MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Let’s start of with my cute full name Ana Farina Rangaig

and I actually have nicknames that others would prefer to
call me. Along with that many other nicknames in
elementary I’m really known as Ana I don’t know maybe
I’m not that proud of what my family calls me by Nene. But
then I realize it’s not bad of having a unique nickname so
now they totally call me Nene. I was really made in
Philippines on 2002, 18th day of June. A fresh young Senior
High School student, Grade 11 STEM studying in a
prestigious school in Iligan City, Dansalan College
Foundation. And I’m about to tell you who I am. I am a
type of person who is shy at first but when you get to know
me, you will see the crazy me. Some other say that I am an introvert person but I’m
not. I am the kind of jolly person and I friendly like to talk to others. I am also an
adventurous young girl who is really love to go somewhere else that involves foods.
And honestly I am a moody person. When I’m angry or not in the mood, I’m just
quiet in a corner and no one wants to talk to me because they know that they can’t
talk to me well. White and black are the color that attracts me and on my own
descriptive of white and black are given me the balance in life in which white can
always be with black. I like to eat sour and spicy foods because it gives the
satisfaction that I want. As a teenager with high dreams in life. I have a long hair and
sizzling eyes, average height, and small lips. My favorite things to do are sketching,
drawing, painting and watching kdramas. It actually related to arts because I love
arts to show to others what’s on my mind in the form of arts. I can also dance as my
exercise but when it comes to singing I’m not good at all. So much words about
myself, moving on to my family background. The one happy memory we have of our
parents was when I was 8 years old.
We used to be an aspiring family, but
anyways better not to bring back the
memories. Fast forward to present day
and my parents have been divorced
for over 10 years now. My parent’s
names are Farida Monawara and
Samad Rangaig. A heroic housewife
and loving businessman. As you all
know I’m the only girl in the family. I
am not frail, delicate or ladylike in the
first. I constantly tried to tell people while growing up that I wasn’t a princess
because I was the only girl. But the truth, I am. As I got older, the definition of the
term “princess” changed. I am the princess of our family because I am cherished. I
am fourth in the family and I have five siblings and they were all straight guys. My
brothers love me so much and they want to protect me always. Their commitment to
guarding my heart and identity is overwhelming. Today, I am so happy to say that I
am princess. Family is the most precious gift that God has given us.
 Mahal kong kapaligiran

Aming pahahalagahan.

Pag-asa ng mga kabataan

Para sa kinabukasan.

I am who I am today

Sweet like a chocolate cake,

Shines like a sun everyday

Loving myself is not mistake.

Family is my true love

I really love each of them.

They’re really sent from above

I am grateful to have them.

Pagkatao ko’y totoo

Masaya sa kung ano.

Pamilya ang bubuo

Sa sariling may tino.

 DANSALAN DECLARATION

Datus of Lanao, with thirty Sultans signed a strongly worded letter, popularly known as
"Dansalan Declaration" to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and the United States Congress
asking them that the Filipinos should be granted independence and the Moro Province should
also be given their own independence or better left under American rule until such time that
they were prepared to grant their independence to be known as Bangsamoro.

Overview

If we look at the history of the Bangsamoro people, there were many declarations and petitions
by then Moro leaders to exclude themselves under the Unitary Philippine corrupted Republic
example,

1)– June 9, 1921 - petition of the people of Sulu, they stated clearly: “ We are independent for
500 years. Even Spain failed to conquer us. If the United States quits the Philippines, and the
Filipinos attempt to govern us. We will fight.”

2) - February 1, 1924 - Declaration of Rights and Purposes(Zamboanga declaration) forwarded

to the US Congress, lead by Sultan Mangiging of Maguindanao, Hadji Panglima Nuno
(Zamboanga), Datu Sacaluran (Zamboanga), Maharaja Habing (Zamboanga) , Abdulah Piang
(Maguindanao) and Datu Benito of Lanao, a portion of declaration runs this; “In the event that
the US grants independence to the Philippine Islands without provision for our retention under
the American Flag, it is our firm intention and resolve to declare ourselves as independent
Constitutional Sultanate to be known to the world as Moro Nation.”

3) - March 18, 1935 –Dansalan Declaration Lead by Hadji Abdulhamid Bongabong of Unayan
and 189 Maranaos sent a letter of Appeal to the US Congress , the portion of appeal runs this: “
Should the American People grant Philippine independence, the Islands of Mindanao and Sulu
should not be included in such independence. Our public land should not be given to other
people other than the Moro Nat.

We should be given time to acquire them, because most of us have no lands. Our people do not
yet realize the value of acquiring those lands by the process of law. Where shall we obtain the
support of our family if our lands are taken from us? It will be safe to us that a law should be
created restricting (the acquisition) of our land by other people.
This will avoid future trouble.”… Look at deeply the biases and unfair laws passed in the US
Congress and Philippine Commonwealth that ignited those predicaments and eventually made
Bangsamoro became strangers to their own homeland:

1) The Philippine Commission Act 2254 of 1913, requiring the Christians Settlers or
Homesteaders from Luzon and Visayas to own 16 hectares of land in Mindanao while the native
Bangsamoro to own only 8 hectares.

2) The Public Act 2874 of 1919, for the Christian Settlers to have 24 hectares whiles the native
Moros only 10 hectares.

3) The Commonwealth Act 141 of 1936, 24 hectares for the Christians and only 4 hectares for
the Moros, and many laws followed. Because of such laws, Christian settlers came to Mindanao
in waves until such time outnumbered the Moro population.

So the Moro people became minority to their own homeland. and so, the declaration of Martial
Law that killed and mayhem thousands of innocent civilians both settlers and Moros. Many
provinces in Mindanao created without the consultations of the Bangsamoro.

History tells us also, that one of the Spaniard's objectives was to Christianized or even eradicate
the Moros in Mindanao. If we borrow the accounts of Professor Melanio A. Laguardia (Pres.
Southern Christian College, Midsayap, 2007.)

In his book Strengthening Muslim-Christian Solidarity “Because of the minority situation of the
Muslims in the Philippines, there were those who believe that the solution to the Moro
Problem is to eradicate all the Muslims.

After all, they would say that A GOOD MORO IS A DEAD MORO. Before we are carried
emotionally with the argument, let us think that Christians in Southeast Asia are in the minority.

There are about 65 million Christians in Southeast Asia compared to about 150 million Muslims.
This is not to mention the Muslims in South Asia and the Middle East. (1992)”.

“Had the Spaniards were delayed by one generation or half century in coming to the
Philippines, the country could dominantly Muslims. Thus, it was pointed out jokingly that
instead of a Moro Problem, we could have had an Ilocano Problem”.

Another account by a prominent Archbishop of Cotabato Orlando Quevedo, Oblates of Mary

Immaculate (OMI) on his Foreword in the Book “Understanding Mindanao Conflict” by Pat Diaz:
“Through more than four centuries, the aspirations of Moros for their own place in the sun
have never waned. They resisted the Spanish Conquistadores.
They fought against the Americans. Having at least accepted American governance many of
their leaders preferred to remain under the Americans rather than to be under the Christian
Filipinos.” Giving such circumstances, the revolutionary Bangsamoro (MILF) will surely detach
themselves from the Filipino mainstream society. And to call them Filipino is unacceptable for
them. Perhaps the MILF will be neutralized or dismembered in the future , but another
generation of Bangsamoro group of same objective shall emerge, and so the problem even
worse.

Every ancestral domain of different tribes in the Philippines have their right to claims their right
to practice their customs and norms, but the Bangsamoro ancestral domain is quite differ
among the other group such as the Tagbanuas, Bilaans and others. Before the coming of the
Spaniards , the Muslims had already their own governance and had business contact and
treaties with foreign countries, in fact, the 1st group of people called Moro by the Spaniards
were the Muslims in Manila ruled by Rajah Sulaiman Mahmud and assisted by his uncle Rajah
Matanda in 1570.

Rajah Sulaiman, the last Muslim Ruler in Manila preferred Martyrdom than to submit to the
Spaniards. He perished in the hands of Capt. Martin de Goiti.

The entire Luzon and Visayas were subdued and Christianized thereafter. In 1619, Sultan
Kudarat ascended the throne of Maguindanao Sultanate, he was the famous, and unparalleled
Moro warrior in history, unconquered and died of old age at 90 in 1671. His sphere of influence
and able to collect tribute reached as far as Mindoro, Zamboanga and some part of Borneo and
the Visayas. He was honored to call him the “Greatest Muslim Moro Warrior in History of all
time”.

According to Retired Gen. Esperon, the major reference for the resumption of the peace talk in
the future between the GRP-MILF will be the unsigned MOA-AD (Mindanews, Sept.2008). So, if
I may ask, I preferred to focus the area of BJE to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,
forget other areas stipulated in the MOA –AD.

Let the MILF confront and overcome the multifaceted problems inherent to the Bangsamoro,
not just a simple problem but it requires thorough repair or in medical parlance Major Surgery,
such as low moral and spiritual upbringing among moros, illiteracy, too many loose firearms,
the private armies, injustices, underdeveloped countryside, family feud, political dynasties,
poor social and health services among rural folks and many more. Albeit, the basis in solving
those problems should be strong moral and spiritual approach or foundation.

To the MILF, please let repeat the May 29, 2005 (Huge Moro Gathering in Darapanan town), call
again the entire Bangsamoro masses to gather again in Darapanan and prove or show to the
world that entire Bangsamoro people are for the MOA-AD.
The MILF is a legitimate revolutionary organization with full mandate from entire Bangsamoro if
not all and with complete military set up. So, DDR or Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reintegration as the new approach and a requisite for the resumption of another round of
peace talks, is a tantamount to surrender on the part of the MILF.

If I may conclude my reaction, here are some points to consider in order achieving everlasting
peace in Mindanao. Let the MOA-AD be signed anyway plebiscite may determine the fate of
those affected areas, and this alone is a form of consultation, or the MOA-AD should be the
basis for the resumption of another round of talks and the congress will passed into law any
agreement signed after the plebiscite and lastly, sincerity and respect to the peace process and
agreement is the win-win solution.

From the article of Dr. Norodin A. Kuit

(drkuit@yahoo.com)
 Biography of Ibrahim A. Jubaira

Born in Jolo,Sulu, in 1920 of an Arab father and Tausug mother, Ibrahim

Jubaira Received his early education in his birthplace. His well-to-do parents
belonged to the highest class of Muslim royalty which set him apart from
those of other classes. Although his childhood was a happy one, he was quite
sensitive to surroundings outside his home and he began to feel plight of his
less fortunate companions. He remembers the Arab immigrants that
swarmed through Jolo when he was a child. The incidents in the lives of those
immigrants later became material for his stories. In 1933 his parents decided
to sent him to Singapore to join his uncles. But he escaped to Zamboanga
when he was thirteen and continued his education in Zamboanga City,
eventually completing a teacher's course at Zamboanga Normal School and
acquiring an Associate in Arts degree at the Zamboanga A.E Colleges. While
in college, he was editor-in chief of the Zamboanga Collegian. He also found
time to write for the local newspapers. For a time he was also a regular
colonist for the Zamboanga Inquirer and, from 1957 to 1859, served as an
editor of the crescent Review, a monthly magazine for Muslims. For
seventeen years, Jubaira taught in the public schools of Zamboanga, and
then became a technical researcher for the congress of Philippines in Manila.
Jubaira was also information officer of the Philippines Commission on
National Integration, and Cultural Affairs Officer of gather Philippine Embassy
in Kuala Lumpur. He is third secretary and vice consul of the Philippine
Embassy in Sri Lanka.

Jubaira started writing in his native Zamboanga and Sulu at the age of
eighteen. His first story, “Death and My Father Dying,” appeared in the
Graphic in 1939 when he was only nineteen years of age. This was later
listed among Jose Garcia Villa’s Best Short Stories of the 1940s. In 1956 he
was the recipient of a SmithMundt grant in creative writing and journalism. In
2959, the University of the Philippines honored him with the Golden Jubilee
Award. In 1970, Jubaira received the Presidential Medal and Certificate of
Merit in Literature. Also he was granted the Republic Heritage Award.
Introduction

So much blood has been shed in the struggle over Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. I
believe it is high time, and the reason has been more than enough, for all of us to dig
into the facts of history and find out once and for all who or which group of people may
claim the region as their ancestral domain.

The availability of more documents on the history of the Moro people compels us to
focus our analysis on the ancestral lands of the Muslims. In the process, however, we
shall eventually touch on the lands of the Lumadnon.

What Standard Do We Use for Determining the Ancestral Domain of the Muslims?

For us to say that a particular territory falls, within ancestral domain, the following
factors must be present:

First, a tribe must have enjoyed prior and uninterrupted occupancy over the territory
until 1898 (or even until 1939 when only a handful of settlers from Luzon and the
Visayas have so far moved into the area);

Second, one sultanate or another must have reigned over this tribe, and such reign
must have been uninterrupted until 1898. Brief interruptions like a Spanish take over
need not bother us if they are brief and temporary in nature.

The elements of “prior and uninterrupted occupancy” are universally recognized as a

legitimate basis of possession anywhere in the world, whether titled or not. And so, this
would probably suffice for our purposes.
“Domain” is also interpreted here to mean not only land, but also rivers, creeks, seas,
mountains, and hills, forests and natural wealth contained therein, including wild game.

We shall not include here the content of “Bangsa Moro” as defined by the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) inasmuch as this concept surfaced only with the emergence of
the MNLF in 1972.

Let us now examine the territories of the Sulu and Maguindanao sultanates.

Which Territory Fell Within the Domain of the Sulu Sultanate?

Among the people of Sulu, the Sulu archipelago, Basilan, Sambongan, Palawan and
North Borneo are commonly regarded as the territory of the Sulu Sultanate. For
convenience, allow me to exclude North Borneo from our discussion. Samboangan
probably did not mean the entirety of the Zamboanga peninsula since it is a well known
fact that much of it also fell within the domain of the Maguindanao sultanate.

