Ambahan: Death

When physical life comes to an end, the soul departs for another place. The moment of dying, this singular experience, is vividly remembered afterwards by the soul, especially if death came during an agonizing circumstance.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Dead, ambahan, soul

Ambahan: Old Age

Old age in Mangyan society is not given special status and special privileges. As long as anyone is able to keep up, he is expected to take part in daily work. It is, therefore, not surprising to see the old and feeble people working side by side with the younger generations in the rice fields. However, the irrevocable advance of time is felt by the elder generation. It is something that can't be changed.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Mangyan, ambahan

Ambahan: Marriage

Although the courtship period has a varied set of rules and ceremonials, the marriage itself is as simple as possible. After the consent of the parents has been obtained, the unceremonial first sleep of both the spouses together is considered as wedlock itself.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Mangyans, ambahan, marriage

Ambahan: Hospitality and Friendship

When a traveler arrives at a house he wont be afraid that he may not be welcome. Hospitality is considered the highest of virtues among the Mangyans.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Hospitality, Mangyans, ambahan

Ambahan: Traveling

The moment will come when the Mangyan cannot be kept tied any longer to his house and the daily chores. He has to go, whether it is opportune or not. The woman, however, is not as fortunate as the man; she is tied to her home, especially when her children are still small. In spite of that, she would also like to go out once in a while. The parents should be, therefore, understanding and reasonable.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Mangyan, Tourism, ambahan

Ambahan: Food and Work

Obtaining food keeps the Mangyans busy for most of the year: selecting and preparing the field; sowing the carefully kept seed; weeding and cleaning the plants; harvesting the most precious food, cotton-white mountain rice. Unfortunately, an ideal harvest depends on an exact amount of sun, wind and rain.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Food, Workers, ambahan

Ambahan: Sickness

Sickness is unavoidable in human life. A person who is ill can easily be recognized. Sometimes, whatever is done, all treatment seems to be in vain. But there is always a treatment that's been forgotten.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: ambahan

Ambahan: Problems

But at home, life is not always as pleasant as the Manygans would like it to be. There are dark days when the future doesn't look very bright. These dark days have to be overcome.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: ambahan

Ambahan: Home

To give a sample of all the various aspects of the home life within a Mangyan settlement would be next to impossible. However, an attempt to draw a general outline will be undertaken here. Two great themes can be considered of importance in the life-cycle of a Mangyan: 1) His struggle for life in and around his house, to keep hunger and sickness away; and, 2) His unbelievable ability to relax, be happy and unconcerned, often by escaping from his immediate surroundings.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Mangyan, ambahan

Ambahan: Courtship

Many pages of sweet-flowing romances have been written about courtship, but the Mangyans create their own by using the examples of the budding and flowering plants and trees around them.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Courtship, ambahan

Ambahan: Adolescence

The transition from the dependent child into the self-sufficient young man or woman is not marked by initiation ceremonies or induction rites. In some things, children are given independence at an early age. In other things, they continue to act dependently.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: ambahan

Ambahan: Childhood

Sweet are the memories of our childhood. For the Mangyan child, it is a time of unconcern and carefreeness, even if the child has to take his share of the family duties to the measure of his capacities. It is with feelings of sentimentality and homesickness that a young man recalls the happy years of his youth that passed away too fast. It is also with pride that he remembers the love and kindness shown to him by his parents.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Childhood, ambahan

The Ambahan and Its Uses

The ambahans are very common among the Hanunuo-Mangyans. About thirty percent of the Hanunuo-Mangyans do not read or write the pre-Spanish Hanunuo-Mangyan script, but it would be rare indeed for a Mangyan not to know the art of the ambahan. Of course, a Mangyan will quickly deny any knowledge of the ambahan, but this is only a polite way of refusing to demostrate such knowledge.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Hanunuo, Mangyan, ambahan

The Origin of the Ambahan

If you ask a Hanunuo-Mangyan, "Where did you get this ambahan?," he will most likely answer, "I copied it from somebody else." That is quite probable, for the ambahan has been popularized by being copied on any piece of bamboo, such as the container for tobacco or apog (lime), the scabbard or sheath of a bolo, a violin or guitar, and even on the bamboo beams of a house.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Hanunuo, Mangyan, ambahan

Introduction to Ambahan

The ambahan is a literary product and poetic expression of the Southern Mangyans of Mindoro, Philippines. Although there are about seven different ethnic groups living in Mindoro, collectively called the Mangyans, these groups are quite distinct from each other as to language, customs, and way of living.

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Published on 02/03/2018 by puertoparrot
Categories: Communities, Culture, Documentary
Tags: Mangyans, Mindoro, ambahan, poetic