Pontifice or the Papal Award in 1962 and the First Republic Cultural Heritage Award for Literature given by the Office of the President in 1969.)

In cultural studies tradition, "culture is understood both as a way of life—encompassing ideas, attitudes, language, practices, institutions, and structures of power—and a whole range of cultural practices: artistic forms, texts, canons, architecture, mass-produced commodities, and so forth" (Grossberg, et al. 5) (italics and underscoring mine). As this definition states, culture encompasses all artistic forms and texts, one of which is the literary text.  Thus, the study of literature is important if one wishes to explore the cultural formation of a particular historical period, or how culture as a way of life is articulated in literary texts.

Louis Althusser speaks of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), or distinct and specialized institutions that function massively and predominantly by ideology in order to promote the hegemonic or dominant system (141-148). Ideology, according to Althusser, represents “not the system of the real relations which govern the existence of individuals, but the imaginary relation of those individuals to the real relations in which they live”(Belsey 46). Althusser considers literature as one of the cultural ISAs (Althusser 143). In other words, literary texts can be said to embody an ideology that supports and perpetuates the dominant cultural system. Literary texts present what materialist feminist critic Catherine Belsey calls the “dominant versions of appropriate behavior” which “help to represent and reproduce the myths and beliefs necessary to enable people to work within the existing social formation” (Belsey 46).

In my reading of Jalandoni’s texts, I would like to show how her works articulate the ideology, particularly the gender ideology.   In my analysis, I will zero in on the gender ideology embedded in the texts of Jalandoni and how this ideology possibly reinforced the power structures of the social formation during the time that she wrote.  But more importantly, my paper will examine how some of the women protagonists of Jalandoni’s works, despite being caught in a web of relations governed by patriarchy (i.e., as an ideology), manage to negotiate their subject positions within a cultural formation informed by the norms of behavior stipulated by the Catholic Church during the Spanish Colonial Period, thus earning them a quantum of freedom.  The bulk of her works being large, for the purpose of this study I have limited myself to Jalandoni’s three most popular novels namely Ang Bantay sang Patyo (1923), Ang Dalaga sa Tiendahan (1934), and Juanita Cruz (1965). This choice is based not only on the relative popularity of these three novels but also on the fact that these three novels are set in the same period—the Spanish Colonial Period.

Let me start with a brief summary of each of the novels.

Ang Bantay sang Patyo (1923)

The male narrator, Jacinto, and Maria secretly fall in love. Maria’s adopted mother learns of it and bans Jacinto from her house, insisting that Maria marry a rich haciendero’s son. But Maria refuses, bringing upon herself the ire of her adopted mother. Upon the death of Jacinto’s father, Jacinto tries his hand at buying and selling and leaves for Camarines after promising to be true to Maria. There he falls in love with Leonor, a rich man’s daughter, who wants to marry him. He learns about Leonor’s disgrace before their wedding, and he immediately leaves for Ilong-ilong to be with his dying sweetheart. He obtains Maria’s forgiveness and he promises to spend the rest of his life beside her grave and becomes a “bantay sang patyo.”

Ang Dalaga sa Tiendahan (1934)

Oscar, son of the servant Tiya Bilay, is sent to school by her masters Tan Roman and his wife. Oscar and Rosa, the beautiful Spanish mestiza niece and foster child of Tan Roman, fall in love, but the rich couple wants to marry off their heiress to one of their own kind. Rosa refuses to obey their wish and is threatened with disinheritance. Meanwhile, Oscar is falsely accused of killing the governor’s son and is sent to Manila to be executed. His mother Tiya Bilay is ordered by her masters to leave the house, and Rosa secretly leaves with her. The revolution starts and Tan Roman and his wife bury their treasures and evacuate to a safer place. Oscar escapes prison and joins the revolutionaries. He is assigned to Ilong-ilong where he saves the treasures of the couple from a band of brigands. He is also vindicated of his alleged crime. Upon Tan Roman’s return, he promises to make Oscar his heir. Oscar becomes a lawyer, and a case brings him face to face with Rosa who is now a fruit vendor in the market, earning a living for herself and Oscar’s sick mother. Oscar does not recognize her, but she recognizes him. He falls in love with her but, just as he has been tasked to do, Oscar urges her to marry his client in order to rid herself of a large debt. Rosa reveals her true identity and censures Oscar for his inconstancy, but forgives him. They marry and become heirs of Tan Roman.

