Say “Kulaman Plateau” anywhere in Sultan Kudarat Province and you’ll be met with a slightly confused look. Virtually no one here calls Kulaman a plateau. For the people living in the plains, Kulaman is a mountain. For the residents of Kulaman’s neighboring villages, Kulaman is a valley.
I myself never thought of Kulaman as a plateau until I read the academic papers on the limestone burial jars. I come from a village that is outside of, and more elevated than, Barangay Kulaman, and I grew up hearing people refer to our poblacion as a valley. However, if one looks at the place from a farther point or with a broader perspective, such as the anthropologists from outside Mindanao did, it indeed makes more sense to describe Kulaman as a plateau than as a mountain or a valley.
So do use Kulaman Plateau when writing about the burial urns or the Manobo people, but if you are visiting Sultan Kudarat and asking for directions, use Kulaman only. Mention plateau and people won’t have a clue what you are talking about.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
New Year, New Blog Features
Pardon me for not being able to update this blog for more than a month. I got sick, terribly sick, perhaps the worst I’d ever been. When Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao and typhoon Pablo claimed a thousand lives in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, my own foe also knocked me down, confining me to bed for five days.
The good thing, though, is that I’m all right now, perfectly all right, and I’ll be facing the new year a wiser and more health-conscious person.
Speaking of the new year, I’ve decided it’s time to introduce new stuff in this blog. These features aren’t really new in the world of blogging, but in this particular site, they are. Top of the list is I’m now going to allow you visitors to comment on my posts. You may now give me your suggestions, corrections, and the like, in a more convenient way; no need to e-mail me.
I disabled comments before because, having been a copy editor and maybe just obsessive-compulsive, I was a stickler for proper capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. I still am. But I’ve sat down with myself and told him to go a little easy on you blog readers; you are not manuscript authors, after all.
Feel free to express yourselves. I will approve and even reply to your comments as long as you don’t commit these mortal sins: truncating words (give me a comment, not a txt msg); unjustified . . . and improper . . use of …. ellipsis points; giggling or laughing in a jejemonic way (e.g., jeje) or in more than three syllables (e.g., hahahaha); and shouting (LIKE THIS).
Another change is that I’m now going to use Senator Ninoy Aquino, the official name of my hometown, as sparingly as possible. When referring to the municipality, I’ll use, simply, Kulaman. For the central village and seat government, I’ll use Barangay Kulaman. For the elevated area composed of the town and adjacent villages, I’ll use Kulaman Plateau.
I’m dropping Senator Ninoy Aquino because nobody really uses it save for official documents and in official functions. For the locals and residents of neighboring towns, the place is, and probably will always be, Kulaman. I now believe that instead of forcing the people to use the official name, the official name should be changed to reflect the traditional and the present prevailing practice of the people. (I should research how a name of a certain place can be changed by law.)
The third new move is that I’m now going to welcome fellow bloggers who want to exchange links with me. However, I’m going to limit my links to blogs that deal with culture, art, travel, literature, and similar topics. No showbiz gossip, pop music, or fashion blogs for me, except maybe if we’ve been friends the old-school way, not just in Facebook or blogging. If I find your blog übercool, though, no rules apply. I’ll link you even if you don’t ask for it.
Whew. I think I sound so hard to please after laying out those dos and don’ts above. Oh well. I won’t persuade you to think otherwise. I am hard to please. And I don’t aim to please others. I didn’t create this blog to be popular. In fact, I don’t want this blog to be popular. I just want to help the very few people who need or want to learn more about Kulaman Plateau and its Manobo people. I’ll be pleased enough with a thank-you from even just one graduate student doing his thesis or a travel enthusiast wanting to rough it in Kulaman.
I think this post is already too long for a blog, so I have to say goodbye now. Till next post. May Kulaman be a better place to live in, and visit, this 2013!
The good thing, though, is that I’m all right now, perfectly all right, and I’ll be facing the new year a wiser and more health-conscious person.
Speaking of the new year, I’ve decided it’s time to introduce new stuff in this blog. These features aren’t really new in the world of blogging, but in this particular site, they are. Top of the list is I’m now going to allow you visitors to comment on my posts. You may now give me your suggestions, corrections, and the like, in a more convenient way; no need to e-mail me.
I disabled comments before because, having been a copy editor and maybe just obsessive-compulsive, I was a stickler for proper capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. I still am. But I’ve sat down with myself and told him to go a little easy on you blog readers; you are not manuscript authors, after all.
Feel free to express yourselves. I will approve and even reply to your comments as long as you don’t commit these mortal sins: truncating words (give me a comment, not a txt msg); unjustified . . . and improper . . use of …. ellipsis points; giggling or laughing in a jejemonic way (e.g., jeje) or in more than three syllables (e.g., hahahaha); and shouting (LIKE THIS).
Another change is that I’m now going to use Senator Ninoy Aquino, the official name of my hometown, as sparingly as possible. When referring to the municipality, I’ll use, simply, Kulaman. For the central village and seat government, I’ll use Barangay Kulaman. For the elevated area composed of the town and adjacent villages, I’ll use Kulaman Plateau.
I’m dropping Senator Ninoy Aquino because nobody really uses it save for official documents and in official functions. For the locals and residents of neighboring towns, the place is, and probably will always be, Kulaman. I now believe that instead of forcing the people to use the official name, the official name should be changed to reflect the traditional and the present prevailing practice of the people. (I should research how a name of a certain place can be changed by law.)
The third new move is that I’m now going to welcome fellow bloggers who want to exchange links with me. However, I’m going to limit my links to blogs that deal with culture, art, travel, literature, and similar topics. No showbiz gossip, pop music, or fashion blogs for me, except maybe if we’ve been friends the old-school way, not just in Facebook or blogging. If I find your blog übercool, though, no rules apply. I’ll link you even if you don’t ask for it.
Whew. I think I sound so hard to please after laying out those dos and don’ts above. Oh well. I won’t persuade you to think otherwise. I am hard to please. And I don’t aim to please others. I didn’t create this blog to be popular. In fact, I don’t want this blog to be popular. I just want to help the very few people who need or want to learn more about Kulaman Plateau and its Manobo people. I’ll be pleased enough with a thank-you from even just one graduate student doing his thesis or a travel enthusiast wanting to rough it in Kulaman.
I think this post is already too long for a blog, so I have to say goodbye now. Till next post. May Kulaman be a better place to live in, and visit, this 2013!
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