Dagway
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JULY 2016
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THESPECTRUM
Dagway V O L . 6 1 N O . 3 | J U LY 2 0 1 6
FEATURES A married couple, both self-taught artists, debuts their first solo exhibit of hyperrealistic portraits.
Hindi bayani si Jose Rizal ayon sa batas. Bakit nga ba? Read on page 3
Read on page 2
UNIVERSITY Look back on the highlights of this year’s Handumanan Week themed “Keep the Fire Burning.” Read on page 4
REVIEWS Local crafts made from naturally-occuring minerals in the province are featured on this month’s Negros Tours.
LEISURE How well do you know the Hiligaynon dialect? Try out this month’s crossword. Read on page 7
Read on page 6
COLORS AND STROKES. Participants sit on the USLS Parking Lot grounds during the mural painting contest last June 28.
Photo by Nicci Bernelle D. Aguilar
By Iris Denise N. Rivera | Illustration by Shara Mae L. Pelayo and Jowan Dave G. Guides
A family sits around their dining room table, slightly apprehensive of taking part in the small, sweet breakfast (a mound of dates and strong tea) set up for them after a month of fasting. The patriarch smiles at his children and grandchildren. He takes one date, says “Bismillah (in the name of Allah)” and consumes it. The rest smile and follow suit. On the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar (otherwise known as the Hijri calendar), all sane and healthy adult Muslims who are not traveling, participate in a celebration that obligates them to fast from dawn to sunset, give alms to the less fortunate, and act kindly towards their neighbors out of obedience to Allah. This celebration is called Ramadan. In an interview with Lasallian and practicing Muslim, Aisha Aquino, she details how she and her family celebrate the Holy month. Food preparations would begin around seven in the evening to be given to brothers and sisters who would soon have their Iftar, or the first meal after sunset. Alms to be given to the poor (zakat) would also be set aside. “It [Ramadan] signifies sacrifice and generosity towards people, and faith in God,” Aquino said, explaining that around this time, selflessness becomes a common feature among the Muslim community. Ramadan fasting or Sawm begins and ends with the new moon. However, the exact date varies annually on the Gregorian calendar. This year, Ramadan began on the sixth of June and ended on the fifth of July. The purpose of the fast is to develop and strengthen one’s self-control and discipline to resist wrongful desires and habits.
Besides eating and drinking, it is also forbidden to engage in sexual activities, to backbite others, to or gossip. It’s a time where an adult, free from compulsion or coercion, devotes himself fully to the word of his Creator. Muslims who aren’t able to fast during this time can make up the days they missed along with feeding one person for every day they have to make up. As long as they accomplish this before the next Ramadan, it will not be considered a sin. For those who were ill, menstruating, bleeding after childbirth, or traveling, and could not fast, they only have to make up for the days they missed. They do not have to feed any poor people as cited in the Qur’an. On the last night of Ramadan, there is an obligation for every financially-able Muslim to give his or her contribution to charity. Zakat Al-Fitr is a more specific form of zakat wherein food must be given. This is usually the local staple food with a minimum amount of one prophetic saa or sa’ (a measurement of volume
equivalent to three liters). Shielah Baguec, a Filipina Muslim situated in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, explains that Zakat Al-Fitr is paid on behalf of every single member of the family, including non-fasting members such as the children, the ill, and the elderly. “Our dad would give one sa’ of Basmati rice, which is the local staple, as a contribution from each of the 10 members of our household. That’s around 30 liters of Basmati rice,” Baguec elaborated. In Riyadh, a truck usually collects the sacks of rice and delivers them to the poorer regions of Saudi Arabia. However, one may also give these donations to any perceivably deserving Muslims, such as homeless families or street cleaners. Eid Al-Fitr, the most important holiday on the Hijri calendar, is celebrated at the end of Ramadan or the first day of the month of Shawwal. It is a threeday celebration where those of the Islamic faith give thanks to Allah for the strength and will to observe
the fast. During this time, fasting is actually forbidden, so practicing Muslims must help themselves to a small, sweet breakfast before attending a large public gathering. “The prayer would start at around six in the morning and would usually last for about two to three hours because of the numerous ceremonies,” Aquino said. Families then visit relatives and neighbors to celebrate. Children are given envelopes of money, and the needy are given food. Since 2002, Eid Al-Fitr has been considered a national holiday in the Philippines despite it being a predominantly Christian nation. Muslims constitute at least 11% of the population but their traditions still evade a number of Filipinos. Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr are holy and cultural traditions that should not only be thought of as holidays. These are families, and communities, and friends, and neighbors who, even on empty stomachs, still look forward to giving away a portion of their surplus wealth in order to help. They are a community with faith so deeply ingrained in their bones that they are able to sympathize with the needy in humble obedience to Allah. Even when their practices are misconstrued, even when their beliefs are questioned, and even when their faith is bastardized by outsiders and soulless terrorists. Imagine how difficult it would be to cause wars and conflicts if one side took the time to reach out and understand where the other is coming from. Today’s youth is being barricaded by erroneous information posted on multiple social media platforms that could otherwise be platforms for truth. It’s about time for those barriers to be broken down for brother to see brother, regardless of tradition, culture, or belief.
Muzones in Translation
Photo by Jhon Aldrin M. Casinas
Eid Al-Fitr: The feast after the fast
SIGNING. Ma. Cecilia Locsin-Nava laughs as she signs her translated book titled “Shri-Bishaya” launched last June 30. By Starlene Joy B. Portillo and RJ Nichole L. Ledesma | Photo by Jhon Aldrin M. Casinas
Most novelists have recurring subjects embedded in the length of their prolific careers. For Dr. Ma. Cecilia Locsin-Nava, it is the Hiligaynon-writer Ramon L. Muzones. Her literary furor towards Muzones has led her to write books about him, as well as translate his works from Hiligaynon to English. Last June 30, Nava launched her second book in translation titled Shri-Bishaya, another Muzones classic, at The Negros Museum. A recasting of Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro’s book about a pre-Spanish account of the history of the Island of Panay titled Maragtas (1907), Ramon Muzones’ Shri-Bishaya (1969) is both, according to Leonicio Deriada, Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas, “a nostalgic paean addressed to Western Visayas as well as a commentary on the state of the nation under the Marcos administration” which tackles two of Muzones’ favoured themes: the concept of an ideal state and the making of an ideal leader. Having been published in
Official Student Media Corps of the University of St. La Salle * USLS Student Activity Center, La Salle Ave., Bacolod City, Negros Occidental 6100 * July 2016
Hiligaynon Magazine two years before the declaration of Martial Law, Shri-Bishaya acquired its second Hiligaynon – English translation through Nava’s efforts. With a Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines (UP) and a master’s degree in English Literature from the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), Dr. Ma. Cecilia LocsinNava once headed the Mass Communications Department, served as a moderator for The Spectrum, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a full-time professor here in the university. She has previously penned three books, namely: From Redaction to Subversion: The Evolution of the Hiligaynon Corrido (2008), and two books concerning Muzones: History and Society in Novels of Ramon Muzones (2001) and a translation of a Muzones classic titled Margosatubig (2012), both of which won The National Book Award for Literary Studies and Best Novel in a Foreign Language, respectively.. “If [this book] wins again, it will break the impasse and pave the way for regional writers to compete. I feel that the others would be inspired as well,” Nava said.