THE MANOBO WEDDING CEREMONY

by Myna Consolacion Buta

Lawatano Mission School

February, 1997

We were so excited for the long awaited wedding.  My partner and I were for the first time going to witness a Manobo wedding.  At last, on February 17, 1997, about 1:00 p.m. the groom and his relatives arrived at Lawatano from Dao.  Dao is a nearby village taking only four hours to hike to Lawatano.  The bride was from Lawatano where I was assigned as a student missionary.  She was the daughter of Datu Samuel, one of the datus of the village.

When the grooms party arrived, they occupied the two school rooms to prepare themselves for the wedding.  Someone shaved the eyebrows of the groom and painted around his eyes with white rice powder which they call in the Manobo language, “antis”.  Everybody was busy preparing, putting finishing touches on their faces with lipstick and make-up and eye shadow.  They adorned themselves with their beautiful and colorful “baliog” or necklaces.

Then at about 3:00, the bride and groom met in a house newly built by the father of the bride.  One of the datus got a chicken for what they called “gaamuadas” or by killing the chicken, they rid the house of evil spirits and any bad omens before the groom entered the house of the bride.

The house where the bride was staying was crowded with the village folks and we had a difficult time getting a place to take good pictures because of the crowd.  The groom and bride were each covered with a blanket.  The ceremony finally started and all the village people were happy.  Laughter filled the air.  The bride’s relatives gave her to the groom’s relatives and then the groom’s relatives gave him to the bride’s relatives.

The official solemnizing the wedding was a woman called a “Bai” or chief.  She commanded the two of them to sit down facing each other.  The Bai held in her hand some cooked rice wrapped in a banana leaf.  In the Manobo language it is called “linupot”.  The Bai unwrapped the cooked rice and slowly got some of it and formed it into balls using her bare hands.  She gave some to the groom and the bride.  The relatives all sat around watching the couple eat their share of the rice first.  Then the relatives devoured the remains.  After all had eaten, the Bai told the couple to hug each other.  Laughter broke out as this was done. 

Under the house, some of the village folks were cooking food and the smoke came up through the floor but none of us minded even though the smoke irritated our noses and eyes.  It was quite hot.  We were all there to witness the happenings of the wedding in spite of all the pushing and shoving of the people.

The couple were then seated in a special seat while the datus and other high ranking members of the village sat around in the center of the house.  The father of the bride, Datu Samuel, had a handful of “aguloy” or corn seeds.  Datu Banog of Dao, who is a Seventh-day Adventist, also had a handful of corn seeds.  The corn seed was a symbol of the value of a carabao.  In terms of money, that is about P1,000.  They were counting up the expenses of the wedding.  Each of the datus counting anything from the beginning of the proposal until the time of the wedding by using the corn seeds.  The groom’s family and relatives gave a dowry to the bride of money, two horses and a carabao.

Even though it was a rainy day, we enjoyed the day.  It was a very memorable day for everyone.

THE JOURNEY

by Myda Buta

November, 1996

When I decided to be a part of the student missionary work (SULADS), I was not in good health.  I was sick and physically weak.  Friends told me to stay home for my recovery but I attended the seminar regularly even if I’m still trembling with fever, muscle pains, and colds.  As the seminar went on, I became weaker every day.  I didn’t eat much food due to my lack of appetite.

My friends noticed that I did not look very well.  When they learned that I was planning to become a student missionary, they opposed the idea.  They tried to discourage me by telling me of the dangers I would likely encounter in the mountains.  They told of the trials I would meet and criticized me for even thinking of going as a student missionary.  I prayed and was not affected by what they said trying to discourage me from going through with my plans.

I made an agreement with God that I would not take any medications but asked Him to heal me if it were His plan that I continue with my plans.  On Friday of the seminar week, my situation had become more serious.  By Sabbath I was really ill.  I tried to act normal as I did not want others to know just how bad I felt.

Sunday morning, I woke up feeling very well.  I praised God for my healing.  There was no trace of muscle pains or fever.  I took this as an indication that God wanted me to go as a student missionary.  Then I became afraid—afraid of what I will do.  I did not know what my life would be like living in the mountain with people of another culture and lifestyle.  I thought of the possible dangers I would face from time to time and the hardships and trials that I would likely encounter.  I realized then the difficult commitment I was making.  Trusting in God and knowing that He was sufficient to see me through all the problems and trials, I decided to go.

The seminar was over.  I was one of those accepted to go.  The Board of Directors of the SULADS sent us out two by two just like Jesus sent His disciples.  My partner and I were assigned to Lawatano Mission School.  I had heard reports that this was one of the farthest missions schools—that one had to walk farther from the nearest road than any other school. 

November 4, 1996, we left MVC for our assignment.  We went with other SULADS who knew the way to guide us.  We reached the town of San Fernando that afternoon.  We started walking at 4:00 p.m.  We hoped to arrive around 7:00 p.m. in the village. 

As we traveled along, the road was slippery so I took off my shoes for greater stability.  We passed the sitio of Sulog just before dark.  There we made a torch called a “palong-palong” to give us light along the path.  By the time we reached the river, it was totally dark.  We stopped to rest a little.  We sat on a rock and had evening worship and ate our little supper of some pieces of bread.  We went on.  Seven o’clock came and went but we were not yet at the village.  My knees were trembling by this time.  My partner wanted to go on.  He said it was only another hour but that was for fast walkers.  I was too tired so we decided to spend the night in a house nearby.  We knocked at two houses and greeted the people but neither of them offered us a place to stay.  We went on hoping that there would be a house farther on with an open door for us to rest until the following day.  At last, the third house opened to us and let us in.  The family was native Manobo and a friend of our SULADS guide.  We spent a good night of rest there. 

