Igpit.

The barrio holds many childhood memories for me, all of them pleasant. During the years prior to grade school, Igpit was where I spent some of my happiest moments. I had no human playmates there, but nature provided me with interesting friends.

Being the eldest child, my two lolas would take turns at towing me to their adjoining farms in Igpit. Back then, there was no electricity or running water there, so the amenities were lacking. Since i loved to read at night, soot would form on my nose and cheeks as i often strained to get closer to the gas lamparillas. Wood-fired stoves were used for cooking. Indoor potty would be a tin arinola, and when outdoor, well, you strike anywhere private. Manual pumps called bombas provide water and when bathing, we would go to the flowing. Oh yes, i could never forget the hanging bridge (thin slabs of wood held together by a rope) over the river that we had to cross to get to my lolas’ farms.

Over at my Lola Babing’s, I would catch dragonflies and grasshoppers and run through the tall grass under the coconut trees. Then my lola would call me over to eat fresh butong (young coconut), with the manunungkit crafting for me a makeshift spoon out of the cocounut husk. There were also coffee and cacao beans and a red and black ladybug-looking fruit called buyangyang that I had fun collecting.

At my Lola Salud’s, I loved to play tag with the goats. Billy goats, ewes, kids–there must have been around ninety of those at the time. At 5 p.m., the men would call and herd the goats to the corner of the large clearing to give the goats their saline treat. In rare occasions, my visit would coincide with the birthing of one of the goats. I remember that I loved to clamber up the piles of coconuts to get a clearer, but a bit distant, view of the birthing. Seeing the placenta-wrapped newborn kid almost immediately try to stand up must have been a real thrill for me! There were also cows and carabaos and a few horses, but I was forbidden to approach them, so we didn’t really bond. :)

I was afraid of frogs who leapt in front of me as I walked through muddy paths after the rain. But I was awed when the men caught a huge sawa (constrictor) and tied it to a post. At one time, they even caught a halo (large lizard) and barbecued it for pulutan!

The Igpit farms are no longer the same. The hanging bridge has been replaced by a concrete one. The house at Lola Salud’s farm has been torn down to make way for the banana plantation. The stars in Igpit are not as bright as yesteryears’ and electric lights now compete with the glow of the fireflies.

When the skies are clear, Chelsea goes with her Pappu to Lola Babing’s farm. She is the first of the new generation of barrio babies. Like me when I was her age, she has no human playmates yet, but she has many piglets to chase. Hopefully, her memories of Igpit will be as happy as mine.

The streets of Igpit still have no name. But the road to the farms where I learned my first life lessons will always be mapped out in my mind.