The Islamized tribes in the territory were the Tausug in Sulu; Sama and Badjao in Tawi-
Tawi; Jama Mapun in Cagayan de Sulu and southern Palawan; Palawani and Molbog
(or Melebugnon) in Southern Palawan; Yakan in Basilan, and the Kalibugan in
Zamboanga. Non-Islamized tribes included the Batak and Tagbanua of southern
Palawan and the Subanun of the Zamboanga peninsula. No other tribe has been known
to have occupied said territories before them. Note that we have not included northern
Palawan; there is no clear cut historical evidence that this portion ever fell within the
territory of the Sulu sultanate. Muslim settlements in the province were located in the
following areas:

Eastern Coasts: Western Coasts: Southern Tip:

Abo-Abo Velun Canipan

Sumbo Sugud Calanganan
Paniquian Boyata Bato-Bato
Corum-i
Malanut Huantig
Tacbusao
Bon-Bon Ylanan Bulilig
Ynabung Lonacan Jaya
Malihud DiunganTacboaya Ungen
Guinagan Eran Tacba
Culasian Junbilun
Polaninga Pinanasan
Luuc Taaraya
Sopa
Bagsuk
Balabac

And these generally correspond to that portion from Aborlan southward to Balabac.
           
The whole time that the Spaniards were wreaking havoc in the sultanate domain, from
1565 to 1898, the sultanate machinery generally remained intact. But certain portions of
its territory went to the colonizers Samboangan or the present site of Zamboanga City
was taken over in 1718 through armed might; southern Palawan was ceded to them by
the Sultan of Sulu in 1705. There is one curios angle in this cession. Earlier, in 1703,
the same territory was ceded by the Sultan of Maguindanao to the Spaniards.
           
One additional factor in the story of Zamboanga may be cited here. The chavacano
speaking people were brought in by the Spaniards in 1718 and have always been
colonial subjects to the end of Spanish rule. To this date, they constitute a substantial
number in Zamboanga City. May the areas they occupied be considered as their
ancestral domain? I am not sure, really.
           
After the wholesale land grabbing effected through the Treaty of Paris, the American
colonial government opened Basilan to capitalist settlers and investors. Likewise with
Zamboanga. But not too many settlers entered the area before 1939. Panacan in
Palawan was opened to settlement in 1949.

Which Territory Fell Within the Domain of the Maguindanao Sultanate? 

           
The territory of the Maguindanao Sultanate was most extensive in the reign of Sultan
Kudararat (1619-1791), especially in the last 25 years. Following was the way Dr. Cesar
Adib Majul, author of the authoritative Muslims in the Philippines, describe it (pp. 172-
173):
           
“The coastal area from Zamboanga to the Gulf of Davao was tributary to him. He was
acknowledged the paramount lord of the Pulangi. His sphere of influence extended to
Iranun and Maranao territorial and even as far as Bukidnon and Butuan in the North of
Mindanao. His rule held sway over Sangil and Sarangani. Except in points like Dapitan,
Caraga, and the sites of the present day Butuan and Cagayan de Oro cities, and in the
almost inaccessible parts of the interior of the island, practically all of the inhabitants of
the Island of Mindanao had accepted him as suzerain…”
           
Some clarification must be made in the case of Bukidnon. Until 1948, the municipalities
of Pangantukan and Talakag had a consistently high number of Muslim residents.
Presumably, these Muslims were Maranao considering that these towns are located at
the Lanao del Sur-Bukidnon border. We are also told that the farthest Muslim outpost in
Bukidnon in the 19th century was located at the confluence of the Molita River or the
present border between Bukidnon and Cotabato. Muslim traders, usually Maguindanao,
went deeper into Bukidnon upstream of the Pulangi but to trade, not to collect tribute
which was the common expression of subjection at that time. Dr. Majul’s account,
therefore, cannot be taken wholly on the basis of the present day political subdivision of
Bukidnon, if only for the simple reason that the meaning of “sphere of influence” is not
so easy to comprehend from historical data.
           
Muslims tribes that may be categorized as subject of the Maguindanao sultanate
included the Maguindanao, Maranao, Iranun and Sangil. The Kalagan of the Davao Gulf
area apparently became Muslims only in the 19th Century. The non-Muslim tribes were
the Subanun in Zamboanga, the Tiruray, Ubo, T’boli, Blaan, Manobo in the Cotabato
area; the Bagobo, Blaan, Tagakaolo, Ata, Mandaya and Mansaka, and Manobo in the
Davao region, and the Bukidnon and Higaunon in the Bukidnon border, as well as in
Iligan. It is extremely difficult to determine from historical sources to what extent the
latter group of people (the non-Muslims) were subjects of the sultanate. Also, in the
specific case of Zamboanga, no study has yet been made specifying where the Sulu
sultanate’s suzerainty ended and where the Maguindanao’s influence begun. Sustained
Spanish onslaught upon mainland Mindanao did great damage to the Maguindanao
sultanate. The great sultanate of Kudarat’s time had become splintered into the
sultanates of Maguindanao, Buayan, Kabuntalan, and Ganassi. The territory, too, was
greatly eroded.
           
In 1846, the Davao Gulf area was ceded by the Maguindanao Sultan to the Spaniards.
The following year, the Governor General sent Jose Oyanguren and effected the actual
conquest of the area, beginning with the defeat of Datu Bago. At around the same time,
the Sibugay and Biasungan areas in Zamboanga were ceded by the same Sultan. In
the First three decades of the 17th Century, Kudarat himself, or his father before him,
lost to the Spaniards the control over Cagayan de Oro and Agusan. Surigao and Ilagan,
too , were early casualties in the Spanish territorial expansion.
           
Spanish successes did not, however, mean direct rule over the lumadnon of the interior
in territories which fell within their colonial control. We can, in a way, gauge the depth of
their success from the following data. In 1749, they had 4,637 tributaries and 20,560
souls in Surigao and Misamis. In 1778, they had 5,164 tributaries and 30,904 souls in
Bislig, Tandag, Surigao, Butuan, Camiguin, Cagayan, Iligan, Misamis, Dapitan,
Lubungan, Bayug, Pinaguian and Zamboanga. In 1861, they had 26,655 ½ tributes and
125,861 souls in Davao, Bislig, Tandag, Cantilan, Higaquit, Dinagat, Surigao, Mainit,
Cabuntug, Cacub, Linao, Talacogon, Butuan, Balingasag, Jasaan, Cagayan, Iponan,
Iligan, Misamis, Dapitan, Gimenez, Lubungan, Mambahao, Catarman, Mahinog, Sagay,
Pollock, Zamboanga and Isabela in Basilan. Most of these tributaries were Lumadnon
converts.
           
American conquest wiped out what remained of the territory in 1898. Aside from its
inclusion in the treaty of Paris, portions of Maguindanao territory were disposed of with
active participation from the Maguindanao leadership. Datu Piang submitted to
American sovereignty and took active part in suppressing the opposition of the gallant
Datu Ali and others with him. The same datu became instrumental in the opening of the
first five agricultural colonies in Pikit, Pagalungan and Glan which later paved the way
for the large-scale implementation of resettlement, and this was how thousands of
Christian Filipino settlers flooded the areas in Cotabato, covering the present day four
provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato.
           
Before 1939, or better still, the Second World War, the greatest bulk of foreign investors
and settlers, mostly American and Japanese, flowed into Davao. The Japanese, in
particular, had reached an all time high of 20,000 residents by 1941. Lanao Norte, too,
the western end and the southern coasts of Zamboanga, were opened to settlers before
the same date.
           
It is of extreme importance to stress here that the Christian Filipino settlers were
unwitting tools of the American colonizers in their overall strategy to subjugate the Moro
people and eventually to assimilate them into the Filipino body politics.
           
