‘Pyalung’ still matters in Pampanga

Are children in Pampanga still playing lundagan babi, maro-maro, piku, tambubung, salikutan, bante kuran, syatu, sintak, pasi, sumparit, pasulpak, sulbatana and saltik?

Jose Irwin Nucum thinks not too many Kapampangan children are interested in any of these pyalung (native games) anymore.

They must have been devoting more time to computer games, telenovelas, farm work, house chores or malling, he says. Or perhaps, he says, they just do not know these games ever exist at all.

And so the 46-year-old Nucum, a musical composer and poet, and father of four, decided to do his bit in saving what he likens to be “endangered species.”

He picked the cause of reviving this other form of education because he believes that when parents, teachers and community leaders teach native games, children will “discover the joys of childhood, cultivate friendship, learn honesty and fairness, be keen of their environment and be physically fit.”

His own experiences, he says, taught him so. And these all went in his first book, “Iniang Malati Ku” (When I was Small), published by the Center for Kapampangan Studies (CKS) of Holy Angel University.

The book is different because it tackles a theme that has not been explored locally, says CKS Executive Director Robby Tantingco. In a way, Nucum lent a beautiful turn to present-day Kapampangan literature because he ventured in a genre for children.

Credible, personal

Tantingco finds Nucum’s storytelling to be credible and personal because he drew from his experiences.

Aside from sharing how native games were played in his time, Nucum wrote of people in the community who, by their work or love for children, nurtured love in various forms, like providing playgrounds. These and his accounts on family life, beliefs, local traditions and faith give a peek into the culture in his hometown of Sto. Tomas.

Tantingco says Nucum’s use of the Kapampangan language, done with the help of poet Felix Garcia and inspired by the late Venancio Samson, shows he intends the book for Kapampangan children and their parents.

“More importantly, this book is an alternative material for us in Pampanga to comply with Department Order No. 74 to use our amanung sisuan (mother tongue) as a medium of instruction until Grade 3,” Tantingco says.

The book makes for light and happy reading, says Erlinda Cruz, head of the Pampanga Language Council. Illustrations by Ramcos Nulud, she says, enrich the stories.

In remarks during the book launch on May 25, San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said he hoped the book would be “of service in our study of the past and our language.”

The governments of the City of San Fernando and Sto. Tomas helped publish the book, distributing these to libraries in public elementary schools.