The next morning, we had morning worship and at 5:00 a.m. we started on our way again to the mission school.  We said a hearty “Thank you” to the family and bid them good-bye and went on our way.  At 7:00 a.m. we reached Lawatano Mission School. 

The school was set beautifully on a hill.  The cottage was set on another hill but a bridge connected the two.  It was beautiful.  In an instant, I loved the place.

On November 6, we held our first meeting of the village people regarding the school situation, their contribution for the development of the school and many other items.  We then began the enrollment of the students in the school.  The rest of the week, we were busy cleaning our cottage and its surroundings.

November 11 classes began.  We also cleaned the school surroundings and cut the grass and re-organized the children into classes.  We have regular Bible study classes and serenade the houses every Sabbath morning.  We meet and talk with the villagers whenever possible to get better acquainted with them.  With these activities, we are praying that God will touch them, that they will accept His salvation.  We pray that they will have faith in Jesus and become a part of His family.

HOW WILL I PAY YOU SIR?

by Golly Policarpio, MVC Student Missionary to Lawatano

as told to Mrs. Nelita B. Janoyan

“Ma’am, how will I start washing these clothes?  They are wet with the stool of our patient who has cholera”, asked Golly to the woman who was in charge of the laundry in German  Community Hospital.

It was December 13, 1994--Tuesday morning-- when Golly Policarpio was on his way to Halopitan, San Fernando, going to Lawatano Mission School.  It was a three hour hike in order to reach his territory.  Under the heat of the sun, with sweat on his whole body, he really wished to be in Lawatano as early as possible. 

He walked two hours, and reached sitio Balaas, a place before Lawatano, with joy in his heart.  That joy soon turned to tears and fears.  “Sir, please help.  We have a dying man,” somebody cried.  Immediately Golly searched for the patient.  To his surprise, he saw a man almost dead, terribly dehydrated, and still struggling for his dear life.  His eyes were both white and pale.  “Lord, please save this man,” Golly prayed.

Fortunately, the German Doctor with his companions were in sitio Balaas having their free clinic.  The doctor tried everything in order to save the life of the patient.  They put dextrose in both hands because of the serious condition.  Unfortunately, they still needed more dextrose but none was available.  Golly was instructed by the doctor to boil water to replace the dextrose.

“Toto, ampo hay kaw to magbabayo.”  “Toto, pray to God,” Golly said to the patient.

After a few hours, the doctors still observed that the situation was still very dangerous.  They decided to bring him to the hospital in Valencia.  After improvising a stretcher made of a sack and some sticks, they carried the patient to the hospital.  It was already 5:30 p.m. when they started down the hill.  Saul Llamera, Golly’s fellow student missionary, carried the dextrose bottle while several men carried the stretcher.  The trail was slippery and muddy.  There were times they almost fell because they could not see the trail in the dark.  Rain come, making the trail more slippery.  In their desire to save the life of the patient, they did not pay any attention to the hardship they met.  When they could reach the place where the doctor’s car was waiting, they would be able to relax a little. 

They finally reached the hospital around 8:30 p.m.  The student missionaries took care of their patient.  This care included bathing him as he had fouled himself and washing his clothes.  They assisted the nurses in attending the patient in any way possible.  They did not sleep the whole night and only later realized that their own wet clothes had dried on their bodies.

By God’s help and guidance, the patient recovered from his illness and was back in Lawatano after three days.  The people in the village couldn’t believe that he was still alive after what he had been through.

The following day, Toto visited the cottage of the student missionaries.  With thanksgiving in his heart he said, “Thanks a lot sir.  How will I pay you?”  With gladness, Golly said, “It is God who helped you, we were just His instruments.”

Arthur S. Maxwell said in THE BIBLE STORIES Vol 8, p 189, “Remember that whatever you do like this out of a love-filled heart is reckoned by Jesus to have been done for Him.  He will never forget the kindness throughout eternity.?”

“What will you do to show that you are really thankful to the Lord?” asked Golly. 

“I will attend Sabbath Services from this time on and help build the school for our children here so they can be educated and be ready when Jesus comes.” was the sincere reply of Toto.

A GERMAN LADY VISITS LAWATANO

by Lowell Limbagan

July, 1996

Miss Gerda, a lady of German origin, was working in Halipitan, doing missionary work among the Manobo villages.  She organized a “Mabum Tulugan From German Friends” in which Manobo people can stay overnight if they have an emergency trip to the town.  She visited many Manobo villages and one day happened to visit Lawatano.  Her task is to visit all the villages in her territory.

When she arrived in Lawatano, she was amazed.  There was a difference in these people.  They seemed to be more educated than the other groups of Manobos that she visited.  The children gathered and sang some songs to welcome the visitor.  She then visited the school and asked some questions about the SULADS program.  She was delighted to know that the MVC SULADS organization has this concern for the Manobo people.  She said, “I’m happy to go back to my country now since there is a program going on in this place which will help educate the Manobo people.”

On July 18, a farewell for Miss Gerda was held and Miss Gerda especially requested the children from the Lawatano singing group to sing at her farewell.  She very much appreciated the lovely songs the children sang for her benefit.  In her farewell address, she mentioned that she felt comfortable leaving as there was a program operated by MVC--the SULADS--which would remain to guide and teach the Manobo people.  Manobos from other villages who witnessed the farewell and heard the remarks of Miss Gerda are now asking for teachers to come to their villages to teach their children also.

The SULADS long to reach all these people who are desiring to know more about Jesus.  We also pray that the songs that were sung to Miss Gerda will cause her to desire to seek Jesus as w