We exist not alone but together with our family, neighbors, and with all other people that in one way or another, co-exist with us to fill each other's needs. This reality taught us to reach out to our neighbors and build relationships that nourishes our co-existence... but then as time passes by, so do our friendships and ties...
AT LARGE: OUR ANCESTRAL NEIGHBORHOOD
, July 18, 2005
Updated 11:54pmam (Mla time)
Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
KOTA KINABALU -- This is my second visit to this city, and 10 years after the first, the physical changes are quite obvious. There are now malls and shopping centers and huge multi-story government centers. Dominating the view of the coastal road is the city mosque, its gleaming white turrets and dome of blue and gold shimmering and appearing, in the distance, to be floating on the ocean itself.
It is a city coming to its own, though despite the building boom it retains much of its provincial airs. Mount Kinabalu looms far in the distance, veiled by clouds. And the tropical rainforest, one of the biggest tourism draws in the area, is never far away. Mountainsides teeming with trees line the highway, reminding us of the drive around Subic. At the five-star Nexus Resort, where our group is booked, signs in our rooms warn: "Due to our close proximity to the Borneo Rainforest, you may occasionally see monitor lizards swimming in the ponds, migratory egrets feeding, exotic insects, geckos, ducks, other wildlife such as monkeys, mousedeer, and up to 50 types of birds in the surrounding areas. Very rarely you may encounter garden snakes. Do not be alarmed. Just remember to keep your distance."
KK is a city that has just about shed its frontier beginnings and is settling into a new urban identity. Young folk troll Centre Point, the city's biggest mall, in the latest hip-hop styles, but just outside the entrance, squatting on the steps, is a quiet, sullen delegation of young men from the countryside, casting envious glances at their carefree counterparts.
* * *
KOTA Kinabalu is also a city where Filipinos have quite a presence. The driver of the van that fetched us from the airport and our guide around the city the next day both claimed Filipino ancestry. Our driver said his grandfather had settled in Sabah in the 1960s, and that he knew a smattering of Tagalog and Cebuano, which he promptly shared with us. Jason, our guide, said his parents spoke Tagalog and Chabacano, but "sadly, they did not teach us to speak their language."
Jason was nevertheless familiar with contemporary Filipino life, mainly through Philippine "telenovelas" [TV soap] that are broadcast on Malaysian TV. "Jericho Rosales is very popular here," he averred, even if "Pangako sa Iyo," where "Echo" made his mark, has long ended its run. Other Pinoy soap operas are still airing, though, and Jason wanted to know if it was true, as his mother told him, that "the actor who plays the mayor in one show was a very famous singer in the Philippines." Of course he was, we said, since he was referring to Tirso Cruz III.
When I inquired about "Little Manila," a village of houses on stilts populated by Filipinos from Sulu that friends had pointed out during my first visit, Jason looked at me blankly. Later I understood why, for "Little Manila" has since been re-named "Mengkabong Water Village" and is now a tourist attraction. It is identified as "a settlement of Bajaus, the descendants of pirates who set foot on this land in early 19th Century, (who are now) fishermen." Well, at least the tourism authorities now recognize the links between Sabah and the Philippines, and how Borneo is, in the eyes of Tausugs and Badjaos and Suluanons, part of the ancestral neighborhood.
The "Filipino Market," though, is still up and running, having shed its clandestine beginnings. It is now a popular spot for those in search of handicraft, dried and salted fish and seafood, and the same assortment of goods found in the trading centers of Zamboanga.
* * *
THOUGH Islamic law prevails in the state of Sabah, for instance in regulations prohibiting the serving of pork even in a tourist establishment like Nexus Resort, KK is still predominantly Christian, with Roman Catholics making up the majority.
We had an opportunity to join KK's Catholic community for the lone English Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. We arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the Mass and found the huge modernistic church nearly full. Impressive were the provisions made for parishioners with special needs, such as the presence of two sign-language interpreters for a cluster of hearing-impaired Mass-goers, many of them children. Watching them "sing" the hymns in sign language was quite a heartwarming sight.
During Communion, we visitors were brought up short by the admirable display of discipline and order. People receiving Communion stood up and queued according to their row, ensuring an orderly procedure. Apparently, even a "young" church such as that in Sabah (it was considered "missionary" territory as late as the 1970s) has a lot to teach us.
* * *
FROM CHURCH, we proceeded to another Sunday ritual, the Sunday Market on Jaya Street: three blocks of stalls selling everything from souvenir items to dried herbs, from traditional Malayan snacks to pirated DVDs, from batik wear to costume jewelry, genuine crocodile teeth and even, so the salesman proclaimed, dried crocodile genitals.
Many of the tribal crafts looked familiar, resembling those made by our own tribal peoples, especially in Mindanao. The food is also quite familiar, especially the rice-based snack items that look and taste like homegrown "kakanin" [foodstuffs], like "sapin-sapin," "puto," "kutchinta" and "ginataan," though in KK it is simpler and uses fewer "sahog" [ingredients].
In so many ways, visiting KK seems so much like a visit to the old hometown. Even if, by some outlandish miracle, the government's claim to Sabah were to be recognized, it's doubtful the state's Islamic identity could be altered, time and inculturation having ensured its permanent influence. Still, we could always be good neighbors, acknowledging and celebrating the many things we have in common.
©2005 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment