Lazy Hazy Crazy Days

It would be easy to assume this is knocking at a place that on the surface would seem to have such a heavy drinking culture but I’m not. If I was thinking overly negatively about what I witnessed, I would be a complete hypocrite as I merrily indulged in the same vices as many here in Catigan. I have witnessed a lot of drinking in my time in the Philippines generally and I make no denials that I am prone to the very same vices as those around me.

In Catigan, they can drink and drink hard. It’s hardly surprising in an isolated community with very little to do as it is in Catigan. I witnessed people drunk at 7 in the morning and just to emphasise that I’m not above such things, I would be offered my first shot by locals at that time if I was up early enough and I would often take it.

Drinking so early wasn’t general, far from, but I saw individuals who regularly have a bottle of Tanduay for breakfast and would be sat in a small group sharing a bottle of the lethal rhum and very much the worse for wear, yes even at that hour. However, it must be said that this was only a few who had such tendencies but I completely understood why and how they got into such a state.

Many people here are rooted in Catigan; in fact, they have little reason to go anywhere else and drinking was all there was to do. So whether they had a day’s work ahead of them or not, some would happily begin the day intoxicated.

Drinking to the extreme like I just described was not typical though. More typical would be people getting up, do their work and maybe by mid afternoon indulge in the local favourite of tuba (coconut wine). I confess, I was a little more typical than most. Often fuelled by boredom, I would often find myself buying a half gallon for 20 pesos, have a few glasses and sleep away the late afternoon.

Sundays were the most social time as many would have the day off and they get together at the local videoke and spend the whole day drinking. Also, drinking was done frequently in homes and outside sari sari stores. I have to admit that despite its debilitating effects, I fell into the same trap much too often. Yes, I have had many a day when I’ve drank far too much of either Tanduay rhum or tuba or even both.  I won’t over indulge in the social consequences as life went on for most normally but I will say that in a place with nothing to do, it’s inevitable. Drinking was the only pastime for many.Here, I was experiencing my first taste of living among one of many of the tribes of Mindanao, the Bagobo tribe, yet I did not see anything much of the culture or learn much about the roots of these people as everything just seemed like most rural places in the Philippines. I know that some are proud of their roots and they speak in their own dialect and some express pride in their ancestry but nevertheless, I really didn’t feel I was living among a tribe; they just seemed like every day Filipinos living off the land and getting by.

Cheap and Cheerful Tuba

Tuba is a common feature of Mindanao. In fact, there are a few varieties; some fermented over a period of time but here it was fresh and was on sale in the sari sari stores within hours of being tapped from the coconut tree.  It’s a cheap resource and readily available and it most definitely has a big influence on everyday life for many and during my stay, me also. So enough said about that, what I want to tell you about is the fascinating process of collecting tuba and how it is made.

It seems simple enough on the surface to produce tuba if scaling 30 ft. or more up a tree to collect it is simple. It most certainly isn’t something I could even remotely imagine myself doing. I get dizzy on a bridge and watching these guys effortlessly climb up the coconut tree had me in awe for their courage and tree climbing skill.

Climbing coconut trees is a skill many possess and I’ve even seen them do it at night holding a torch. Many do it to bring down the young green coconuts as part of their living and tuba collecting is effortless to these guys. I would have a vertigo attack looking up at them from the ground so it most definitely is not something I would consider as a white boy who has only climbed the odd apple tree as a small boy.

I was completely in the dark as to what tuba was when I first got here and foolishly believed it was made from the coconut juice from fresh young green coconuts. I was very wrong.

Tapping the Flower

Tuba is actually made from the sap of the flower.

A bamboo vessel is then placed over the cut end which collects the sweet sap and that is collected often in the very early hours and taken back to the home for processing and it’s left to ferment awhile but not too long. It is then filtered and taken off to the sari sari store where it was freely available and freely drank.