Except for the change in the top leaderships from American to Filipino, the policies and
programs of government initiated by the Americans, especially those which concerned
the political status of the Muslims and the Lumadnon and their ancestral domain,
remained basically the same after 1946, one more concrete proof of the neo-colonial
status of the Republic.
           
The occupancy of the Muslim and non-Muslim tribes in their ancestral lands remained,
theoretically, uninterrupted. In truth, the continuous influx of settlers into their lands led
not only to their displacement but also to their minorization and marginalization in their
own lands. Thus, by 1948, only Lanao and what corresponds to the present province of
Maguindanao remained predominantly Muslim. Not a single territory once dominated by
the Lumadnon survived the flood of settlers.
           
To grasp more deeply the concept of sultanate domain, we must also examine the
relationship between the sultan and his subjects. The indigenous term for subject is
sakop and its meaning is closer to the English vassal than subject. For greater
accuracy, we shall stick to the indigenous term.

What was the Relationship of the Sultan to His Sakop, and in What Way Did This
Affect the Question of Territory?  
           
The sultan was the head of state of the sultanate. He was assisted by a hierarchy of
officials and had several datus as sakop. The sultan was a datu himself and each datu
and his own mini-state, complete with the four constitutive elements of a state: people,
territory, government, and suzerainty. A datu became sakop of another only as result of
conquest or the traditional modes of alliances.
           
The relationship between the sultan and his datu-sakop had a certain fluidity to it. As
long as the sultan was strong, his sakop remained his sakop. But when he or his
successor became weak, his sakop could easily behave independently. The sultan-
sakop relationship was commonly characterized by the sultan’s obligation to protect his
sakop or help him in times of need. The sakop in turn paid regular tribute and provided
assistance to his sultan in times of need.
           
Where now comes the question of territory? The relationship of the sultan to his datu-
sakop is a personal one in that it did not carry with it a transfer of right to the territory or
sakop of the latter. The Datu-sakop retains his authority / suzerainty over his own
followers and territory. This relationship between the Sultan and his Muslim datus is
essentially the same as his relationship with non-Muslim chieftains, although in most
instances, it was his datu-sakop or another who exercised dominance over the
Lumadnon.
           
The fluidity of the sultan-sakop relationship is most important here, for it was this that
reflected the see-saw of power not only between the sultan and his sakop but also
between the sultanates and the Spanish colonizers. The Maguindanao sultanate
expanded and contracted within the duration of the Spanish Colonial period. The extent
of Kudarat’s territory was never repeated after him. So that now, for purposes of
determining the boundaries of the Maguindanao ancestral domain, it becomes a messy
game to try to use the history of the Maguindanao sultanate as a standard of measure.
How much weight do we, for instance, give to his 25 years peak period of dominance
when this dominance disappeared and was never recovered until 1898? Thus, because
of the fluidity of the political fortunes of the Maguindanao and Sulu sultanates, it
becomes necessary at present to fall back on the tribal domain, if our intention is to
determine at least the broad boundaries of Moro and Lumadnon ancestral domain.
More so, because after the American conquest, the sultanates themselves ceased to
function with effect.
             
One more item remains to be scrutinized. How do we explain the cession of Palawan,
Davao Gulf area and the regions of Sibugay and Biasungan? These were effected
minus the pressure of war and did not undoubtedly partake of an arrangement that was
temporary in nature. These cessions certainly implied the sultans’ exercise of direct
authority over the territories of their datus-sakop. There cold be several interpretations
but one plausible answer is to posit that perhaps by the time of the cessions, that stage
of development similar to the present day disposition of state domain has been reached.
           
We come now to the most important question of our discussion. Whose ancestral
domain is Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan?

Whose Ancestral Domain is Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan?

           
Naturally, the first occupants who have enjoyed up to the present uninterrupted
occupancy of the same territory- And these are the indigenous peoples of the region:
the Moro people and the Lumadnon. And certainly, not the 20th century Christian
Filipino settlers. But this is rather vague, too sweeping and controversial; too simplistic
for a very complex situation. Let us try to be more detailed.
           
For the sake of convenience, we shall divide the entirety of Mindanao, Sulu and
Palawan into three broad categories, namely, (a) that portion inhabited predominantly
by Muslims, and, without doubt, occupied by the 13 Islamized tribes and / or
encompassed within any one of the sultanates of Sulu, Maguindanao, Buayan,
Kabuntalan and Canassi until 1898, or even until 1939; (b) that portion inhabited by a
mix of Islamized tribes, Lumadnon and Christian Filipino settlers, and (c) that portion
inhabited solely by the Lumadnon and the Christian Filipino settlers.
           
We start with the third category which encompasses the entirety of the present day
Region X (Agusan del Norte & Sur, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental & Oriental, Surigao
del Norte) plus Surigao del Sur. The Lumadnon tribes are Manobo, Bukidnon, Higaunon
and Talaandig in Bukidon; Manobo, Banauaon (or Barwaon), Mamanwa in the two
Agusans and Two Surigaos; Higaunon in Misamis Oriental and Subanun in Misamis
Occidental. With the possible exception of some Bukidnon towns bordering Lanao Sur
which have had a substantial number of Muslim inhabitants, no other place within the
third category have been occupied by any Islamized tribe. The few years of dominance
exercised by datus of the Buayan or Maguindanao groups, separately or combined, in
the late 16th century and early in the 17th over such settlements as Cagayan de Oro,
Butuan, Surigao, Caraga, and Bukidnon have long been cut off and never revived. It is
the Lumadnon, therefore who can claim prior and uninterrupted occupancy in the
region. The conquest of some of them by the Spaniards and the successful colonization
of everybody by the Americans and, later, the take over by the Philippine Republic does
not detract in any way from this claim. It is the presence of the more numerous Christian
Filipino settlers that has made their claim controversial.
           
The term “Lumadnon” must, more over, be clarified. Generically, it means “native” or
“indigenous”. Now, from the early Spanish accounts we are told that the peoples of the
northern and eastern coasts of Mindanao, specifically, Dapitan, Ozamis, Cagayan de
Oro, Butuan, Surigao and Caraga were observed to speak a language that was
basically Bisayan, akin to Cebuano; the Camigueños spoke a mixture of Manobo and
Bol-anon. At the time of the Spanish contact, late in the 16th century and early in the
17th, no one else but them occupied said areas. The present understanding of
“Lumadnon” to mean only those officially labeled as cultural communities or minorities
must, thus, be expanded to include these Bisayan-speaking people who, incidentally
have been assimilated into the majority Christian settlers.
           
In the second category, the territory corresponding to the present three provinces of
Davao and Davao City were predominantly occupied until 1939 by the Lumadnon tribes
of the Mandaya, Mansaka, Mangguwangan, Dibabawon, Ata, Bagobo, Tagakaolo,
B’laan and the Islamized groups. We have scanty data on the history of the Muslim in
Davao but the little we have tell us that the Muslims entered and occupied the coast of
the Davao Gulf area only in the 19th century. Their converts were the Kalagans of the
Tagakaolo group (ka’agan means initiator in tagakaolo). Out of more than thirty
settlements in the 1870s around the gulf area, at least eleven were purely Muslim and
nine more were mixed with others (three with B’laan, four with Mandaya, and two with
Bagobo). These were spread out along the coastal stretch form Mayo Bay in the east
coast, roughly where Mati is, westward along the coast of Davao Gulf, and southward to
Sarangani in Davao del Sur. The non-Muslims were, on the whole, decidedly more
numerous, The Muslims collected tributes from the Mandaya as far as Caraga;
controlled the Samals of Samal Island who were of mixed Mandaya and possibly Sama
ancestry but not Muslims, and were continually at war with the B’laan, Manobo, Ata and
Tagakaolo. It was from this last tribe, incidentally, that the Kalagan Muslims came from.
           
