Mga sulled ku:
Thank you very much to all of you who have interacted with me or responded to my call regarding the suggested revision of "Bukidnon, My Home".
Since several of you have requested if you could copy or sing the song using my suggested revision, I decided to pour more time onto it. It is my utmost desire to be as close as possible to the English version and be as dynamic, vis-a-vis to the current trends on migration, nationalism, fertility, land grabbers, etc.
Some of you have insinuated that you would like to help me on the revision by either doing a survey or interview. Hence, even though this is the final suggestion from my end, you could still send me your much needed comments and suggestions. Like you, I would love to have a provincial anthem that I really could be proud of.
"BUKIDNON, BANUWA KU"
Bisan pa hindu a
Lalag ku'g uli` a
Dini ta Bukidnon
Kanak ha banuwa
Buntod ha matangkaw,
Kalasan...makapal,
Patag ha malu-ag,
Na tungkay madagway.
Chorus:
Bukidnon ha banuwa ku
Dini ka ta pusung ku.
Langit nu bon kadagway,
Hadi ku agkalipatan.
Bukidnon ha bugta ku
Dakol sa goinawa nu.
Ka-uyagan, in-ila` nu,
Ngaran nu, hitindugan ku.
Note: I didn't touch the first stanza. Please refer to my previous blog, "Bukidnon, My Home: Revisited", for its English translation.
Now, here's the English translation of the chorus.
Bukidnon, my town/province.
You are here in my heart.
Your sky is so beautiful,
I never can forget.
Bukidnon, my land.
You have a big breath (love).
Means-of-living, you have given,
Your name, I will stand-for (protect).
Here's the chorus of the original Binukid version with its English back translation.
Bunturun, balalayan,
Basakan, kapatagan,
pastuhan, kapinyahan,
ba alan-alan ka-uyagan.
Langit din pig-aldawan,
piglambongan, pig-uranan,
sirungan, uranan.
ba alan-alan ka-uyagan.
Its English back translation:
Mountainous, hilly,
Rice paddy, plains,
Grassy-for-grazing, pineapple farm,
But all are means-of-living.
Its sky is sun-drenched,
laid-with-overcast, rained-on,
(?), to-be-rained-on
But all are means-of living.
I put a question mark as an English equivalent of "sirungan", because I really haven't heard this word but in this chorus. T.S. Sungkit, the author of the novel, "Batbat Hi Udan" commented about this word in my previous blog, "Bukidnon, My Home; Revisited". Check out my Feb. 15 blog.
And here's the English version.
BUKIDNON, MY HOME
Wherever I may roam
The distant land to see
I long to go back home
To sweet Bukidnon home
Her lovely mountains high
Her forest old and grand
Bring memories to me
The home I long to see.
Chorus:
There my heart, yearns to be
In far away, Bukidnon land.
Under its blue starry sky,
Where love and joy never die.
(Repeat)
By the way, Walter Balane, a local journalist and writes the blogs, "Istambay sa Mindanaw" and "Bukidnon Our Home", asked me on the lyricist of the original version and the date the song was written.
I really don't know. I have been singing the Binukid version even when I was still in the elementary. That was 50 years ago. Despite my old age, I never learned who wrote the song. I asked a few to do research on this, but I received nothing.
This is the best hunch that I can give you. It is very possible that an American Baptist missionary wrote the English version in the 1940s. Miss Little, the Atherton, the Kohler(?) are a few name that I can remember. Then, a Bukidnon was asked to write the Binukid text. I remembered my father, who grew up and studied with these American missionaries, when he told me that some of them were requested to help in the translation of English Christian songs to Binukid. He mentioned the name of Pastor Sinagda, Pastor Sinohon, or that long-time pastor of Can-ayan (whose name has eluded me, while writing this blog). Too bad, all of them have already passed. It couldn't be the Summer Institute of Linguistics (Nasuli), because SIL was invited to do language research and translation in the Philippines by Pres. Ramon Magsaysay in 1953.
