Luwa in the Moment of Covid 19 Pandemic
By Melchor F. Cichon
August 25, 2020
The world, including us
Filipinos, was caught unprepared when the Covid-19 pandemic attacked us.
Because this disease is very fatal, millions of people around the world are
forced to stay at home. Like the rest of the people around the world who have
been quarantined, many of us have to think of something to make ourselves productive
like selling different types of goods. Or do something just to entertain
ourselves. And to help push our local literature to the national literature.
Me for example, since writing
is my favorite pastime, I spend most of my time with my computer composing
poems or short stories. One of the poems that I compose is luwa. In Aklan, luwa
is called ditso. In the book Folk Poetry by Amorita C. Rabuco, she called it
lo-a.
What is luwa?
Luwa is a form of poetry that
is usually written in four lines. There are also luwa that are longer ones, but
each stanza has four lines. Luwa is recited in the house of a bereaved family
during wakes to lessen the sorrows of the bereaved family.
It is said that luwa was
brought to the Philippines by the Spanish missionaries. One reason for this is
its relationship to the religious activities of the Filipinos.
It used to be the first stanza
of corrido, that kind of poetry that relates the exploits of kings and
princess. There are also luwa that are used to get the hands of a lady. This is
known as enamoracion.
Here are two examples of such luwa:
Mataas nga lamesa
ang akon ginlakbay.
Kutsara kag
tinidor ang akon kaaway.
Wala ko ginbaliha
ang akon kabudlay
Tubtob lamang
makita larawan mo Inday. (Rabuco, A., 2003, p. 91.
Lakat mga tiil,
sunod dapa-dapa,
Makadto sa
harden, mamupo sang bunga.
Pananglit ako
sitahon,
Sugo sang
paghigugma. (Rabuco, A., 2003, p. 90.)
Luwa are recited during
wakes as part of the punishment to whoever loses in the game.
It is said that it is not advisable to recite luwa
if one is not in the wake, because it is believed that a member of the family
who recites it will die if this is done not in its proper place.
Because luwa are recited in wakes as part of a
punishment to whoever is the loser in a game like konggit, truth or consequence,
bordon, it is very much appreciated if the lines have rhymes, rhythms, and
humor. This is one reason why there are nonsense luwa. The rhythms of luwa are
not consistent though, but there are a lot of luwa that have rhyme. This
includes the aaaa, aabb, and abab rhyme structures. Occasionally, we can find
luwa that have abcd endings.
Here are some examples:
Example of a luwa with an aaaa rhyme:
Pag-agto ko sa
Ibajay,
May hakita ako
nga patay;
Ginbagting ko ra
eagay,
Mas mabaskog pa
sa lingganay.
Here you will notice that the endings of all lines
are in ay.
For the aabb example:
Pag-agto ko sa
bukid
Nakakita ako it
ibid;
Paglingot ko sa
waea
Gatueok kakon
rang nobya.—Melchor F. Cichon (MFC)
Here the first and second lines end in id, while
the third and fourth lines end in a.
Here is another ending. The abab:
Igto sa bukid,
May busay nga naga-ilig;
Kon magpaligos igto si Ismid,
May daeang butong nga binulig. --MFC
Kon gusto mo gid
ako
Nga mangin nobya
mo,
Ro adlaw imo nga
tukuran
Agod indi kita
madueman.--MFC
There are luwa with Spanish and English words.
Paris it
navagante
Sa tunga it
travisya
Kinueabos rang
suwerte
Hay gulpi nga
nadisgrasya.
***
Igto sa bukid
May kwarta nga
nagaligid
Nagaligid-naga
roll
Dumiretso sa
waterfall.
There are other luwa that are bawdy, but full of
imagery. Here is an example:
Pag-agto ni Inday
sa Boracay
Napusa ro anang
tuway;
Pagkasayod ka
anang nanay,
Ana imaw nga
ginminueay.-- MFC
For a nonsense luwa here is a classic example:
Secut erat en
principio
Bisan libat basta
gwapo;
En principio
secut erat
Gwapo pero libat.
Secut erat is a Latin word that means Glory be, a
Catholic prayer.
Here is another nonsense luwa:
Nag-agto ako sa Nabas
May hakita ako nga bayawas;
Akon nga ginpaeas,
May nahueog nga sibuyas.
There are luwa that have double meanings. These
are the luwa that belong to the adults, if they can decipher the meaning. Here
is an example:
Maligos ako kunta
Sa maisot mo nga
sapa
Ugaling ro
kinasaea
May guardia civil
sa tunga.--MFC
There are luwa that are really metaphysical. Here
is one:
Ako mangunguma
nga taga-Lezo
Maagto sa eanas
agod mag-arado
Rang saeaburan
puno’t bungot-bungot
Rang mabuot nga
arado,
Indi magdueot kon
indi magtindog.-- MFC
***
Ako si Haring
Marikudo
Manugtanum it
amamakoe;
Pero ro
gusto-gusto gid ni Inday kuno
Amamakoe nga
sukoe.—MFC
***
Kon gusto mo gid
man ako
Nga mangin nobya
mo,
Ro adlaw imo nga
tukuran
Agod indi kita
madueman.