Thetungog (bark of mangrove tree) is added into the bamboo tube attached to the flower in the mid afternoon and the sap is collected very early the following morning. The tungog is what gives it its kick and it certainly has a kick, even more so when its more mature but mature tuba loses its sweetness and is much nicer drank fresh as its sweeter then. As the day goes by, it deteriorates quite quickly which makes it stronger but it becomes sour. I would only drink it fresh as I didn’t enjoy it old. It was less potent when fresh but still potent enough.

It seemed different producers varied the amount of tungog they would add to the sweet sap and you soon got to know who made the nicest batch or at least one that suited your taste. Some like it sweet, some like it sour. I was most definitely a sweet man.

Health Hazard

It was said to me on a few occasions that tuba is not good for people with high blood pressure. Well, generally throughout life, I have always failed tests, so I am particularly proud of the fact that every time I have had my blood pressure tested, I’ve come out with a good reading. After a few glasses of tuba, I would feel my blood pressure rising. I would go reddish and could be prone to the odd temper tantrum after drinking too much of it. The danger I experienced was liking the taste too much. It’s so sweet when fresh, too easy to drink and a half gallon could slip down my neck very quickly. It was also noticeable that very often on Sundays, which was the most sociable time in Catigan, fights would often break out among bickering drinkers. I also noticed that people tended to talk more shit than usual under its influence and probably myself, too. I soon learnt that the best place to indulge was at home.

Tuba is a big part of the life here and a cheap way for people to pass the time. It may not be good for the blood pressure but locals will tell you, it’s full of vitamins. I have no idea how true that is but that would be my excuse for my excesses. Since leaving Catigan, I haven’t been anywhere yet where it is so freely available. Free shots was commonplace as its cheap and even an old kuripot (tightfisted) foreigner like me would happily share as another 20 pesos would get me another half gallon. It was also available in the sari sari at 2 pesos a glass.

I loved tuba when fresh. I have to be honest though that I’m glad to be away from it now. I could see how easy it can be to get drunk daily with something so cheap and easily available. Mixed with Tanduay, it was lethal.

Well, I doubt I shall be returning to Catigan after this last trip as my kids have moved away from there. Probably, just as well.

Learning A New Life

So the next few weeks and months was to become a huge new learning curve. All I knew of Catigan was it was a little isolated, hilly and was told beautiful. It certainly was all those things but I didn’t really have much idea of what I was coming to. Every passing moment was a lesson especially in those early times. My first stay lasted 4 months. 

A way of life I had never known

The first couple of weeks were purely for psychological adjustment and trying to adapt to my new situation. I was okay with the ridiculously early nights. I was definitely okay with the peace and had no problem about having to walk far down bumpy and sometimes muddy slippery paths to get anywhere but I wasn’t okay with the lack of toilet facilities. Looking back now knowing how things unfolded, I can smile. At the time though, it was a big issue with me. 

Fitting In

In the early days of my stay in Catigan, I went around meeting locals which was an enlightening experience. On my arrival, I sensed the usual mindset thinking of most Filipinos just about anywhere and I was asked all the usual questions pertaining to my perceived wealth. However, that was then. Over time, I got past that but the usual stereotyped thinking about foreigners and money became a too often mentioned topic. I was quizzed and I could sense them thinking, why is a man with money here trying to live like us.

It was known I was here to be with my sons and their mother, which made having to explain my purpose a little easier but the curiosity factor is always there. Filipinos want to know more than they need to know, something you get used to, I suppose.

However, foreigners have plenty of money, that’s always what people believe. So they want to know where my money comes from. If you don’t answer, then assumptions start. I have been in the Philippines long enough to know how to ride that one. I just have fun with their notions which always find their way back to you.

“Maybe he’s not saying much because he is a criminal.” It was mentioned once that I work online and a story spread that it was something illegal. I’m still trying to work that one out but I suppose a white guy staying so far off the tourist map and without a condo or hotel to go back to to take a crap was beyond their comprehension.  It took a long time and that story will unfold but I did manage to make people aware I was not one of those foreigners although that was much later on.

