By sixto talastas
6 pm was our scheduled departure from Baguio going to Conner, Apayao on the Monday night of October 15, 2018. Two from our team had already been to Apayao before – Len and Anne. Only the three of us, me, Kinja and Exodus, had not been to Apayao yet. And so, after an hour or so of waiting and much chatting with the staff, we finally went off on a long night journey in a commuter van to Conner, Apayao.
Early the next day we arrived at the Gum Mon Hotel of Tina in Barangay Malamag, Conner, we were ushered in by her husband James and we managed a few hour sleep despite the heat in the air before having a formal introduction and project orientation with ma’am Tina. After breakfast we rode a van and went to the house of Martina in Barangay Manag, the site for our food workshop. There we were welcomed by the host family led by Martina, facilitators and resource persons, a barangay councilor, and two guests from the UIIPAI or United Isnag Indigenous Peoples Association Inc.
At the orientation, the president and treasurer of UIIPAI shared their organization’s policy regarding researches on indigenous knowledge in their tribe, that we must have secured free, prior, and informed consent from their group before proceeding with the said project.
Apayao Indigenous Food
After agreeing with the peoples’ organization, we proceeded with the workshop and took note and pictures of the many different indigenous ingredients and materials that lay before us on a big table in the front porch, and as it turned out, the cooking has already started at the backyard so we went around the house very eager to see the indigenous cooking. There were 12 food dishes prepared and cooked which were all delicious and healthy. Here are some of the ingredients and their corresponding Isneg term: glutinous rice – diket; taro – atang and wild taro – lanipaw or lanipew; coconut milk – paket or pakat; giant fern shoot – pako; rattan shoot – bug bug; river crab – agatol; river eel – kiwet; bagoong – butung. Also, here are some materials used with their corresponding Isneg term: thin bamboo – bulo; banga – earthen cooking pot; Baney (Isneg term) plant and Baney leaves called Ahokke; Sohsohan, a small thin bamboo tube used for pounding chili and together with the pounding Baney stem/stick. Aside from the traditional Apayao food dishes, we were also served with Biko, the common sweetened Diket with roasted grated coconut for topping, brewed coffee which they called Pulbus, and Basi. These same dishes were also served for our lunch, I think there were 18 of us who ate but there were many leftover still, some of which we brought back to Baguio. We also took some of their indigenous cooking materials to be displayed in the office.
Side trip
After the workshop we went to a friend of Tina with one municipal councilor. There they discussed their politics with us and served us dinner that include an indigenous food – a variation of one of the food cooked in the food workshop earlier. We went back to the hotel tired but full and happy.
Our trip back to Baguio was marred by yet another delay, but this time it was worse, we stopped by a police detachment and waited for one and a half hours for two police officers, who had prior reservations with the driver, to come. The driver conveniently let the hours pass while he watched basketball on tv at the detachment while he let us grumble in our seats guessing what time they’ll come to start moving again. When we set off again we were slowed down by big numbers of vehicles and road concreting on the hi-way. We departed from Conner at 8 am and arrived in Baguio at almost 8 pm.
Firsts
There are firsts for me during the trip: first time to walk on and see any part of Apayao and first time to see the salt as a main dish.
The people
Our workshop was facilitated by Len and Tina Muyaen. The people who shared their knowledge with us are: Martina Bolloan, workshop facilitator and resource person together with her husband Sirverio Bolloan who was also a resource person, including their family who shared helpful bits of information; Narcissa Bunagan, facilitator and resource person together with her husband Ernesto Bunagan who was also a resource person; and other guests who also shared their knowledge.
Photos courtesy of Anna Karla Himmiwat
