AKLAN DEATH BELEIFS

When a person is dying, his immediate relatives call a parish priest or a pastor to give the last
sacrament. It is also the time when the dying person could ask for blessings or forgiveness. Dying people
should ask for a confession from a priest. The Aklanons believe that there is life after death. In this
critical moment, a cantor or a member of the church choir is asked to sing religious songs to make his
final journey pleasant and perhaps to ease whatever pain the dying person is suffering.

If a person dies, his immediate family would inform all his relatives of the incident as well as the parish
priest. Upon the priest’s instruction the sacristan would toll the bells. The purpose of this is to inform
people in the community that somebody had died. The townspeople who would hear the tolling of the
bells are expected to pray for the repose of the soul of the dead. The intervals between strokes of the
bell’s tolls would determine the age of the deceased. If the strokes are done briskly, the deceased is a
child. If the intervals are long, the dead is an adult.

Before the 1960s, burial was usually done twenty-four hours after the person has died. But with the
popularity of embalming, burial is done within weeks especially when a member of the family is away
and is expected to come home.

It is believed that with shoes on, the journey of the dead will be difficult and he will be damned in hell so
the deceased is not allowed to wear shoes, only socks.

During the wake, people in the community and members of the family from far away would come home
to pay their last respects. Usually they would give alms. Others would give food. Another distinct
practice is the holding of the feast on the third day after death. The usual food being served is ubod ng
niyog mixed with pork. Vegetables that are vine-like are however a taboo. Usual games being played
are bordon, card games like paris-paris, karga buro, etc. Other gives being played are konggit and
mahjong. One popular game is the bordon. Participants are often teenagers. They form a circle and one
participant would be in the middle to be the “manakaw” or “it”. Other participants would hold hands
and sing “bordon de las bordon, singsing papanawa…”

Dalia sa pagpalakat
Singsing sa pagpadapat
Basi kon malipat
Isa ka makawat.
Andar de las singsing
Singsing de los andar
Andar de los singsing
Singsing de los andar.
Singsing papanawa
Palibot-libota
Mentras makadangat
Sa Hari kag Reyna.

While this song is being sung, the hands of the participants are moved back and forth, bluffling the
person in the middle as to who is holding the singsing. The singsing here is anything from stone to
marble. From time to time, the participant at the middle would grasp the hands of the participants to
catch the singsing. Whoever is caught holding the singsing will be punished by making him recite a ditso
or a luwa. Here is an example of a luwa:

Ay abaw Inday nagapakatig-a

Folk belief

“Aklanon” refers to the people of Aklan province, their language, and culture. Folk belief is that
Aklan derived its name from a river called Akean. When the Spaniards came, they asked the
region’s name from a man fishing in the river, and the man thought they were asking him for the
name of the river. The Aklanon belong to a larger group called Visayan, and the Aklanon
language is a subclassification of the Visayan language. It is said that the Aklanon language
substitutes the phonetic sound “e” for “l” pronounced with a rolling “r” sound, because Datu
Bangkaya, the first ruler of Aklan (originally Akean), had a short tongue and therefore could not
pronounce the “l” sound.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