Bordon is a kind of game
wherein the participants form a circle, either setting or standing inside the
house or outside. Someone called “pulis” or kuring is inside that circle
who will try to catch the participant who holds the stone called singsing,
while the group is singing, Ang Singsing.
When the pulis is able to catch who holds the stone, that participant will be
punished by reciting a luwa. If the participant cannot recite a luwa, he/she
will either sing or dance in front of everybody. At times, the loser will kiss
his/her boyfriend/girlfriend if he/she happens to be around. If the loser does
not recite a luwa that rhymes, the group would say estangko. But once the group
likes the recited luwa, the participants will clap their hands or say bitor.
There is another version of
this game, while the group is singing, the participants pass the singsing to
the next participant, making sure that the pulis does not know who holds the
stone. When the singing stops, the participant who holds the singsing is
punished by asking him/her to recite a luwa. After which, the game continues
until the participants stop playing.
The third version of the bordon
is instead of using a singsing, the participants use lighted candle. Once the
group starts singing, the participants will pass the lighted candle to the next
participant. Whoever holds the candle with put off light is asked to
recite a luwa.
Here is the lyric of that song:
Ang
Singsing
Singsing papanawa
Palibot-libota
asta makalab-ot
Sa hari kag sa
reyna.
Ang hari kag
reyna
May mutyang
trabangko
Dalaga si Inday
Nga mayo-ayo.
Dali-a sa
pagpalakat
Singsing sa
pagpadangat
Basi kon malipat
Yadtong kuring
nga makawat.
Singsing ay abaw
singsing
Ay abaw Nena, ay
abaw Neneng
Singsing ay abaw
singsing
Ay abaw Nena, ay
abaw Neneng.
The normal structure of luwa
has four lines, but there are also luwa that have two lines only. Here are some
examples:
Rosas, rosas nga
kamantique
Soltero nga waay
nobya, agi. (Rabuco, 2003, p. 17)
Bulak, bulak sang
tangkong
Dalaga nga wala
sang nobyo, bingkong. (Rabuco, 2003, p. 17)
Covid-19,
Covid-19, Inday--
Ro frontliner nga
indi mag-face mask, patay. (Melchor F. Cichon, June 12, 2020)
Here is the latest luwa structure which I
invented, a one-line luwa:
Nag-eukso si Inday sa swimming pool, ay kalbo.—(Melchor
F. Cichon)
Another luwa structure that I recently invented is what I call hailuwa. This is a combination of haiku and luwa.
Here are some examples:
There are also luwa that are in five or six lines.
Here are two samples:
Paghalin ko sa
balay,
Nagbilin tugon si
Nanay.
Mangayo
katahuran,
Katahuran nga
indi ko malimtan:
Maayong gab-i sa
inyo nga tanan.—Rabuco, A. p. 124.
Partido sang
hari,
Kag kamo nga
tanan,
Ini nga
sentimiento
Nga akon
ginahuptan,
Bulkan nga
nagalupok
Sa inyo
atubangan. –Rabuco, A., p. 49.
Some of the topics being touched in luwa are love,
courtship, death, sorrows, happiness, disasters, anything and everything
under and above the sun.
Luwa on Love:
Inday, kon ako
imo nga batunon,
Owa ka gid it
ibang handumon,
Ay bisan ro buean
ag ro mga bituon,
Sa kama mo akon
nga daehon.
**Melchor F.
Cichon, June 16, 2016
Igto sa Nabas
May sangka
daeaga;
Kon abuton ka
paghigugma
Galigid-ligid sa
baeas. –(Melchor F. Cichon, 2020)
***
Hambae mo kakon
kaina
Ako gid lang ring
nobya;
Gali may imo pa
gid
Nga
ginabuesa-buesa. —(Cichon, M. & Ureta, C., 2019, p. 41)
Luwa on Courtship:
Inday, maski siin
ka magtago,
Maski sa alibutod
it nonok;
Tigban ko,
barinahan ko
Gugma ro
nagasugo.—Melchor F. Cichon
***
Paghalin ko sa
baeay,
Nagbilin kakon si
Tatay;
Kon ako kuno
mangasawa,
Pilion ko gid
kuno ro daeaga.-- Melchor F. Cichon
***
Inday, kon
batunon mo eang ako,
Indi mo gid
pag-angkiton ring siko;
Kon mag-usoy ka’t
makabitan,
Mausoy man ako ku
akong masab-itan.
