Timpla't Tikim
intsik beho
------------------------------------------
Timpla't Tikim
by Sol Jose Vanzi
Isang pal'yok na atay ng biya
Pardon me for waxing nostalgic. I just came from a family reunion that
included visits to the family crypt, to visit Mom and my maternal
grandparents. Lolo Andoy and Lola Tina had such an unusual love story which
continues to inspire many years after I first wrote about it. Let me share
it with you.
My grandfather Alejandro Sacramento grew up in a rice farm in Imus, Cavite
and courted my Lola, Florentina Crisologo, of barrio Salinas, the
greenest and most picturesque corner of Bacoor town. The southern edge of
Salinas is a wild bamboo thicket protecting the homes and little children
from falling into the Bacoor-Binakayan River, which serves as a natural
boundary between the towns of Imus and Bacoor in the east and between Bacoor
and Kawit in the west.
As Lola Tina narrated during kitchen lessons when I was six, she married
Lolo Andoy "DAHIL SA ISANG PAL'YOK NA ATAY NG BIYA" (because of a clay pot
of goby livers).
Lola Tina was the most sought after lass in Salinas. She was fair-skinned,
long-haired, cooked well, sewed clothes, planted and harvested palay like a
man, yet looked every inch the Dalagang Pilipina of every Binata's dream.
Of the many swains who wooed her, Lolo Andoy was the most persistent. For a
year, he fetched water from a well one kilometer away for Lola's cooking and
washing chores. He helped plow, harrow, plant and harvest the rice fields.
He bathed and fed the carabao daily for a year. He carried Lola's washing to
and from the river.
One day, Lola decided he was it. But the family decided on one last test:
he had to gift Lola Tina with a clay pot of fresh goby liver, to be cooked
in tamarind by Lola Tina and served for dinner. A very tough challenge, and
Lola prayed that Lolo would be up to it.
Lolo learned of the last test after the rice harvest . He took it like a
man. With quiet dignity, he continued to serve Lola's family until the first
rains of May fell, when he announced that he would soon leave for Laguna to
fish. Several weeks later, he left with a carabao, a cart, several banga
(clay water jars), a salok (small fish net), salakab (hand-held bamboo fish
trap), bingwit (hook and line) and a palayok to cook rice in.
It rained for many, many days while he was gone. When the rains stopped,
Lola began to worry.
Lola said it was almost dark when Lolo Andoy showed up at the foot of her
nipa hut's three-step bamboo stairs. In one hand, he held aloft long strings
of gutted, salted fish. The other arm cradled, like a box of precious
jewels, a simple clay pot brimming with tiny morsels the color of Lolo
Andoy's burned skin. He had done it! He passed the test.
Big deal, you'd say. That's easy to do these days. All one has to do is buy
several kilos of fish, ask the fish vendor or a maid to cut all the livers
out. But remember, this all happened in 1910. There was no refrigeration,
there were no modern paved roads, there was no electricity, there were no
ice plants. Imus was many hours away on foot (or on the back of a carabao)
from Laguna de Bay, the closest source of Biya (goby).
The fish had to be caught by hand, with hook-and-line, salok or salakab.
Each fish he caught had to be kept alive in clay jars until he had caught
enough to fill a clay pot with livers. And then he had to rush home, many
hours away, with the fresh livers.
Lola pointed out that the goby liver test proved many things:
1. Lolo Andoy was a good provider. His fishing skill, (combined with an
already proven farming ability) would serve his family well.
2. He was intelligent. He devised a system of keeping the fish fresh for
the duration of his expedition. Nothing could be fresher than live fish,
yes?
3. He was patient. Very few men, even in those days, would go through the
process of catching thousands of Biya without using a net, which could
damage the fish.
4. He was thrifty. Although the test only called for the fish liver, he
patiently cleaned and kippered (made into Daing) the fish bodies, then
salted them so they would keep during the rainy season. Other men would
simply have thrown away the fish bodies after taking the livers.
