"THE MANANANGGOT"

(TUBA MAKER->FILIPINO TRADITIONAL WINE)

A manananggot is a person who gathers tuba for a living. Do you know that

having this work is difficult and tiring? You need care and concentration to avoid

 falling from the coconut tree to the ground. If you are not careful enough, you

might fall and get injured. You also need to wake up as early as four or five in the morning to gather more tuba for more money. You may work with a group or by

yourself, like Virgilio Abella, a manananggot who works by himself only. But, what really pushes a person to get into this dangerous work? It’s poverty—poverty

urges them to really work hard even it’s hard and dangerous. Many manananggots even did not finish schooling because of this reason—poverty.

Being a manananggot also lies in blood. This means that this job is a livelihood

handed down from the great grandfathers who passed on their knowledge to the next generations. For example, John Abella, a manananggot for 8 years, has a father who has been a manananggot for 24 years—Virgilio Abella. They work

together to feed their family. Virgilio has eight children, and one of them is John, who is one of his triplets. His wife is Clarita Lapis-Abella, a housewife who also

helps them to clean the sugong—a bamboo container of tuba. Virgilio said,

[We inherited this kind of work from our ancestors.]”

Meanwhile, Robisper Sumaria, another manananggot from Tuyom, Carcar, also said

that his job as a manananggot is an

heirloom and a family tradition. The

 knowledge that he learned from his great grandfathers is very helpful to their living.

There are so many things that a

manananggot should do and accomplish.

For a first-time manananggot, it is not that easy to climb up a tree or to wake up so early. At first, climbing up the tree is very hard. You need to be very careful in

climbing because you might fall. Although Virgilio and Robisper did not experience falling from a coconut tree, both of them said that they felt very tired the first time. They even experienced muscle pains. But, once you are used to climbing, it

will become easy for you. According to Virgilio, you should wake up early to start working. Virgilio climbs the coconut trees from 5 o’clock until 9 o’clock in the

morning. You can get more tuba if you start your work early. Virgilio climbs 40

trees a day, while Robisper can climb 50 trees a day.

Working as a manananggot is not an easy job and not enough to sustain one’s

family. But, what will a manananggot do if the money earned from tuba is not

enough? Take for example, Virgilio, his son, and Robisper. Everyday, Virgilio and

his son gather tuba, but sometimes they can only gather a small quantity of tuba. Virgilio alone can gather two and a half containers, or 22 gallons a day. He can

climb 40 trees a day. The tuba field of about one hectare is not their own field.

 They have to give a share to the owners

At about 9 o’clock in the morning, after gathering the tuba, they need to deliver

the tuba to the market in Carcar. To reach the market, Virgilio has to ride a motorcycle. The fare of the motorcycle is paid by the tuba buyer. Virgilio earns about

500 pesos daily, about 3,000 pesos weekly, and about 12,000 pesos or so

monthly. The money that he earns is enough for his family. But, during low sales,

the unsold tuba will be made into bahalina to preserve it. Sometimes his family

cannot eat, especially if he and his son cannot gather tuba. They have to work

 everyday, rain or shine. “Ang manananggot kay gitawag nga uwan-init nga tawo

kay tungod sa pagtrabaho uwan o init man [The manananggot is called rain-shine person because he does his job through rain or shine],” Virgilio said. “Kinahanglan gyud magtrabaho og maayo para makakaon. [We need to work hard so that we

can put food on our table.]”

Meanwhile, Robisper Sumaria owns his tuba field of about 200 square meters and has an alternative source of living aside from tuba. If the money that he earns

from tuba is not enough, he has a vegetable garden where they can get food and sell vegetables in the market. For him, the education of his children is very

important, so he works very hard. He allows his children to drink the sweet kind

of tuba because of its good effects.

A manananggot also has his or her rival enemies in getting tuba. Some of these

are the honey bees, ants, flies, bees, beetle, batul (or bakokang, a beetle), mice, and bats. These organisms are harmful and destructive in getting tuba. Because of these organisms, the manananggot’s income is also affected.

Being a manananggot is hard and, of course, dangerous, but manananggots have to work very hard no matter how dangerous the work is. Manananggots are really patient, hardworking, and family lovers. We should be proud of the manananggots because they are not only working to earn a living but also promoting our own culture and product.

A manananggot also has his or her rival enemies in getting tuba. Some of these

 are the honey bees, ants, flies, bees, beetle, batul (or bakokang, a beetle),

mice, and bats. These organisms are harmful and destructive in getting tuba.

Because of these organisms, the manananggot’s income is also affected.

manananggot