Luwa on Death:
Pagkamatay ni
Francisco del Castillo,
Nag-ugyon pa gid
ro mga Katipunero
Asta napalayas ro
mga Katsila,
Ugaling umabot si
Uncle Sam.—Melchor F. Cichon
***
Si Francisco del
Castillo,
Puno sa Aklan it
mga Katipunero,
Namatay sa bala
nga naghalin kay Moises Elecito
Nga ana man lang
nga kasimanwa.
***
Pag-agto ko sa
Ibajay,
May hakita ako
nga patay;
Ginbagting ko ra
eagay,
Mas mabaskug pa
sa lingganay.
***
Luwa on Happiness
Sa amon nga
dingding,
May nagtubo nga
everlasting;
Kon sin-o kara ro
makalingling,
Magaeukso-eukso
gid ra kasingkasing. –Melchor F. Cichon
***
Luwa on
Politics
Ro mga senador sa
Manila
Nagahabuyanan it
eutay;
Ro mga army sa
patag-awayan,
Nagasuksok it gision
nga saewae. –Melchor F. Cichon, p. 34
***
Maeleksiyon eon
man.
Magapueuti eon
man ro mga uwak.
Magakarnero eon
man romga tigre.
Pero kon
makalingkod eon, nagabaealik sanda sa daang ugali.
Luwa on Sorrow
Si Edad
nagpanamgo
Sa boyfriend nana
nga Amerikano;
Pero pagkasayod
nana nga abo ra kuto,
Nagbag-id eon
lang imaw ka siko.
***
Hambae ni Nanay,
Owa’t santos kon
owa’t gaantos;
Hambae ni Tatay,
Owa’t baeay nga
puno eang it kalipay.
Luwa on Disaster
Pagtapas ko’t
lawaan sa Ormoc,
Tanan nga mga
baboy naghueagok.
Pag-agi ko sa
baybay,
Nagtambak ro mga
bangkay.
***
Pagsunog ko’t
Madia-as,
Tanan nga ilahas
nagwaeas.
Pag-abot ko sa
baeay,
May mga PC kakon
nga nagabantay.
What is the difference between the old and the new
luwa? In terms of subject matter, number of lines, number of syllables per
line, the same.
Perhaps, until proven otherwise, the contemporary
luwa have wider scopes like tsunami, and politics, and snows since some of the
poets are college trained and have gone to different countries like Canada,
America, Switzerland and Germany.
From the luwa that I heard and gathered, I noticed
that politics is not given so much importance.
This is one aspect of luwa that should be looked
into. I know that luwa like any other poetry can be used to dissect our
society, including our politics.
Luwa is dying in Aklan. In fact many of our
martial law babies have not heard of luwa. It is good that there are
universities in Panay that offer subjects on Literature in Western Visayas. In
Aklan, the Northwestern Visayas Colleges (NVC) is offering a subject
specifically on Aklanon Literature. One of the topics that are included in their syllabus is luwa.
But luwa is not only confined in Aklan. It is also
common in Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, and Guimaras.
Luwa writing is easy. Just remember this:
1. Focus on one subject and it is advisable that it has conflict.
Sa amon nga
opisina,
May baeo nga
senyora;
Adlaw-adlaw imaw
nagabongga
Pero kon kinsina,
ro gasukot kana gapila.--Melchor F. Cichon
2. If possible,
inject humor in your luwa.
Sa amon nga
barangay,
Madasig magtubo
ro paeay;
Nagasabud pa eang
si Tatay,
Nagapadaeawat
eo't bugas si Nanay.--Melchor F. Cichon
3. Try to use
rhyme and meter
Indi ako
magpadagit-dagit
Sa banog nga
nagahapit-hapit
Bisan ako man
dagiton
Kon banog nga
taga-amon.---Rabuco, A., 2003, p. 48.
4. Maximize the
use of the various figures of speech.
Hyberbole
Nag-agto ako sa Banga,
Nakakita ako't
buaya.
Grabe nga buaya,
Ra dila hasta sa
Buruanga. ---Melchor F. Cichon
5. If you are writing luwa in Aklanon, be careful
with your spelling. Prefixes should be attached to the root words, like
pagbakae, ginsueat, etc. Remember the rule on the use ko and ku. Ko is my,
mine, while ku is of. Example: Ro baeay ku pulis hay sa eugta ko. The house of
the policeman is in my land.
Nagtuon ako sa
UPV,
Naubusan ako't
money.
Naghueam ako kay
Manny,
"Sorry, abo
pang utang 'wa pa mabayri."
6. Read and write luwa. There is no other way to
learn how to write luwa but to write it yourself.
Sources:
Cichon, Melchor
F. and Ureta, Charlie I. 2019. Mga Luwa ni Tatay Itsong. Guimaras: Kasingkasing
Press. 50 p.
Rabuco, Amorita
C. 2003. Folk Poetry. Iloilo City: University of San Agustin. 142p.