a letter opener from another friend
In the early days of the internet, in the early 90s, I became friends with those who had personal web pages. I had one myself. Now vanished in that particular presentation.
One of them, a lover of islands and an island person like myself, made me a gift or pasalubong, a homecoming gift, sent by mail after a holiday on his island.
It is a letter opener from a Mangyan Center. Incised into the bamboo body is a verse to friendship in the Mangyan syllabic script.
What sets the Southern Mindoro Mangyan really apart from the other groups on the island, however, is the daily use of their indispensable writing system.Centuries ago they must have acquired this art of writing, and no outside influence could take the tradition away. There are no formal teachers but the children can be seen eagerly copying the incised characters from the bamboo containers of their parents, relatives or older friends. With bamboo for paper and the sharp point of a small knife as pen, the young pupils practise the angular symbols, memorizing them. Nobody obliges them. It can generally be said that if a Mangyan knows the script, he must be a person with initiative and interested in undertaking something. Moreover, knowledge of the writing system sharpens greatly memory and intelligence.The existence of this syllabic script among these Mangyan has certainly helped them retain their traditional folklore literature which is expressed in poems, chants, folk tales and riddles. Over and over again, these are written down on bamboo and copied by the following generation.
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