Just Cause for a Kapampangan National Liberation

Maniauad cayung catalaruan, ing panugaling Filipinu? Dapot e yu camalayan na ing anuadan tamu camatayan, ing pangasintang ning quecatamung panga-Kapampangan, ing pamaglau ning quecatamung mal a Indung Tibuan, ing panga-ipus ning quecatamung dai.Nanu ing maguing tamung calma? Maging taung alang caladdua, maguing bangsang alang catimauan, metung a bangsang mapaquiapos? Ing eganagana quecatamu maging dinam, pilalung sala’t capintasan dinam.Anuadan yu ing pamaguing-Filipinu dapot e cayu durucu kng dine nung lilingad da iti quecayu… Dapot dapat samantalanan tamu ing diria at sama da quecatamu ring maqui-upaya. Nio ali ra catamu atanggap-tanggap ausan Filipinu dapot cuanan da catamu pang ausan dugong aso kng peca-arapan tamo? Masanting! Manimuna tamu qng pamibubu ning quecatamung pangasarili! ITICDO TA YA ING ASIAS NING BANGSANG KAPAMPANGAN!Ala lang babie capanayan? Lakuas masanting! Manalig tamu qng quecatamung sarili at qng sarili tamung caguiuan! Liuas kng panaguimpan tamung maging tamu mung dimut a lalauigan, PANAGIMPAN TAMUNG MAGUING TAMUNG METUNG A BANGSA! Palabungan ta ya ing timaua at e maca-alipan a caisipan!Ing pamanupaya e ya pane cayapan. Mitmu ya iting carocan nung ya na ing maguing sangcan ning pangayalipan! Alang manalipan nung alang payalipan!

LUID YA ING CATIMAUAN NING BANGSANG KAPAMPANGAN!

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“You ask for parity of rights, the Filipino way of life, and you do not realize that what you are asking for is death, the destruction of your national identity, the disappearance of your homeland, the ratification of tyranny. What is to become of you? A people without a soul, a nation without freedom; everything in you will be borrowed, even your very defects. You ask for Philippinization and do not blush for shame when it is denied you…What you do is take advantage of the prejudices of our rulers. So they refuse to integrate you to the Filipino ‘nation’ and call you dugong aso to your faces. So much the better! Take the lead in forming your own individuality, TRY TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS OF A KAPAMPAÑGAN NATION. They give you no hopes. All the better! Hope only in yourselves and in your own efforts…Instead of aspiring to be a mere province, ASPIRE TO BE A NATION; develop an independent, not a colonial, mentality…Resignation is not always a virtue; it is a crime when it encourages oppression. There are no tyrants where there are no slaves.”

siuala ding meangubie

Amun ning Kapampangan a Simoun qng Kapampangan a Basilio

meangu qng El Filibusterismo nang Jose Rizal

ING GABUN I YANG DALERÁYAN NING KABIÁYAN

Óbat mó kng báriu, nung ing anak panábi ré ring kayang pengári, basta mágbakal yá sâng súndang, é ya maté iti kng dánup. Bakit mó sâ? Úlîng é né pabustén ning gabún. Ing sablâng kailángan na para kumabié ati ngan kng gabún: ding kuáyan ampóng ílib para panálî nang balé, ding pun ning lúyung ampópang báging bang pangauâ nang pánâ para karéng áyup ampóng labúyû, at ding uákat ampóng balat kuáyan bang pangauâ nang balisásâ kng sápâ a pandakap asan. At úlî ning kilála né ning anak ing gabún, agyû nang mananáman gúle ampóng pále, biása yang manése manuk ampóng bábi at saka nó parakalán déti, at bálû na insang búngang dútung kng kakéuan maliári nang kanan ampópang parakalán.Nung itábî me pin ing kékang anak kng báriu, é ya maté dánup úlîng kilála né ing gabún nang íbatan. At nung makasadiá ya iting libáyan na ing kayang páuas kng bálang búngang babié ning gabún, é yápin súkat dumánup. Nánu pa tâ, mabsî yá mûng mabsî. Ua at manáua yápin bié ing nínu mang Kapampángan a lúlugud kng kayang Indûng Tíbûan. Úlî ning ing kayang mal a Indû at Tíbûan tutû yang mabié at mapamié. Tutû yang lílingap karéng nínu mang sesése kaya.Ó makanánu nóman ding kayanakan kng siúdad at kabalénan, ding ának a búnga ning media at makabáyung edukasiún? Nánu móng maliári karéla nung ipanábî dó ring karélang péngári ngéni?Ing mumúna nang gáuan gísanan nó ngan panialîng gámit at piálungan ding tatalnán nang péra báyu na aísip na sálî yang pámangan. Nung sálî ya man pámangan, púrus chichíria: chippy, icecream ó softdrinks ~ sablâng produktung pátalastas da kng tv. Pótang maránup né at alâ néng péra, pisalî nó ngan pâ ring gámit na bang ápanyalî nó dugûng pámangan ding abli na. Pótang alâ neng bitasâng gámit ampóng péra magpalímus né mû, o kayâ mamanáko, o kayâ mas marók, pisalî né ing kayang katáuan.

Óbat dugû makanian? Óbat ding ának kng siúdad, nung ibúlus mó kng yátu, sálâng maté la kng dánup ó sálâng maging na lá mû dugûng tulisán ó kayâ patútut? Bákit pin mó?

