DECONSTRUCTING THE ARINGAY MYTH : AN ANALYSIS

by Rolando Q. Mallari, MD

The Myth

It was said that Aringay was named after a beautiful daugther of Datu who ruled the southern settlement.  The girl called “Aring”, was the subject of a near tragic courtship by the only son (bugbugtong) of the Datu from the northern settlement.  One dark night of December both son and daugther met secretly near the bank of Carayan Lucsin (now Aringay river) and planned their elopement.  Anticipating that something would go wrong with their plan.  Aring wanted to end her life and suddenly jumped into the river.  The young man however, was quick to rescue “Aring…! Aring…! Ay…!  

This incident resulted in the marriage of the daughter of the Datu from the northern settlement to the young lad who is from the southern settlement. The enlarged communities were then called Aringay.

The Analysis

Historians say that before the Spaniards came, the Philippines had communities around the archipelago that are already well-developed. They said that the datu, timawa, bagani and alipin are not terms to depict social classes. The datu is the head of the community. If he is not apt for his job, he is replaced by other well-abled persons in the village. The timawas are the warriors, while the baganis are the people that maintain the peace and order of the village. The uripons are groups of  people who are serfs, laborers and household helpers. But unlike that of India where there is a caste system and people can not transfer from one caste to the other, there are evidences that the pre-Spanish occupants of the islands do not have a social class strata. Although this is still open to a big debate, people during those times can freely move from one work to another as long as they have the skills or means to do so. Even “queers” were very much respected and were given stature in the community where they acted as the babaylans. They are the bringers of good and bad fortune. And it was through them that incantations were made to ward off evil and bad intents in the community. 

We also have 'foreign' relations. We have intermingled with the Chinese, Malaysians, Indians, Japanese, Indonesians and Polynesians through trade. Traders from the Middle East also came and traded their goods. Barter was the name of the game until money evolved in the form of gold, silver and semi-precious stones. All of these were already happening in our so distant past. 

When I was young, the Aringay River was just high and mighty. The river banks were high. Young people like me were forbidden to take a dip in the water as the possibility of drowning is very high. The river’s depth was from 12 to 15 feet, a far cry of what it is today. I can imagine the north and south enclaves of the story in the legend. And since there were no bridges to facilitate movement, they use boats in travelling  from one bank to another. I am visualizing that the trading boats all the way came from Pangasinan, then they have a stop over to do trade with  Sto. Tomas;  then they set their anchor at the port in Agoo where some traders do business while the other refill their food and water and  sail northward and upon reaching the mouth of Lucsin river (the old name of the Aringay).  The traders follow the river upstream and trade goods with local communities. You can easily visualize a very active market system through trading with the foreigners. I highly suspect that the Aringay area during the olden times was very rich with root crops such as sweet potatoes, yams, rhizomes, garlic and onions which the Aringay forests are rich of. 

Apart from hunting and minimal agricultural activities our ancestors were said to be fishermen. It was said that the Spaniards brought and taught agriculture to the natives and even brought the carabao which had become the beast of burden in the farms.

Having said that, I clearly visualize our ancestor greatly fishing in the Lucsin river which was teeming with giant carps(carpa) , murrel (dalag), ox-eyed tarpon (bulan bulan), crabs, shrimps, araro and freshwater mullet (purong). They also venture into the great sea to catch big fishes which they sell in the markets. 

courtesy of https://ferdzdecena.com/lifestyle/dispatches/art-valdez-voyage-of-balangay/

Sometime in the ‘70s, the treasure hunting activities on the proverbial Yamashita gold became heightened. They dug in the Anteng mountain somewhere in Sta. Rita East and found something more than gold. They found Chinese jars, pots and plates. This is a historic find. This is an archeological finding of magnitude for Aringay. The find were said to be dated 3 BC and they are now in display at the La Union Provincial Museum. It was a pity that there were no formal archeological searches done after that. A whole gamut of Aringay history should have been unfolded. 

Not the real find. This is a picture of a similar jar unearthed

Are these artifacts historical? Or are these artifacts stolen and were buried in the Anteng area to be uncovered through digging in the deep recesses of the mountain? Or are these indications of the early history of Aringay? 

If I am to dissect my treatise further, I am of the belief that this is an indication of the early history of Aringay. There are two main settlements along the river. The Northern settlement and the Southern Settlement. The ancient jars were found in Anteng, Sta. Rita East, found in the southern embankment of the Aringay River. If it were so, the northern settlement would be in Salapac? Or would it be in Central Poblacion? 

Picture courtesy of PGLU. If you want to visit the Chinese jars and plates, the Museo de La Union houses it and it is located just at the back of the Provincial Government of La Union

In my treatise, the early inhabitants of Aringay traded freely with other nationalities. They might have traded these jars for wine storage. And the plates were used for food container and as to when eating. I can visualize that our ancestors had an affinity for good food and thus love to eat and party - a characteristic which we still have until today. Another possibility on this matter is that some of our ancestors were married with the foreigners and had established their residence in the area.

