Nena and Kulit

Every May 1^st, all the villagers in the town of Pulilan, Bulacan prepare for the Feast of San Isidro, the patron saint of the farmers. In this farming town, people come to see the carabaos kneel and pray for bounty of harvest. This tradition is a famous tourist attraction in the northeastern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines.

One evening in late April, Nena, a wiry wisp of a girl all of nine years, could not sleep and walked toward the ten pigpens that her father, Mang Tacio, was feeding. She watched him and noticed an older sow making audible noises. She pointed at it and said, “Tatay, why is she too noisy?”

“Well, our Sonya is due to give birth any moment now,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I can’t sleep. Could I help you? We have no school this summer and Kulit can also watch, is that OK?”

“OK,” her father remarked as “Kulit” the two-month old piglet wagged his curly white and pink tail.

Three hours later, Sonya lay on her side and heaved a heavy shrieking noise as if she was being butchered for the upcoming fiesta.

To the delight of Nena, one little oinker after another came out of Sonya as though she was like the white mouse rat, Lily, who had a litter of seven. When number seven came out, she could not believe that there were as much as twenty little oinkers, all in different colors, some in pure black, others white and black , and others pinkish white with curly pinkish black tail.

“Tatay, it is only Kulit who has a different color. He came from Sonya but her brothers and sisters does not have white nose and pinkish white tail.”

“You better help me line them up so they can all be nursed,” he prodded.

“OK”

After a few minutes, Nena was looking for Kulit.

“Tatay, I could not find Kulit, it is too dark!”

“Did you look in your room?”

“Yes, I did and even in our dog’s room, Bantay. He is not there. I am afraid. Somebody might eat him!”

“Oh, do not worry, we will find him when day light comes in.”

“You better get some sleep!”

“But, but, we need to find him now!”

“No, Nena! Tomorrow, we will. Okay, Kulit is a sneaky devil. You know that, he loves playing…”

“Martha, could you bring Nena in. Rey, could you help me here?” Tacio called his son to help him clean up.

In the morning as the cock crowed at 4 a.m., Nena stormed out and looked under the chicken coop, under the jackfruit trees, beneath the banana trees, and underneath the coconut trees.

There was no sign of Kulit.

Nena was breathing and sweating profusely and she could not imagine life without him.

She called her dog. “Bantay let us find Kulit!”

She went into the poblacion, ten blocks away, where the town fiesta is prepping up for the San Isidro feast. Two more days to go, she counted.

People are building booths, arranging tents, setting up carnival rides and other palaro games.

She could not help asking Manang Linda, the town fiesta coordinator. “Manang, Good Morning! Could you help me find Kulit? I could not sleep last night he slipped away!

Please…please ….,” she pleaded.

“Oh, is that so!” (Pause) “Could you describe Kulit?” she asked.

“Hmm…Let us try to ask help. The Mayor’s office is just around the corner, follow me.”

Manang Linda, Nena and Bantay walked four blocks to the mayor’s office.

As they enter the air-conditioned office, a heavy set portly man, named Manuel Atienza greeted them.

“How can I help you ladies?”, as his eyes drew into slits smiling at them.

“Mayor, your honor, could you help us find Kulit? He is my little pig. He is very special as he helps me do my chores. He sleeps with me and he is my best friend.” Nena blurted it out.

“Oh, OK. What is your name?”

“Nena, Sir.” Manang Linda remarked. “She approached me to seek help to find Kulit. He slipped away last night.”

“I could possibly help in placing posters of your missing pig, Kulit. We will place them in the barangay, in the town, in the school, and all over the village…”

“Oh, thank you!” she hugged him. “I hope our patron saint will help us, too!”

“You are welcome."

“Do not worry,” he added “I am sure you might be afraid he might be in somebody’s dinner table tonight? Are you?”

She nodded.

“Well let us offer a reward of one hundred pesos for Kulit; I will do that, OK?”

“Oh, thank you so much. “

“Mayor, I can help you in the office whenever you need me.”

“Nena, it is alright. We need to be in our fiesta, remember, we all should celebrate and be happy”

The following day, in the eve of the fiesta, posters of Kulit and the reward of 100 pesos were all over the poblacion and the whole village, in the market place, in the school, in the town hall and even in the cockfighting and boxing arenas near the fiesta stage grounds.

Nena did not sleep a wink that night since she was worried Kulit could have been pulutan in somebody’s plate last night.

“Are you fine?” Martha asked.

“Yes.”

“You are lucky; Our Mayor is helping you find Kulit. Let us pray to San Isidro!”

“OK. Nanay, I will pass by the church tomorrow to ask for a sign!”

“Do you need Rey to accompany you?”

“No... I do not need Kuya Rey. I can do it with Bantay.”

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened.

Tacio came out bringing in two pails of pig slop.

“Nena, I have a surprise for you!”

“Did you find Kulit?”

“No.”

“I have Sugo!”

“Sugo?”

“Yes, come out and see!”

Lo and Behold! She was a pink and white piglet with a red bow in a floral straw basket with jasmine flowers and rose petals.

“Oowwwnooo. He looks like Kulit”

She kissed him. Sugo is barely a day old.

“Well?”

“But Tatay, it is not the same. His tail is different.”

“Por Dios Nena! Kulit is just a little pig! You can train Sugo to be like him”

Tacio shaking his head

“Why? Who took Kulit?”

“I do not know. Who knows?”

“I did. I sold him,” Rey butted in.

“I know Kulit is special. I miss the bugger! But Sugo will be more special, you will see,

Give him time. OK?”

She nodded to Rey but could not help but cry.

“OK. May I be excused now?”

“OK. Wipe your face.” Tacio said.

