Saturday, November 19, 2005

Alibata




I remember when I was in high school in Laguna College. I had a good Filipino teacher and she taught us how to write the old Philippine script--"Alibata". We were taught how to write and use it properly. Our final exam was to write an essay all in alibata.

I am sad that I already forgot how to use it. But it's like riding a bike once you learned you never forget and it is easy really. The local abakada has an equivalent symbol to change the vowel form that follows the consonant a dot is placed above or below the symbol. If only the consonant will be used as in the word "minsan" a small plus sign or kudlit is placed beneath it.

Some of my artist friends in Palawan still use it today. Susan Tupas signs her artwork in alibata. Others say it is still in use by the locals of Mindoro and Palawan. According to Gener my friend in Palawan they use leaves for paper and "tingting" as pen to carve out the symbols.

Recently, I was happily surprised that a friend used it for her invitation. I was inspired to look it up and decipher their invitation. Their theme is modern Filipiniana. I thought I should go back and review my alibata.

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Essay sa alibata? Wow, hirap nun ah.

lex said...

i've actually wanted to have a tattoo with an alibata design(even before tj had one). i see this as one of my marks of identity as a filipino.