Portions of the Provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato were
without doubt encompassed within the Maguindanao sultanate. We say portions
because the remainder were occupied by the T’boli, Ubo, Manobo, B’laan, Bagobo, and
Tiruray, and we cannot tell to what extent they were dominated by the various datus of
the sultanate. It would help to point out here that the Maguindanao, Tiruray and Manobo
do recognize a common ancestry in the brothers Tabunaway and Mamalu. And
although there were instances in the American period when they jointly fought the
Americans, Manobo and Tiruray folklore are unmistakable in naming the Muslims as
their traditional enemy.
           
Lanao Norte poses quite a bit of problem. The towns along the border with Lanao del
Sur are predominantly Muslim and, presumably, there were before the present century;
the coastal towns, Iligan in particular, have been occupied by Bisayan-speaking
inhabitants we have referred to earlier; the Higaunon presently occupying the barangay
towards the Bukidnon border claim that they originally inhabited, too, the coastal
portions of Iligan, among others. Furthermore, Maranao tradition has it that Maranao
ancestral territory extended eastward as far as Tagoloan in Misamis Oriental. One
possible point of reconciliation is in the story of common ancestry among the Maranao
and Higaunon. The rest is misty.
           
The area of the two Zamboangas and Zamboanga City, too, provides a puzzle.
Samboangan in Tausug or Sama is a word that means “place of flowers”. But
territorially speaking, does it mean the entire peninsula or merely the present site of
Zamboanga City? At least one Tausug scholar has specifically stated that the Sulu
sultanate included only the southern tip of the peninsula. Aside from the actual
occupation by the Kalibugan or those of the Subanun tribe who were Islamized, to what
extent did the Subanun feel the Sulu sultanate’s dominance? Likewise, to what extent
did these same people experience the authority of the Maguindanao sultanate? The
answers are not clear, but it would help to note that the Subanun of Lapuyan,
Zamboanga del Sur at least, acknowledge a shared ancestry with other tribes.
Gumabon-gabon, they say, was the ancestor of the Subanun; Mili-rilid of the Tiruray;
Bumalandan of the Maranaw; and Tabunaway of the Maguindanao. These four were
brothers. But their tradition also mentions Muslims as old time enemies.
           
Palawan, form the very start, has been inhabited by the Batak, Tagbanua, Molbog and
Palawani. We need not mention the others who occupy the northern portion. The
Muslims have always lived in the southern coasts corresponding to the general area of
Aborlan southward to Balabac. Christian Filipino settlers did not come in large numbers
until after the Second World War.
           
Covering the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,
the first category can easily and indisputably be identified as the ancestral domain of
Muslims belonging to the various tribes of the Maguindanao, Iranun, Maranao, Yakan,
Tausug, Sama, Jama Mapun and Badjao. All the fundamental requirements are
present: prior and uninterrupted occupation, and encompassed with in any one of the
various sultanates that emerged in history. The only possible problem areas are the
towns of Dinaig, Upi and South Upi in the province of Maguindanao, where the greatest
concentrantion of Tiruray have lived since time immemorial. They of course share a
common ancestry with the neighboring Maguindanao with brothers Tabunaway and
Mamalu.
           
Further, some eleven towns in other provinces must also be included in this category,
namely, Pikit in North Cotabato; Balo-I, Pantao-Ragat, Tangkal, Nunungan, Matungao,
Munai and Tagoloan in Lanao del Norte; Sibuco and Siraway in Zamboanga del Norte,
and Balabac in Palawan. Muslims predominate in hese towns and they, too, were
encompassed in any one of the various sultanates.
           
Whose ancestral domain, therefore, is Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan? There are
generally three main groups of people who can make the claim on the basis of the
yardstick we have outlined earlier. These are the 13 Islamized ethno linguistic
communities; the more than 20 Lumadnon tribes who have been classified as cultural
communities by the government, and those Bisayan-speaking Lumadnon inhabitants of
northern and eastern Mindanao who have been assimilated into the majority culture.

What Now Happens to Christian Filipino Settlers?

        
Numbering several million, these Christian Filipino settlers enjoy the numerical majority
in most provinces of Mindanao and Palawan. Most of them came in the 20th century.
Particularly after the Second World War. Normally, these people justify their claims to
land with statements like: they bought their lands from the natives of the area; there
were no actual occupants in the lands they applied for; it was the government which
granted them their homesteads; it was the government that issued them their licenses
to concessions; it was the government that gave them leasehold rights.

In other words they are all leaning on the legitimacy of the state's authority to dispose of
public lands; on the legitimacy of the state's claim to ancestral domain as state domain.
And for this reason and as Filipinos who moved into Philippine lands, they do not see
themselves as alien in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. The most that can be said at this
point is that they have proprietary, not ancestral rights over the lands they occupy.
Apparently, Chairman Nur Misuari recognizes this when he gave the assurance that
property rights of bona fide residents in the Bangsa Moro homeland will be guaranteed.

It is a matter of utmost importance that the basis of the Philippine claim to Mindanao,
Sulu and Palawan as state domain be clarified.

What is the Basis of the Philippine Claim to Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan as State
Domain?

Nothing but the obviously acknowledged legitimacy of the transfer of supposed Spanish
possession to the Americans by the Treaty of Paris and the further transfer of the same
by the Americans to the Republic of the Philippines. This is an exercise of the Regalian
doctrine, plain and simple.

What is the Regalian doctrine?

When Magellan planted the cross of Christianity at Limasawa, the act also symbolized
his taking possession of the entire archipelago in the name of the king of Spain, And by
virtue of this possession, lands were distributed in the beginning as encomiendas, then
later, laws were passed requiring landowners to document or have a title to their
ownership. Royal possession or state possession included the sole authority to dispose
of the land to its citizens.
This may be well for portions of the archipelago which indisputably fell within the direct
control of Spanish colonialism. But we are all aware by this time that there were
territories within the archipelago, chief among them were the lands of the sultanates and
the Igorots and those inhabitants of the interior, which enjoyed freedom, although
beleaguered, from colonial subjection. So that in the cession of the entire archipelago in
the Treaty of Paris. The Spaniards were disposing of lands which never became their
possession and the Americans were paying 20 million dollars for lands which they
thought were owned by Spain at the time of the Treaty. There was already a free though
newly born Republic of the Philippines, there were the free Muslim sultanates, all five of
them, and those of others which never fell within Spanish sovereignty.

It is true that the entire Philippine archipelago and all the peoples, of the same territory
were conquered by the Americans, which is another story. But for the Republic of the
Philippines to accept the transfer of possessory rights from the Americans in complete
disregard of the historical realities before them is to sustain the legitimacy of the
regalian doctrine and uphold colonialism. Worse, this has been enshrined in the
Constitutions of 1935, 1973 and 1986. Granted that the U.S. prevailed upon the Filipino
leaders, which is an incontrovertible and still continuing reality. The Philippine govern-
ment of the present can at least go through the motions of indigenizing its legal system,
particularly that aspect which concerns land laws.

