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ILOCOS SUR

HISTORY OF ILOCOS SUR

The story of Ilocos Sur can be told in the same historical events and episodes which fill the pages of our country’s past. It is similar narrative of conquest, exploitation, persecution, revolution and emancipation as the Philippines. The great men and women of Ilocos Sur who sailed forth from her native bosom into the limelight of history wrote with their immortal deeds of bravery, courage, and heroism the records and chronicles of the times. Indeed, the Ilocos Sur story reads like excerpts of the Philippine history, chapters of the Filipino saga made unforgettable by the exploits and achievements of Ilocos Sur’s sons and daughters through the long march of our country and the progress of our people from the era of colonialism to the sunlight of liberty and freedom. Today, history lives in Ilocos Sur. In Vigan, the famed Villa Fernandina founded in1574 by Juan de Salcedo, grandson of the Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the hand of history is everywhere, in the imposing monuments and statues standing as permanent tributes to the memory of illustrious dead, on the markers of stone and the memorial tablets upon the hollowed grounds where long ago a martyr was born, where a famous poetess lived, where a President taught as a humble barrio teacher. These markers and inscriptions are veritable readings a history, citing here and there “a chapel of wood and thatch erected on this site, 1574,” “an earthquake in 1619’,” “a fire in 1739”, recording the seizure by revolutionists under Col. Juan Villamor, and the detention by American forces as a political leader, Mena Crisologo 1899. Of Ilocos Sur, history records that three years after the founding of the City of Manila, Legaspi dispatched the ‘conquistador’ Salcedo on a mission of exploration and conquest to the north in the island of Luzon. Salcedo established the Ciudad Fernandina in honor of King Ferdinand, the reigning ruler of Spain at the time, and for his reward was granted a rohyal “encomienda” and named Lieutenant-Governor for the whole Ilocos.

CULTURE AND TRADITIONS OF ILOCOS SUR

Ilocanos strive hard to make a living, difficulty is never a hindrance to their success. To and Ilocano, hardships can easily be overcome. He believes in the value of study, industry and patience; thus, every Ilocano family encourages the children to go to school and learn skills to find better paying jobs and consequently, have a better life. Most customs and traditions of the Ilocanos are influence by their frugality. From the cradle to the grave, the Ilocano rituals reflect what they believe in. Death to the Ilocanos means great sorrow. If the father dies, the wife dresses the deceased alone so that her husband's spirit can tell her any messages or wish he was not able to convey when he was still alive.

The body is placed in a coffin in the middle of the house parallel to the slats of the floor. A big log is is then lighted in front of the houses so that the spirit of the dead will go to heaven with the smoke. As long as the dead body is in the house, the log is kept burning to keep the evil spirit away. During the wake, the members of the family keep vigil. The women wear black clothes and a black manto (handkerchief) to cover the head and the shoulders. Before the coffin is carried out of the house all windows must be closed; No part of the house must be touched by the coffin; otherwise the man's spirit will stay behind and bring trouble to the family. Family members shampoo their hair with gogo as soon as the funeral is over to wash away the power of the dead man's spirit. Prayers are said every night for the next nine nights. After each night's prayer, rice cakes and basi are served to all guests. The period of mourning ends on the ninth day when relatives and friends spend the day feasting and praying. The first death anniversary will then be another occasion for feasting and praying.

Ilocano’s famous writers and their works

Ilocano literature is one of the most colorful regional Filipino literatures. It is one of the most active tributaries to the general Philippine literature next to Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Bikol, and Pangasinense.

Prior to the Spanish colonial period, the Ilocano literature is purely alive in form of written and oral literature. The ancient Ilocano poets expressed themselves in folk and war songs. Another popular form of literature was the dallot, which is an improvised, versified and impromptu long poem delivered in a sing-song manner.

When the Spaniards arrived in Ilocos Norte in 1572, it took a toll on Ilocano literature. During the Spanish era, Ilocano poetry was heavily influenced by Spanish poetry. The earliest known written Ilocano poems were the romances translated from Spanish by Francisco Lopez. Lopez was an Augustinian friar who published his Iloko translation of the Doctrina Cristiana (first book published in the Philippines by Cardinal Bellarmine) in 1621.

The Christian missionaries started using religious and secular literature to advance their mission of converting the Ilocanos to Christianity during the 18th century. In 1719, Fr. Jacinto Rivera published the Sumario de las Indulgencias. In 1845, Fr. Antonio Meija published The Pasion, which is an Iloco translation of St. Vincent Ferrer’s sermon.

Today, Ilocano writers are known to have published their works in foreign countries. Francisco Sionil-Jose (F. Sionil Jose) is the most internationally translated Filipino author. He is a pure blood Ilocano born in Rosales, Pangasinan. Contemporary Ilocano writers are also known to bag numerous major awards in the most prestigious Philippine literature award giving body, the Palanca Awards.

Biag ni Lam-ang

Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang) is a pre-Hispanic poem of the Ilocano people. It was finally written down around 1640 by Pedro Bucaneg. Bucaneg is the first known Ilocano poet and was dubbed as the “Father of Ilokano Poetry and Literature”.

The epic tells about the heroism of a brave, almost-mythical Ilocano warrior named Lam-ang.

Lam-ang is born from a noble Ilocano family. Nine months before Lam-ang’s birth, Don Juan (father) left for the mountains to defeat an evil tribe of Igorots. Unfortunately, Don Juan was beheaded. His head was displayed at the center of the village as a prize.

Ina Namongan (mother) was surprised to learn that her son could talk immediately after birth. Lam-ang chose his own name, chose his own sponsor, and asked for his father’s presence. He was barely 9 months old when Lam-ang fought against the headhunters who killed his father. He was also eaten by a river monster (Berkakan) and was reborn from his retrieved bones.

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Techno World!

What is Computer?

A computer is a programmable machine. The two principal characteristics of a computer are: It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner and it can execute a prerecorded list of instructions. 

What are the hardware components of a computer?

Memory

: enables a computer to store at least temporarily, data and programs.

Mass storage  device

: allows a computer to permanently retain large amounts of data. Common mass storage devices include solid state drives (SSDs) or disk drives and tape drives

Input device:

usually a keyboard and mouse, the input device is the conduit through which data and instructions enter a computer.

Output device

a display screen, printer or other device that lets you see what the computer has accomplished.

Central processing unit  (CPU)

the heart of the computer, this is the component that actually executes instructions..

Computer Classification

Personal computer

a small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor. In addition to the microprocessor, a personal computer has a keyboard for entering data, a monitor for displaying information, and a storage device for saving data.

Workstation

powerful, single-user computer. A workstation is like a personal computer, but it has a more powerful microprocessor and a higher-quality monitor.

Minicomputer

a multi-user computer capable of supporting from 10 to hundreds of users simultaneously.

Mainframe

a powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting many hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously.

Supercomputer:

an extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of millions of instructions per second.

Importance of Computer in our Life

In the current world, it’s almost impossible to imagine that someone can live without computers. They have become an electronic device of almost every day use for individuals of every age, and essential in almost all the business dealings that are made nowadays.

The most that any industry has gained from the discovery of the computer is the business industry because of its nature.

In recent years they have gained significance as they have improved the efficiency and productivity of work done. Large amounts of information in industrial and business sectors as well as in the personal lives are stored on servers.