'Bol-anon 'ko nyor' is not just a hackneyed phrase. It has a legend to tell arising from an actual incident that happened in Davao City.
It was at a time when Davao was just a frontier town of about 70,000 residents. It had only 27 policemen who did not carry firearms on duty except nightsticks and a whistle. In the absence of telephone, the police response on emergencies was very slow.
Every time word was passed around warning the neighborhood of a juramentado loose in the community, people scampered for safety in their homes. A juramentado in those days was a Moro fanatic brainwashed by their religious leaders to kill Chris-tians whom they regarded as enemy of Islam.
Showing posts with label Itinerant Bol-anon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Itinerant Bol-anon. Show all posts
24.7.09
Bohol In Pictures
Photos: www.indayguapa.com
I miss Bohol... then I stumbled upon Inday Guapa's blog and saw some wonderful Bohol pictures, and I miss it even more!
I came across Wanderlust In Motion blog (www.indayguapa.com) while googling for blogs about Bohol by Bol-anons. The author, Inday Guapa, who describes herself as an adventurer at heart, writes about her travel adventures on this blog.
7.3.08
More Itinerant Bol-anons
An article in the Bohol Chronicle by local historian Jes B Tirol describe some of the places past Bol-anons have settled in. The introduction or proem of the article is found below:
"In Mindanao there is a town called “New Corella” because majority of the residents came from the town of Corella, Bohol.
According to Fr. Francisco Combes, S.J., when the Dapitan Kingdom or Bo-ol Kingdom was destroyed in 1563, most of its residents fled to what is now called Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte. However, some fled to Tanjay, Negros Oriental and Cebu; -- but where in Cebu?"
Read more…
"In Mindanao there is a town called “New Corella” because majority of the residents came from the town of Corella, Bohol.
According to Fr. Francisco Combes, S.J., when the Dapitan Kingdom or Bo-ol Kingdom was destroyed in 1563, most of its residents fled to what is now called Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte. However, some fled to Tanjay, Negros Oriental and Cebu; -- but where in Cebu?"
Read more…
Itinerant Bol-anon
You have heard about the enterprising Bol-anon. There is another equally famous trait Bol-anons are known for; oftentimes, it goes together with their being enterprising. Bol-anons are known for being itinerant. Mention any place in the Philippines, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao, and chances are you will find us there. Where usually? In the town markets doing business selling just about anything.
Let me cite my father’s family as an example of showing both traits of an itinerant and enterprising Bol-anon. He said the Sisicans are originally from the coastal town of Baclayon, Bohol. His father who is an artisanal fisherman is locally famous for his expertise in catching the iito (marine catfish). My grandfather has relatives who are also fishermen who have migrated and settled in the towns of Toboso and Calatrava, Negros Oriental. Some relatives have settled in Davao City and neighbouring towns as well.
I was once a team member in a UP project on municipal development in Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental. During the pre-project workshop I was surprised when approached by one of the barangay secretaries who introduced himself as a Sisican whose origin is from the neighbouring barangay of Guiwanon in Baclayon.
Although not closely related to them, imagine my amazement and deep appreciation to their wonderful hospitality when I went to their barangay the next day during one of the assessment workshops we held. Several of them greeted me when I arrived and obviously quite thrilled to find a relative. We exchange few stories about each other’s side of the clan.
After the workshop, as we are readying ourselves back to our quarters in Poblacion my relative (barangay secretary) came up to me and gave me a chicken as a gift. I was thrilled and thanked him profusely for it! Not to be outdone, however, was another team member who is from Dauis, Bohol. He, too, have relatives in Lopez Jaena to which he already knew. But he was still greatly surprised to be given a goat as present!
Going back to my family, one of my uncles was an astute businessman. It was he who started a successful business that led to their family partly relocating in Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur. The whole family was involved which eventually led to some of them permanently settling there. My father used to live there for awhile. There he met my mother and four of us older siblings were born in the city.
I still have lots of close relatives in Pagadian and nearby towns. In fact, my older brother is living in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay after marrying a local lass. They have two young children. Itinerant that we are, my generation have gone international. Some of us are working and living in Europe, USA, Middle East and South Korea.
I always thought that a major reason why the Bol-anon emigrates is economic. Yes, Bohol is idyllically beautiful but it does not really provide a lot of economic opportunities during my father’s time. In my case, I was convinced that if I want to make it in life it has to be outside of Bohol. I went to university in Cebu and then worked for several years in Metro Manila, parts of Mindanao and Palawan. And now I am in the United Kingdom still trying to make it in life. Still, I long for the day I will go back to Bohol and contribute to its development starting by just living there. But that will not be soon, I suspect.
Let me cite my father’s family as an example of showing both traits of an itinerant and enterprising Bol-anon. He said the Sisicans are originally from the coastal town of Baclayon, Bohol. His father who is an artisanal fisherman is locally famous for his expertise in catching the iito (marine catfish). My grandfather has relatives who are also fishermen who have migrated and settled in the towns of Toboso and Calatrava, Negros Oriental. Some relatives have settled in Davao City and neighbouring towns as well.