Some of you might say that this maybe be more recent. These might have been acquired during the Spanish period. But the greatest evidence that in the early history of Aringay, we have been interacting with other “nationalities” is the results of the DNA ancestral studies on some Aringayenos. The results came out that there ancestors were East Asian, South Asian , Central Asian  and Polynesian. Interpreting it further these are people from Middle East, India, China and of course Polynesia. My theory fits findings on Aringay ‘archeologically’ or genealogically. 

On the other hand, the story  on the Aring-ay phenomenon remains to be a myth. Aringay was Alingay or Alinguey. It refers to the boat used in the mighty Lucsin river. It is relatively a large boat that can be used for marine transport. The Japanese and the Spaniards are known to speak words with a heavy “r” pronounced Alingay as "Arringay" or "Arringuay" and the name was pronounced as such and eventually evolved to the name Aringay. 

I believe Aringay has an honored past and its present inhabitants should look at findings like to look into the past. We are in an era where things new, innovative and highly technological are always in our midst. May these technology lead us to our past. And I quote, "The past can not be changed. The future is not yet in your power. Learn from the lessons of the past."

OH, BUYOS FROM MY BEAUTIFUL HOMETOWN

My cellphone rang. It was a messenger call from a cousin in California. She is asking me to send her 100 pcs of buyos to them through someone who just had their vacation lately. I asked, can’t you make it there? The last time, I was abroad, I cooked my buyos and it turned out just like the good old buyos of the town of Aringay. 

And of course, the answer would always travel back to the good old days where buyos made the town famous. The town of Aringay is around 240 kms north of Manila. It is in the province of La Union. It is mountainous in the eastern side and had long blacky sandy beaches in the west. The province of Pangasinan is at the southern border of La Union while the eastern portion is Benguet and the northern border is Ilocos Sur. It is abutted by the Lingayen gulf in the west.

Buyos had been a dessert fare in Aringay and had become popular in other towns. It originated in one sitio of San Benito Sur  now more known as SUNBEAMS due to the neighborhood association. The original Makers were from the Dulatre family and had diverged among its descendants as well as neighbors. Sioning’s buyos was so popular during the 60’s. My mother used to send me to Auntie Sioning’s house. There were three reasons I fear going to the place. First, you pass by the cemetery before you reach their house. Second, you pass by a foot trail beside a bamboo forest. And thirdly, they have dogs which looked ferocious enough to bite you. But once you reached their house you calm down because of the waft of the buyos aroma. It was heavenly so to speak. Sioning’s buyos is so greatly popular that sometimes, it does not reach the market place anymore. All Auntie Sioning does in the market is to buy her viand and ready to take tomorrow’s life grinds again. 

The buyos is so popular that according to one narrative, another seller that of Banan’s buyos was peddled around the houses in Poblacion. The buyos is such a sell-out that it does not reach the market place for selling anymore. There is so-called branding with the buyos. If it is from Auntie Sioning or from the Banan’s it must be good and it is for abroad. 

As with time, the buyos characters have also changed. As with Auntie Sioning, her daughter took the helm when she had aged. However, since most of Auntie Sioning’s kids graduated with professional courses and even the daughter who continued the trade became a teacher, their once source of income have changed. Some relatives like Manang Linda Soriano and the Garcia brood followed suit. The same story, once their kids graduated from college, they slowly drifted from the trade. 

Now the buyos makers of Aringay belong to the 6th or 7th generation from the Dulatre clan of San Benito Sur. The daughter of Manang Linda continued the trade while Jovelyn Garcia Tudayan who is a 7th generation Dulatre buyos maker are the well-known buyos makers of Aringay. Tudayan diverged to other ‘kakanins’ aside from her famous buyos. There is also a buyos maker in Sta. Rita West and I am glad their kind has not disappeared from the map of the town. 

There is always a heated discussion as to the nomenclature of the buyos. It has been labeled as the tupig. But for an Aringayeno, the tupig refers to the steamed grated cassava rolled in banana leaves. Tupig for other places like Pangasinan and Tarlac refers to the combination of rice and sticky dough, grated coconut together with sugar and rolled in banana leaves. It is cooked over hot burning coals. It has a sweet aroma that usually fills the air. 

There is a great difference between the Aringay buyos and the Pangasinan and Tarlac tupig. For one, in consistency. The Pangasinan and Tarlac tupig are good to eat when warm and are just taken out  from the coals. It is coconut in taste and sweet. But when cold, it becomes gritty, tenacious and hard. Even if it was reheated, it does not give out the freshness that it had. The Aringay buyos is different. It is made from select glutinous rice, churned in a rice mixer until very fine and mixed  with coconut strips and sugar. It maintains its freshness and taste even as long for one month as long as it is frozen. What we usually do is to put the buyos at the microwave oven and one buyos softens to its delicious state in 30 seconds. 

