Talisay Terminal and Fare Rates

I'm not sure if the streets of Barangay Kulaman have names. If they have, nobody seems to use them. Destinations are often referred to by the name of the purok (usually named after a virtue, such as Pag-asa or Pagkakaisa) or by the name of the business establishment (usually named after the owner's family name).

The busiest intersection is often referred to as Talisay, after a tree in the southeastern corner. Under the tree is the terminal for skylabs (public utility motorcycles). When I passed by the spot one early morning, it was almost empty. I looked at the fare rates written on a blackboard and discovered that the skylabs take passengers not only within Senator Ninoy Aquino town but also in some barangays and sitios of Lebak, Kalamansig, Bagumbayan, and Palimbang towns.

The Real Name of Twenty-One Falls

 

With the family, I started 2021 at 21 Falls, here in my hometown. But we actually just went to one waterfall. The others are not easily accessible and, I heard, not as big or beautiful. The fall is at Barangay Lagubang. Its pool is up to my thighs only, so you can't swim. To bathe, you have to stand under the water instead, as you would in a shower.

On our way home, we dropped by the house of Brgy. Chairman Gomer Ugat, a family friend. I asked him the name of the fall, and he said it was "Lufaken," but he didn't know what it meant. The e in Lufaken is pronounced like the e in uncle and tricycle.

From Brgy. Kulaman, the poblacion of the municipality of Senator Ninoy Aquino, you have to travel for about thirty minutes to reach the center of Brgy. Lagubang. The highway is paved, but from the highway to the center of the barangay, you have to travel on a muddy road with large stones. The road, which stretches for about two kilometers, is not passable by bicycle or scooter. Bigger motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles would be fine. From the center of the barangay, the road is still rough but better. You have to travel by vehicle for four or five kilometers more, and then from the road, you have to walk downhill for about fifteen minutes to reach Lufaken Fall.

Some adventure seekers here say that you can see all twenty-one falls if you go to Lufaken Fall via Brgy. Midtungok. You have to walk uphill along the stream. I have not been to Brgy. Midtungok myself. It is separated from Brgy. Kulaman by Brgy. Kiadsam, and the entire length of the road is unpaved. For now, I think the trail in Brgy. Midtungok is better left to locals. Tourists should head straight to Lufaken Fall via Brgy. Lagubang.

On the way to the fall, one interesting sight is the steep hills in Sitio Benebol. On the foot of them is a Dulangan Manobo community. You can also see the less-seen other face of Ilian Hill and a glimpse downhill of Brgy. Midtungok and Brgy. Kiadsam, the tin roofs of the houses shining under the sun. As someone from here, I'm not impressed with the view, of course, but if you grew up in the plains, especially in an urban area, I'm sure you'll be amazed by the formidable mountains, sloping hills, and how human settlements, and humans as well, look so small amid them.

Fake Burial Jars

I found out a few days ago that the Kulaman Plateau burial jars at the Silahis Gallery in Intramuros in Manila have been sold out, and I have to apologize to the collectors in case they were encouraged to buy the jars after reading this blog. As I have not been posting here for a couple of years now, I wasn’t able to share with the public an important update: fake Kulaman Plateau burial jars do exist, and they probably include the items at the Silahis Gallery.

I learned about the existence of fake jars when I was involved in a tourism-related project at the municipality of Lebak here in the province of Sultan Kudarat. Here’s what I wrote in the report that I had to submit:

“At around 2 PM on July 10, 2018, the writer, together with other members of the research team, dropped by the barangay hall of Keytodac and had a conversation with some local officials who happened to be in the office. The writer heard for the first time the existence of fake burial jars. The informant named the counterfeiter. But names are withheld here because the information has not been confirmed.

“After about an hour, the team proceeded to the barangay hall of Salangsang, where another informant told the team of the existence of fake burial jars. The informant named three counterfeiters, who were in business in the first decade of the twenty-first century. The informant also said that the counterfeiters would soak the fake burial jars in water with urea to speed up the growth of algae and make the jars look old and authentic.

“Apparently, counterfeiting of burial jars and selling them to private collectors is an open secret in the southern mountains of Lebak.

“This writer has strong reasons to believe that there was truth to the statements of the informants. He has seen burial jars that are purportedly from Sultan Kudarat but looks dubious, primarily because their designs stray too much from the typical features of burial jars as scholars noted. In Silahis Gallery, a souvenir shop inside Intramuros in Manila, one cover in the collection has a figure of a carabao head. In contrast, burial jars discovered in the San Carlos and Silliman explorations are mostly anthropomorphic. The scholars believe the figures indicate the sex of the deceased kept in the jar. Applying the theory, the carabao-shaped figure would indicate that the bones inside the jar are that of a carabao’s. This is preposterous, and the burial jar must have been made by an amateur counterfeiter.

“The jars that are on display inside the Tourism Office of the Municipality of Lebak might also be counterfeit because some of them have animal-like instead of anthropomorphic figures.

“Another possible indication of forgery is well-defined and intricate incisions, possible only with the use of modern tools. Authentic burial jars were carved out of blocks of limestones using crude implements, and because the jars have been left in natural surroundings for around 1,500 years, it is natural for their surfaces to have been weathered.

“Lastly, burial jars that are as small as a typical flower vase must be forgery, too. They are too small to contain human bones, even that of an infant’s.

“The existence of fake burial jars make it difficult for anyone to determine the authenticity of all the burial jars. Only the jars that have been recorded by anthropologists in 1960s and properly tracked can be safely declared authentic. On the other hand, the existence of fake burial jars could make black market buyers suspicious of burial jars claimed to be from Sultan Kudarat, and this could discourage trading of the artifacts.”

(In photo: Me with a collection of burial jars at the municipal hall of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. Some of these jars may be fake. It’s now difficult to determine the authenticity of Kulaman Plateau burial jars because, I found out in a visit at the municipality, counterfeits were made in the aughties.)