Juanita Cruz (1965)

Juanita loves Ely even though he is just a poor man’s son, and she, a scion of a rich family. She refuses her many rich suitors and vows never to marry unless it is to Ely, thus incurring the ire of her parents. Ely’s only option to better his future is to go to Spain to train as a singer. The day before he is to leave, the sweethearts meet in Juanita’s garden. They are caught kissing by Juanita’s father. Her parents believe Juanita to have been disgraced and promptly disinherit her and treat her like a stranger in the house. Hurt by all this, Juanita stows away to Manila where she assumes a different name. She is adopted by a kind and very rich couple, becoming the heiress of their vast wealth upon their death. She meets Ely again, who by this time is a world renowned singer. Juanita recognizes him, but Ely does not recognize her, believing Juanita to be dead. He falls in love with her and courts her. Juanita reveals her identity in the end and they marry. As soon as the revolution starts, the couple leaves for Cavite, where Juanita establishes the headquarters and a hospital in her landholding. Ely dies in the war and Juanita is left behind

There are similarities in the female protagonists’ situation. In the three novels the female protagonists begin their entry into society by following the norms set for well-off young women of their period: They go to a school run by nuns; they learn the social graces like dressing properly and playing some musical instrument (usually, the piano) and the tasks that are expected of women to prepare them to be homemakers (like sewing and embroidery). They are honest (wala sang limbong), humble (wala sang bugal), sweet (malulo), obedient to their elders (masunuron), modest (maugdang), and pure or chaste (putli). As young women they are cared for and assiduously guarded, not allowed to go in the streets without a chaperone. That is why they become interns in the school run by nuns as soon as they show signs of physical maturity.

Love consumes the female protagonists. It is a treasure that they value more than material wealth. “Ang gugma isa ka butang nga dili mabayaran sang pilak,” (Love is something that cn’t be bought.) says Rosa in Dalaga sa Tiendahan. Love spans the great divide between the rich and the poor. As Juanita Cruz says: Bisan isa ka princesa nagapanaug sa iya palasyo kag manultol sang payag sang iya hinigugma” (Even a princess would step down from her palace to find her way to the hut of her beloved.) (29). But they live in authoritarian times. In Bantay sang Patyo and Juanita Cruz, the narrators lament that the period they live in is a period where parents rule the hearts of their children. As Juanita Cruz remonstrates, “Panahon ini nga ang katarungan sang tagipusuon ginapigos sang gahum sang ginikanan sa pagsunod sang ila luyag…ina nga tagipusuon wala sang kahilwayan sa paggahum sang kaugalingon nga balatyagon” (This is a time when the heart is dominated by parents who impose their will… that heart has no authority over her/his own feelings) (65).

The women protagonists in the three novels are obedient to their parents, except where love is concerned. When their parents force them to marry some rich man’s son, they staunchly refuse. Rosa claims: “wala (ako) nagahigugma sa manggad kay ang matuod nga gugma ang akon ginapangita…. Dili bala matam-is ang magpuyu sa kaimulon bagay nga yara ako sa luyo sang isa ka bana nga nagahigugma sa akon kag ginahigugma ko man sang matuod?” (I’ve no desire for material wealth, for I seek true love…. Isn’t it sweeter to live with a husband who loves me and whom I truly love?) (33) Juanita Cruz  resolves: “itugot ko nga mapatay sa luyo sang kaimulon sangsa magpuyo sa tunga sang manggad nga subong sang nakibon ako nga buhi sa sulod sang isa ka lulubngan nga nahuman sa bulawan kag pilak,” (I would rather die in poverty than to live in the midst of wealth like one trapped alive in a tomb made of gold and silver)  (60). Maria in Bantay sang Patyo says: “Pabayai nga mamatay ako anay sa wala pa ako mahulog sa mga kamot sang iban nga tawo” (Let me die first before I fall into the hands of other men) (54). All three are willing to be old maids if they cannot marry their beloved; all three are threatened with disinheritance for their disobedience, and all three are willing to die for love.