5. He was a good home maker. He gutted, scaled and kippered the fish
cleanly, and not a single liver had any trace of bile. If he had been
sloppy, one broken bile would have turned the entire pot of liver into a
vile, bitter mess.
6. He truly loved her. Why else would anyone go through such a silly test?
To make a long story short, Alejandro and Florentina got married, had five
children, thirty-something grandchildren, and lived happily together for
more than fifty years. He died in the mid-70's, mourned by the people of
barrio Pulanglupa in Las Pinas, where he opened the Philippine's first
commercial jeepney factory and taught the trade to the likes of Anastacio
Francisco (who later opened Francisco Motors) and Leonardo Sarao (whose
Sarao Motors is mistakenly referred to as the original home of the jeepney).
Lola Tina and Lolo Andoy were an ideal couple: he was hard working and she
was a perfect wife, mother and grandma. Once a week, she would serve Biya
Paksiw (stewed in vinegar), Pinangat sa Sampalok (simmered in young tamarind
fruit) or Isinapaw (placed on top of almost-cooked rice to be cooked by
steam).
Whatever the recipe, the Biya livers were always wrapped in banana leaves
and served separately. They were exclusively for Lolo Andoy.
"Payment for services rendered," he'd say with a proud smile.
Dirty Sick Pig
>
> from FILIPINO TODAY
> ------------------------------------------
> Timpla't Tikim
> by Sol Jose Vanzi
>
> Isang pal'yok na atay ng biya
Beho, thanks for this really nice article. Sol Vanzi may be caught with
a handline at PHNO CyberForum. Anyway, isn't "Isip Biya" an insult in
Tagalog? How did this come by?
BiyaPig
intsik beho
biya' came from.
fish head (gago! something like that)
snake head (ulupong!)
Perhaps the term was originally coined by Lady Cabalo the $ 2-whore who gave
birth to Egay.
"Dirty Sick Pig" <drtys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:393A50D6...@hotmail.com...
> intsik beho wrote:
> >
> > from FILIPINO TODAY
> > ------------------------------------------
> > Timpla't Tikim
> > by Sol Jose Vanzi
> >
> > Isang pal'yok na atay ng biya
>
egayc...@hotmail.com
Hindi ako gaanong marunong mag-Ingles katulad nga anak ng puta na si
DSP. Tanong ko lang ay ganito, tinitira mo ba ako o ano?
Kaya hindi ako gaanong nakababad dito ay dahil sa putang inang
Australia na yan na hinarang ang mga export kong manga. Puki ng ina mo
JT kagagawan mo itong pagharang sa manga ko ano?
Daldal kayo ng daldal ng walang kakwenta-kwenta hinaharang na ang mga
produktong export dito sa Pilipinas ng putang inang Australia wala man
lamang kayong kahindutang pakialam.
Putang ina ninyo talaga oo.
Lugi ako at ibang mga kapwa ko nagtatanim ng manga, pinya at saging na
kapwa ninyo kababayang Pilipino tapos itong mga usaping ganito ang
pinagkakaabalahan ninyo. Putang ina ninyo talaga naturingan pa naman
kayong Pilipino. O ano ngayon yang mga kunwari ay mga nagdudunong-
dunungan dito. Ito ang puking inang pinagsasabi ko tungkol sa WTO.
In article <UeY_4.7170$PT4....@news1.crdva1.bc.home.com>,
"intsik beho" <lima...@home.com> wrote:
> Yes, it is an insult. I have no idea where the term ' utak biya or
isip
> biya' came from.
>
> fish head (gago! something like that)
> snake head (ulupong!)
>
> Perhaps the term was originally coined by Lady Cabalo the $ 2-whore
who gave
> birth to Egay.
>
> "Dirty Sick Pig" <drtys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:393A50D6...@hotmail.com...
