All About Butuan

Epilogue?

So it?s not even Adlaw Hong Butuan yet and already I?m writing a piece that pays tribute to my father and his siblings and to the entire Butuanons!

Growing up from a Butuanon family is nothing short of an ADVENTURE. My father and his siblings were quite the little rascals when they were just kids. Every significant tale from when they were toddlers up to adulthood is deeply instilled in our hearts and minds. With emphasis to the word ?deeply?. If you had for your bedtime stories the fairy tales from the likes of the Grimm Brothers, Mother Goose and Hans Christian Andersen then we had for our pastime the misadventures of my father,Uncle Nite and Auntie T10 (with Uncle as the Leader, my father as the second in command and my Aunt as?an excess baggage! They had to babysit Auntie T10 or else they can?t go out and play!). I heard lesser stories about Aunt Lily, Uncle Nonog, Uncle Meyong and Aunt Evang and some very interesting stories about my Uncle Toto, the youngest of them all! Nevertheless, all were very interesting!

Whenever we gather, I always look forward to the moment when nostalgia sets in and tales from decades past become the subject matter.First, the storyteller sets a tone so Butuanon-like (loud enough to be heard by the neighbors!) to capture the attention of every living soul(?!). Next, the audience bends their ears to the speaker with a hushed silence unknown to any Butuanon. What comes after that is a rapturous laughter so infectious it tickles every bone in our bodies! By the time we get home, we tire from exhaustion brought about by the signature laughter of my fellow native.  

My father accounts for every detail of his experiences so vibrantly and animatedly like it happened just recently. ( DO YOUR PARENTS DO THE SAME TOO?) His stories range from drama to witchcraft to religion to horror but never about love. If truth be told, I have yet to meet a pure Butuanon whose affection is shamelessly displayed to the world. Locally, they are known to becourageous in nature which is the main reason why they are feared here in the city. But the pure blooded Butuanons are dwindling with the immigrants from other cities and regions flocking into the city and some Butuanons leaving their hometown in their pursuit for ?greener pastures?.Some Butuanons get into trouble because of their audacity to challenge every living creature, high-ranking or not, when their integrity comes into question and when their pride gets bruised from simple miscomprehension. Regardless of their blaring voices during correspondence, they mostly keep to themselves if circumstances would allow.  Butuanons are very close-knit when it comes to their relationships with their families and relatives to the nth degree! My cousin once told me that it?s hard for him to find a wife in this city because every woman that he?s interested in turned out to be a relative!!!  Notably, they love festivities hence their adeptness in cooking and in devouring their culinary masterpiece (OOOOhhh?, BUNTAHAN, where art thou?)

I am so drawn to my Butuanon roots. Sure, we all feel the same way towards our legacy but there?s something so unique and so special about my heritage that it makes me want to sing? (I can?t even sing!) I?m more proud to be a Butuanon than a Filipino. But a Butuanon is a Filipino all the same. So?

My main purpose for publishing this blog is to invite all Butuanons wherever you are in the world to share your stories about your parents' remarkable experiences while growing up. Those stories that you heard your father talked about while you?re dining. Short or long?humorous?creepy?magical?please share it!

I have so many tales to tell starting from how our real surname is not really MALICAY? But it?s a story for my next blog.

SALAMAT KADIYAW!

(I just copied and pasted this from my blogs. Yes blogS! I never got around to writing an installment to this but I am soO planning to.)