Collection of Essays And Memoirs

My Father is a Fisherman

I've wrote this memoir when I read Ernest Hemingway work, "The Old Man and the Sea". It was an amazing piece showcasing the hardship and struggles of every fisherman. It was one of my favorite reads not only for its content but because of the fact that I can relate to the story. My father is a fisherman in Pangasinan. He was the greatest man I know. He is a no read no write person. In spite of this, he didn't failed to support us. I still remember my father telling his child hood life to us. He left the house at an early age due to financial problems. He went to different places like Manila and Pangasinan to work. And it was on Pangasinan where he met my mother. They become close which resulted to relationship and soon wedding. My father is an Igorot (native), but he speaks Ilokano fluently because he was influenced by the people of Pangasinan since most of them are Ilokano/na. Although, he was influenced by Ilokano, his ties as Igorot is still strong. In fact, he still celebrates the tradition whenever he goes home in Nueva Ecija.

When I was a kid, I vividly recall a memory with my father in a boat. He was paddling the boat toward Tayom, where fish trading took place. My father caught some fish that time, so we went to Tayom to sell them. Most of the fish were tilapia, but they were larger than the typical ones found in the market. At Tayom, my father left me in the boat to sell the catches. I still remember children comes teasing me, mocking and laughing at me for speaking Tagalog rather than Ilokano, the local language of the area. When my father return, the children leaves. 

After the encounter, we went home along with some foods bought by my father and some fishes he didn't sell for our viand. The fish is combination of bunog (larger than the usual fish in the river), and some hipon (shrimp) for my younger sibling since she loves it. At the dock, my mother was already waiting for us. He smiled to us and when we go out of the boat, she gets the fish to clean at home. Our home that time was made purely of large tent with bamboo in it and some pieces of wood blocks. It is far different from our home in Nueva Ecija. We called it kampo (camp) as it looks like a camp. At home, I was amazed by my mother skills of cleaning the fishes. Perhaps, more skilled than the vendor of fish in the market. During the process, my mother separated the fish into portions: some for immediate consumption and others to be eaten on the following days.  To preserve fish for consumption the following day, my mother employed a traditional method of smoking. In Pangasinan, we refer to this technique as "Pindang," where the fish is exposed to smoke from a wood fire, enhancing its flavor while ensuring it remains safe to eat.

One night, when everyone are asleep, my father went to the sea to catch fish to be sold the following day. When I wake up, he was already at home. I remember my father's expression the time: exhausted, with evident eye bags, and very sad because he had no catch from the sigay (net) except for small fish. A sigay is a traditional net used by the fisherman in Pangasinan. When fishes gets to the net, they will be trapped and will eventually catched by the fisherman. Mostly, these net can be bought in Agoo, La Union. At the time, the only fishes my father catch was small fish and shrimp. To avoid wasting of foods, my mother cook it for us. It was also the time, wherein my mother told me to be grateful on the food we have since many people are dying due to lack of foods. Another fish trap used by my father to catch fish is the bukatot (fish trap made of net and bamboo as skeleton). A bukatot is another fish trap used by Fisherman in Pangasinan to catches larger amount of fishes and often wise used for catching different fishes including palos (eels). In Pangasinan where my father was catching fishes, tilapia and palos are the main catches of fisherman. There are no fish like bangus (milkfish) and other fishes in the area since it is inside the dam or the known San Roque Dam of Pangasinan. Palos when sold are very high especially if it weighs much. Ilokano and many people loves to eat eels meat since it is very delicious for them. This is the main reason why many are praying to catch palos to be sold.

One day, my father went to see his bukatot. I went to accompany him that time. The heat was too much so I wear a slipper to avoid my feet burning from the sand. To reach the boat, we need to walk in order to go to the dock where my father left the boat. The weather in Pangasinan especially in summer is very hot similar in Dagupan. It can be seen from the sand evaporating heat which looks like a smoke is coming from it. That time, it was not my father's diligence that amazes me, it was my father walking in the hot sand without slippers. I asked him that time why did he forget to bring slippers, the sand was very hot. He then replied to me, "Talaga a binaybay-ak ket nairumuamakon iti pudot [I left it purposely because I'm used to the heat]". Obviously, he is not superman to tell those thing, since I can see from his looks that he is suffering in pain from the heat of the sand. He can't just tell me the truth because he was afraid his son that time might feel worried about him.