Anyway, the old Binukid version is now a public domain. Besides, it's possible that there was no copyright law that time. It could have been great to acknowledge those who burned their midnight candles to come up with the Binukid lyric. So, whoever and wherever you are, THANK YOU for writing the Binukid lyric of "Bukidnon, My Home". You have given us, the sons and daughters of Bukidnon province, a pride worth remembering and sharing. However, with our access to modern science of linguistics and translation, hope it is alright with you for us to do some major revision of its chorus.
And to all present tagaBukidnons, feel free to copy, share, and sing this new translation in your social or official functions. I don't intend to copyright this. It is my humble contribution to the music and arts; the culture, in general, of Bukidnon.
Now, mga higala, it's time for you to send me your feedback. Is this revision better than the old one? Is the message closer to the English version?
Marakol tungkay ha salamat.
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14 comments:
Thanks Gali Edmund,
Efforts like this proposition pushes for a dialogue with history and tradition.
And we should be in constant dialogue with the past. I admire your work in putting together this new version.
I plan to write about it i m blog and in my journalistic engagements so the dialogue could be expanded to others, as you have started it.
It is also noteworthy that you use "Taga Bukidnons". It is a significant term in recognition of the diversity of peoples and experiences in the province now, as it has been.
Congratulations Sir!
Best regards from Bukidnon our home!
-Walter
Absolutely, Gali Walt. "Bukidnon, My Home" is part of our culture. And culture takes awhile to change. Well, some will easily adapt a change, others will adapt it a little slower, and a few will never accept the change (laggards).
The revision is final from my end, so that, with your journalistic network, feedback from our fellow TagaBukidnons (i.e. I.P's and non I.P's) could commence soon. The soonest; the better.
Don't congratulate me, Gali Walt. This is a community effort. I just initiated it. At the end of the day, we will congratulate both the old and the young generations of all TagaBukidnons for their contributions to this dialogue.
Thanks again, Gali Walt. More power.
Guys, I just received two emails from our compatriots, who now live in Canada. One has included some info. that has given a little light in the tunnel as to when the English version was written. I would be posting it here once I'd get his permission.
Keep your feedback coming. Thank you very much.
Somebody sent me an email on how to sing the chorus: Most of the notes will be the same as the original. However, on Chorus line 4, the stress on "hadi" must be on "di". On line 7 the stress (or two beats) are "Ka-" on "Ka-uyagan" and "In-" in "in-ila nu". Lastly, in line 8 the stress(or hold) in "hitindugan" is in consonant "-tin-".
Happy singing, guys.
Here's an e-mail that I promised you. It's from Engr. Addie Bantug and it's fresh from Canada.
Gali, maayad ha aldaw. My parents were one of the origial students of Normal School. Infact we have kept a duet recordings of them singing, Bukidnon My Home, Carry Me Back To Dear Bukidnon, My First Night in Bukidnon and Lena Gold ( Normal's Hymn). Those years was in the 1920's. That Pastor you mentioned in Canayan is Pastor Libertad. My mother got saved through his ministry. I grew up in Kalasungay but then our family moved to San Fernando when papa became the mayor of that municipality. Through Pastor Industan, I heard first Pilgrim's Progress. I remember he used flannel boards. I also have a Blog. Just google Addie Bantug.
Marakul ha salamat
Addie
I would like to thank Gali Addie for this; brief but significantly informative.
My assumption is wrong. Gali Addie has given us a light in the tunnel. At least, we now know that the English version of "Bukidnon, My Home' was written in 1920s.
I rechecked Gali Addie's information and learned that Bukidnon Provincial Elementary School, which is now Bukidnon State university, was opened in 1924. It started as a 2-year secondary school. When it offered a 4-year secondary normal curriculum in 1928, its name was changed to Bukidnon Normal School.
Nevertheless, we still don't know the exact date and the lyricist. It could be one of the Thomasites, who were assigned in Malaybalay.
The Thomasites were those Americans, who were mustered and shipped to the Philippines on board SS Thomas on July 1901. They were sent to respond to the shortage of teachers.
