Maguindanao Pearls: A Reflection on Society

Introduction

Maguindanao Pearls is an ancient Filipino story was written by Isidro L. Retizos. The story somehow relevantly displayed the love of a person, which this story has also a love triangle scenario with the three main characters namely Lakambini who has fallen in love with Walang Gulat or also known as "Magiting", in which Magiting has fallen in love with Sinag- Tala the lead character of the story.

This blog will talk about how this story would connect to the real world, especially to its culture, traditions, and practices. This would also include my opinion and reactions to the story.

Body

Maguindanao people- Basket Weaving

The story made mention of a basket weaver. In a community where the livelihood of most families is basket weaving. They wove baskets from native grasses and plants out of necessity since 1911. Before these baskets became art, they were tools. The people have been keeping the tradition alive through a lot of hard work and a love of process. The designs used in crafting such as products have been handed down from generation to generation by the tribal elders. They even had a festival and they named it as the “Basket weaving festival”. The Maguindanao people are part of the wider Moro ethnic group, who constitute the sixth largest Filipino ethnic group. Their name means “people of the plains”. True enough our indigenous people have a very rich culture and tradition that is part of our heritage as Filipinos.

The part when Sinag- Tala dipped her hands into the boiling pot and said that if her hands remain unblistered, unburnt, then it is a sign that the gods find guiltless and pronounced her as innocent. Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. The test was one of life or death and the proof of innocence was survival. In some cases, the accused was considered innocent if they escaped injury or if their injuries healed. In pre-modern society, the ordeal typically ranked along with the oath and witness accounts as the central means by which to reach a judicial verdict. Indeed, the term ordeal, Old English ordǣl, has the meaning of "judgment, the verdict”. From Proto-Germanic *uzdailjam "that which is dealt out". There are three types of ordeals namely the ordeal by combat, fire, water, and by the cross. The ordeal by combat; ordeal by combat took place between two people in a dispute. They or, under certain conditions, a designated "champion" would fight, and the loser of the fight or the party represented by the losing champion was deemed guilty or liable. Ordeal by fire Ordeal by fire was one form of torture. The ordeal of fire typically required that the accused walk a certain distance, usually 9 feet (2.7 meters) over red-hot plowshares or holding a red-hot iron. One famous story about the ordeal of ploughshares concerns Edward the Confessor's mother, Emma of Normandy.

Water-ordeal. Engraving, 17th century.

Ordeal by water has two types, the Ordeal by hot water and Ordeal by cold water. The ordeal by hot water is required the accused to dip his hand in a kettle of boiling water and retrieve a stone, just like the story of which we have studied. According to this text, usually given the title Ordal, the water had to be close to boiling temperature, and the depth from which the stone had to be retrieved was up to the wrist for a 'one-fold' ordeal and up to the elbow for a 'three-fold' ordeal. The distinction between the one-fold and three-fold ordeal appears to be based on the severity of the crime, with the three-fold ordeal being prescribed for more severe offenses such as treachery or for notorious criminals. The ordeal would take place in the church, with several in attendance, purified and praying God to reveal the truth. Afterwards, the hand was bound and examined after three days to see whether it was healing or festering. The ordeal of cold water has a precedent in the Code of Ur-Nammu and the Code of Hammurabi, under which a man accused of sorcery was to be submerged in a stream and acquitted if he survived. Trial by water is known also as the ‘swimming test’, and is most infamously known for being used to try witches during the 17 th century. A person accused as a witch would be dragged to the nearest body of water, stripped to their undergarments, bound, and tossed into the water to see if she would sink or float. The ‘logic’ was that since witches spurned the sacrament of Baptism, the water would reject their body, causing them to float. On the other hand, if a woman sank, then her innocence was proven. Though the accused would normally have a rope tied around their waist so that she could be pulled up if she sank, accidental drowning deaths did occur as well.And lastly the ordeal by Cross, The ordeal of the cross was apparently introduced in the Early Middle Ages in an attempt to discourage judicial duels among the Germanic peoples. As with judicial duels, and unlike most other ordeals, the accuser had to undergo the ordeal together with the accused. They stood on either side of a cross and stretched out their hands horizontally. The one to first lower his arms lost. This ordeal was prescribed by Charlemagne in 779 and again in 806.

Trial by water is- ‘swimming test’

Conclusion 

The story Maguindanao Pearls teaches its readers valuable lessons. This story is about how love can change everything in your life. It also states how powerful love is to one person. Sometimes, love is so blind that we get carried away with our emotions. As they say, “Love conquers everything” but love can also be a threat to other people. In every story, jealousy and rivalry between two characters will soon take place to spice up the story.

I think that Lakambini is doing fine in fighting for her love, but if it goes beyond the limit from “fighting fair” and "fighting until she gets what she wants", it’s not being realistic of what is happening around her anymore. But even through the happenings, she still managed to do the right way in terms of fighting for her love, but it would be better if she didn’t push it beyond the limits.


Reference
· https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_ordeal
· http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/trial-ordeal-life-or-death-method-judgement-004160
· http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/trial+by+ordeal