ABW Sept 2018-1

MARINDUQUE
72
Ka Amon caves
the hapless Longino, who has, by now, become the
darling of the crowd. Longino is captured twice but
manages to escape to the crowd’s resounding roar
of approval. On the third time, realizing that he has
proclaimed to the world the miracle of Christ, he
accepts his fate in the final act called pugutan or
mock beheading, usually timed at high noon. After
asking his newly found Saviour’s forgiveness, he
lowers his head to the block
and is decapitated by another
morione, called the berdugo,
or executioner. His “lifeless”
body is paraded around town
for his “funeral” that leads to
the church where all Moriones
rededicate the year’s Lenten
vow to god. If traveling to
Marinduque, for this week
of religious fun and frivolity,
book all travel and accommodation early, or run
the risk of missing out on one the Philippine’s most
colorful festivals.
Kalutang
Proudly native and exclusive to Marinduque is
the Kalutang. A band of local musicians who have
perfected the art of producing crisp clear melodies
that blends with the catchy rhythm of a booming
bass. Their Instruments are distinctly unconventional
and very unique. Cut from the end of specially chosen
branches of the kwatingan tree found on the island,
each musician carefully cuts this desired length and
specifications. Striking together the identical pair of
wooden instruments at selected points along the
length produces notes of a definite pitch and tone
quality that remotely resembles a cross between an
un-sustained marimba and castanets. As such, the
Kalutang belong in a class of musical instruments that
is generally classified as percussion. The instruments
range in size from approximately ten inches in length
by an inch in diameter for the soprano section to four
feet in length with a diameter of six inches for the
It takes thousands,
even millions, of years
for those geological
miracles to be formed
through continuous
precipitation.
bass section. Due to the method used to produce the
sound, the Kalutang bands of Marinduque never use
any additional percussion instruments. The percussion
and rhythm have been naturally integrated in a style
that these peculiar instruments are played.
The Ka Amon Caves
The caves of Ka Amon are
located at the eastern part
of the island of Marinduque.
Young the island may be,
but the origin of these caves
was already part of nature’s
magnificent sculpture during
the Cretaceous Epoch before
Marinduque finally rose from
the sea about 20 million years
ago. With sunlight touching
the once-underwater limestone beauty, more subtle
changes began to take place —slowly transforming
the barren karst, (landscape formed from the
dissolving or separation of soluble rocks), into a
heart-shaped paradise thriving right at the center
of the Philippine archipelago. Indeed, the wings of
www.wewander.ph
Palad Sandbar