Spot Shelf: Aswangs, Buangs + More in Rowena Festin’s New Short Story Collection

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(SPOT.ph) Childhood memories are intricately woven with amusing characters, often veering between the realms of the eerie and the enigmatic. These tales can inevitably emerge as a creative tapestry spun from the very fabric of the imagination of our townsfolk.

Rowena Festin’s work, Ang Buang ng Bayan, is replete with these interesting characters, woven into her childhood memories of the place where she was born and raised—San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. It cradles the mystical Mount Halcon, a natural divide between Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.

Festin’s eight-story collection delves into the intricate history of the locale, introducing a diverse cast of characters who have inhabited the area throughout various epochs. These narratives are skillfully interlaced with the lives of San Jose's inhabitants, weaving a tapestry that reveals the cultural nuances, beliefs, and timeless traditions that permeated the society of that era.

Mystical, Enthralling Female Characters in Rowena Festin’s Ang Buang ng Bayan

The majority of the characters in Festin’s collection are women, portrayed in various forms, often as mystical and enthralling figures, yet consistently rich and multifaceted in their personas.

At the center are the buangs (a local term for “crazy”), namely, Narsing Buang and Sitang Buang. Their tales of how they descended into madness are a blend of facts and the wild imaginings of the townspeople. Narsing Buang, a favorite figure among the San Jose community, is thought to have fallen victim to a woman with white eyebrows capable of cursing with a single gaze. She succumbed to insanity and was discovered wandering the town, recounting her survival in the forest under the care of a woman with an ample bosom who resides near the sea. As for Sitang Buang, she earned her moniker by engaging in conversations with invisible individuals. The townsfolk, particularly the children, are intrigued when she converses with herself, as though addressing real people. The accounts of how she became insane vary, with the town's midwife serving as the primary source of the story.

Another set of recurring characters comprises the mystical creatures known as the aswangs, a source of fear the townspeople often invoke to discipline misbehaving children. Maria Puting Kilay is thought to be a shape-shifting entity that preys upon her victims with a mere gaze, her distinctive white eyebrows persisting through her transformations. Buslak possesses the ability to lethally subdue her targets in silence, evading detection since no one can definitively attribute the fatalities to her actions. Her appellation derives from her bulging eyes, which, like those of ghouls, are said to target infants and human body parts.

Other captivating characters are Mariang Suso, residing in the forest, who cared for motherless babies during the Japanese war. Local lore holds that an engkanto endowed her with ample breasts producing abundant milk to nurture all the needy infants.

Then, there are Stainless and Esmeralda, hailed as local heroes during the Japanese war for selflessly becoming comfort women to shield young women in San Jose from assault. They also facilitated sustenance for the community by clandestinely gathering supplies from Japanese soldiers.

Amihan, a young lady from the Mangyan tribe, seized the chance of a scholarship to pursue education, vowing to return to her community as an educator. Lastly, an unnamed tourist who ventured to Devil’s Mountain bore witness to a mystical ritual of offering and purification.

Sense of Place and Framed Storytelling 

“Naramdaman ko ang isang patak ng ambon sa aking mukha. Ganito talaga sa San Jose kapag pagabi na, parang ambon ang hamog.”

A notable emphasis of Festin’s book, alongside her diverse array of characters, lies in its vivid depiction of place. Her remarkable ability to craft an immersive ambiance, one that effectively captures the distinct characteristics, moods, emotions, and cultural facets of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, both in the past and the present, affords readers a truly experiential viewpoint. Through her evocative language, sensory nuances, and vibrant imagery, she skillfully transports readers into the story's world, enabling them to immerse themselves as firsthand witnesses.

A recurring theme throughout the collection is the transformation of the town's appearance over time, encompassing both its natural and commercial landscapes, as well as the intricate relationship between its people and their environment. The author portrays the idyllic and uncomplicated provincial life, the expansive sky perpetually adorned with stars and the moon, and the fisherfolk returning from their day's catch. This narrative style functions akin to a cinematic reel, unfurling scenes from the past while interweaving the tales of her childhood.

Another notable stylistic feature of the book involves the use of framed stories, where narratives are nested within one another. Festin adeptly employs this literary device throughout her narrative, skillfully linking the present with the past. This technique resembles a flashback but demands a more intricate approach to avoid veering away from the main storyline. Demonstrating her seasoned craftsmanship, Festin reveals her writing versatility through the deft use of this storytelling method.

Ang Buang ng Bayan: Mga Maikling Kuwento (University of the Philippines Press, 2022) by Rowena P. Festin is available on Lazada and Shopee for P370.

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Rita T. dela Cruz is a science writer and editor at a government research institute. She finished BS Development Communication from UPLB and MA Filipino (Malikhaing Pagsulat) from UP Diliman. Her first book, Solo Flight: Mga Kuwento (Balangay Books,  2021) is available on Lazada for P556.

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