Balitaw: Cebu’s Extinct Tradition
Thursday, December 1st, 2005I can still vividly recall how my late paternal grand uncle, Papa Adong, would sing balitaw to my late grand aunt, Mama Pia, everytime he got inebriated with tuba (a fermented coconut flower juice) when she dressed him down. Papa Adong was a gentle person and he never ever lifted a hand on her, so he just sang her a balitaw to mellow her down. And it did, to everybody’s amusement.
I was inquisitive as a child so I asked Papa Adong what balitaw is. His explanation did give me some insight into the term balitaw, however ambiguous. Balitaw, as he told me, is a lyric poem meant to be sung when asking for the girl’s hand in courting usually in a capella and accompanied with a dance. Did I have a reason to disprove him or even doubt his words? No.