The early Panayanon believed in many gods. Bululakaw lived in the island’s sacred mountain called
Madya-as. A chief goddess was believed to reside in the mountain of the nearby island of Negros
Occidental. She was called Laon, after whom Mount Kanlaon is named. There were mediators to the
gods, also said to be the first priests: Bangutbanwa, who prayed for good harvests and an orderly
universe; Mangindalon, who interceded for sick persons and prayed for the punishment of enemies; and
Soliran and Solian, who performed marriage ceremonies. Manunubo was the good spirit of the sea.
Although the majority of the Aklanon population is now Christian, belief in the power of the babaylan
has not completely disappeared in spite of their dwindling numbers. In pre-Christian times, the babaylan
played an important political, social, religious, and cultural role. They advised the datu, and were the
spiritual and physical healers of the community. They officiated in ceremonies that marked the life cycle
of each villager. The babaylan were most resistant to Spanish rule. They tried to maintain their influence
over the Christianized villagers, sometimes succeeding in winning them back to the worship of their
anito, and at times leading popular revolts. Reverence for patron saints has not completely replaced the
belief that engkanto (supernatural beings) reside in places called mari-it, such as cliffs, bamboo groves,
boulders, and earth mounds. The palhi are either evil spirits or their dwelling place. Aswang (flesh-eating
ghouls) come in different forms. The tiktik is a bird that eats human liver; the bagat, usually in the form
of a huge dog or some grotesque creature, preys on lone travelers; the sigbin, also a dog, preys on
people at noontime; the bawa looks like a big hen, but it can easily snap its victim’s neck. The kama-
kama are lazy and funloving dwarfs living in earth mounds. The tamawo are either friendly or evil spirits,
and live in resplendent palaces that look like mere boulders to the human eye. Through a peculiar act of
courtship called yanggaw, they entice humans who attract them. Hiwit or barang is a ritual that gives
one the power to inflict pain on an enemy. In pre-Spanish times, a significant religious ceremony was
held every seven years to pray for the “strengthening of the universe.” The people of Irong-irong,
Hamtik, and Aklan convened near a spring whose waters flowed back to the mountains, and made
sacrifices and offerings for seven days. The folk belief is that sickness is caused either by spirits of
ancestors feeling neglected, or by environmental spirits dwelling in the palhi, especially the noknok
(banyan) tree. The environmental spirits are offended when one trespasses on their property without
asking for permission. The aggrieved spirits must then be appeased with the toos and kiyaw-kiyaw ritual.
In the toos ritual, incense is placed in a coconut shell, its smoke wafted around the sick person. A ball of
rice is wrapped in black cloth, and then hung over the patient. In the morning, native cakes— pinais,
binodbod, and hilaw-hilaw— are prepared. These are made of maeagkit (glutinous rice), young coconut,
and sugar. Each type of rice cake is divided into seven pairs and wrapped in banana leaves. At 3 or 4
P.M., a roosterand a pullet are butchered and dressed without the use of a knife. The entrails of
bothfowl are taken out, cleaned and returned, along with their blood, back into their bowels. The
feathers are wrapped in paper and hung above the doorway. The chicken are boiled without salt. At 6
P.M., a winnowing tray is laid on the floor of the living room; placed here are the seven pairs of each rice
cake and the fowl, plus a plate of cooked rice and seven slices of boiled egg. On the floor beside the
winnower are a pot of tuba (coconut wine), a glass of water, a bundle of clothes, a saucer holding seven
pairs of tilad (betel chew), and slim cigars. The pot of tuba is covered with a payaw leaf through which
two small bamboo tubes are inserted and used as drinking straws. A coconut shell with embers is
prepared for incense smoking later. Desinario, the praying of the rosary for this particular occasion, then
commences. The herbolario/babaylan joins the rosary while performing the sagda. Holding the coconut
shell from which incense smoke emanates and muttering prayers, the babaylan circles around the
offerings seven times and then reverses direction another seven times. He/she invites the spirits to
come, takes the glass of water, and washes the hands of the invisible beings who are believed to be
sitting around the food. The spirits having eaten, bits of each offering are taken by the babaylan and
tossed out the door for all the other spirits outside the house. He/she then offers the clothes and the
tilad to the spirits and distributes the cigars around the floor. This ends the ceremony and guests
partake of the pataw, the feast prepared by the host family. Another healing ritual is the panghatud, an
offering brought to the palhi tree. It consists of lechon (roasted pig), a red rooster that has been cooked
without salt, and fist-sized, unsweetened rice cakes, miniature replicas of a bow and arrow and a spear,
1 meter of kundiman (red cloth), and coins. Before the babaylan and the relatives of the sick person
leave the house for the palhi tree, the babaylan takes a piece of ginger and marks a cross on the
forehead of each household member. Everyone is strictly enjoined to stay inside the house, and the
ladder removed to ensure that no evil spirit enters the house. The offering is laid on a table placed by
the tree, and the babaylan addresses his/her prayer to the spirit in the tree. After some time during
which the spirit is believed to have finished the meal, everyone is invited to eat. This is done in all
solemnity, for it is not an occasion for revelry. Today most Aklanon have been Christianized, but the
animistic practices continue, sometimes integrating Catholic rituals, like the January celebrations for the
Santo Niño.

