:: Absolute Insanity ::

Manobo

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND CUSTOMS (summarized)

The traditional social structure consists of four classes: the bagani, the baylan, commoner, and slave. The bagani class, now gone, defended the community and went to battle. The baylan, who can still be found, is a male or female priest and healer. The commoners were farmers; and the slaves, who had been seized in raids, belonged to the ruler and were usually given away as part of the bridewealth. Village members could also become enslaved if they could not pay the penalty for a crime they had committed, such as thievery, destruction of property, adultery, or verbal offense. Slaves however could win their freedom through diligence in the fulfillment of their duties, faithfulness to their master, or payment of their debt through servitude. Slaves who were treated like members of the family although still in servitude are bilew, and it was considered an insult if they were referred to as slaves. One who did so was committing tempela, ridiculing someone for their low status physical handicap.

Intervillage relationship is based on upakat or reciprocity. Village members, usually belonging to kinship group or groups allied by marriage, expect assistance from each other in matters of subsistent labor, defense, and support in crises.

Marriage is traditionally by parental arrangement, which begins when each of two families chooses a spokesperson, preferably a datu or bai, who is known for eloquence and knowledge of custom law. Marriage is an alliance system in which reciprocity and mutual obligation between the groom’s and bride’s kinship groups are expected. It is, therefore, a means of maintaining peace and order, for the Manobo’s practice of retaliation does not extend to one’s kindred or allies. Incest taboo is strictly followed up to a common great-great-great grandparent on both the mother’s and father’s side.

Polygamy, although rarely practiced, was allowed. A datu might resort to it, usually for economic and political reasons. Several wives allowed for more fields that could be cultivated, since the Manobo women did all the work in the fields. Polygyny also multiplied one’s alliances and expanded them to several communities. However, the man could take another wife only if the first wife and her parents consented. The first wife remained the head wife.

Illness may be caused by the person’s gimukod (soul) wandering away from the body. Or, the gimukod of the sick person has been captured by the gimukod of the dead person and carried away to the latter’s new home.

Trivia: I made this just this morning as instructed by our mentor in Sociology =)

Reaction:

The Manobo culture has prominent differences compared to the Christians. Though they also have the concept of having classes in the society, we don’t have the slavery system. I was just wondering why their healers and priests are women and not men. It was also sad to say that they have lost the class of defenders, making them more vulnerable for attacks and invasions of foreign groups. Their slaves I think sometimes receive special treatments because they can become part of the family and get defended from mockeries. Their way of punishment for those who committed crimes is unusual for me because keeping them as slaves might give them a chance to murder you to their hearts content. Social relationship existing in their society is remarkable because they go hand in hand on their obligations and protect each other. That relationship could be established through arranged marriage which is also evident on the Maranao Muslims. They also have small scope when it comes to enemy and never avenge to those on the allies. Practicing polygamy as their culture for me is considered a practical way of civilization and industrialization. They also believe in superstitions which I found bizarre.

An alarming issue on rapid growth of juvenile delinquency is now striking our society. Youths of today are much influenced by the mass media. Cases of premarital case, unwanted pregnancy, & abortion are just some evidences. God has given us the power to fight any kind of temptation, the intellect. Through this, we can discern right and wrong. But because Satan is wise, he tempts us to do a thing by introducing it to us in very interesting, satisfying & hypnotizing. And as a result, we face grave consequences, physical, mental & spiritual prices to pay often for a lifetime, like heavy responsibilities, humiliation, diseases, bad memories, & unwanted pregnancies. Thus after committing those acts, we realize that having premarital sex or fornication, as what the dictionary says, is a sin, mocking God’s plan for a secure marriage, that we should not be easily tempted by what we see, what we hear, & what we feel.

Is Christian sex education the answer to these? Well, according to the columnist, “We believe that a good Christian sex education should be bible-based and Qu’ran-based for the Muslims.” I agree w/ him. The dep-ed should give emphasis on the proper execution of this operation because a wrong information or misunderstanding may result into confusion which may lead into a grave problem, particularly sexual immorality.