For the three protagonists, love is to die for. But in the context of the norms of their period, love can only be had if there is honor, and a woman’s honor is derived from her purity/chastity. A woman who is pure is “kasubong sang maamyon  nga bulak nga natago sa salaming kag indi mahapunan sang alibangbang kay ginaamligan sang tag-iya nga nagabantay” (like a sweet-scented flower that no butterfly can perch on because carefully guarded) (Bantay sang Patyo 23). In Bantay sa Patyo, Leonor, Jacinto’s would-be bride in Camarines, has already lost her purity because she once eloped with a married man and returned to their town two days later. Despite the unconventionality of proposing marriage to Jacinto, it is all she can do to secure a husband for herself. But Jacinto overhears two young men saying of Leonor: “Sin-o pa abi ang maluyag sa iya? Bisan putson pa si Leonor sang brilyante…” (Who will desire her? No matter if Leonor were enveloped in diamonds), and “Amo ina ang balus sa mga babaye nga wala nagahalong sang ila kadungganan” (This is what befalls a woman who does not take care of her honor) (114). Overhearing this little exchange, Jacinto claims: “ang mga masiga nga brilyante nga daw mga bituon nga nagabalanaag sa iya lawas, sa panan-aw ko naglubog kag nakabig nga subong na lamang sang mga tingga” (the bright diamonds that sparkled like stars on her body seemed to me like lead) (114). Hence Jacinto drops Leonor right off and returns home to Maria. In Dalaga sa Tiendahan, Oscar wants to find out if Rosa Oliva, the sweetheart he does not recognize, is chaste before he declares his love. Juanita Cruz in the third story is disinherited by her parents on suspicion of impurity. These women have to value their honor, for within the cultural framework of their period there can be no love for a woman without honor. A woman’s honor is paramount. In fact, a man who seeks to smear a woman’s honor through rape deserves to die. In Ang Dalaga sa Tiendahan, Rosa’s rich but abusive suitor Carlos is shot to death by the brother of a woman he attempts to rape. Tan Roman has this to say about the incident: “Nasandig sa katarungan ang magpatay sa tao nga buot magdagta sang dungug sang isa ka babae, kay ang dungug sang sini, mahal kaayo kon ipaangay sa isa ka kabuhi nga mahigko kag talamayon” (It is rightful to kill a man who attempts to smear a woman’s honor, for this honor is more valuable compared with a life that is filthy and contemptible) (108).

A woman who values her honor will never agree to elope with her loved one. In Bantay sa Patyo, when Jacinto proposes an elopement, Maria is shocked and exclaims: “Dios ko! Wala ka bala magpahayag nga labi sa akon kaayuayo ginahigugma mo pa gid ang akon kaugdang? Wala mo bala ako igpaangay sa isa ka maputi nga bulak nga puno sing kaamyon, putli kag walay diutay nga dagta? Dumduma yadtong imo ginpulong kag kon matuod nga ginahigugma mo ang akon pagkaputli, isikway ina nga hunahuna kay batok sa pagkaputli nga imo ginahigugma” (My God! Haven’t you told me that you love my modesty more than my beauty? Haven’t you compared me to a white flower, fragrant, pure, and unblemished? Do remember your words, and if you truly love my purity, cast that thought aside for it runs counter to the purity that you so love) (66). When Ely writes Juanita Cruz suggesting an elopement, Juanita exclaims: “Ang paghigugma ko kay Ely may kataas nga dili matungkad sang kalangitan kag may kadakuon sang nagalibot nga kalibutan, apang sa pagtuga sing pagpakahuya sa akon kaugalingon … pasulabihon ko nga manginmatay sang sa maglayas upod sa isa ka kahagugma nga wala na sing nabilin nga dungog sa akon pagkababaye!” (My love for Ely is higher than the heavens and bigger than the revolving world, but to act in a manner that would bring me shame … I would rather kill myself than elope with my sweetheart which would leave my womanhood bereft of honor) (102) Juanita promptly writes back to Ely: “Sa pag-ugyon ko sa imo, matuga sang dako nga kahuluy-anan sa akon pagkababaye, kahuluy-anan nga mangin palanublion sang babaye nga aton kaanakan” (By assenting I would cause a great dishonor to my womanhood, a dishonor that our daughters will inherit) (103). An elopement suggests that sex or cohabitation precedes marriage, a taboo observed in the Spanish colonial period and during Jalandoni’s time, requiring that sex should come only with marriage, and marriage is a social contract, not a secret contract. Elopement is a transgressive act by which a woman brings down shame or dishonor upon herself. It is also important to note that elopement taints a woman’s honor but not her male partner’s, and that, as Juanita remarks, this shame is handed down to her daughters, and impliedly, not to her sons.