Ing pakibat i yápin iti: Ding supling ning báriu maksalálé ya ing kabiáyan da kng gabun dang tíbûan. Úlîng túbû la kng gabún, malaguâ lang kumabié kng gabún. Nung sésen de ing gabún, sésen na lá mu naman ning gabún. Ding supling na naman ning siúdad makasalálé né mû ing kabiáyan da kétang kapirásung papil a gauâ námû ning táu: ing péra. Nung alâ nóng péra alâ nóng kuénta. Nung alâ nóng péra é nó táu. Makanánu móng ausan táu nung ing bálang singap ning pangisnáua ra kukumpas ning pangimut ning péra. Bagutan mé ing péra at magmistúlâ lang bangké, anti móng piálungan a kélagan mu batiria. É nó mikimut. Muluk na lá mû kng súluk. Maté la kng dánup nung é la magpalimus, mamanáko o magpatútut. Úlîng túbû lang péra, suplîng na na lá mû ning péra. Úlîng ing péra géuâ né mû ning táu bang maging kasangkápan na, ring sablâng táung túbû kng péra kasangkápan lá mû naman.

Nánu ing súkat nang daptan ning táu siúdad bang áyatbus néng pasibáyu ing kayang pángatáu? Kailángan yang múlî kng gabun. Kailángan néng kilalánan iting pasibáyu bílang indû na at tíbûan. Kailángan né iting luguran at lingápan, ipanluálu karéng mangatakbâng mánintúnan a magnásâng manambúnan kayang sementu at basúra at karéng pákalukluk a mánungkúlan a patérakan na mu naman ning péra. Kailángan nang bayáran ing útang na kng Indû nang Tíbûan kapamilatan na ning kayang pámamúlat at pámangísing karing sablâng ának a tútukî mû at pásanggúyud kng bálang sulápo nítang kapirásung papil a lélangan námû ning táu.

Alâng túne Kapampángan a é lulugud kng gabun nang tíbûan. Alâng túne Kapampángan a é ná mu naman luluguran ning kayang indû at tíbûan. Sabáge, nung é me man agiûng básan iti, kabud da naka ausan Kapampángan.

Siuala ding Meangubie
Ding Sísinup kng Singsing
K [The Kapampangan Magazine], November 2004

ING ÁTURÛ NING KÁMARÛ

Kutnan yó reng ának a Kapampángan ngéni nung pilán la karéla réng é pa bitasâng méngan kámarû (Neocurtilla hexadactyla). Pilán nó karéla réng é pa bitasâng menákit kaníti? Daramdaman da némû péro é re pa bitasâng íkit. É támu pansing dápûat kéraklan karing kekatámung kayanakan ngéni é ra né bálû lása ó uángis man ing inséktung pagmaraul dang kakanan ding Kapampángan.Nung lakbayán me ing mabílug a Pilipínas, karing kabalénan na at kabundúkan, karing tríbu na at órtelánu, pansingan yu na mó at nung atin pang áliuâng táu kng mabílug a kapulûan a mámangan kamárô. Atin pa kayâng áliuâng mámangan kaníti liuás karing Kapampángan?É ku pa míras Batanes ampóng Paláuan at éku pa migdatung maluat kng dáne Kailókuan. Dápûat mékapaglibut náku kng Kabikúlan bistâ at kilub námû ning aduâng búlan. Megáral kung migít kng limang banua karin kng Cebu. Mémagbakásiun ku Mindanao kábang magáral ku Cebu at karin ku rin mekapagóbrang aduâng banua. Dápûat ápansíngan ku, bistâ at man ating kámarû kng bálang ásikan da ring lugar kung pintalan, óbat é ra la kakanan déti karin?

Óbat lása ing Kapampángan mû ing búkud mámangan kámarû? Ing balâ ding kéraklan táng kabalén yápin itang póta kanu kéti lá mû ping galáng Kapampángan mayayákit déng kámarû at alâ karéng áliuâng lugar. Sinálâ la reng kabalén támu kng balâ ra úlîng lása at lagánas ya ing kamárû mabílug a Pilipínas dápûat é re pa múrin kanan ding áliuâng Pilipínu iti. Bákit? Métung pa, alâ yang lagiû ini karéla. Bákit? Mágtakâ lá pin déng entomologist kng Talamban Campus ning San Carlos University karin Cebu nung bákit déng Kapampángan atin lang áus kng inséktung ini. Angga ré mûng áusan kng scientific name na, Neocurtilla hexadactyla, úlîng karing álakbayan da nang dáke ning Pilipínas, alâ la man áus ding áliuâng kultúra kng inséktung iti. Ó bákit mó karéng Kapampángan atin ya kábang karéng áliuâng Pilipínu alâ ya?

Ing sangkan yápin ing mikakabaldúgan ya kng kultúra támu ing kamárû bílang pámangan úlî ning mísan sinópan nó ning inséktung iting kumabié ring Kapampángan búsal ning karélang kasakítan.

Dakal na ngéning ébidénsiang magpasiág na kng báyu la pa man dátang ding Kastílâ, maglápo ya ing pópulasiún ning Kapampángan paúlî ning masaplálâng kálam ning ásikan ampóng danuman. Dápûat, sumángid ning kasaplálân, pilálûng ing Kapampángan é na agyung lisian ing paniatang ding sakunâ. Pótang dintang na ing sakunâ at mésirâ na ing púpul, ing tantûng ablas na níti kng maglápo nang pópulasiun ning Kapampángan yápin ing dánup ~ métung a maragul a lakandánup. Kng búsal ning lakandánup, ing malúkâng kámarû mikaulaga ya kng bié na ning Kapampángan a mamamaté kng dánup. Ing kámarû yang tínubus kaya kng tantûng kamatáyan.

