At the height of the frenzied preparation for the Golden Jubilee of the Ateneo in 1990, an alumnus proudly strutted in the corridors of the Santos Hall wearing a batch T-shirt which bore this catchy print: “Ini an oragon. Arogon an oragon.” A group of naughty high school kids who saw the prints on the T-shirt gave a funny and, in some sense, an insulting remark: “Ini an oragon. Arogon an oragon. Oragan an oragon.”  The remark was apparently amusing to one familiar with the Bikol language. For one, the remark sustains the rhyme: Ini an oragon. Arogon an oragon. Oragan an oragon. But other than the poetics it engendered, its rhyme and rhythm, linguistic gymnastics has created a curious problematic not only in Bikol linguistics but likewise in Bikol cultural psychology.

The juxtapositioning of the words oragon, arogon, oragan reveals the Bikolanos’ profound semantic diversity and cultural ambiguity which centers on the word orag. For the one wearing the printed T-shirt, the word oragon has a positive signification and one who is oragon should be emulated, thus he should be arogon or imitated. But from the remark of the kids, an oragon draws aggresion, hence the semantic transactions it built up and the larger epistemological implications this amusing play of words entailed, this nevertheless, paved the way for an incisive analysis of the word oragon and its possible philosophical implications which could unravel the underlying cultural world view of the Bikolanos.

Among the Bikolanos the myriad attitudes and interpretations, oftentimes divergent and conflicting, which the word orag inspires, seems to point to the large semantic cosmos occupied by the word in the Bikolano consciousness. Hence, many have been fascinated by the word that it recently became the most popular word which describes the Bikolanos, oragon. Attempts to draw into the surface the intriguing meaning or origin of this word have been made but nothing academically substantive has come out of these. One popular theory was that the word could have come from the name of a Spanish province of Aragon. It was said that the Bikolanos manifested behaviors similar to the men of Aragon who were vain and adventurous. But interestingly, the word oragon evidently antedated the advent of the Spaniards from whom the supposed Aragon word could have come. Hence, this theory hardly possesses any merit.

ORAG IN THE RELIGOUS TEXTS: The Colonialist Discourse

Both the words oragon and oragan emanate from the base word orag. The late 16th century Lisboa dictionary composed by Fray Marcos de Lisboa, the pioneering Franciscan missionary lexicographer of the region, defined orag as “deshonestidad o lujuria,” dishonesty or lustfulness. Then side by side with the entry, Lisboa mentioned the word “Maorag – persona deshonesta o lujuriosa,” a dishonest person or lustful person. In the 1684 collected sermons of Fray Pedro de Avila, parish priest of Canaman in the late 17th century, he spoke of ooragon to refer to prostitutes, “magna babaye na magna maooragon na dain ybang catongdan cundi an pagpabacal baga nin saindang magna hauac sa magna boot nin magcasala sainda.” In the Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristiana of Fray Domingo Martinez composed in the early decades of the 18th century, the word orag was classified as one of the seven cardinal sins. The catechism asked:

H: Pira asin arin an magna nagnognorog na casalan?

S: An nagnognorog na casalan pito:

1. An pagpaabao-abao

2. An pagcamaimot

3. An pagcaorag

4. An pagcamaangoton

5. An pagcapaslo

6. An pagcamaorihon

7. An pagcahogac sa marhay na guibo.

The sexual implications of the term were made more evident in the Martinez catechism when he pointed out that the opposite of the vice of orag is kabinian. Nevertheless, despite the divergent usages and meanings of the word orag or oragon, all these religious texts bore one common impression, the word signified an immoral act, it is sinful.

THE BIKOL MAGUINOO AS ORAGON

The preponderance of the employment of the word orag in religious texts, such as in the sermones, in the explicaciones de catecismo, and in the vocabularios composed by the Spanish missionaries, showed the apparent discursive element in the appropriation of this term. Remarkably, the appropriation of the term was generally associated with the missionaries’ assaults on the members of the ruling elite or the principales, commonly known in the native society as the maguinoo. To understand how the concept of orag evolved as a discourse, an incursion to the pre-colonial social system seems necessary.

For the Spanish friars, the maguinoo class constituted as the bulwark of colonial resistance. Since the dato or the village chieftain belonged to the maguinoo class, this class was therefore held as the repository of powers, both natural and supernatural. Natural because they possessed what Foucault refers to as the instruments of power, such as women, gold, land and slaves. But the acquisition of these possessions was merely the material confirmation of their more important powers, the supernatural or mystical powers. Contrary to popular belief in Philippine pre-history, the pre-colonial dato did not receive his political office merely on the basis of inheritance, but, likewise, he received such office because of some qualities which set him apart from the rest. One of these qualities was bravery. Lisboa mentioned of some men in ancient Bikol whom the natives referred to as bathalaan. The bathalaan, which literally means men who possessed bathala, were believed to be invulnerable to any harmful instruments. According to this belief, the possession of such a gift, however, was never gratuitous. He should be a man possessing unusual courage. This explains why stories regarding acquisitions of anting-anting were always involving the test of courage, as one had to wrestle his anting-anting from a monster, a giant, or any fearsome strange creatures. The possessor of anting-anting was also required to undergo a periodic ritual called lubos to recharge his powers. The ritual of lubos, which was carried out in the recesses of the forest or deep into the inaccessible portion of the cave, was not a form of spiritual retreat but as a continuing test of one’s courage, as he would be exposed to many unheard or unseen creatures found in these places. Hence, the man worthy of anting-anting or the power of bathala was the one who has enormous willpower, panong boot, one who is full of boot or one who is ma-boot. It should be pointed out that the belief in such men, whom an American scholar referred to as “men of prowess”, was somewhat strong in Southeast Asia.