Folk poetry includes ritualistic verses, songs of the sea, war, and love; field or work songs; and children’s
songs. Ritual prayers chanted by the babaylan abound with metaphor and symbol. At a house blessing,
the presiding priest/priestess buries an old used comb in a small hole while chanting (no original version
available): Old comb, old comb Brush fine the tangled thoughts Of the people who will dwell here Just as
you have brushed my hair Dirty with mud and hay Which has made it heavy and black. May those
stepping on this threshold Take in thoughts free from anger, Their faces wearing no frowns, So that
there shall be harmony and silence Which will flow in peace. The prayer continues with the babaylan
asking the water in a jar to “wash the tongue of all that is vile” and to make the occupants’ thoughts
“fluent and tranquil and receptive to katarungan (reason).” A wax lamp is requested to “whip back the
shadows so that ugly thoughts will not crowd the minds” of the occupants. Here is one song which
children used to chant, to drive away banug (birds of prey): Tikwi! Abaw, rong banug Nga nagbalik sa
ginpukanan, Siniba ni Bukbulilaw Nga batadbataran. Tikwi! Oh would that the sweet hawk Who returns
where it seized my precious one, Be taken by Bukbulilaw Whose wings are sharp and spare. A boat song
can also be a fisher’s work song, as in the following: Iboy, salya, butong, Paibabaw, paidalum. Itulak na
ang tukon. Matulin na pagpadayon. Throw, heave and pull! Go up, go under Push the pole against the
river bottom now As we speedily go our way. Animal songs reveal the farming culture of the people:
Hambae kung manok nga munga Sa sueog nga nagatanda, “Indi ka magsaka-saka, Ay rang itlog maga
kaeabuka.” Sabat kung manok nga sueog, Sa munga nga naga su-ob, “Indi ka mag pueo-pana-og, Ay rang
itlog ga bilina-og.” “Una eang ikaw sa silong,” Tugda kung munga’ng naga eum-eom, “Sa unahan ka
magduhong-duhong, Ag idtu ka mag tukturuok.” Said the young hen To the rooster looking up at her
“Don’t you dare come up here Or these eggs will break.” Replied the rooster To the hen sitting on her
eggs: “Don’t you come down Or else those eggs will rot.” “Stay there on the ground,” Replied the hen as
she sat on her eggs. “Go find yourself some grain to peck, And there chant loud your doodle-doo!” The
following excerpt is from a panawagon or a plaintive love song: Yeyeng, Yeyeng kung pinalangga
Gawaha man anay Rayang tawo nga may kagha Nagabatas sang tun-og Ku rayang kagab-ihon Yeyeng,
maeuoy ka, Imo anay nga gawahon. Yeyeng, yeyeng, my dearest love Look out of your window Upon
this sorrowful man Who endures The evening dew; Yeyeng, take pity Grace me with a look from your
window. Narrative types are origin myths, legends, fables, and folktales. There is a group of trickster
tales with a central character named Bonifacio Bautista or Payo, said toave “lived somewhere in western
Aklan.” These are thinly disguised protest stories against Spanish rule. In one of these stories, Payo was
instructed by the gobernadorcillo (mayor) of Ibajay to find a boat for visitors coming from across the
river. Payo found one, turned it upside down and slept underneath it. The visitors across the river kept
calling for the boat and finally fired their guns to call attention. Hearing the shots, the gobernadorcillo
went to the riverbank and found Payo still asleep under the boat. Upon being reprimanded, Payo replied
that the gobernadorcillo merely instructed him to find the boat, and not to ferry the visitors. Another
Payo tale has him gobbling down crabmeat after the gobernadorcillo instructs him to hide the crabs
where they cannot be seen. In another story, Payo stuffs the gobernadorcillo’s bag with horse dung as
they travel by horse. This is because the official, after having dropped his pipe and lost it, had instructed
Payo to pick up everything that drops from the horse. One origin myth says that the great
Makagagahum (Powerful One), feeling all alone, cast his staff on the ground, and it grew and became
the first plant. Makagagahum scattered its seeds on the ground and living things sprang from them.
Those that fell upon the trees became the birds and monkeys; those that dropped into the sea became
the fish and other sea animals; those that fell into the cracks on the ground became fairies and evil
spirits. The seeds that rolled down the valley and lowlands enjoyed sunlight and became human beings.
One seed fell into a very deep hole in the earth and was trapped between two huge stones. It soon
became a large, white ape whose movements created an earthquake. Aklanon folk literature has a
ballad form called kumposo, often based on an actual historical event or on some village incident. It may
also be fictional. One kumposo, on the resistance at Tina, narrates the heroic stand of Aklanon
revolutionaries against American forces at barrios Tina, Pudyot, and Kalimbahan in Makato, Aklan.
Trinchera sa Tina Nga naga kalapukan, Eanupok sang baril Ang pinamati-an Bumaeos ang Filipino Daw sa
gina linti-an Tina, Pudyot, ag Kaalimbahan Suminggit si Tan Juan “Carga y descarga,” Sumabat si Bagyo,
“Senyor, retirada kita,” Sumunod si Simon, Manong Laki, dagaya sanda, Laloy! Laloy! Sang fuego ro ana.
Ro nailaan ku gid San tanang valiente Imaw si Tente Ondoy, But-anan nga Jefe, But-anan sa tanan Nga
mga eaeaki, Indi dili magtaealikud Mientras naga ataki. The trenches at Tina Had already surrendered.
The frenzied firing of guns Was all one could hear; The Filipinos retaliated Lightning streaks flashed At
Tina, Pudyot, and Kalimbahan. Cap’n Juan shouted to his men, “Continue the charge!” Bagyo answered
aloud, “Sir, let us retreat.” Simon echoed, “Manong Laki, we are outnumbered. Laloy! Laloy! He’s been
shot dead.” The man I admired most Of all the valiants that day Was the young Tenant Ondoy, A good
and true leader, The best and truest Of all men. He refused to back down While the assault lasted. The
Aklanon balitao is an extemporaneous poetical joust between a suitor and his lady. It is not to be
confused with the Ilongo balitao, which is a plaintive and sentimental song. Here is an excerpt
(translated) from an Aklanon balitao: Suitor: You may wish to know of this solitary vine Which never did
branch nor ever did leaf; It sprang from roots buried deep in my heart, And stopped in its growth in your
benign bosom. Maiden: I did not know you loved A fair maiden like me But first you must make A strong
bed of water from the stream, And when you have finished Let a holy man bless it So you will own
forever This body of Nene. In the 1930s, Aklanon writers found an outlet in the literary sections of
newspapers: Rokeanon, La Vanguardia, Ro Announcer, and Banhaw. Jose Tansinko Manyas of Kalibo,
editor of Ro Announcer, wrote satirical columns in the tradition of the bilisadon (maxim). An example of
his epigraphs is “O sueod ku imong tiyan isibu-sibu sa sueod ku imong taeagbasan.” (What you should
put in your stomach should not be more than what you have in your rice bin.) Reputedly the best lyricist
was Mariano Baltazar Estrada, who wrote under the pen name “Yona.” His themes were about the
sweetness of Filipino maidens, the beauty of the Philippine landscape, and religious fervor. Every year
he was chosen to write the eulogy to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Marian procession. Unfortunately,
all of his poems were destroyed in World War II. Ramon L. Concepcion, aka Iluminado P. Racon, wrote
satirical verses in La Vanguardia. Desposorio Maagma y Macabales, aka Riodesma, wrote poems about
idyllic barrio life and the virtues of the poor, such as their honesty and diligence. Juan Melchor of Ibajay,
in his verses, satirized the abuses of politicians and championed the oppressed. Rosendo Militar y
Legaspi, a.k.a. Ratilim, wrote romantic stories before he became a Catholic priest. Jose M. Enriquez won
first prize for the short story in Banhaw in 1931