Filipinos are no different from anyone else as regards curiosity and a need to know, but I would say that generally in the Philippines, they want to know more than most. I suspect this may be a topic matter to write on in the future but for now, let’s get back on track.

Welcomed

I soon began to get to know one or two of the people. On the whole I can honestly say that I was welcomed into the community and I was offered shots everywhere especially outside sari-sari stores where men were often drinking. They never failed to offer me a shot of mostly Tanduay (local cheap strong rum). For a chaser or mixer, some would use tuba which is what is also known as coconut wine. In those early days, I got very drunk on many occasions. I came to learn much about tuba but at this point, I was a total novice in rural living and had no idea what tuba was.

When I was given tuba as a chaser, I found it tasted sweet and didn’t even realize that it was alcoholic. I literally thought it was a sweet tasting soft drink. I would heartily drink it down after every shot of Tanduay and couldn’t understand why I was getting drunk so easily.

Coconut wine or tuba has a kick all of its own. Mix that with Tanduay, and bang! On more than one occasion, I had to be helped home as I was falling all over the place. The sweetness really had me fooled; I really did have a lot to learn.

Homemade Tuba

Tribal Land

Catigan is Bagobo country. Now, I never learnt too much about Bagobo people from the Bagobo people themselves. In fact, I wasn’t even aware I was in the midst of people of the Bagobo tribe. I only found out when I asked my companion what some guys outside the sari-sari stores were talking about. She answered she doesn’t know as they are speaking in their native dialect. I asked the obvious question, “So what dialect are they speaking in?” Bagobo would be the reply. I had no idea.

I did learn over time that many were proud of their traditions and I did detect much talk of respect. If I was invited to drink and refused, It would be said “out of respect, have a drink with me” which made it very hard to say no.

I had to wait till I was back in the capital to research as the broken information I was given about Bagobo people only served to confuse me. I learnt that Bagobos are in quite a few corners of Davao and they are a fragmented tribe and cannot understand each other’s dialect. It took my own research to find out that the Bagobos of Catigan are the Bagobo Tagabawa tribe. The history of the Bagobo people is better explained by others. Learning a little about the history makes you realize just how rich and diverse Davao is. 

I could not say to you I was witnessing what some romantics may think of as tribal life in the sense of how a westerner would picture it. Everything on the surface just appears to be as much the same as rural life all over Davao or at least from where I was looking at it.

Catigan is a mix of Bagobo Tagabawa people, Davaoeños (Dabawenyos, or name for people of Davao) and often mixed Tagabawa and Visayans. The culture of the Bagobo Tagabawa lives on through its beliefs, traditions and dialect, but it’s not obvious to an outsider like me.

Congregating outside the sari-sari store as little else to do

They are a very hardy people as are many Filipinos from any part of the country. All of Davao is made up of a mixture of various tribal cultures and Visayan from the inhabitants who migrated here. The history is there to be explored and as many judge everything about the culture of the Philippines on what they observe from Metro Manila; it really is a good idea to learn a little about the overall history and culture of the locality and wider Philippines to understand a little more about where you are and understand its way of life. The more you know, the more you realize that nothing is quite what it seems. Much of the story is missing to the outsider therefore their perceptions are often based on misunderstanding and a little ignorance. History in the Philippines did not start only when the Spanish arrived.

Davao alone has an immensely rich history. To tell that story is not just a book but a whole series of books and if one city can have such history, imagine the rest of the country, too. We tend to think of the Philippines only in its modern day context as an ex-American colony and the ousting of President Ferdinand Marcos. Davao and the rest of the Philippines have many more stories to tell.

I will leave you to discover that for yourselves. For the purposes of this article, I shall simply relate it to my own limited experiences in Catigan. If you are ever in Davao, do visit the Museo Dabawenyo, it teaches you how little you do know.

Museo Dabawenyo, an interesting informative tour to open your eyes