I was once a team member in a UP project on municipal development in Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental. During the pre-project workshop I was surprised when approached by one of the barangay secretaries who introduced himself as a Sisican whose origin is from the neighbouring barangay of Guiwanon in Baclayon.
Although not closely related to them, imagine my amazement and deep appreciation to their wonderful hospitality when I went to their barangay the next day during one of the assessment workshops we held. Several of them greeted me when I arrived and obviously quite thrilled to find a relative. We exchange few stories about each other’s side of the clan.
After the workshop, as we are readying ourselves back to our quarters in Poblacion my relative (barangay secretary) came up to me and gave me a chicken as a gift. I was thrilled and thanked him profusely for it! Not to be outdone, however, was another team member who is from Dauis, Bohol. He, too, have relatives in Lopez Jaena to which he already knew. But he was still greatly surprised to be given a goat as present!
Going back to my family, one of my uncles was an astute businessman. It was he who started a successful business that led to their family partly relocating in Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur. The whole family was involved which eventually led to some of them permanently settling there. My father used to live there for awhile. There he met my mother and four of us older siblings were born in the city.
I still have lots of close relatives in Pagadian and nearby towns. In fact, my older brother is living in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay after marrying a local lass. They have two young children. Itinerant that we are, my generation have gone international. Some of us are working and living in Europe, USA, Middle East and South Korea.
I always thought that a major reason why the Bol-anon emigrates is economic. Yes, Bohol is idyllically beautiful but it does not really provide a lot of economic opportunities during my father’s time. In my case, I was convinced that if I want to make it in life it has to be outside of Bohol. I went to university in Cebu and then worked for several years in Metro Manila, parts of Mindanao and Palawan. And now I am in the United Kingdom still trying to make it in life. Still, I long for the day I will go back to Bohol and contribute to its development starting by just living there. But that will not be soon, I suspect.
28.2.08
Bol-anon
Bol-non refers to the native of Bohol, the tenth largest island in the Philippine archipelago. Surprisingly, I have found out another meaning to the word. In Lianga, Surigao del Sur it refers to the whole building in the city centre that housed the store spaces rented out from the local government by enterprising residents of Bol-anon descent. Described as fiercely entrepreneurial, these businessmen dominated the dry goods retail market during the height of Lianga's fame as a market town.
I came across this rather bizarre definition while Googling blogs about Bohol or Bol-anon. The search led me to a post entitled Bol-anon in A Lianga Diary, a blog by Benjie Otagan about life and living in a small remote town on the eastern coast of Mindanao in southern Philippines. I have not been to the town but if I am not mistaken I had a high school classmate who was from the town and surnamed Mercado.
I read the article and cannot help but feel nostalgic as well. Somehow it struck an emotional chord inside of me because I can identify with these entrepreneurial Bol-anons in Lianga. My father's family is of similar kind but they set up their retail trading business in the city of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur. In this city, my father met and married my mother (originally a Manila girl who migrated together with her father and sister). I and three other brothers were all born in the city. I still have lots of close relatives living there who are mostly professionals. The family business had long been folded up and sold because nobody in my generation seemed to have the fierce entrepreneurial spirit to carry it on.
You have to read Benjie's post in order to appreciate it. I have since read other posts in his blog. I do aspire to write as clearly and plainly as him as I tend to be wordy and long winded, use jargon and write as if I am talking. I do not mind being influenced by his blog in developing this blog.
So there, a new meaning to the word Bol-anon, one that describes one aspect of his character, that of having a fierce entrepreneurial spirit that leads to a successful business practice. Mabuhi ka Bol-anon!
I came across this rather bizarre definition while Googling blogs about Bohol or Bol-anon. The search led me to a post entitled Bol-anon in A Lianga Diary, a blog by Benjie Otagan about life and living in a small remote town on the eastern coast of Mindanao in southern Philippines. I have not been to the town but if I am not mistaken I had a high school classmate who was from the town and surnamed Mercado.
I read the article and cannot help but feel nostalgic as well. Somehow it struck an emotional chord inside of me because I can identify with these entrepreneurial Bol-anons in Lianga. My father's family is of similar kind but they set up their retail trading business in the city of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur. In this city, my father met and married my mother (originally a Manila girl who migrated together with her father and sister). I and three other brothers were all born in the city. I still have lots of close relatives living there who are mostly professionals. The family business had long been folded up and sold because nobody in my generation seemed to have the fierce entrepreneurial spirit to carry it on.
You have to read Benjie's post in order to appreciate it. I have since read other posts in his blog. I do aspire to write as clearly and plainly as him as I tend to be wordy and long winded, use jargon and write as if I am talking. I do not mind being influenced by his blog in developing this blog.
So there, a new meaning to the word Bol-anon, one that describes one aspect of his character, that of having a fierce entrepreneurial spirit that leads to a successful business practice. Mabuhi ka Bol-anon!
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