Even the grant of autonomy to "Muslim Mindanao" and in the Cordillera had to be
squeezed out of the Constitutional Commission. And the provisions that emerged do not
quite reflect an in-depth study of historical realities.

Finally, it should be pointed out that the regalian doctrine as presently practiced by the
Philippine government indicates little, if any, recognition of the legitimacy of the
ancestral land claims of the Lumadnon and the Moro people.

What Must We Do Now?

The contradiction between the Philippine government claim to state domain and the
claim to ancestral domain of the Lumadnon and the Moro people has not only remained
alive; it has in fact intensified within the oppressive conditions of the Maros dictatorship.
Fueling the intensification were the infrastructure projects running rough shed over the
rights of the people; the Chico dam project, the hydro-electric constructions at Agus in
Lanao, at Pulangi in Bukidnon and at T'boli in South Cotabato. Most earthshaking in
magnitude was the struggle for self-determination launched by the MNLF.

Those who have been labelled officially as cultural minorities have awakened and are
no longer unquestioning recipients of their oppressed and exploited status. The MNLF
has bannered the Bangsa Moro political identity; there are indications that Lumad
nationality is fast taking shape; more and more Christian Filipinos of differing political
persuasions have come to accept and advocate state recognition of the right to self-
determination of the Bangsa Moro and the Lumadnon, along with the recognition of their
ancestral lands claim.
More and more people are questioning the colonial foundations of the Philippine state.
They have come to realize that the present problems confronting Mindanao, Sulu and
Palawan are rooted in colonialism, and the perpetuation of the colonial order. It is not a
simple case of colonial mentality. It runs in the veins of our entire legal system; it is
found in the U.S. made democracy that we are using, it is enshrined in the fundamental
law of the land. The subtlety with which the forces of colonialism affect us is itself
serving as the blinder that hoodwinks us from perceiving our own mistakes, and from
recognizing the fundamental rights to self-determination of our brothers Moro and
Lumadnon.

Most of us presumably believe in the sanctity of democracy, in "majority rule." But when
applied indisciminately to Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, in complete disregard of
historical realities, this can easily be translated into the "rule of the mighty" or the
"democracy of colonialism." For instance, the government is aware of the predominance
of Christian Filipinos in most provinces of Mindanao and Palawan. And now it insists on
submitting the issue of Muslim autonomy to a referendum. So, what happens next? The
fundamental right of the Moro people to self-determination is being subjected to what is
euphemistically described as '''democratic processes" but which, in effect, is designed
to make a mockery of this very right.

What do we do now? Moros, Lumadnon and Christian Filipinos are presently bound to
the same land of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan as a result of colonial design; they are
bound by common interests of survival but set apart by deep-rooted contradictions not
of their own making. Do we want war? Or peace? War is so easy to make but extremely
costly.
I would like to suggest a way to peace. Sandugo was used by Magellan to enter into
and cause the Spanish possession of our lands. We can use it again to bring peace to
ourselves.

In our tradition, sandugo symbolizes mutual acceptance by the parties involved of each
other as blood brothers; it is an oath not to oppress or exploit one another; it is a
commitment of mutual help. But preceeding the actual ritual are protracted discussions
to determine matters of mutual concern, to arrive at a mutual understanding.
PHALAENOPSIS

One morning in the spring, an expatriate Filipino kissed his

faithful wife goodbye, embraced his young son, and shook the
hand of his boss.  He walked over to the park and attached his
body to an oak tree.

A crowd soon began to gather about the tree, asking questions.

The expatriate’s wife and son came, pleaded for him to come
home.  His boss said a big promotion was waiting for him, with
increased benefits.

There is nothing that can make me come back, the Filipino told
them.  I’m tired of lying, of pursuing a life that is not in the line
with my true nature.  I’ll stay with this tree until I get to the roots
of myself.

But your real nature is to remain with us, they said to him.  We
need you to affirm with us that the lives we lead are meaningful,
that our concerns are important, headed in the right direction.

But the Filipino was stubborn:  he clung closer to the oak tree.
When they moved to take him away, he went higher up the trunk.
By the time the firemen arrived, he had already reached the crown.

Maybe we should cut the tree down, the City Mayor suggested.
But the Friends of Trees Society objected and the Parks Commission
agreed.  And the Mayor, aware that it was another election year,
changed his mind.

The man stuck to the oak tree through the next three seasons,
nourished, not by ordinary food, but by oak sap and the fresh
wind, sunshine and rain that moved bountifully around him.
After the first year, something else began to happen to the man.
He slowly lost his human form and coloration.  He started growing
like an epiphytic plant from a South Pacific rain forest.

After the second year, he was a full-grown orchid, showy with

glossy green leathery leaves, a stout short stem and long aerial
roots that curled like small worms the color of cobalt and silver.

After the third year, flower spikes were seen to be pushing out.
And in six months, hundreds of sprays of white blooms were open.
It was a breath-stopping sight:  nothing like it had been seen before.

Botanists came from near and far to study the phenomenon.

Some acclaimed the plant a new species.  Others disagreed, calling
it a unique genus.  Learned articles on the dispute were soon in
print, spiritedly discussed by science conference attendees.

Tourists by the hundreds arrived from all over the world — to see
the renowned plant and take souvenir photos.  Others, believing
the plant miraculous, bought dried fragments of its leaves.

Years went by and the expatriate Filipino never returned to his

human form.  Each spring, when the blossoms reappeared, some
claimed to see a curious configuration:  in the center of each flower
a mouth smiled.
Luis Cabalquinto was born in Magarao, Camarines Sur,
Philippines on January 31, 1935. He earned the B.A. in Mass
Communication degree at thenU.P. Diliman Institute of Mass
Communication. Later, after getting the degree, transferred to the
UP College of Forestry in Los Banos, working there as an
instructor and “Chief” of the Publication & Information Section. He
received a Fulbright-Hays grant (in 1968) and went to Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York for further studies in mass
communication. Cabalquinto enrolled in fiction and poetry writing
workshops conducted by A.R. Ammons, William Matthews, James
McConkey, and others in the English Department. He had been
sporadically writing poetry and fiction since high school but at
Cornell his creative writing teachers convinced him that he should
pursue imaginative writing more seriously.

Also, at this time, LC was further encouraged when some of his

poems were published for the first time in the US–in small-press
journals like Alkahest, Greenfield Review, New: American &
Canadian Poetry. He has received fellowships and awards from
the following: Bread Loaf Conference (Vermont); New York
University–Academy of American Poets poetry prize; New School
for Social Research–Dylan Thomas Poetry Award; New York
Foundation for the Arts-fellowship award in poetry.

His written work has appeared in magazines and journal

anthologies published in the Philippines, United States, Australia,
Hongkong, France, and the Czech Republic (e.g. American Poetry
Review, Prairie Schooner, Manoa, Greenfield Review, Manila
Review, Caracoa, Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic,
Philippine Midweek, Asiaweek, Heritage, Katripunan, Contact,
River Styx, Minetta Review, Potable Lower East Side, Trafika,
Inetrnational Quarterly, FRank, Poetry Australia, and others).