I do believe that a person’s future is handed at him in his teens, during the times that he has the knowledge & wisdom that comes from experience to guide him in his choices and decisions. A youth is entrusted w/ care, not just physically but also with development of his character and personality. And as he goes on, he will seek the counsel of parents, friends, and especially the teachings that a teacher can give. And to fulfill the goal(to fight this struggle), like anyone else, we must have the stamina to stay with the battle we are facing and wrestle with the tides of life. Through the department of education, this can be attained. I suggest that they should consider the way the teenagers would respond and make a remedy for it in order to stay in the guide & avoid them to put their minds in the uncertain way. It should be planned, well-organized, and properly prepared so that everything would go on smoothly, harmoniously, and effectively. They should bring with them the bible and the moral teaching about sex, of what God meant on “sex as his given gift,” the law of chastity, and the fruit that they will bear whatever prohibited acts made so that they will have a deeper & better understanding about this issue, to surpass & overcome satanic attacks or whatever act that may bring them into patterns of destroying health & character.

The issue also tackles about committing adultery. In the commandments of

God. It is clearly stated that “Thou shall not commit adultery(6th),” and

“Thou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife(9th).” Monogamy or having married only once is endorsed by god. It is therefore a sin to commit adultery & covet a neighbor’s wife. During the holy matrimony also, the words “for better & worse, ‘till death do us part & etc…” are faithfully spoken inside the church & in front the altar. By then, where is the essence of marriage there if you disobey the said commandments? Most of the results of those said acts are divorce/ marriage annulment, breaking of families, troubles & etc… Therefore, this case is graver than juvenile delinquency in the way that it is more complex and many aspects can be affected. Thus Christian sex education, marriage & it’s responsibilities should be thought more vividly & firmly to the couples.

And lastly, to do those plans well & successful, the department of education should be accompanied by the church for such purpose that it could fulfill the role they play as mentors of mental & spiritual dimensions.

Trivia: I made this essay as a term paper on my Theology Class in the University of the Immaculate Conception.

Love for one’s country is indeed a very much requirement that every single Filipino, as young as a child, even from different races should have. But the thing is, can we still find nationalistic Filipinos today? Yes but rarely and that’s a big deal! Being nationalistic seems a very crucial act today especially to the youth. Even I, myself, can say that I do many things that oppose and contradict on what we call “nationalism.” Take for example are the things that we bought from the market. It’s no wonder and it can’t be denied that we Filipinos yearn for imported products and even reject our very own. We even shout “Wow! Imported… Let’s prioritize this!” the worse is when we say “Made in Philippines? I demand for an imported, branded one!” What an undeniable truth…

We are just making an impediment and barrier to the progress, industrialization and countryside development. One more thing is that we no longer lend free service for our nation, it must have payment. We enjoy life neglecting our responsibilities in our environment. Throwing garbage anywhere is common. It is an aggravation to our present situation, isn’t it? Where are the realizations that our past heroes who endured pain and fought till death taught us? Do their accomplishments and sacrifices still have worth & essence? Maybe yes but is deteriorating in no time. We seldom participate in the programs raised by the government for national purposes. On and on we go, destroying the government, demanding the president to step down instead supporting hand in hand for economic growth and development. We want a better Philippines and a better life, but think about it, we are the ones who ruined and messed it.

But beside the dark side of ours, lies the brilliant one. Nationalism is shown in many ways. The OFWs work hard not just for their families but also for their beloved Philippines. They are the ambassadors of a real Filipino with real hearts for their country. They represent and uphold Filipinos as hardworking, hospitable, and trustworthy. They also strengthen the peso value and boost economic progress. In fact they can be treated as heroes of our age. There are also youths of today that are very aggressive to unfold, nurture, and make use of their talents they posses and compete with other countries, with excellence in different fields garnering awards and pride to our country. We also have the patriotic, the armed forces, ready to defend the nation at all cost, wrestling with bullets and missiles, risking their lives. There are many things about nationalism and it’s splendid to say that they illuminate our dark sides.

