The people of Catanduanes suffered not only from Japanese occupation, but also from the guerillas supposed to protect them. Such is the evil of war. But the guerillas would famously redeem themselves from such ignominious deeds, which to be sure were committed by a small minority. The next article of this series will tackle the glorious undertaking by local patriots, the Liberation of Catanduanes.
Tag: sisay kita
World War II in Catanduanes (Second of Four parts)
Under the Japanese regime, the people lived with extreme austerity and deprivation. Basic commodities were in grave shortage or altogether unavailable so that substitution and improvisation were resorted to. In lieu of the staple rice, people had to feed on root crops, including wild yams (e.g. namu , gamat). They had to make their own salt by boiling sea water. For sugar, they used mahamis locally made from sugarcane juice. Kerosene disappeared in the market. Instead of gas tinterohan, they lit the night using ti-om (clam shell) lamp fueled by oil extracted from coconut. Soap was home-made, again from coconut extracts and lye. Soon, they had to wear scratchy sinamay cloth dyed with locally sourced substances (e.g. achuete for reddish hue, dullaw for yellow). In the countryside, since matches were prohibitively expensive, they maintained a himullang-dan, a log that was eternally burning on one end which had to be tended 24-7.
The Writing of History:
World War II in Catanduanes (First of Four Parts)
In an earlier article (October 23, 2019 issue), I argued that the victorious resistance by the Catandunganons against the Japanese, the only shooting war they fought in their history, proved crucial in the push for consolidation to independent province-hood. This present article is first part of a series of four essays that will present and discuss my digging into the details of the Japanese occupation of the island and the subsequent struggle against it by the Catandunganons.