Tacio carried the two pails of pig slop in the pen as he motioned Rey to help.

The following day, the weather was 100 degrees as the bands were marching in. Kids and adults dressed in colorful native customes in saya and barong danced the tinikling and people were selling food in the stalls. Kids were enjoying the Ferris wheel, octopus rides and freak shows in the stage grounds. There were some bands playing the kundiman songs as well as contemporary tunes. All kinds of food wafted in the area especially the scent of puto bumbong, sapin-sapin, turon, kalamay, barbeque chicken kebob, fish balls, chicharon bulaklak and bibingka were the standout favorites.

Humid and hot, the children waited for the palaro games to begin.

Nena was waiting in the pig races as she glanced at Mayor Atienza. He waved and she approached him.

“Mayor, are you still giving the reward of 100 pesos?”

“Why yes!”

“I thought you want to drop it. “

“I see you have a little friend there, what is his name?”

“Sugo, he is kind of special too…” Nena sighed.

“Why?”

“My father said that he almost died since all the other newborns were trampling on him.

He is pretty smaller than the rest of them yet he really looks like Kulit.”

“So are you giving up Kulit now?”

No!" Mayor! Never will, Sir!”

“OK let us go to the next game called ‘The Pigs Flying Game.’ “

Nena was with Bantay and Sugo as they approached the new palaro games. Mayor Atienza was handed a gun to start the games with a BIG BANG!

The games have four little pigs and the object is to catch the pigs in the muddy hole.

There are three contestants and the first to catch the piglet swathe in coconut oil and put him up in the pig pen wins. Time limit is 30 minutes. Contestants can only use their bare hands, no leashes, no gloves, no stun guns allowed. All three contestants are teenagers and pre-teens. One of them is Rey, Nena’s brother.

“Rey!!! Rey!!! Rey!!! Go Rey!!!” Nena shouted.

As others shouted for other two contestants,

“Dario!!! Dario!!! Lucio!!! Lucio!!!”

The four little pigs were released as chaos reality became hilarity.

Dario fell in the mud almost touching the tail of the pig wearing a superhero costume, yet his hand slipped its grip.

“Ahh!” the crowd roared.

Rey managed to hold the neck of another pig dressed as a black knight and then again it slipped.

“Ooooohhh!!!” The crowd crowed.

Lucio got the ear of the pig dressed in princess costume and then it also ran away.

“Eeeewwww!!!" The crowd interjected.

As the thirty minutes comes to an end, Dario got a hold of a pig, dressed as a knight, by its breast and clung to it as it tried to drag him for a few yards. Everyone gasped as Dario was able to pin it down and place it in its little pen.

As another game started in the east side of the fairgrounds, people trailed off to see other ongoing palaro games like tumbang preso, limbo rock, juego de anilo, to name a few.

Unnoticed by many, there was this little pig dressed as a witch that nobody dared caught.

Elusive and sneaky like a ghost, it was draped in black soot with a funny nose. Dressed like a witch, the boys could not put it back on the pen. As Nena tried to help, she called out “Kulit! Kulit! Is that you?”

The little prankster darted toward her and jumped on her chest.

“Oh, Kulit!”

“I missed you!” Nena swooned.

Kulit smothered Nena.

Manang Linda and Mayor Atienza watched Nena and Kulit.

“Nena, Kulit was here the whole day. He just wanted to have Fun!” Mayor said.

“Yes, Mayor , Thank You. And thank you San Isidro!”

Nena made the sign of the cross.

Kulit jumped on the Mayor and smothered him with his muddy claws. They all laughed.

The End

Glossary of Tagalog Terms:

(Tagalog Terms as introduced in story sequence)

Tagalog – Filipino language used in the northern part of the island of Luzon in the Philippines

Carabao – working animal in the farm which looks like a cross between a mule and a buffalo. It is the cousin of the tamaraw, another working animal used in this region.

Tatay - a term of respect for father.

Kulit – a term used to mean a personal or living creature that has a need to get noticed.

Nanay – a term of respect for mother.

Bantay - a noun which means “guard” or a person who watches over you.

Poblacion – public place where people gather and meet.

Barangay - the smallest unit of society. An area composed of people living in small hamlet working and living together.

Manang – a term of respect for older lady.

Pesos - Philippine unit of currency. The conversion rate is $1 to P49 in the International Exchange Market.

Pulutan – means side dish normally accompanying beer or other liquid refreshment.

Kuya – a term of respect for older brother.

Sugo – means guardian.

Por Dios – means “In the name of God”

Saya- Philippine skirt used by women in different colors like red, green, orange.

Barong – Embroidered Philippine garment worn by men made of hemp, jusi or light cotton worn during special occasions like fiestas, weddings, birthdays and even in funerals.

Tinikling –Philippine dance using two bamboo poles.

Kundiman- Traditional Philippine love songs

Puto bumbong –rice cakes mixed with ube or purple yams and coated with white sugar.

Sapin-Sapin – Philippine desert delicacy with coconut topping and has tricolor cakes normally purple, red and white.

Turon- Philippine snack composed of banana dipped in caramel sugar and wrapped in egg roll wrapper.

Kalamay – Philippine stick rice coated in brown sugar.

Chicharon Bulaklak – Philippine snack composed of crunchy pigskin and filling deep fried in oil.

Bibingka – Rice cake cooked in makeshift stove made of rice flour, red eggs, crème cheese and Philippine white cheese called “Kesong puti.”

Palaro – Philippine parlor games

Tumbang Preso – Philippine children game using a slipper and crooked tin cans.

Juego de anilo- Philippine game using a bicycle and the riders try to shoot the areas while riding the bike inside a small ring.