More than the fear of tainting their honor, the two protagonists’ refusal to elope stems from their great respect for their parents who will be the first to be dishonored in the community because they are the ones who remain after their daughters leave. A woman can disobey her parents’ order to marry a man she does not love. A daughter’s disobedience is something that can be kept within the family circle. But when a daughter elopes with a man, the matter becomes a public shame. In the eyes of the community they fail as parents. Elopement is a daughter’s betrayal (pagtiplang) of her parents, an utter lack of respect. This idea is substantiated by the words of the two female protagonists. Juanita acknowledges that eloping with Ely is a form of “pagtiplang sa mga ginikanan nga naghatag sa akon sing kabuhi” (betrayal to my parents who gave me life) (102). Maria concedes: “Dili ako makabatas magtiplang sa isa ka babaye nga akon ginapakailoy” (I cannot bear to betray the woman whom I regard as my parent) (67). Respect for parents is a value that a daughter has to observe as postulated by the Church.

In two novels—Juanita Cruz and Ang Dalaga sa Tiendahan—the female protagonists, after a short period of time, are not recognized by their sweethearts. Oscar does not recognize Rosa Oliver because she has changed her name to Rosa Oliva, she wears a mole on her face, and she seems taller. Ely does not recognize Juanita Cruz because she has changed her name to Celia de Asis, and she seems taller. It is significant that when the female protagonists achieve their freedom from the authoritarian rule of their elders, they change their names and appear taller. The two female protagonists’ assumed names are the names they choose freely, names which suggest their “chosen identity”. The change of name repudiates the traditional, cultural and legal practice of taking on the father’s family name before a woman marries and the husband’s family name when she marries. It points to these women’s sense of agency, or the capacity to exert power over their own lives; thus, they appear taller metaphorically.

In her book The Feminine Mystique (1963) Betty Friedan argues that women have to work outside the home or become educated in order to escape what she calls ‘the problem that has no name’, or women’s dissatisfaction with traditional women’s social roles (Cole 215). Juanita and Rosa leave their homes and find true freedom to be themselves, a freedom they enjoy. Rosa declares: “Wala ako sang handum sa pagbana kay matawhay gani ang pangabuhi nga isaisa lamang” (I have no wish to marry because there is tranquility in the life of a single person) (109). Juanita narrates: “Sa sining mga inadlaw nga nanginhilway ako subong sang isa ka pispis nga walay sin-o nga makahilabot sang iya paglupad sa … kahawaan, ginhatagan ko man sing kaayawan ang tanan ko nga handum…” (These days when I was free like a bird restrained by no one in its flight, I indulged all my cravings) (192). Away from home Rosa learns to earn a living; Juanita inherits vast wealth by her own merits. A woman’s wealth is owned by her parents if she is not married; if she is married her wealth is at the disposal of her husband. But when Juanita and Ely are reunited, Juanita announces: “Mapakasal kita kag sa tapus ang aton kasal mangin imo ang kahigayunan sa pagpanag-iya kag pagbuot sang minilyon nga manggad… nga binilin sa akon. Panag-iyahi ini tanan kay ako magatindug sa idalum sang imo pagbuot nga busog sa pag-angkon sang imo gugma kag pagpalangga” (Let’s marry and after the wedding you’ll have the opportunity to own and rule over the vast wealth… that has been left to me. You can own it all and I’ll be subject to your will, content just to possess your love and affection) (236). Refusing to let wealth come in the way of love once again, Juanita chooses to marry Ely. Similarly, Rosa gives up her new-found freedom and chooses to marry Oscar. Indeed, the novels do present female subjectivity interpellated by the patriarchal ideology of the Spanish Colonial Period, an ideology that stipulates marriage as woman’s destiny. But the novels also suggest the idea that marriage is a free choice made by the woman only on the basis of love. Without love there can be no marriage. But without love and marriage another choice is open to a woman: freedom to live alone, which offers its own joys and respectability.