His published books are: “The Dog-eater and Other Poems”(1989,

Kalikasan Press), “The Ibalon Collection”(1991, Kalikasan Press),
and “Dreamwanderer” (1992, Kalikasan Press), “Brigeable
Shores” (2002, Kaya Press, US) and Moon Over Magarao” (2004,
UP Press, Manila). His books currently in preparation : “Depth of
Fields (100 Selected Poems), “Pamamangka sa Di Lamang
Dalawang Ilog” (collections of Poems in Filipino).

Genres of Literature

Genres of literature are important to learn about. The two main categories
separating the different genres of literature are fiction and nonfiction. There
are several genres of literature that fall under the nonfiction category.
Nonfiction sits in direct opposition to fiction. Examples from both the fiction
and nonfiction genres of literature are explained in detail below. This
detailed genres of literature list is a great resource to share with any
scholars.

Types of Nonfiction:

Narrative Nonfiction is information based on fact that is presented in a

format which tells a story.

Essays are a short literary composition that reflects the author’s outlook or

point. A short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in
prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.

A Biography is a written account of another person’s life.

An Autobiography gives the history of a person’s life, written or told by that

person. Often written in Narrative form of their person’s life.
Speech is the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to
express one’s thoughts and emotions by speech, sounds, and gesture.
Generally delivered in the form of an address or discourse.

Finally there is the general genre of Nonfiction. This is Informational text

dealing with an actual, real-life subject. This genre of literature offers
opinions or conjectures on facts and reality. This includes biographies,
history, essays, speech, and narrative non fiction. Nonfiction opposes fiction
and is distinguished from those fiction genres of literature like poetry and
drama which is the next section we will discuss.

Genres of Fiction:

Drama is the genre of literature that’s subject for compositions is dramatic

art in the way it is represented. This genre is stories composed in verse or
prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are
expressed through dialogue and action.

Poetry is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes an emotional
response from the reader. The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition,
written or spoken. This genre of literature is for exciting pleasure by
beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.

Fantasy is the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly

settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality.

Humor is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical. Fiction full of

fun, fancy, and excitement which meant to entertain. This genre of literature
can actually be seen and contained within all genres.
A Fable is a story about supernatural or extraordinary people Usually in the
form of narration that demonstrates a useful truth. In Fables, animals often
speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural tales.

Fairy Tales or wonder tales are a kind of folktale or fable. Sometimes the
stories are about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

Science Fiction is a story based on impact of potential science, either

actual or imagined. Science fiction is one of the genres of literature that is
set in the future or on other planets.

Short Story is fiction of such briefness that is not able to support any
subplots.

Realistic Fiction is a story that can actually happen and is true to real life.

Folklore are songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a person of “folk” that

was handed down by word of mouth. Folklore is a genre of literature that is
widely held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs.

Historical Fiction is a story with fictional characters and events in a

historical setting.

Horror is an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by literature that is

frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting. Fiction in which events evoke a
feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.

A Tall Tale is a humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering

heroes who do the impossible with an here of nonchalance.

Legend is a story that sometimes of a national or folk hero. Legend is based

on fact but also includes imaginative material.
Mystery is a genre of fiction that deals with the solution of a crime or the
unraveling of secrets. Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or
unknown.

Mythology is a type of legend or traditional narrative. This is often based in

part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural
phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods. A
body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular
person.

Fiction in Verse is full-length novels with plot, subplots, themes, with major
and minor characters. Fiction of verse is one of the genres of literature in
which the narrative is usually presented in blank verse form.

The genre of Fiction can be defined as narrative literary works whose

content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
In fiction something is feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.

Elements of Fiction

What Is Fiction?

Fiction is make-believe, invented stories. They may be short stories, fables, vignettes,
plays, novellas, or novels. Although writers may base a character on people they have
met in real life, the characters and the experiences that the character faces in the story
are not real.

So, how does a writer write fiction? Characters, setting, plot, conflict, point of view, and
theme are six key elements for writing fiction.
Characters

Characters are the people, animals, or aliens in the story. Readers come to know the
characters through what they say, what they think, and how they act.

E. M. Forster, an English novelist, identified that characters are either flat or round. Flat
characters do not play important roles in the stories. They often have only one or two
traits with little description about them. A flat character may even be a stock character,
which is a stereotypical figure that is easily recognized by readers, for example, the mad
scientist or the evil stepmother.

On the other hand, the round characters play an important role, often the lead roles in
stories. They are complex, dimensional, and well-developed. The stories are about
them; therefore, pages of writing will be about them. They often change by going
through a life-changing experience as the story unfolds.

When discussing stories with other readers and writers or when writing an analysis of a
story, fictional characters can be described as static or developing. Static means the
character stays the same throughout the story. They do not change. Developing, also
called dynamic, means the character changes. The change may impact the character’s
beliefs, attitudes, or actions. The change may be small or large. This change occurs
because the character experiences an epiphany, an insight about life.

If writers write about characters outside their own culture, they need to do research so
as not to misrepresent a particular culture. The same is also true of characters, who
have illnesses. The writer may need to research the illness and treatment for it in order
to be accurate about it.

Setting

Setting is where and when the story takes place. It includes the following:

 The immediate surroundings of the characters such as props in a scene: trees,

furniture, food, inside of a house or car, etc.
 The time of day such as morning, afternoon, or night.
 The weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy, snow, or rain, etc.
 The time of year, particularly the seasons: fall, winter, summer, spring.
 The historical period such as what century or decade the story takes place.
 The geographical location including the city, state, country, and possibly even the
universe, if the writer is writing science fiction.

Setting can function as a main force that the characters encounter, such as a tornado or
flood, or a setting can play a minor role such as setting the mood. Often times, the
setting can reveal something about the main character as he/she functions in that place
and time period.

Writers write about places they are familiar with. If they aren’t familiar with the place,
then they need to research it in order to be accurate about the place.

Plot

Plot is the order of events in the story. The plot usually follows a particular structure
called Freytag’s Pyramid. Gustav Freytag, a German playwright who lived during the
1800s, identified this structure.

Freytag’s Pyramid has five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and
denouement, also known as resolution. See Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1: Freytag’s Pyramid

Freytag’s Pyramid by Gustav Freytag, a German playwright

Exposition is an introduction to the characters, time, and the problem. At the point
where exposition moves into rising action a problem, sometimes called an inciting
incident, occurs for the main character to handle or solve. This creates the beginning of
the story.

Rising action includes the events that the main character encounters. Each event,
developed in separate scenes, makes the problem more complex.
Climax is the turning point in the story. Usually, it is a single event with the greatest
intensity and uncertainty. The main character must contend with the problem at this
point.

Falling action includes the events that unfold after the climax. This usually creates an
emotional response from the reader.

Denouement or resolution provides closure to the story. It ties up loose ends in the
story.

Do writers plan out their stories? Some do, especially if they are an extreme think-write
writer.  Some don’t. They have a story idea, begin it, and watch it unfold as they write.

Conflict

Conflict is the struggle between two entities. In story writing the main character, also
known as the protagonist, encounters a conflict with the antagonist, which is an
adversary. The conflict may be one of six kinds:

 Character vs. character

 Character vs. nature or natural forces
 Character vs. society or culture
 Character vs. machine or technology
 Character vs. God
 Character vs himself or herself

Point of View

Stories are generally told in one of two points of views:

 First-person point of view

 Third-person point of view

First-person point of view means that one of the characters in the story will narrate–give
an account–of the story. The narrator may be the protagonist, the main character.
Writing in first-person point of view brings the readers closer to the story. They can read
it as if they are the character because personal pronouns like I, me, my, we, us,
and our are used.