Ngára ring mágaral kultúra, báyu né kanan ning táu ing insektu, múna na nóng kanan ding manuk, bábî, áyup at asan a pákapatúlug kaya. Iniâ lása at mabáyat pin uálâ ing méging nang gampâ ning inséktung kámarû kng amlat nang kaligtásan ning táung Kapampángan. Ing kámarû méging yang párti ning kayang kultúra bang é na ákalinguang maliári ya iting pikuánan sustansia. Ing kámarû méging yang párti ning kayang kultúra bang é na ákalinguan na migligtas ya ini kaya. Ing kámarû mikalagiû ya bang áturû né ning Kapampángan ing kabaldúgan na níti kng samantâng atin pang dátang a mas mabáyat a sakunâ karing tutukîng dáî.

Dápûat kalúpa ning ámanuan kung minúna, dakal nó pin karéng tutukî na nang dáî ning Kapampángan ing é pa mékatakam ó ménakit man kng inséktung kamárû. É ra man masabal nung takman dé pa iti ó alî ré. Bákit? Úlîng milaláko ne kabaldúgan karéla. Mumúna, é ra né ákakit ing kámarû úlî ding ásikan dang tutuknangan mipamísan na lang mégauâng mall ampóng subdivision. Kaduâ, é ra na ísipan ing kasirân ning púpul at ing dáratang a dánup bálang atin sakunâ úlîng ákakit dang é naman mámako ing pámangan a ásasalî mu karéng mall. Katlu, makanánu yang mákasáup ngéni ing kámarû kng bié ning bálang métung a Kapampángan nung tiktákan ya kng kakamal iti? Cha dinálan a pésus kng bálang platítu! Nínung Kapampángan ing sálî pa at mangan liuás karing mángulílâng balikbáyan? Asísi mé pa ing kabalén nung paglíbe na né pámûng frenchfries ning MacDo ing kámarû nang mána?

Mákalungkut. Ing sadiang kéka libri dápat mu ngéning bayáran mal bang mú mûng átakman. Ing kabiasnan ding kekatámung pípumpúnan kailángan mu pámûng saliuân karing libru da ring dáyû. Ing sukat amána mu kang ápû mu ó ita nang kakalákal da ngéni karing iskuéla ding mangakuálta.

Nánu námû ing mitágan karing Kapampángan? Anti na karing áliuâ nang dáke ning malagû nang kultúrang mána, ing dimut a kamárû lumbug né múrin kng kamaláyan ning bálang métung a Kapampángan.

Siuala ding Meangubie
Ding Sísinup kng Singsing
K [The Kapampangan Magazine], September 2004

Akilála Me Ing Kapampángan Kng Kayang Pámangan

Tikman yu na ing mekipangan kareng kabalén támung malúkâ at pakakalúlô? Alâ pang menagkat kékayo? Nánung apansíngan mu kng pámangan da? É uárî simpli dápûat maniáman? Maniáman!Kangkung mûng dimut a pénaptas da kng labak igisâ de pámû kng mápilan a pilpuk a báuang a iniáuad dá mû kng síping dang bale, bulugnan de iting mápilan a mangálatîng páro o biâ a kinurienti ra sápâ, atiaka re basbasan kapurit a baguk ampóng dinúnut a lárâ báyu re iyapag kéka. Maglútû la kaníting métung a palangganita, ulam na ne ning mabílug a pamilia. Siempre é mako ken ing sabó pang pakabsî. Retang buntuk da retang páro ampong biâ ibulanglang dóng biabas, baguk ampong mitatagan a kangkung. Panambúlâ mu mû kng marimlang násî milábas naka!Iniang mengalahar támung paka-evacuate kareng center mengapurga támung sardinas kanita. Dápûat, ing dilátang sardinas námû é ta néman kabud mû iyapag at kanang ibat ya daretsu kng láta. Alî té. Mengálap tá pámûng báuang ampóng sibúyas at igisâ te karin. Méngunut táng kulut apaliâng layas a kukuláte kétang bákud da at bílug té mú naman. At nung mekasungkit kang kapáyâng búbut da rétang makibale kilual ning evacuation center…arú kaniáman na mú naman ipamulug níta! At kábang mapálî ya pa at báyung lútû, ibábo me kng marimlang násîng inímû kng asin. Kinabsî tá ken!

Kng pámangan ning Kapampangan, nánung apansing mung ugálî rang aliuâ kareng Pilipinu? Tikman yu ne ing “tinolang isda” ning Cebu? Anti ya móng tinóla uling biluganan deng kalamungge ampong kapáyâ oneng ing asan é ré man kaliskisan, é ré ilako bitúka at é ré ilako ásang. Ére pa dinan láya iniâ tiktákan ya kng lanam. Matábang ya pa úling é re dinan asin úling kasi kanu ibat né kng dáyatmálat ing asan.

Alâng Kapampángan ing mangan kng “tinolang isda” ning Cebu, agyáng pakákalúlû né at malúkâ. Para kaya kanyó ita at é na pámangan táu. Ing maralas kung daramdaman kareng pakakalúlû támu yapin ini: É burîng sabian pakákalúlû ku mû é naku táu. É úlî móng kalúlû ku é náku mándílô, é náku maliáring miblas at mámangan náku mûng kanyó?

Ini ing pamialiuâ ding Kapampángan karéng áliuâng Pilipíno: Ing Kapampángan é mámangan báng mû kng kumabsî yá. Ing Kapampángan mámangan ya báng kaniamánan ya.