Juanita’s sense of agency is demonstrated further by her decision to join the revolution, doing her share as a woman in the struggle for liberation. She spends her wealth to finance the revolution, using her land to put up a headquarters and a hospital for the revolutionaries, she herself taking a hand in nursing the wounded. The eponymous character in Juanita Cruz is one of the first, if not the first, in Hiligaynon literature to essay a role comparable to the highly commended role of Florence Nightingale. Juanita is not the stereotypical Filipino woman as daughter or wife, but is, on her own, capable of building the infrastructure needed to support the revolution. It must be noted, however, that Juanita’s stepping out of her gender role is compatible with the Christian teaching: love for others. This is how Juanita negotiates her subject position as woman of her class constrained by the cultural and religious values of the Spanish Colonial Period. Rosa, on the other hand, does not join the revolution, but she takes a big step by going with the mother of her sweetheart, Tiya Bilay, who is turned away from the employ of Rosa’s foster father. Rosa becomes the Filipina equivalent of the biblical Ruth: faithful (mainunungon). Rosa tells Tiya Bilay: “Kon mamatay ikaw, mamatay man ako, kay inang kalisud nga ginahibian mo, ginahibian ko man” (If you should die, I, too, shall die, for that which you mourn I also mourn) (53). When Tiya Bilay becomes an invalid Rosa nurses her and sells fruits in the market in order to support herself and the sick woman. Such loyalty and dedication, comparable to that of Ruth to Naomi, then receives the sanction of Christian teaching.

Unlike Juanita and Rosa, Maria in Bantay sa Patyo is not able to step out of the confines of her gender role. We have to note that the narrator in this novel is a man. Among the three novels, it is Bantay sa Patyo that makes woman’s virtues of love and purity the central focus of the story; it is not incidental that the female protagonist is named Maria. Jacinto delights in Maria’s purity, in her great love for him, and in her constancy. In one scene during Holy Week Jacinto observes the virginal Maria in a black veil, kneeling before the altar, crying. He knows that her sorrow is because of him and he delights in it (64). In this tableau we see the apparent comparison between his sweetheart Maria and the biblical Maria who is the Mother of Sorrows. This is the role that the male narrator assigns to woman: woman’s rightful place is to remain pure and to suffer for love. Interestingly, if we are to use Paul Macherey’s method of reading into what is ‘absent’ or ‘not said’ in the text (Barrettt 10), we become aware of the text’s attempt to undermine the perception of the narrator (read: the controlling point of view) in that the male narrator’s perception is rendered lopsided in the favor of the male. And while Jacinto pedestalizes his sweetheart Maria’s Virginal qualities, Jacinto himself fails in his role as her sweetheart, a failure that causes her death. This novel written by Jalandoni in 1923, one of her early novels, may well fall under what Elaine Showalter calls the Feminist phase in the evolution of female tradition in literature, the phase that dramatizes the ordeals of wronged womanhood (177).

Given how women in the novels are portrayed, how then are they culture bearers?  To what extent do the novels, as part of the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) “reproduce” or perpetuate a system that confines women within the standard norms of behavior of the period?

Jalandoni’s works represent women as moral exemplars, reinforcing the norms of female conduct stipulated by the patriarchal ideology deeply embedded in the teachings of the Catholic Church. We see a hierarchy of values that govern female conduct: First is honoring one’s parents. In the Ten Commandments, honoring one’s parents is the fourth commandment. The second value is chastity or purity, which finds its equivalent in the sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This means that sex outside of marriage is forbidden. The third value is erotic love. Erotic love does not find any equivalent in the Ten Commandments, but it finds consummation only in marriage, a holy sacrament of the Catholic Church. It is also important to note that in the three novels men are exempt from observing this hierarchy of values, thus presenting an unequal gender system.

Hence, we can conclude that these women characters, portraying the roles of moral exemplars, are bearers of cultural values and practices strongly observed in the Spanish Colonial Period and passed on to the period of the author. The novels can be said to perpetuate a system that confines women within the standard norm of behavior of the period when they were written. But these women are culture-bearers, that is, bearers of a conservative ideology, only to a certain extent, inasmuch as they represent “moments” when women articulate themselves—a disturbing or shaking of the patriarchal  hegemony, though not its actual or imaginary substitution. They show that, without violating values of honoring parents, purity, and love, woman can break out of her assigned sphere by leaving her home where she is a non-productive member, earn a living to support herself, and live a life of freedom as a single woman. Obtaining legitimacy from religious teachings, a woman can perform Ruth-like duties, like Rosa does; or in the manner of Florence Nightingale, she can demonstrate her love of country and fellowmen by nursing the wounded-in-battle, as Juanita does. In Jalandoni’s works then, we see how women negotiate their subject positions within a particular cultural formation. These are negotiations and compromises women have to go through if they are to carve out their own identity and find a measure of self-fulfillment in a society that confines their gender to a code of behavior. A woman who fails to negotiate her subject position, like Maria in Ang Bantay sa Patyo, suffers like a sacrificial lamb in the altar of patriarchy.

