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SCOTTSBURG, INDIANA — Reading the MetroPost has kept me apprised of what is going on in Negros Oriental, especially at Silliman University, my Alma Mater.
One of your excellent writers is Madam Myrna Peña Reyes. I have been reading her series of articles in her column Madahan! with great delight, enlightenment, and nostalgia because I not only get informed, but I am also struck by the important work she has been doing, which is emphasizing the local Bisayan language and culture.
This cultural heritage is followed by a vast segment of Philippine populace; it is fact that the Bisayan language is spoken by more Filipinos than the others.
Her documenting the native cultural facets of Bisayans is to be encouraged. I have been fascinated by her use of the word madahan which means”it can be done” plus, other meanings depending on the speaker’s inflection.
This is a word I am very familiar with, since I used it in my youth in Jimalalud, Negros Oriental, where I first saw daylight.
Her article about Bisayan riddles, Tigmo Agukoy, struck a nostaligic cord in my heart; I used to play with my boyhood friends, enjoying those riddles as we jabbed each other with Tigmo questions.
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Lately, she has commented on contemporary local projects like the City seafront reclamation. I agree with her and with my former professor of biology, National Scientist Dr. Angel C. Alcala: that thrust is going to damage our marine eco-system balance, and I am against it.
What Peña Reyes has done is to collect the native nuances in our language and culture to preserve them for future generations. That she can present her points of view with respect to our Bisayan culture so vividly speaks very highly of her mastery of both the English language and our local one.
I commend Madam Myrna Peña Reyes for her writings.
She could have stayed in America where she lived for many years. Yet, she chose to spend her days in Dumaguete. She has shown her great love and affinity for our beloved Philippines! I commend her even more.
Dr. Eusebio C. Kho
Retired general surgeon
Colonel, US Army (Ret.)
Veteran, Operation Desert Storm
Email: [email protected]
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