Third-person point of view means that the narrator is not in the story. The third-person
narrator is not a character. Third-person point of view can be done two ways:

 Third-person limited
  Third-person omniscient

Third-person limited means that the narrator limits him/herself by being able to be in one
character’s thoughts.  Whereas, third-person omniscient means the narrator has
unlimited ability to be in various character’s thoughts.  Writing in third-person point of
view removes readers from the story because of the pronouns he, she, it, him, her, his,
hers, they, them, and theirs.

Theme

A theme is not the plot of the story. It is the underlying truth that is being conveyed in
the story. Themes can be universal, meaning they are understood by readers no matter
what culture or country the readers are in. Common themes include coming of age,
circle of life, prejudice, greed, good vs. evil, beating the odds, etc.

Elements of Poetry

Alliteration is a repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the
beginning of a word or stressed syllable: “descending dew drops;” “luscious lemons.”
Alliteration is based on the sounds of letters, rather than the spelling of words; for example,
“keen” and “car” alliterate, but “car” and “cite” do not.
Assonance is the repetition of similar internal vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry, as
in “I rose and told him of my woe.”

Figurative language is a form of language use in which the writers and speakers mean
something other than the literal meaning of their words. Two figures of speech that are
particularly important for poetry are simile and metaphor. A simile involves a comparison
between unlike things using like or as. For instance, “My love is like a red, red rose.” A
metaphor is a comparison between essentially unlike things without a word such as like or as.
For example, “My love is a red, red rose.” Synecdoche is a type of metaphor in which part of
something is used to signify the whole, as when a gossip is called a “wagging tongue.”
Metonymy is a type of metaphor in which something closely associated with a subject is
substituted for it, such as saying the “silver screen” to mean motion pictures.

Imagery is the concrete representation of a sense impression, feeling, or idea that triggers our
imaginative ere-enactment of a sensory experience. Images may be visual (something seen),
aural (something heard), tactile (something felt), olfactory (something smelled), or gustatory
(something tasted). Imagery may also refer to a pattern of related details in a poem. Rhyme is the
repetition of identical or similar concluding syllables in different words, most often at the ends of
lines.

Rhyme is predominantly a function of sound rather than spelling; thus, words that end with the
same vowel sounds rhyme, for instance, day, prey, bouquet, weigh, and words with the same
consonant ending rhyme, for instance vain, rein, lane. The rhyme scheme of a poem, describes
the pattern of end rhymes. Rhyme schemes are mapped out by noting patterns of rhyme with
small letters: the first rhyme sound is designated a, the second becomes b, the third c, and so on.

Rhythm is the term used to refer to the recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry.
Poets rely heavily on rhythm to express meaning and convey feeling. Caesura is a strong pause
within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line. When a line has a pause at its
end, it is called an end-stopped line. Such pauses reflect normal speech patterns and are often
marked by punctuation. A line that ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its
meaning is called a run-on line or enjambment.

Stanza is a grouping of lines, set off by a space, which usually has a set pattern of meter and
rhyme. Tone conveys the speaker’s implied attitude toward the poem’s subject.

Tone is an abstraction we make from the details of a poem’s language: the use of meter and
rhyme (or lack of them); the inclusion of certain kinds of details and exclusion of other kinds;
particular choices of words and sentence pattern, or imagery and figurative language (diction).
Another important element of tone is the order of words in sentences, phrases, or clauses
(syntax).

Elements of Drama
Drama in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a
story usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue
and typically designed for theatrical performance.

• Plot, referring to the basic storyline of the play, is the structure of a

play which tells what happens as the story goes. The plot structure can be
divided into six stages: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax,
falling action, and denouement.

o The exposition is simply an introductory part that provides the

background information needed to properly understand the story.

o The inciting incident, or conflict, is the event that sets the action of
the play in motion. It is what gets the story going.

o The rising action is a series of events, including complications and

discoveries, which follow the inciting incident and create the dramatic climax
of a plot.

o The climax is the turning point, or the peak, of a plot which holds an
utmost emotional intensity of the play.

o The falling action is a series of events following the climax that leads
to the solution of the conflicts.

o The denouement serves as the conclusion of the plot in which the

conflicts are unraveled. It is the ending scene of the drama.

• Character are the people, or sometimes animals, subjected in the

drama, and are portrayed by the actors and actresses in the play. They are
one of the main components that move the action of the play forward.
Characters can be categorized into three types according to the roles they
play. The main character of the play is known as the protagonist. The
antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist. The other
characters that are neither the protagonist nor the antagonist are called the
secondary characters. They may have a major part or a minor involvement in
the drama.

• Setting is the place, together with other conditions, such as time and
the environment, involved in which the events occur. The setting in the
drama can be presented through the visual element deals with the scenes,
costumes and special effects used in it. The setting can as well be enhanced
by using viewable elements, sound effects, and music.

• Theme refers to the message that is intended to be expressed through

the story. In other word, it is the main idea or the lesson to be learned from
the play.

• Genre is the type of play. The examples of genre in which the play can
be classified include tragedy, comedy, romantic, mystery, and historical play.

• Audience is a group of people who watch the play. Audience can be

said to be the most important element of drama to be considered about,
since it is the audience that determine whether the play is successful or not.
Also, many playwrights write the plot of the drama with a great concern
regarding to their groups of audience rather than their own interests.
 BLUE BLOOD OF THE BIG ASTANA: Plot Summary (Freytag’s
Pyramid)

• Exposition:

The story begins with a flashback of the life of Jaafar as an orphan and
a servant of the Datu’s daughter. Jaafar narrates how he started working at
the Astana and the first time that he met Dayang-Dayang. This is also where
the characters like Jaafar, Dayang-Dayang, the Babo of Jaafar, the Datu, and
the mother of Dayang-Dayang were introduced.

• Rising Action:

The Babo of Jaafar died after 2 years. As Jaafar and Dayang-Dayang

gets older, Jaafar developed feelings towards the latter. His feelings grows
stronger but he always holds back and reminds himself that he is not fit for
Dayang-Dayang because of their gap, Dayang-Dayang is a blue blood while
he is her servant.

• Climax:

This is when Muramuraan, a young Datu, asked Dayang-Dayang’s hand

in marriage. The Datu of the Astana agreed and everyone went busy
preparing for the two’s marriage. When they finally got married, it left Jaafar
broken-hearted.

Falling Action:

Years have passed since they lived their separate lives and Jaafar
remained single. On the other hand, the royal family encountered many
problems. Muramuraan raised hand against Christian government by
refusing to pay taxes. It caused him to be sent to jail. His possessions were
confiscated and his men died, alongside Dayang-Dayang’s parents. Dayang-
Dayang continued living in Bonbon with her child in their small land, without
the riches she used to live on. Jafaar lived in Kanagi like a countryman,
buying and selling cattle.

• Denouement:
 The two met after years when Jaafar went to Bonbon for a business.
What is unsettling here is the fact that Jaafar still had feelings for Dayang-
Dayang. He wanted to make her happy like she used to, beg her to just live
with him, and take care of her like before. But he still believes that he has no
right as he had no blue blood. “Not even the fingers of Allah perhaps could
weave us, even now, into quality.”