The novels are set in Spanish period Iloilo; the mores observed by the women characters in the novels are those of that period, and to a large extent, that of the author’s lifetime. But the negotiations and compromises that these women characters make herald the gender position that women of contemporary times—meaning, the period after the novels’ writing—are taking. More and more, the woman of today is becoming aware of her rights as a woman and the equality of the genders. This awareness is manifested in the choices and decisions that she makes. How Jalandoni’s novels have impacted on the generations of women who have read them will need another study though.

In parting, I would like to note how interesting it is that readers who know something of Jalandoni’s life may deduce that these novels are articulations of Jalandoni’s personal acts of negotiation. In A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf argues that writing is based on material conditions. In the past women had restricted access to education, publishers, and distribution of their works. Their lack of access to artistic training caused constraints on their creative work. Social and literary-critical attitudes denigrated women’s writing so that if a woman writer wanted to be published, she had to assume a male pseudonym and temper the over-aggressive or overdefensive tone in her writing. (Barrett 78). We see how Woolf’s idea is illustrated in Jalandoni’s own material circumstances. Jalandoni finished first year high school only (Jalandoni 1973, 56-60). Her mother forbade her to write for it was unseemly for a woman to write, implying that writing was only for men. Jalandoni defied her mother’s order by writing secretly in her room and keeping her works at the bottom of her trunk (61). She chose to remain single for she did not love any of her suitors, and she wanted no man to come between her and her writing (65). In a milieu where male writers lorded over literary production, Jalandoni published her works hiding her identity under pseudonyms that indicated their obvious fictitiousness, e.g., Maja Linda, Rose de Alba (Posecion 36). Considerations of the consumption and reception of her works in a society steeped in patriarchy must have left her with no option but temper the tone of her novels so that they are not perceived as over-aggressive. It can be said that Jalandoni negotiated the material conditions of her artistic production by coming up with novels like Bantay sa Patyo and Juanita Cruz where her women protagonists, too, negotiate their subject position within the cultural framework informed by rules and norms of behavior of the period. Jalandoni, working within the material framework of production and consumption of her time, has sown, through her novels, intimations of the Ilonggo woman’s fracture from gender roles of her period, keeping her more in step with the emancipation of woman from the bind of patriarchy, an emancipation that was beginning to gradually unfold during the author’s lifetime.

(A paper read for the KAPWA Conference, UPV Auditorium, 6/26/08); Published in Danyag, Vol. 13, No. 2, December 2008.

                                LIST OF WORKS CITED

Althusser, Louis. “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses.” In Lenin and Philosophy. London: New Left Books, 1971.

Barrett, Michelle. “Ideology and the Cultural Production of Gender.” In Feminist Criticism and Social Change. New York: 1985

Belsey Catherine. “Constructing the Subject: Deconstructing the Text.” In Feminist Criticism and Social Change. New York, 1985.

Cole, Lorraine. Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories. London: Routledge, 2002. (Reprinted)

Grossberg, Lawrence, Cary  Nelson, and Paula Treichler, eds. Cultural Studies: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 1992.

Jalandoni, Magdalena. Ang Bantay sang Patyo (1923). Typescript. Center for West Visayan Studies, UPV.

Jalandoni, Magdalena. Ang Dalaga sa Tiendahan (1934). Typescript. Center for West Visayan Studies, UPV.

Jalandoni, Magdalena.  Juanita Cruz (1965). Typescript. Center for West Visayan Studies, UPV.

Jalandoni, Magdalena. Ang Matam-is Kong Pagkabata.(1973). Typescript. Center for West Visayan Studies, UPV.

Posecion-Lamzon, Rhodora. “Magdalena Jalandoni’s Vision of Woman in Her Novels.” M.A. Thesis. Xavier University, March 2001.

Showalter, Elaine. “Toward a Feminist Poetics” In Contemporary Literary Criticism: Modernism Through Post-Structuralism. Edited by Robert Con Davies. NewYork: Longman, 1986.

Mga pinili nga balasahun tuhoy sa panulatan sa Hiligaynon kag sa Bisaya Nakatungdan

Ang ini nga listahan sang mga basalahun sa kritisismo, panguna pa gid lamang kag padayon nga magadugang samtang padayon ang paghatag sang mga tag-amot sa koleksyon sang Tambubo Hiligaynon. 

Deriada, Leoncio. "Literature Engineering in West Visayas"