Like Gali Addie's parents, my mama was also one of the students in the 2 and 4-year curriculum. Thereupon, she and some others were sent to Manila to pursue an elementary teaching certificate (ETC). Too bad, my mama passed away when i was still in 3rd grade, and have never told me about the origin of "Bukidnon, My Home". Thanks to Gali Addie for filling that up.
Now, let's wait if someone could give us more information on the English version.
A definite question of my blog is the Binukid lyric of "Bukidnon, My Home", because this is what I am revising. Who could that person be? When did he write it?
It couldn't be a Thomasite. They did not have time to learn Binukid. Matter of fact, they strictly imposed the use of English in and out of class. My father told me before that they used to put cardboard under their pants, because those who were caught speaking the native language were butt-whipped. And the whipping wasn't a joke; it really was a severe corporal punishment. The fear of being punished in front of the class forced every student to speak English. This is the reason why many of our parents, at least those who grew up during the Thomasite era, are English adept(even if they only finished 3rd grade). That said, there was no way for the Binukid version to come about during that time. Nevertheless, it could be possible that somebody translated the English version into Binukid years after.
The word "kapinyahan" in the Binukid chorus gave us some light. Knowing the year Del Monte started its pineapple production in Bukidnon could be the answer. I googled it and learned that Del Monte has been growing pineapples in Bukidnon since late 1920s (J.K.Boyce's The Philippines: The Politics Economy of Growth...in the Marcos Era). Therefore, we could assume that the Binukid version could have been written in the 1930s onward.
Guys, here's an email from T.S. Sungkit, the author of the novel, "Batbat Hi Udan". For the sake of my compatriots, who do not speak Binukid, I am going to provide an implicit translation. With the English translation, this email becomes somewhat long. I therefore am going to respond in a separate commentary box.
Marakol tungkay ha salamat, Anijun. (A very big thank you, Anijun.)
Now, here's Anijun's email. Remember, I also would want you, guys, to comment on somebody's comment. This is one way that we could come up with a better Binukid lyric of "Bukidnon, My Home".
Maayad daan ha aldaw, Agulanga.
( Good day, older-brother)
Panalangin hu Magbabaya Hu Alan ha maayad gihapon su kaggahinawa taini anghura nu.. Su Batbat hi Udan na pigsulayan un hu BSU tauna ha Marso. Ba sa UP Institute of Creative Writing na su anay ha second sem pa hu AY 2008-2009 na piggamit dan un.
(It's God's blessing that your younger-brother is still feeling good. "Batbat hi Udan" had been tried and used in the classroom at BSU in March. However, UP- Inst. of Creative Writing has been using it since the second semester of 2008-2009.)
Napungahan kud aga su ikaduwa ko ha novel (Cebuano haini). Imanto na tagsugod ad un hu sequel hu Batbat hi Udan.
(Modesty aside, I have completed my second novel. It's in Cebuano. Now, I am starting on a sequel of "Batbat hi Udan".)
Bahin hu Bukidnon My Home, na naaha ku ha maayad ku matimo ta su laus ha mulin-ulin (true spirit) hu orihinal ha kanta. Daw naaha ku ha para amin din practical value na maayad daan ha makasulod duun hu orihinal din ha musical composition.
(On the "Bukidnon, My Home": It would be good if we could have the true spirit (meaning) of the original song. To have its practical value, I realize that it also would be good if we could fit it in its original musical score.)
Aman iyan haini kanak ha kaghubad hu Bukidnon My Home. Amin daan duma ha mga pulong ha pig-ugsak ku dini ha iyan ku naaha ha sakto ta daw hari ki makapadidiyo ta orihinal ha lyrics.
(That said, this is my own translation of "Bukidnon, My Home". I also wrote some of the words, which I found more fitting to the original lyric.)
***
"Bukidnon, Banuwa Ku"
(translation by T.S. Sungkit Jr.)
bisan ku'g layod a
ta madiyo ha banuwa
lalag ku'g uli a
nanaw ha banuwa
buntud din maragway
daw taman matangkaw
magampong su kalasan
banuwa ku'g ulian.