É na kanan ning Kapampángan ing “tinolang isda” ning Cebu, agiáng mángalúlû né, alî úlî ning mayárti ya. É na kanan ning Kapampángan ita úlî ning mátas ya panlása. Burî nang sabian, é sapat kng métung a Kapampángan ing kabud yá mabibié, úlîng ing bábî mabibié yá naman ampong mámangan kilub ning kural. Dápûat ing kutang: Nánung klásing bié ita? Anti ning bábî, ing táu uárî kabud némû mangan ampong magpakabsê?

Nung atin tá man áyaninag kng ugálî támung Kapampángan kapamilatan ning kékatámung pámangan, iya pin iti: Ing panlása támu yang tandâ ning kékatámung pángatáu. Ing panlása támung Kapampangan yang súkat paibábo kékatámu búsal ding sablâng Pilipínu.

Siuala ding Meangubie
Ding Sísinup kng Singsing
K [The Kapampangan Magazine], July 2004

ING GABUN YANG INDÛ, ING GABUN YANG TÚRÛ.

Nung piuángis me ing táu kareng sablâng lásip ó animális a mabibié kng balat ning yátu, balâ mu mó ing táu yang pékamainâng díli karéla ngan. Kasi ing táu mibait yang bulag, mainâ at lubas. Maté ya nung alâyu kng síping na ing kayang indû. Nung mibaít ya mó ing táu kng búsal ning kagubátan, anti mu nóng pigtaû ding sablângganid a lásip a makapatúlug karin.Pansingan mu né pin man ing táò: É ya míbaít makikatat a balbúlin iniâ é maliáring kumabié lubas kng marimla. É ya míbaít makibalútî anti na ring páro ampong éma iniâ é nó ásanggalangan deng két ding ásu ampong yamuk. É ya míbaít makisagú iniâ é na nalá mû kabud ápandalusúng ding kayang kasalang. É ya míbaít maki-ásang iniâ é makapangisnáua lálam danum. É ya míbaít makibagyus iniâ é mákasulápo. É ya mabilis pulandit anti reting usa. É na lá rin kasing síkan déting damúlag.

Nung makanian ya kainâ kng natural ing táu óbat i ya mó ing mángibábo karing sablâng lásip a mabibié kng balat ning yátu? Mángibábo ya ing táu úlîng míbaít yang makiupáyâng mabiása. Mébiása yang kumabié kng gabun úling ing gabun i ya ing tínurû kaya. É ya méte bistâ at man natural yang mainâ úlîng ing gabun i ya ing sinése kaya. Ing gabun i ya ing kayang indû. Ing gabun i ya ing kayang talaturû. Ing aús támu kng kabiasnan ning táung bumié kng kayang Gabun a Tíbûan i yá pin ing kultúra.

Úlî ning kultúra, ing táu mebiása yang misúlud imálan bang é né kíkingking patié marimla. Úlî ning kultúra, ing táu mebiása yang manábal kulungbu bang é ne mángaket yamuk. Úlî ning kultúra, ing táu mebiása yang manálîng balé bang é na na pigáganakan ing uran, ing pálî at pati na ring ganid a lásip. Úlî ning kultúra, ing táu é né dumánup nung é nó ápakiraígan pulandit ding usa úlî ning biása néng mamánâ. Úlî ning kultúra, ing táu é né dumánup nung é nó ásisíran lálam danum ding asan úlî ning biása néng mamukatut ampong mamaduas. Úlî ning kultúra, ing táu é né dumánup patié é la makapanaún ding búnga kng kakéuan úlî ning biása néng tánam pále ampong mamúngan tanáman.

Ing kultúra i yápin ing búnga ning maluat nang pámangilála ning táu kng kayang Gabun a Tíbûan. Kng pámangilála karin ya túné mabibiása. Nung ding áliuâng lásip atin lang pakpak, sagu, balútí ó katat a balbúlin bang kumabié la kéti yátu, ing táu naman atin yang kultúra. Ing kultúra i ya ing sangkan nung bakit ing táu i yang mangibábo karing sablâng lásip bistâ at man míbaít yang natural kng kaínâ. Ing kultúra i ya ing sangkan nung bakit ing táu, táu ya.

Nánu pa tâ, nung ilakó mé ing kultúra ning táu anti mu né rin léko pangisnáua kéti yátu. Ing táung alâng kultúra táu é ya táu. É ya súkat mabibié kéti yátu. Mengári ya móng bólang a lálakad pákabálut katat a balbúlin lálam ning mapálîng aldó kéti Kapampángan. Nung é ne ilukas ita, nú ya anti kaluat bié makabilad kng aldó a mapálî? Mengári yá rin kng makasúlud mû kabud pinang kng marimla at mágyélung labuad. Pinandit mû mángaskad né at maláus nang méte.

Ing pamísip, pangimut at panugálí i ya ing daleráyan ning táu kng kayang pamibiébié. Dápot ing kultúra ya ing pékadaleráyan ding kayang pamísip, pangimut at panugálí. Iti i ya ing búnga ning maluat nang pámangilála kng kayang Gabun a Íbatan. Ing kultúra i ya ing súkat ning táung biása. Mebiása ya úlî ning kayang gabun a indû at talaturû. Nung sésen mé ing Gabun mung Tíbûan sésen naka rin anting supling nang líguran. Máyap yang túrû karing nínumang bísâng mabiása. Ing Gabun tang Tîbûan i ya ing pékadaleráyan na ning kekatámung pángatáu ~ ning kekatámung pánga-Kapampángan.