But the question is, “do we really love and care for Philippines?” well, ours is the answer. All we need to do is make wise decisions and hope for a better country!

Trivia: This was an essay I made on my History 1 Class at the University of the Immaculate Conception

Hello again! Whew! It’s been quite while now since I made my last post here. I’ve been very busy on my studies, all those homeworks, projects, research,  exams and all those exhausting student stuffs that diverted away my attention from blogging. I would also like to confess that DotA has already got me, and I’m getting addicted to it. That is also one of the reasons why I skipped making posts for a while and left my blog with no updates.

My life has been kind of busy the past weeks not only because of the mentioned reasons but also because of the changes in my life. I had so many thoughts to blog about but I wasn’t able to due to the fact that my time is short and I admit that I’m not good at managing them…hehehe. Anyway, there were so many topics I could have written like the miseries and disappointments on my student life like the pressure, the little fights, conflicts, and most of all the F75, I don’t think you know what it means but some of you do. However, there were also thoughts of insanity, happy moments, adventures, and a whole lot more which I could have blogged.

Just recently, We had our class parteeh on Samal and it was so strange that I didn’t had the desire of making a post, I was very tired and I tell you, I have temporarily stopped blogging for a couple of weeks. If you would like to know the detailed happenings on our adventurous outing, then visit the official classA Blog. There you can see and feel the excitement we experienced by reading the posts, watching the videos, and of course downloading thousands of pictures which was uploaded using my very own server! weeeh! hehehe…

Oooopppss… This post is getting longer so I’ll cut this short and sum up everything. Te semester has ended and a temporary vacation is granted to every student with great enthusiasm to break out and freak out from the distress of school life. I’m going home to my homeland anytime this day, though I don’t want to. I love it here because first of all I have internet connection; I can play gg with my classmates and download movies to the max! hehe… It’s almost two months since I went home and I think I should be there now that classes are over. I missed lots of things there, my dogs, cats, birds and everything. I’m also looking forward to getting relaxed and “tambok” there because as they say, I become one if and only if I’m there… Hahaha! Funny… So, I won’t make an MMK story here and I’ll say farewell to everybody! I shall return!

–xoxo-

Hapy Tree Friends

Cute, cuddly, and horribly wrong… It’s the Happy Tree Friends! They may be sugary sweet but there’s no way they’ll escape their horrible fate! What chaos will these critters experience next?

In Spin Fun it is time to try out the merry-go-round at the playfield! Lumpy is ready to spin the three friends around but things tend to go wrong as the spinning gets too intense. Choose your desired character and spin the merry-go-round by pressing left on the joystick. When the merry-go-round is spinning fast enough, just press fire to send off cuddles, giggles or toothy.

Hit as many obstacles as hard as possible to get the highest score - not all obstacles are available from start - score high to unlock even more obstacles, that gives you more pleasure and more points. Good luck!

I am really addicted to this kiddie (kiddie? questionable!hehe) animation because it is unique. I praise the creator of this because of his innovative mind, a masterpiece that is! I didn’t know anything about this until Jopal Mathew Dumanig, a classmate of mine, told me about it. Well, so far I have unlocked all the items and hopefully will continue to the end! weeeh!

DOWNLOAD HERE

The different kinds of conscience

Over the years, moral theologians have distinguished several types of conscience.

A true or correct Catholic conscience is one that has made a sincere effort to discover the truth and one that acts in accordance with the Word of God and the teachings of the church.

An erroneous conscience is one that is contrary to God’s Word and the teachings of the church. One may have an erroneous conscience and not know it. For example, a couple may think that their marriage is recognized by the church when in fact it is not. A couple may think that “living together” prior to marriage is morally correct when in fact it is contrary to the teaching of the church.

A bad conscience is one that hasn’t even inquired about what is right or wrong. It is a conscience that has no regard for objective truth.

A weak conscience is one that may know what is right but hasn’t the courage or spiritual power to do what is right. Or it may know what is wrong and sinful and yet it does it; e.g., a woman may know abortion is wrong but she does not have the psychological or moral strength needed to carry the baby to full term. A weak conscience is also one that is easily swayed by the opinions of other people.