Chorus:
diya gayed, sa pusung ku
agkabaya'g uli ta Bukidnon
mabitoon su langit din
gagaw daw kalipay,hari'g patay.
***
Su kanak ha translation na taghitindog taini ha mga rason:
(My translation is based on the following reasons:)
Su "roam" na "layod" su Binukid din. su "sweet" na ubay gayed ku gamiton su "nanaw" ta saini ha "nanaw" na iyan haini taggamiton hu mga laas ku agdaydayon su bata. ku agkahinumdoman nu pa su kagdayday hu mga laas ha "Ananaw!Ananaw!" na sakto gayod ha iyan haini translation hu "sweet". ta su kagdayday ha "Ananaw! Ananaw!" na masabot ta ha "Sweet child!". Aman ku idomatic equivalence su pan-ahaun ta na mahustohan gayod taini. Buot daan ipasabot taini ha Ananaw na "beloved" (aman iyan gani haini ngaran hu bata ku ha bahe!).
('Layod' is the Binukid of 'roam'. 'Nanaw' is the word closer to 'sweet', because 'nanaw' is a word of affection our old folk uses. If you still could remember the expression 'Ananaw!', that indeed is the exact translation of 'sweet'. 'Ananaw' can be used to a 'Sweet child' or 'beloved'. Hence, if we are looking for an idiomatic equivalence,'nanaw' could be the right word for it.)
su "love" na iyan ku naaha ha sakto duun su "gagaw". Aman nayaun ta su ngaran ha "Gagawen" na buot ipasabot taini ha laga ha agkahigugma gayod duun su alan. "Gagawen", tagkagagaw gayod duun su alan. sa rootword din ha "gagaw" iyan ku gayod naaha ha sakto ha translation hu "love".
(For love; 'gagaw' is what I found as its exact translation. That is the reason we have the word, Gagawon. Meaning that everybody is in love of that lady. It's root word is 'gagaw'.)
anijun
Note: Also check Anijun's comment on my Feb. 19 blog. My comment to this email is in the next box.
There are four methods of translation. Three of these are the following: free translation, literal translation, and idiomatic translation.
Free translation is a corrupt translation. Perhaps, paraphrase is the best example of this. There's a lot of extraneous information included in the text that oftentimes corrupts the meaning and style of the original text.
Literal translation is a method where every word and grammatical construction follows that of the original text. So, a Malayo-Polynesian language, like the Phil. languages whose active sentences begin with action words, would be translated word-for-word in the same order.
Idiomatic translation is the ideal method. It seriously considers the receptor's ability to grasp the meaning of the original text, as natural as possible. It doesn't necessarily have to be the word (s) of the original text, because in idiomatic translation, the translator is translating the meaning of the original text as normal as possible to the original text. Translator, therefore, is looking for a dynamic equivalence of the text. E.g. in Spanish, we normally say, "Como te llamas?" (How shall I call you?) In natural English, we say, "What's your name?" See the difference? 'Como'(how) is now 'what' in English. 'llamas' from the verb 'llamar' (to call) is now a specific noun, 'name'.
Translating songs must also produce an equivalent message, i.e., to reproduce the total dynamic character of the original text. If the "translation" doesn't accomplish that, then, it is not a translation itself. Rather, it is a corrupt adaptation of the original or a transliteration. Besides translating the lyric, one also had to pay attention to the musical score, that is, the sequences of notes. A quarter note (one beat) could be divided into an eight note (half-beat) and the song would still be alright. However, if we'd replaced the quarter note with a half-note (2-beat) or whole note (4-beat), then, the song would simply becomes different. We would need to have additional measure that would simply make the song different.
Also, a song lyric is poetic. We need to find, as much as possible, a way to translate it poetically.
Now, let's move on to the issue of our blog: to come up with a better and closest Binukid dynamic equivalence on the English lyric of "Bukidnon, My Home".
I appreciate, Anghud Anijun, for suggesting a total revision of the English version. I decided not to do that for the following reasons: Though, the first two stanzas are a little way off from the English lyric, it is not really that bad. Besides, I don't want to completely overhaul the Binukid lyric. I also wanted to feel the old song in the revision.