Ing Gabun támung Tíbûan é yá mû kabud pibandîan, liuas kaníti, é mé iti súkat ábandî. Úî ning tutû yang mabié, lúlugud at mánamdáman mû naman. Intâ atin na uárîng supling a sélî ne ing saríli nang indû? Nung makanian, atin ná mû rin kayâng anak a pémisalî né ing saríli nang imâ? Nínung malugud a supling a pábustén nang libakan dé at pasimbalangan ing Indû nang Tíbûan?

Ngéning yarî na ing eleksiun, pansingan tá na la mó nung déting kékatámung mánungkúlan nung mangáyap nóng supling ning Indû táng Tíbûan. Nung bólang nó na naman dugû reng pákalukluk, nínung súkat táng sangkánan? Ing táung bólang, ngára pin, maglayúnan ya mû kng kalúpa nang bólang. Anti na rin kng eleksiun, ing táung bólang i yá mûng mamótu kng kalúpa nang bólang. Nung ding pákalukluk páuâ nó nanaman dugûng makmak, ing burî nang sabian níta dakal nó rugûng tutû kéti réng bólang. Signus:

Nung paráparéu na lá rugûng bólang ding mémalén ampong mánungkúlan, nú némû kayâ anti luat bié ing Indû táng Kapampángan?

Siuala ding Meangubie

Ding Sísinup kng Singsing

K [The Kapampangan Magazine], June 2004

Nínumang Manákit Kng Singsing Kung Mána, Kalúlûng Púsû Ku Iyang Ibótu Na!

Nu ya ing pandúgang ning parúgang nung alî mû kng alâ ya – nung alî mû ketang makapabúsal nang síuang a susuglungan ding ráyus na? Makanánu yang maging bóti ing bóti, o tása ing tása, o kúran ing kúran nung alî mû kng alâ ya – kétang dáke nang alâng laman? Insánu ing masilbi kng bale? Ding dalég? Ding asias? Ing bubúngan? O ing alâ ya – ding bakanti nang espasiu anti ning silid, áuang ampóng pasbul?Nung pansingan tá ne man ing tau, insánu tagana ing magpakimut kaya? Ing kayang gámat? Ding kayang bités? Ing kayang útak? Ing kayang pusô? O ing alâ ya – ing dáke nang é mu akákit o atatalan anti ning kayang kaisípan, kapanamdáman, kabiasnan, lugud, sintâ, ampóng lálû na ing kayang kaladua?

Dápot makanánu méng árakap ing alâ ya nung alî mû kng singsing? Karéng pantas ding táu Yurópa at Amérika, ing singsing yang simbulu ning kalambayan ulî ning alâ ya kanu iting kamumulân at kayanggánan.

Dápot ngara naman ding kekatámung pantas, mabábo lâ mûng mísip ding Amerikánu at táu Yurópa ulîng ing akákit dá ing material námû ning singsing. Kekatámung Kapampángan, ing singsing yang simbulu na ning kalambayan ulîng ing kalambayan yang makapalúlan karin!

Nánu pa tâ, ing alâ a ati kng singsing maglambayan ya ulî ning alâ ya mismung kamumulân at kayanggánan ing alâ. Nánu pa tâ, kekatámung Kapampángan, ing alâ atiu ya ulî ning singsing. Iniâ ing áus tá kng kaladua ning Kapampángan Aláya at ing basultûng Atin ku pûng Singsing yang makabaldûgan díling kanta kekatámung Kapampángan.

Ing Aláya yang túne magpakimut kng Kapampángan. Ing Aláya yang mamié kabaldúgan kng kekatámung pánga-Kapampángan. Ing Aláya iya mu rin ing áusan támung kultúra.

Dápat ding kekatámung manungkúlan keti Kapampángan íla ring manimúnang sesése at gágambul kng kekatámung kultúra. Dápat ding kekatámung manungkúlan keti Kapampángan íla ring sisînup kng kekatámung singsing. Dápat ding kekatámung manungkúlan keti Kapampángan íla ring kátiuálâ ning Aláya. Dápat ding kekatámung manungkúlan keti Kapampángan túne la ping Kapampángan a lúlugud kng karélang panga-Kapampángan. Nung aliuâ ilang manimúna sasála la kng karélang gampâ at katungkúlan. Nung sinálâ la dapat lang miparúsan. Nung aliuâ ilang manimúna lininlang dakatámung Kapampangan. Nung aliuâ íla ring manimúna alâ lang kuenta!

Iniâ ngéning dáratang a eleksiun pakapansingan támu nung nînu kareng tátagal ngéni ding magmasabal kng kekatámung kultúra. Mangapampángan la kng karélang pamangampania? Kayábe ya ing panyúlung ning kultúra kágum ding sablâ rang pángakûng panyúlong? Kaluguran dé ing karélang pángatáu bilang Kapampángan? Nung alî at alâ bitasâ karéla ing ating malíno a plataporma kng panyúlung ning kultúra, alâ lang bitasang matúlid magnásâng manungkúlan kéti Kapampángan! Ing dápat karéla itábi tá na la! Nánu pa mó ing burî dang gáuan ding lamaran a ren kéti Kapampángan nung alíuâ itang gísanan dakatá malinamnam?

Aiti ing métung a malaguâng súkat: Nung ikang tátagal katungkúlan keti Kapampángan é me apanikuânang básân iti, alâ kang matúlid magnásâng manungkúlan kéti! Nung ikayung bobótu é ye apanikuânang básân iti, é nako bobótu ulîng é makakáyap kng Indû táng Kapampángan ing kekayung pányaptan!

É nakó masias a buntuk! Kasimplian námû namang pakiyintindian: Ing manimúna kareng Kapampángan dápat túne yang Kapampángan!

