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///Small things///

Small Things

One week and 36 years ago...

First online Monday October 16, 2006, 8:57 am

1970's, rural Southern Philippines, Mindanao area of Tiduray tribes; but not as rural as
going south more to see starving dogs salvaging meals those days..
Let's picture Mindanao a moment:

Back then, my mom was a 16-year-old girl with the nickname of 'Lita'.
She was the youngest in the family- her brother, Rapillio, was 30 years old and the eldest sibling of four.
He just cried when Lita was born- another sister!
So, Lita often did guy's work- helping out on the farm; like killing snakes and taking care of buffalo.
Rapillio returned from the army that year. He's always been a guapo, masculine, athletic sort of guy.
Lita went to a high school far from the farm and would often, as was the custom in that area, hitch
a ride on passing trucks/jeeps, pass through the wheat and corn fields...

[Yes, the rule there's been 'if you can drive, you get a license'!]
Farms were far apart; separated by such fields. No electricity [none came until 1990, actually].
Phones would be in the city, so one would travel to phone someone far away in emergency or just write a letter.
For local emergency calls, they got by fine calling from place to place;
shouting the brief message until it came to the person.
Cell phones were finally available locally in 2003.

There came an evening where Lita headed home from school.
Rapillio had let two passing guys stay the night.
Early next morning, Rapillio went to the marketplace to sell corn....
...and, a healthy buffalo wandered to the farm, [rope perhaps untied and a fatter one than the pic]

and one of the two guys made a deal with Lita's cousin's brother-in-law:
"Give me the buffalo and you will get guns."
That was a strange thing to say and Lita couldn't see why they'd actually agree.
Later that morning the buffalo was missing, and soon the owner and his people
came to the farm and learned that it was the last place his prize had come to.
Rapillo was to blame.
There was a council later the next day in what I take to be a stockhouse;
the nearest facility in the farm land for a seated discussion.
Witnesses gave the story of what happens.
Rapillio had been at the bench, when
the frenzied owner stabbed Rapillio though his back; in such a way that his stomach was cut, too.
He had to have hid the scythe somewhere.
He drew it out with a crazy look, threatening the room.
Rapillio had ran out.

He ran, heading past the school. Some teachers saw him and cried out 'Rapillio! What happened?!"
because there was a lot of blood.. there'd been a lot at the stockhouse bench, too.
He was running home.
Nearing the cornfields [still far from home] a logging truck took pursuit
to try and help him to hospital, and he finally collapsed.
A nurse on board tended to him. The radio announced that 'Mr Rapillio Martin was stabbed
for stealing ...'s buffalo in Cotabato City.'

He died in hospital three days later, after asking for that sweet, sticky rice.
He couldn't eat, you know, and he meant it more as a farewell,
Lita wasn't allowed to see him because she wouldn't be able to concentrate in school.

They never did find the buffalo nor who stole it- the suspected people and scythe-guy, along with his family,
fled from the area.
No one listened to Lita who saw some guys pulling its rope along,
nor to other Tiduray who had seen a man riding away on it.
However, soon enough word came out that he was innocent and
many came to the funeral.
"You know that's the Tiduray attitude by nature, he? Revenge."
Lita's mom's side wanted to hurt the other side.
The result of that is almost like tribal war, but Lita's uncle who was a professional teacher said don't do that because it will get worse.

When Mary was cleaning the blood of her son in Passion of the Christ mom was reminded of her brother again.

Rapillio's mom had kept the slashed and bloody shirt he died in, washed it, and kept it for years.

After her brother's death, things were a lot more difficult for Lita and her mom. Her sisters had already been married off [there had been
dowry for the uncle who arranged it] and there was no one to help on the farm.
When Lita was a toddler, her dad had been poisoned and that's part of a tale I may note some long day later.
Many animals had to be sold off.

Losing her brother is another reason why mom has so much faith in church.

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One week and 36 years ago...