But something has to be done with its chorus. As I said before, the chorus is way off its English version. It simply was an explicit description of the physical features of personified province of Bukidnon. It doesn't give us the poetic, the romantic, and the nationalistic feel of the song.
Basically, the English lyric is like this. (And this should be the essence of translation.)
What? "Anywhere I wander, I hope to come back to my homeland."
Why? "Her beautiful mountains and forest bring back good memories."
What then? "It is the home I long to see."
I thought of the word "layod" (to walk around); however, I opted not to because of its negative connotation, i.e., to stow away or to run away.
I also thought of the word 'nanaw', but I also decided against it, because I felt that it is more of an expression of endearment of a parent to his/her child, and not vice versa. 'Sweet' in "Bukidnon, My Home" is more of a son or daughter longing for his/her motherland.
'Gagaw' completely slipped off my mind. Probably, because I am thinking poetic, while doing the revision. "Dakol so goinawa nu" is more poetic and picturisque in my mind. A person can only have a big breath (for someone) if that person is in love (of that someone). For literal translation, though, 'gagaw' will be the perfect fit.
The last line, "Ka ngaran nu, hitindugan ku" is an additional information. I like to add a nationalistic feel to make the Binukid text relevant of what's happening today: the case of the Sumilao farmers, the ultimate action one could do when a love one is demeaned, harrassed, or hurt. It's our province anthem, it is necessary to reflect a nationalistic spirit into it.
Why there wasn't a slight trace of nationalism in the English lyric? This gives us more confident to assume that the English lyric was written by a Thomasites, an American teacher enamored by the beauty of Bukidnon.
Anyway, the three Binukid versions are on the table now. Which one would you prefer: the original Binukid, Anijun's, or mine?
Don't pick mine, because I started it. Choose objectively, a better Binukid version of "Bukidnon, My Home".
hi ed..just got home from malaybalay i miss the place its the place where i belong.i was raised in malaybalay.
CONGATULATIONS..keep up the good work..i can sing it in binukid now.
Hi Rosemarie,
Thank you very much for the comment. I just hope that our fellow taga-Bukidnons, both Bukidnon and non-Bukidnon speakers, would welcome the revision.
Am planning to come down sometime in May of next year to launch my book, Bedtime-Pastime (Kalanganan dun hu Ikam). It also would be the first death anniversary of my co-author, Dr. Genoveva Melendez-Ablanque. I hope I would hear our fellow taga-Bukidnons sing both the English and the Binukid versions during the launching at BSU.
Thanks again, Rosemarie.
WOW! ....
My Fellow Bukidnons, Does anybody has a record (mp3,wmv..etc) format for this song?
if you do, may you please share it with us...
kndly send it via email
kimeduave@gmail.com
thank you very much!
Kim A. Eduave
Hi Kim,
Sorry I was so busy that I wasn't able to check comments which were posted recently.
Anyways, The musical score hasn't change. It was only the lyric which I modified.
If there are Bukidnon musicians who could record and post it on You Tube, I would really appreciate it.
Also, an essay on the song has been included in my b ook (co-authored by Dr. Genoveva Melendez-Ablanque of Bukidnon State Univ.), BEDTIME-PASTIME (Kalanganan dun hu Ikam): Short Stories, Folktales of, and Essays on the Three Tries in so. Philippines.
kindly anyone who can give me a link where i can download the "bukidnon my home" hymn instrumentals only .. thanks
Hi sir! Good day! My name is Catherine Y. Tabequero and I have been viewing your writings since I started working on my thesis study. I keep on looking for your email address because I have something to email to you, it's kinda personal but I cannot locate your exact email address. Is it okay sir if I can have your email address? Thank you and I am looking forward for your favorable response. Thank you!
i appreciate the effort. if you want to write a song or poem for bukidnon that's fine, it is your expression and talent.
but changing or modifying the original? i will disagree. it may have flaws.. whatever. just leave it at that. just write or compose your own.
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