Siuala ding Meangubie
Ding Sísinup kng Singsing
K [The Kapampangan Magazine], May 2004

Kapampangan Spirituality

Nû: The Universal Force

Before the coming of the Spaniards, Kapampangans believed in a Universal force known as Nû. This force permeates and sustains all beings. It is generated by them yet at the same time is independent of them. It is immanent and yet transcendent.Ancient life and society has evolved through an intimate relationship with this force. We used to call our gods and ancestral spirits nunû, meaning “micro force”, and the founders of communities as punû, meaning “source of nû“. The elderly were particularly respected in ancient Kapampangan society simply because they were commencing gods; they were about to become one with Nû and thus become nunû.

The nunû were not the duendes that the Spaniards made us believe. The nunû were our fathers and mothers, our grandparents and great grandparents who have gone ahead to become one with the force and thus become gods. Ancient graves were placed on the western part of the rice field known as minangun. There, their tombs or pungsû were in the shape of small mountains, a replica of the sacred mountain of Alaya. Nowadays, termite  mounds are mistaken for pungsû are avoided and feared as to the dwelling place of the duende.

HAVING A TWIN SOUL

Death is the ultimate departure towards a union with this Universal force. Kapampangans believed in the idea of having a kaladua or a twin soul: One kalâ being his personal soul or lagyû, the other being his nû, the soul of the universe that lives through the land of his birth, his Indûng Tibuan, that sustains him in life and returns to earth at the hour of death.Remember how our elders used to scold us when we do not eat our supper, how our kaladua would mangalug ya kng cusinâ at night because it is hungry? The ancients believed that man has the ability to either consciously or unconsciously detach his other soul. They believe that it could travel to distant lands during sleep, or that it has the power to take the form of a gray butterfly known as kambubulag to seek help from friends and relatives when one is gravely ill or near death. Others believe in the power of the mangkukusim, ancient psychics who were known to have the power to send their souls to the houses of their enemies and do them harm.

The concept of kaladua would also explain the violent nationalism of the ancient Kapampangans. For them, man and his Indûng Tibuan, the land of his birth, are one and the same. Their souls are linked together intimately. They are twins. They are kaladua. Without the other, man dies a bitter death ‑ the death of a foreigner in his own native land.

THE CULT OF RESPECT
Although death maybe the ultimate way to become a god, the ancients believed in humans who are more or less godlike, those who are nuan, “those who are overflowing with nû“. Kapampangans then believed that man is more or less nuan and must be respected accordingly. Aside from the elderly, those considered nuan by the ancients were the bayanî (warrior) who never lost a battle, the upright dátû, the powerful katulunan (seers) and mamalian (mediums), and members of the mapiâ or ancient nobility.

The way to show one’s respect is often through pamanyiklaud. This is done by kneeling on the ground and then pressing the kanuan, the forehead which is “the seat of nû“, on the pigalanggalangan or wrist of the one being offered respect. One’s rank is often times reflected by the galang or wristband one wears. If the one being respected is at a certain distance physically or in rank, one’s kanuan is pressed on the ground instead of the person’s wrist.

Fray Juan de Plasencia, a Spanish priest observing the legal practices of the ancient Kapampangans at the beginning of the Spanish era, was quite intrigued at why the ancient ones treated insult as the worst possible crime ever, and why it was often times repaid with death. If he took the time to understand the concept of nû, he would have understood that discourtesy then was not a mere question of forgetting one’s manners but was rather a question of sacrilege.

KAPAMPANGANISM VS CHRISTIANITY
Religion is cultural. Culture is a collective expression of man’s ongoing relationship with his environment. When a religion is introduced, it naturally brings with it the culture from whence it came. There is no religion that could be totally abstracted from the culture it sprang from.

Christianity, which ultimately has its roots in Judaism, is a religion born of the desert. In the desert, the earth is death. Nothing grows from it but vipers and scorpions. So for the desert culture, the earth is evil. The intolerant desert soil would also account for the intolerant attitude of most desert cultures as expressed in their religions. In the desert, total and almost blind obedience to the head of the community is a matter of life and death, for he alone knows the trail to all the oases. To disobey is to be driven out into the harsh wilderness. Much like being excommunicated or being sent to hell. To stray away from the path is to end up dead in the hot desert sands.

Life in the desert comes in the form of rain. For the desert people, good could only come from the heavens. If there is a god, then god must come from heaven. The heaven sends thunder and lightning. The heaven rumbles like a man. So god for the desert people must be male. For them, god is a father in heaven, for like a father, he too remains distant from his children even though he provides for them.

The environment of Indûng Kapampangan are in total contrast to the desert environment. Naturally, the culture and belief system of the people here is in total contrast with the culture and religions born of the desert.

For the ancient Kapampangans, the earth is rich. The richness of the Kapampangan soil accounts for the tolerant attitude of the Kapampangans and their culture. The earth is the source of all goodness. Life came from the soil. Life returns to the soil. Because the soil is good, then god must come from the soil. And because the soil nurtures and embraces all life, god must therefore be female. For the ancient Kapampangans, God is our Mother on Earth, Our beloved Indûng Tibuan.

Imagine how the world of our ancestors was turned upside down when Christianity was forced upon them. Imagine the mental, cultural and spiritual anguish they experienced as the words of a totally alien god were rammed down their senses.

Although they would not and could not admit it, Kapampangan Christians today still experience this same mental, spiritual, and cultural anguish. The state of their Christianity remains only in the mind. Deep down inside of them, their kaladua still struggles on to free itself from this totally alien and demanding god.