Ati-Atihan Folk Songs

The word Aklanon has two meanings. It may refer to the natives of Aklan and to their language.

Aklanon literature refers to all kinds of literary works in any languages written by Aklanons, either
published or unpublished.

But it can also refer to the kind of literature written by Aklanons in their native language.

In this paper, unless stated, Aklanon literature refers to the kind of literature written by Aklanons in
their own language.

For several decades now Aklanons have been writing literary pieces in Spanish, Tagalog, Hiligaynon,
Kinaray-a. Surprisingly, this writer has discovered that Aklanons have been writing poems in Aklanon
since 1568.
HALA BIRA, AKEAN! Daya gapalipay katon.

(Official Aklan March) Repeat Chorus

Composed by Dr. Jesse M. Gomez, CESO V Coda

Intro Salig, Akean, sa Dios nga gamhanan

Akean, maabante ta! Hala bira! Hala bira, Akean

Akean, masulong ta!

Maadto ta sa kabuganaan TUBA

Hala bira! Bira, Akean!

Chorus Rong tuba kilaea eon it tanan

Dasig, Akean, para sa aton nga kauswagan Sa probinsyat Akean

Isip, Akean, para sa aton nga kamaeayran Ag eiemnon gid nga kinahang-ean

Ugyon, Akean, kita mabueoligan Kon may ona nga sumsuman

Salig, Akean, sa Dios nga gamhanan

Ana kita nga pagabantayan! Masadya rong barkada

Repeat Chorus Kon may baso sa lamisa

Verse Ag kon tuba imaw rong bida

Kon kita ginamingaw Ro eiemnon nga mapuea

May Akeang ginamahae

Ro Boracay handumon May matam-is ag may makisum-kisom

Ati-atihan, manggad naton. May maapeod, may maaslom

Abong mga taean-awon Ag kon ro gusto hay medyo mapait

Kabueakan ag mga tanum Bahae abaw kanamit

Kaugalian ag mga tradisyon