A scrupulous conscience is one that frequently thinks that it is sinning when in fact it is not. For example, because of deformative and perfectionistic training in a particular area like sexuality, one may think that one is constantly sinning against the virtue of chastity. It has been said that a scrupulous person thinks that God is a tyrant. His God has an all seeing eye that watches his every move and is ready to pounce on him for every wrong act. A person with a scrupulous conscience needs to place himself under the guidance of a competent and compassionate confessor who will help to introduce him to the love and mercy of God.

A lax conscience is one that is insensitive to the good that ought to be done and the evil that ought to be shunned. For example one may be a racist or one may have little or no social conscience or be very permissive in sexuality issues.

An informed conscience is one that has sought to inform and educate itself about a particular moral issue. For Catholics informing one’s conscience will always involve a prayerful reflection on what scripture and the official teaching of the church has to say on a particular issue.

I am not 100% sure that this is the answer guys… I’ll still be looking for another set of answers…cIchope this is correct…

Weeks before the anticipated Intramural, I have received a call from my mother that my elder brother Peter Bryan Dayday was sick and was sent to the hospital on our hometown and was transferred to another hospital in Kidapawan city. He was complaining of unbearable pain in his back and in near his stomach. We thought it was just a normal back pain. We also assumed that he was just having what we call “panuhot” because his sweat was cold and common effect of it is stomach ache. He was diagnosed to have either gallstones or some sort of worm called “ascaris,” and what’s worse was that the doctor wasn’t certain between the two and made another series of tests. Unfortunately, the results were still vague yet they have raised the idea of performing an operation called Cholecystectomy. As a mother, my mom was really worried; not only by my brother’s illness but also with the threat of terrorism propagating in the province. Warning messages have been passed form person to person, saying that citizens should be vigilant and alert for anytime terrorists might attack, not even the hospitals are exempted. Just try to picture out, in the middle of the operation, there could be a black out and a terrorist attack as well, what worse could happen? And so taking into account all the reasons to withraw from the operation, not to mention that the hospital’s equipment aren’t technically complete and “hi-tech,” they decided to bring my brother here in Davao city and admitted at the Davao Medical School Foundation Hospital because it is safer and we are confident of the facilities. My brother had another series of tests and was admitted Friday afternoon. He was scheduled for a major operation on the following day, Saturday in order to remove and open his gallbladder and find out what was really there. In the very moment my brother was in the operating room, I wasn’t there because I was in school attending some errands. I was just receiving updates through text messages. He was on the OR for more than five hours, long enough for us to be really worried. When I got there, he was already lying on the bed, his operation just successfully ended. He was uttering words, saying things that are in relation with his concerns, out of his consciousness and knowing. It was a normal reaction from the anesthesia injected on him. The doctor stated that it was no ascaris (they looked ascaris on the test results because they lined up forming the shape of a worm), they were gallstones, blocking the bile duct making my brother look yellow of which his eyes are the most noticeable (jaundice). It was impossible for him to have ascaris moving around his body considering all the immunizations and injection he have undergone in his physical check ups and medications as a nursing student.

I see that this post is getting longer so I’ll cut this short. After the operation has ended and my brother was resting on his bed, we were beside him. I was watching over him together with my mother. I had my share in buying the medicines and paying for the bills. And so normal hospital moments happened like visitors coming in bringing foods (which I enjoyed eating! lolz =)), and since I am just human who needs rest, we took switching schedules watching over my brother together with my other brother. I was eager to go to school and attend the intramural but I just can’t because I was all wore out and exhausted so I got some sleep. After my brother got better and better, I have decided to go to school until he was finally discharged from the hospital. Thank God he is okay now and currently continuing his medication and recovery. By the way he was about to take his review for the December Nursing Board Exam but he didn’t had the chance because of the abrupt phenomenon. It was very strong and courageous of him to bear the pain brought by 7 gallstones in weeks duration and having the strong will and desire to pursue his review and take the review.

I just hope his wounds would heal soon and everything will be fine…