BORN OF THE GODS
The Kapampangan genesis knows no creation. All life sprang from the gods. All life is related. Oral history tells us that the first Kapampangan, Munag Sumalâ, The Dawn, was born of the union between the Sun God Bápû Arîng Sinukuan and our Earth Mother, the huge crocodile god of the great river, Indûng Tibuan.

So great was the veneration of the ancients for Munag Sumalâ that the early missionaries decided to Christianise her and call her Maria so as to win more souls over to the new religion. Using her father’s name as her surname, the Spaniards reintroduced Bápûng Munag Sumalâ as Mariang Sinukuan. The image of her son Bápûng Tálâ, the god who saved Kapampangans from the floods by teaching them how to plant rice, was used in analogy to the giving of communion by the priests.

Yet the question remains as thus: If all Kapampangans then were sons and daughters of the gods and therefore gods themselves, why should they chose to become Christians and be demoted to mere creations of one god?

Siuálâ ding Meángûbié
Meantime: June 1999

A Perversion of Ethnic Identity

Their question was: Óbat alâ nang Poéta Laureádung Kapampángan? “Why aren’t there anymore Kapampangan Poet Laureates?”I counter with another question: Nínu pa uárîng Kapampángan ing kukudtâ kng saríli nang salítâ? “What Kapampangan still writes poetry in his own language?”

Or if I should put it more bluntly, my question would be: Atin pa uáring Kapampángan a biásing sumúlat ampong mamásâ kng Amánu nang Sísuan? “Are there still Kapampangans who can still read and write in their own native language?”

The sad truth is, there are no new Kapampángan Poet Laureates because for the past thirty years the Kapampángan people have become illiterate in their own language. The younger generation hardly even speak it. The Kapampángan language is not taught in schools within his own homeland.

The Kapampangan ethno-linguistic group is probably the most culturally self-repressed of all lowland Philippine groups. What ethnic group in Philippines, and the world for that matter, would be slapped with a fine every time their language is spoken within the learning institutions of their homeland? Kapampangan students pay up to PHP 5.00 every time they speak Kapampangan in schools…

What ethnic group would put up a sign in his radio station that reads “No Smoking! No Kapampangan!”?

What ethnic group would consider his own language non-intellectual, unsophisticated and uncultured and therefore unfit to be used in the classroom or in the workplace?

What married couple, both Kapampángan speakers, would raise a child that speaks a language different from his own parents’?

The list of aberrations is endless. How would one expect the new crop of Kapampángans, non-proficient and illiterate as they are in their own language, to suddenly produce from among themselves a literary master in the Amánung Sísuan?

Sadly, the list of aberrations is indeed never ending. For their solution to the question as to why there aren’t anymore Poet Laureates in the Amánung Sísuan is, “Let us have a poetry contest and crown the winner Poéta Laureádo!”

Let us not discuss their authority to crown a Poet Laureate. Let us not even talk about the criteria that make a Poet Laureate. Let us discuss instead the logic of their answer. If the reason for not having any new literary masters in the Kapampángan language is that the Kapampángan people now are illiterate in it, and that they are illiterate in it because they are cultural repression reign supreme in their homeland, then, what good would a damn poetry contest do to solve this problem? I guess that abominable sign “No Smoking! No Kapampangan!” will be there to stay for all eternity.

Siuala ding Meangubie
Ligligan para karing Poeta at Deklamador king Amanung Sisuan
K [The Kapampangan Magazine], June 2004

Bapûng Indû, Gabun ming Tíbuan

Bapûng Indû, Gabun ming Tíbuan,
Ing sablâng bié quécayu ngan pû sísibul;
Ing sablâng bié quécayu ngan pû múmulî.
Caring uyat yu pûng ilug,
Mámagus pû ing mal yung dáyâ,
Ing danum ming mayúmu;
Inuman ding sablang bié;
Ding pun à mámunga at babié pangisnaua.Icayu pû ó mal ming Indû,
Ing tuné lílingap at sísiuâ quécami.
Nió caulan yu kami pû sânang matálic,
Qng panaún ning bagiú ampong ligalig.
Qng dulum ning cabéngian,
Pagtumailâ yu cami pû sâna.

Indû mi pûng mal, Gabun ming Tíbuan,
Pasúsuan yu cami pû qng mitmûng lugud quécayu.
Alî yu pû sâ pábusteang mapatlud ing yamut mi pû quécayu.
Bang manatili cami pûng tapát;
Sísinup qng mal ming singsing à amána.

Bapûng Indû, Gabun ming Tíbuan,
Malugud yu cami pu sâng tanggapan,
Caras ning aldo à mulî na cami pû quécayu;
Matalic yu cami pû sâng caulan,
Caras ning aldo à mulî na cami pû quecayu.

Siuala ding Meangubie

A BETRAYAL OF HOPE

Clark Airforce Base was the paradox of love and hate in the heart of the Kapampangan Nation. Kapampangans, especially those from Angeles and Mabalacat, loved it because it gave them jobs, goods, cash, and style; But most Kapampangans hated it because it was an abomination.It was an abomination because it was a mighty alien fortress within a host nation that can not defend itself.

It was an abomination because it was a nest of giant cash-wielding, free-spending kabalat kapáyâ foreign monsters who could afford to have a goodtime amidst the widespread suffering and poverty of its short raddish-skinned host.

It was an abomination because it was an infringement of the Kapampangan’s sovereignty: It was a foreign base on Kapampangan soil!

So, inspite of all the tears shed on lost jobs, lost cash, lost goods, and lost style when the Americans finally pulled out in November of 1992, there was also an equal if not a greater amount of relief and hope for the Pinatubo ravaged Kapampangan: “Salamat at misublî ne quecatámu iñg Clark!” At last, Clark is ours again!

