FUN, FALLS AND FAMILY, OVERCOMING FEAR We refuse to be divided by the sinister plans of fear-mongerers. We are a clan that shares one highway with the Christian community, from Marawi to Iligan to Cagayan de Oro back to a space in Cotabato where many of relatives work in the capital of ARMM. Many of us are health workers who work with other faiths in hospitals and schools. One aunt has Visayan teachers in her Islamic School operating in Iligan. Cousins work in Cagayan de Oro. Muslim homes are built beside churches. And this Eid is as much to be shared with others. Terror-makers, do not hostage the relationships built over decades among people of various cultures. You will not succeed. Continuing the Eidul Fitr celebrations, we lugged our own food, plates and drinks to share in a pot-luck communal way. Mama Mani tenderly readied the beef randang a day before with a visual description of her secret recipe, grinding away coconut and the spices and letting it sleep for the night (seeping into the skin). Wow and yellow rice. The langka and marang were wonderful. Sweet fruits melting on the tongue were a treat while we chatted away on a pool that had not many people on them. Timoga pools on the highway was the usual place were Meranao bangsa went and na traffic ang pools sa dami ng nag outing. We were above the highway on a mountain. Thankfully, we were far away from civilization and had only the Born-Agains beside us having their program and prayers. They had their program first and later we had ours even if we had separate huts and spaces. We gave each other room to be heard even if we shared different programs. This is a pool where we can all swium. Maria Cristina falls is a Philippine legend for the exciting body of water that make us feel like we want to be in an Indiana Jones movie. Given the chance in the sedentary home life I now lead, I “plunged” in the chance for an outing with cousins and Clan at the Taytay pool near the Cristina in Iligan. Swimming shouldn’t just be for the kids, I have been advocating for athletic time for Muslims as well. Ramadhan too wasn’t just about hunger, it was also about physical rigor in that we should continue what we usually did in working to earn. This experience would also inspire us to develop Lake Lanao in Marawi too since we didn’t have yet water sports or pools built from the lovely Lake . It is beyond compare with any because of the mountain vision of a Sleeping Beauty. Toddlers were gleeful, the teeners had games, we shimmied to pop tunes. We are thankful that the management allowed us Muslims to wear full-clothing of pants and shirt while we swam the big pool. Aunts Nancy and Soraida came with kinilaw and adobo. Ant Nancy had recently relocated from Saudi Arabia and has a weekly seminar for women above the Iligan pharmacy she invested in. Ant Baelabi brought macaroni. She among the siblings has the most number of grandchildren at almost a dozen. The elders convened and we prayed and had a meeting. NPC Community Relations Manager Uncle Gamal Ali reminded fasting as it was prescribed before other generations. It is discipline and its lessons of sacrifice a way of life. We also discussed the old traditions of Sultanate and how it should be revived. This form of governance although without funding (from government) facilitates conflict-settlement, weddings and other major Muslim rituals. The thanks-giving was closed with a prayer to remember those who passed away, the sick and the old Man who brought us together Sheikh Ibrahim Ali who passed more than a decade ago.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 23:32:01 +0000
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