English - Balay Mindanaw

LUMADNONG PAGKINABUHI NGADTO SA KALINAWeven if it was so small compared to what the adults use. In hisattempts to practice using the spear, he threw it at birds andkalagsoy (small rats), but these animals were too quick for thisboy.Hunting and FarmingAmay Mantangkilan’s passion for hunting started whenhis father gave him a female dog. After five months of keepingit as a pet, they had observed its keen ability to go after wildanimals. His father suggested that they should bring it withthem to the forest when they hunt. His father told him: “Whenyour dog barks, it means it saw something. If not a wild pig,maybe a deer. If it’s a deer, wait for it in the water. If it’s awild pig, it will only be roaming around the forest.” He wasonly about seven or nine years old at the time. It was the onlytime that he hunted with his father, as he preferred to go onhis own from then on.Amay Mantangkilan recalled how he got his first catch.His dog chased a wild pig, which in the confusion veeredtowards him. Fearing that the wild pig would attack him, theyoung boy took out his bolo and lunged at once at the animal,almost cutting it in half. The wild pig weighed only around 15kilograms, so he was able to carry it all the way home. But hecleaned it first before bringing it inside the house. He removedthe animal’s entrails and gathered firewood he could use incooking the meat, as this was the instruction of his mother.Customarily, whoever catches the animal should collect thefirewood. His parents were happy with his conquest, andthey prayed that the spirits of tumanod and tulundano, theguardians of the forest, would always guide him.Another incident that Amay Mantankilan rememberedwas when his dog chased a deer straight into their farm.It was harvest season for rice that time, and upon seeingthe commotion, he impulsively ran after the deer. Amay46