But to which Kapampangan does the “we” in that word “ours” refer to? The old rich families like the Hensons of Angeles and the De Guzmans of Mabalacat who still claim to have titles to the land grabbed by the Americans, or the poor ancient Aita families who swear by Apung Namalyari Kûn Támu that the land was theirs since time immemorial even before the rich Angeles and Mabalacat gentry grabbed them with pieces of paper signed by the court in unintellegible Spanish?

For most Kapampangans however, Clark, with its vast tract of potential agricultural lands and well furnished housing areas, was the perfect resettlement site for all the lahar ravaged Kapampangan Families of Bacolor, Porac, Angeles, Mabalacat, and Bamban. It would have been the ideal womb for the rebirth of a new and prosperous Kapampangan Nation.

That hope was sooner betrayed. Clark was not to be in Kapampangan hands; Not to the old rich Families of Angeles and Mabalacat, not to the ancient Aita families who swear by Mount Pinatúbû, and most especially not to the thousands of lahar ravaged Kapampangans.

While the rest of the Kapampangan region slowly died of hunger, disease and homelessness, Clark was looted, rumours have it, by domestic foreigners in Philippine Airforce uniforms.

While Kapampangans were forced to lived in tents without decent sanitation, water or electricity, these domestic foreigners in uniform lived with their families in the comfort of the US furnished base housing units, with clean water and free electricity.

While thousands of Kapampangan families were forcibly torn from the embrace of their Indûng Tibuan so as to be resettled in the jungles of Bukidnon and Mindoro, these domestic foreigners in uniforms hauled in the rest of their families from the Visayas or the Ilocos to live off Clark.

What Gordon did to Subic, the mayors of Mabalacat and Angeles could not do. When the Tagalog government in Manila put Clark under the management of the Clark Development Corporation [CDC], the Kapampangans, or what is left of them after the forced diaspora, were again promised new hope. The new Clark was to generate new jobs.

The first thing the CDC did however was open up duty free shops which maimed the surviving local economy. As a coup de grace, the next thing it did was import non-Kapampangan labour.

Clark was once a paradox of love and hate in the heart of the Kapampangan Nation. Now, all it could be is a paragon of hate. For Clark remains an abomination. It is not only a symbol of the betrayal of the hopes of the Kapampangan Nation, but all the more, it remains a foreign base within Kapampangan soil.

Keep Kapampangan lands in Kapampangan hands!

Siuala ding Meangubie
CURRENTS 2nd Week July 1995

Ing Taluîng Batiáuan

With the destruction of the most ancient town of Bacolor, the cultural and historical seat of the entire Kapampangan Nation, and the looming precariousness of the economically booming town of San Fernando – Angeles City’s sure safety from Mount Pinatubo’s destructive mudflows has finally put her into focus: Would she now take upon her shoulders the honour of becoming the seat of Kapampangan culture?It is the unfortunate gift of citihood that Angeles has become politically and economically separated from Pampanga. A growing number of young Añgeleños have come to understand this as an essential separation as well: That Angeles must severe its ties from the rest of Pampanga; and that her identity should no longer continue to remain Kapampangan.

But Angeles City’s political separation is not a separation of essences, but a mere accident of being: The heart and soul of Angeles was and is essentially Kapampangan. Political separation does not entail ethnic and cultural separation.

Geographically speaking, Angeles City lies at the very heart of the Kapampangan Nation, a nation whose influence stretches from the barrios northeast of the town-capital of Tarlac all the way down to the coastal barrios of Mabatang and Calaguiman in the towns of Samal and Abucay of the province of Bataan.

Sun Tzu’s Art of War states that to effectively destroy a kingdom one must attack it not only from without but, most importantly, also from within. The Kapampangan Nation has constantly been under attack from without.

At the coming of the Spaniards, the Kapampangan Nation occupied almost the entire stretch of the Central Plains of Luzon. Then, throughout the centuries, provinces were carved out of her vast territories: Governor-General Simon de Anda gave the lands of Burakan and Tundû to loyal Tagalogs displaced by the Brittish invasion of and eventually became the province of Bulacan; Another governor-general carved out the entire province of Nueva Ecija to become his own personal hunting ground; Bataan was separated so as to facilitate the governance of its west coast; and Tarlac was organised as a commandancia politico-militar to pacify the northern frontiers and eventually became a separate province.

The Kapampangan Nation was finally reduced to a tiny province and a few scattered towns. Yet the assault continues from without. In a population survey conducted in 1980, the number of Kapampangan speakers dwindled to about 66.7 percent in Candaba and to 74.5 percent in Tarlac, Tarlac. The survival level of a language group in a given area is seventy five percent.

But the assault from within had already begun. The number of Kapampangan speakers in Angeles City in 1980 was only 76.8 percent. The number continues to decrease. If the Kapampangan Nation is to survive, it must prevent an attack from within. If the core caves in, then the rest of it crumbles until it totally disappears.

One sensible move is to pass a legislation declaring Kapampangan as Angeles City’s official language. Another is to encourage the revival of her rich Kapampangan cultural heritage in schools and the local media.

Angeles City owes it not to the province of Pampanga alone to remain Kapampangan; Angeles City owes it to the entire Kapampangan Nation to remain Kapampangan; To the Kapampangans fortunate enough to remain here, and to the unfortunate Kapampangans shipped to the Visayas, Mindanao, or even abroad.

Siuala ding Meangubie
CURRENTS 3rd Week June 1995