(This is one of the favorite stories of my father which he used to tell us during night time when we were still in Payao, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental.)
In the early days, it has been a tradition of the Filipino people for the parents to choose whom their children should marry when they come of age. The fathers usually looked for young men who are industrious, responsible and most of all respectful especially to the elders. On the other hand, mothers are observing young girls with good behavior, caring , industrious and most of all a good cook. The arrangement were usually done verbally by fathers, with their drinking buddies as witnesses, during a drinking spree over a gallon of "tuba or lambanog", after work in the field. To seal their agreement, the parents call each other "balae" or kumpare and kumare.
There was this young man and woman who, few years before, had been arranged by their parents to be married comes the next harvest season. The young man was really in love with the woman, but the woman was in love with another man whom she wanted to marry. However, as Filipino culture dictates, the woman should be respectful to her parents and therefore should abide with their wishes or face the wrath of the whole family for losing face to the family of the man whom she is going to marry. The date of the wedding was set but the woman, to show her dislike for the man, demanded many things such as a new big house complete with amenities, a couple of household help and a lavish wedding gift and celebration. Everything the woman asked for was accepted to be provided for by the man's family except for the request for a couple of household help. This enraged the woman and had resolved to put the man's life in misery by not attending to her role as expected of her as a wife. She told her friends about this resolve. The wedding day came and almost all of the people in the community were invited to attend the wedding celebration. The lavish affair became the talk of the community for many weeks.
At the days end, after the wedding, the newly married couple moved to their new home. The man brought with them his favorite pets, a white cat and a black dog, the latter he cared for the past six years. Not a word was uttered between the couple since they arrived home that afternoon. The wife was busy thinking of ways to show her dislike, much more of her hatred for her husband, on the other hand, the husband was busy sharpening his "guinunting" - a bolo used as a protection and a tool of war in the early days. As the bright afternoon turned to dusk, ordinarily in those days, it is dinner time, yet the wife did not bother to prepare dinner. After a while the husband tested the sharpness of his bolo to his satisfaction, stood up and picked up his white cat sleeping in a corner. He asked the cat "go, you cook and prepare our dinner", the cat simply snug and uttered a meow of satisfaction to his master, the man then cut the head of the cat and throw it on the floor and the cat stilled after a few shudder of a sudden death. The wife was dumbfounded of what her husband did to the cat. Next, the husband whistled to summon his pet dog, who came jumping with joy and wag its tail for getting the attention of his master. The husband asked the dog, "go, you cook and prepare our dinner for I am now hungry", the dog just wag his tail faster, then the man cut the dogs head with one blow from his sharp bolo, and blood spurted from the decapitated dog and formed a crimson pool in front of his wife .The wife was now engulfed with fear and anxiety for what she saw. Then, her husband slowly turned his head towards her direction and pointed a bloody finger to her and said, "go, you cook and prepare our dinner for I am now very hungry." Seeing this, the wife, even without hearing her husband's last word, ran to the kitchen to obey her husband.
That night, the husband ate the most delicious dinner of his life prepared by his lovely wife with her around busy attending to all his need. From that day on they became the happiest couple and lived in harmony with their growing family.
In the early days, it has been a tradition of the Filipino people for the parents to choose whom their children should marry when they come of age. The fathers usually looked for young men who are industrious, responsible and most of all respectful especially to the elders. On the other hand, mothers are observing young girls with good behavior, caring , industrious and most of all a good cook. The arrangement were usually done verbally by fathers, with their drinking buddies as witnesses, during a drinking spree over a gallon of "tuba or lambanog", after work in the field. To seal their agreement, the parents call each other "balae" or kumpare and kumare.
There was this young man and woman who, few years before, had been arranged by their parents to be married comes the next harvest season. The young man was really in love with the woman, but the woman was in love with another man whom she wanted to marry. However, as Filipino culture dictates, the woman should be respectful to her parents and therefore should abide with their wishes or face the wrath of the whole family for losing face to the family of the man whom she is going to marry. The date of the wedding was set but the woman, to show her dislike for the man, demanded many things such as a new big house complete with amenities, a couple of household help and a lavish wedding gift and celebration. Everything the woman asked for was accepted to be provided for by the man's family except for the request for a couple of household help. This enraged the woman and had resolved to put the man's life in misery by not attending to her role as expected of her as a wife. She told her friends about this resolve. The wedding day came and almost all of the people in the community were invited to attend the wedding celebration. The lavish affair became the talk of the community for many weeks.
At the days end, after the wedding, the newly married couple moved to their new home. The man brought with them his favorite pets, a white cat and a black dog, the latter he cared for the past six years. Not a word was uttered between the couple since they arrived home that afternoon. The wife was busy thinking of ways to show her dislike, much more of her hatred for her husband, on the other hand, the husband was busy sharpening his "guinunting" - a bolo used as a protection and a tool of war in the early days. As the bright afternoon turned to dusk, ordinarily in those days, it is dinner time, yet the wife did not bother to prepare dinner. After a while the husband tested the sharpness of his bolo to his satisfaction, stood up and picked up his white cat sleeping in a corner. He asked the cat "go, you cook and prepare our dinner", the cat simply snug and uttered a meow of satisfaction to his master, the man then cut the head of the cat and throw it on the floor and the cat stilled after a few shudder of a sudden death. The wife was dumbfounded of what her husband did to the cat. Next, the husband whistled to summon his pet dog, who came jumping with joy and wag its tail for getting the attention of his master. The husband asked the dog, "go, you cook and prepare our dinner for I am now hungry", the dog just wag his tail faster, then the man cut the dogs head with one blow from his sharp bolo, and blood spurted from the decapitated dog and formed a crimson pool in front of his wife .The wife was now engulfed with fear and anxiety for what she saw. Then, her husband slowly turned his head towards her direction and pointed a bloody finger to her and said, "go, you cook and prepare our dinner for I am now very hungry." Seeing this, the wife, even without hearing her husband's last word, ran to the kitchen to obey her husband.
That night, the husband ate the most delicious dinner of his life prepared by his lovely wife with her around busy attending to all his need. From that day on they became the happiest couple and lived in harmony with their growing family.
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