The most conspicuous proof of their courage or their power was displayed in the arena of battles. In their pangayaw or raiding expeditions which they led, they were regarded as icons of invulnerability. Since they were invulnerable, they were feared by their enemies and looked upon among their villagers as their local heroes. Their exploits immortalized through their tattoos, they enjoyed the privilege of wearing a specific colored potong, a badge of courage, which revealed their social status in their respective village. Generally, they were the ones who received the greatest booty in their raiding expeditions, women. Some of the more renowned chieftains of Bikol were famed for their numerous wives whom they acquired by way of their inter-village raids. This practice apparently gave birth to polygamy and to other forms of sexual promiscuity among the male elite. This unusually liberal attitude toward sex among the native elite stemmed from the belief that sexual prowess constituted as another important attribute of a possessor of supernatural power. This was probably the reason why a possessor of anting-anting was sometimes referred to as “may kabatiran” or “may kaoragan”. As late as the second world war, most of those regarded as possessors of anting-anting became guerilla leaders and most guerilla leaders were likewise suspected as possessors of anting-anting. Remarkably, many of them earned their notoriety for womanizing.

Since the power of the maguinoo class rested on this particular ideology that the Spanish friars regarded as mere superstitious nonsense, the missionaries directed their vigorous discursive assault to this social class. One of their means to denigrate this social class was to suppress any display of social prestige which could sustain the hegemony of this class to the rest of the native populace. The missionaries suppressed the performance of the ritual of arang to the deceased maguinoo. Performed by a group of hired professional women weepers called para-arang, this ritual was a mournful chanting of the maguinoos’ lifetime kaoragan or achievement. From this ritual evolved the pasyon which was chanted to mourn the death but extol the virtues of whom they considered as the epitome of virtue, the true maguinoo, Christ. In exchange for the sexual incontinence or the orag of the maguinoo, the friars preached abstinence and mortification. In the Martinez catechism, the friar placed the opposite of orag as kabinian or modesty. The maboot, full of boot, the courageous of the pre-colonial times was replaced by the maboot of the Spanish regime who was kind and obedient. They deprived the maguinoo of their honorific title of Cagurangnan and reserved the title only to the heavenly family of Christ and the Virgin mother, hence, The Hail Mary was translated Tara Cagurangnan Maria. Indeed, the Spanish missionaries succeeded in deconstructing the maguinoo who was the oragon and transformed him into the outwardly pious maguinoo gentleman. The 16th Century maguinoong oragon became the maguinoong bastos in the religious discourse. Thus, as a result of this onslaught of colonialism, the word oragon assumed a very unsavory meaning, especially among the more pious and religious Bikolanos.

THE REVIVAL OF ORAGON

Throughout the Spanish period and until recently, the word was considered vulgar, and its user supposedly reflects his lowly social background and his poor moral orientation. Thus, the circulation of the word was greatly restricted in social intercourse and was almost suppressed in any formal linguistic transaction. But by the second half of the previous century, there was an increasing appropriation of the term, resulting in the explosion of words which originated from the word orag. Among these words are:

orag-orag — tantrums

oragan — to hit, to strike, to injure, or harm

kaoragan — vanity, whims

orag-oragon — wild, irresponsible

orag — power, ability, talent

pahingorag — abundance, plenty, numerous

pag-oorag or nag-oorag — improving or developing

nangongorag — to be brutal

nakakaorag — irritating, annoying

paororagan — contest of ability

inooragan — to be obsessed, to be overwhelmed by something or someone

Evidently, unlike in previous centuries when it carried a singular meaning, and was always associated with vice or immorality, today the word is gradually acquiring a variety of implications, even more positive ones. Although it still retained within its semantic cosmos, the less palatable significations, nevertheless, it could now imply more positive attributes, such as skill and even greatness. In the early 80s a Bikolano publication which had its circulation throughout the Philippines and even in some Bikolano communities abroad, has taken the word Oragon as the title of its publication, something quite unthinkable in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the newspaper eventually folded up, showing that it failed to live up to its title.

Indeed, in the contemporary setting, the word oragon is increasingly associated with achievements, but still confined within the male gender. Today an oragon could mean an achiever, one who is never daunted by the adversities he encounters in life. He is calculating and yet aggressive. He is creative and resourceful, cunning and illusive, audacious and vain, romantic and playful. He easily finds ways and means to escape snares and straits, to circumvent policies and rules. With whatever meaning it now carries, the word orag or maorag or oragon has definitely become the most favorite symbol of the best in the Bikolano. In fact, last December 30, to mark the turn of the century and the millennium, a local radio station launched an award which rendered honor to prominent Bikolanos who had brought fame and honor to the region for the past five hundred years. The award was named Millennium Oragon Award.

Featured stylized graphic art: Image capture from the GMA Bicolandia Regional News program video.

First published by Danilo M. Gerona in Hingowa: The Holy Rosary Seminary Journal, 4/2 (March 2001), 117-122.