In recent months, a feature by a popular TV journalist featured the best buyos in La Union. And surprisingly, she featured the buyos from Agoo, La Union. Imagine the consternation of the Aringayenos who almost took up in arms just to say the buyos is a native of Aringay and now can’t even claim that they had the best buyos in the province. 

Buyos has not been given the proper promotion as an industry in the town. Unlike for example the tupig in Villasis, it is being promoted in “pasalubong” counters, properly placed in a gift box. When the One Town One Product project of the DTI was launched, Aringay’s product that was promoted was the bangus. But when the Ong administration came into fore, the Uong Festival (Mushroom) was promoted, then when the Sibuma administration came, initially, it was Gamal Festival and was subsequently replaced by the Kilawen Festival. The lowly buyos that the town was popular from was lost in the grand ideas of promoting the mushroom from Sta. Rita East and the bangus from Dulao and Sto. Rosario. The buyos has lost center stage and was relegated into a booth during the festival with the booth manager making a remark that they sold more in the market than in the festival because of poor festival logistics and marketing. The “buyos” industry is losing ground from its area of origin because of social change as well as lack of government support and promotion. It’s demise is clearly in the works. 

As we grapple with the problems faced by the buyos in its area of origin, meanwhile, the Municipal Tourism Council of Aringay is looking into possible ways to promote Aringay as a tourism center. We hope the buyos will find its niche in the tourism program. On the other hand, overseas Aringayenos continue to bring along with them buyos into their foreign homes. Some are rejected by strict customs officers but in general, the great majority of them are able to savor its aroma in their kitchens. And once the aroma pervades inside the house, they feel and sense that they are in their beautiful hometown called Aringay once again.

VILLA DE QUIROS: HISTORY SAYS NO. 5 IT IS

I was born in this sleepy and quaint town of Aringay, La Union in the 60’s where almost everyone knew of one another. Wednesdays and Sundays were market days and people converge in the market site to buy their goods, exchange pleasantries, chat and gossip, debate and discuss political happenings as well as see friends from other towns. Folks from Caba, Agoo and Tubao as well as merchants from Pangasinan and Pampanga join the throngs of Aringayenos doing business on market days.

Villa de Quiros in 1960s

Our house was a little more than 100 meters away from the market. It was always Number 5 since then. I forgot what the street was before but upon President Marcos’ entry to office, it became Marcos Avenue through an enabling ordinance. It became Number 5 Marcos Avenue. Now the number changed to 593 to my consternation. I asked if the Municipal Council passed an ordinance to renumber houses in the town and I got a resounding no. I realized it was a barangay initiative. I was to contest that change as I have to provide documents to prove the change of my address every now and then, but I got exasperated, I just maintained the previous number with some funny results. Since the present number is 593, some delivery men look for number 5 on the other end of the road. It is good there are cellphone numbers indicated in the delivery slip, they can call us and tell the direction to our house, to which now I call Villa de Quiros. Anent to this. During the Spanish period 1820s, they have allocated house numbers too. In the Baptismal record of my grandfather, the barangay was called, Don Diego Padilla and the old address is referred to as No. 5 Barangay Don Diego Padilla. By historical records, this is always Number 5 in this street. It is already an old house. It was constructed after the war. It is now 73 years old and is a mute testimony of what had happened through those years. It is even a mute spectator of the joys, pain and laughter of my 57 years in life. It is also a hodge-podge product of repair due to the tears and weakening it had through the years. But it remained its form as it fought through the years of bounty, scarcity, joys and laughter, pains, misery and loneliness. My dear little home of 73 years may now be declared a national treasury for surviving more than 50 years. I am also wondering if the big mango tree in front of the house is as old as our house since it was already a mature plant when I was a toddler.

1950s infront of the house

I saw an old picture of my cousins posing in-front of the house. The fence was made of bamboo. I noted that a coconut tree grew in-front of the house as well as a jasmin (rosal) plant and a guyabano (soursop). Back in my younger days, the front yard as well as the backyard are basically orchards. At the side of an enlarged kalapaw (bamboo nipa hut), was a coffee tree orchard. The orchard took a beating when my maternal aunt built her house in the area. Now the house had a concrete fence with an orange steel gate. There are still plants - ornamental and fruit bearing trees like the jack fruit, indian mango, atis and the citrus trees. The houses in front of the big house gave way during the 1991 big earthquake but the old house stood tall. All through the years, old folks went beyond, no one ever thought of dismantling it and erecting a modern house befitting the times. Repairs were only made on it.

Why the sudden nostalgia? Well, change is change. It is inevitable. It maybe difficult but we have to grow from it for the better. Writing memories and correlating it to what we have read about the distant past is both a travelogue and a mind exerciser. We become historians ourselves.