What's in a name....
By Anding Villarin (Anding Kanding)Our Catbalogan, a busting community with a "citified" atmosphere and its traffic jams, beer gardens and nightclubs, used to be a sleepy, little fishing town, populated by inter-related families. Everybody knew everybody by name. Marriages between fist cousins were not uncommon. Kinship and neighborliness was practiced to a fault, so much so, that almost everything in one's household might be borrowed. Foodstuff, kitchenware, carpentry tools, and even household help, except of course the mother of ones children maybe lent.At that time, the town was 100% Catholic. Newborn children were baptized with name of the Apostles and Saints according to the "Bristol" calendar. Such names as Kevin, Robin, Sharon and Leilani were considered pagan, so that naming ones child with such names would condemn the child to a life of misery. Favorite Saint's names were often used so that a second identification had to be resorted to. For example, in Salug there were two Vicentes. One had to be called Vicente waray ayam, because the other one owned a dog.
Appended names wee used in a "folksy" manner and were intended not to ridicule but rather with the air of endearment and familiarity. There was no radio or newspaper at the time so that news of importance had to be disseminated by a town cries or "bandilo" who would go around town with a snare drum or "gimbal" to announce his presence before he shouted in a stentorian voice the news of an approaching typhoon and latest "ordinancia" He was called Ti Goyong dako an irong because he had an unusually large proboscis. There was Ramon Tanega, the "tartanilla" king because he owned the only "tarnailla" in town. Why he was called a jungle I never knew. Then there was the grand father of Justice Metring Cui, who was called Ti Boche for his fondness for a delicacy of the same name. Man Emong Arteche, the weatherman who had to wear a storm coat and beret or "bucena" wherever he had to hang storm signals at the wharf was called Magellan because in this "get-up he resembled the discoverer of the Philippines.
I still can not remember when they got their "monokers but they still enjoy being called Bolinao (Dr. Justito Cinco), Boday (Dr. Tenny Cinco), brothers Ponching is Bog-at, Ernesto is Bagang, Rene is Pacio. I'm a bit nostalgic myself as I mention here that my late brother Dr. Pido was called Bombo, Toning Tokdo, my sister Charing, Toria and Pinny, Tilad. And this writer Anding Kanding. During those childhood days those name would provoke enough rage to throw things at the name-caller. Families were not spared the name called ponao, the Conges, pasayan, the Maga badjang, the Letabas, kapayas the Cacaets of Ubanon, bahao. And the Mendozas of the old market were bodol and of course the popular Hagurongs (the Sisons) and the Bowa-ons (the Villarins) and many more.The old Catbalogan had vanished into mist of yesteryears to give way to a baby metropolis trying to find tits place in Philippines 2000, but nostalgic memories of Her are often retold by overstaying citizens during birthdays, "tapos", "bonag". "kasal" and similar occasions. The piece is dedicated to the old folk who have lasted this long, for the reasons only God knows and to the youth who were fortunate to have been born in this little hometown. CATBALOGAN