> > intsik beho wrote:
> > >
> > > from FILIPINO TODAY
> > > ------------------------------------------
> > > Timpla't Tikim
> > > by Sol Jose Vanzi
> > >
> > > Isang pal'yok na atay ng biya
> >
> > Beho, thanks for this really nice article. Sol Vanzi may be caught
with
> > a handline at PHNO CyberForum. Anyway, isn't "Isip Biya" an insult
in
> > Tagalog? How did this come by?
> >
> > BiyaPig
>
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Mdlrwhit
>Kaya hindi ako gaanong nakababad dito ay dahil sa putang inang
>Australia na yan na hinarang ang mga export kong manga
Kawawa naman kayo, Mr. Egay. Bakit kasi nagtityaga kayo sa Australia? Iship
ninyo na lang dito sa Amerika. Bibilhin pa namin.
Just JT
<egayc...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8i2rm1$5h7$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
>
> Lugi ako at ibang mga kapwa ko nagtatanim ng manga, pinya at saging na
> kapwa ninyo kababayang Pilipino tapos itong mga usaping ganito ang
> pinagkakaabalahan ninyo.
----------------
Timang kasi kayong mga exporter, e. Imbes na i-export ang bunga ng manga,
dapat katas ng manga ang i-export ninyo. Imbes na bunga ng pinya, dapat
telang pinya. Imbes na saging, dapat dildong gawa sa saging ang i-export
ninyo. Mas malaki ang tubo sa penis pradak.
--
Talk to me at
Johnn...@Hotmail.Com
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Dirty Sick Pig
exports. I wish there is something I can do from my end. You
previously discussed mango byproducts. What are your chances of making
juice, candy or anything else out of the mess? Anyway, I'm sure you and
your fellow exporters will bounce back. Shit, make sure you bounce back
because the country needs businesspeople like you. We have a saying
here, "if handed a lemon, make lemonade." Good luck!
DSP
egayc...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> Beho
>
> Hindi ako gaanong marunong mag-Ingles katulad nga anak ng puta na si
> DSP. Tanong ko lang ay ganito, tinitira mo ba ako o ano?
>
> Kaya hindi ako gaanong nakababad dito ay dahil sa putang inang
> Australia na yan na hinarang ang mga export kong manga. Puki ng ina mo
> JT kagagawan mo itong pagharang sa manga ko ano?
>
> Daldal kayo ng daldal ng walang kakwenta-kwenta hinaharang na ang mga
> produktong export dito sa Pilipinas ng putang inang Australia wala man
> lamang kayong kahindutang pakialam.
>
> Putang ina ninyo talaga oo.
>
> Lugi ako at ibang mga kapwa ko nagtatanim ng manga, pinya at saging na
> kapwa ninyo kababayang Pilipino tapos itong mga usaping ganito ang
> pinagkakaabalahan ninyo. Putang ina ninyo talaga naturingan pa naman
> kayong Pilipino. O ano ngayon yang mga kunwari ay mga nagdudunong-
> dunungan dito. Ito ang puking inang pinagsasabi ko tungkol sa WTO.
>
> In article <UeY_4.7170$PT4....@news1.crdva1.bc.home.com>,
> "intsik beho" <lima...@home.com> wrote:
> > Yes, it is an insult. I have no idea where the term ' utak biya or
> isip
> > biya' came from.
> >
> > fish head (gago! something like that)
> > snake head (ulupong!)
> >
> > Perhaps the term was originally coined by Lady Cabalo the $ 2-whore
> who gave
> > birth to Egay.
> >
> > "Dirty Sick Pig" <drtys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:393A50D6...@hotmail.com...
> > > intsik beho wrote:
> > > >
> > > > from FILIPINO TODAY
> > > > ------------------------------------------
> > > > Timpla't Tikim
> > > > by Sol Jose Vanzi
> > > >
> > > > Isang pal'yok na atay ng biya
> > >
intsik beho
<egayc...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8i2rm1$5h7$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> > > > from FILIPINO TODAY
> > > > ------------------------------------------
> > > > Timpla't Tikim
> > > > by Sol Jose Vanzi
> > > >
> > > > Isang pal'yok na atay ng biya
> > >