Ambayaoan!!!

by: Marissa Rodrigo

Ever since the day I was born, the river lies along our barrio has always been for me a wonderful site. I consider it a sacred place of our hometown. It is a landmark to the place where I grew up. The Ambayoan River blessed San Nicolas in many different ways. She provided the people with water to drink, irrigation water, farming opportunity, fish and amphibian for food. Ambayoan is a raging river during rainy season and landslides and erosions are common occurrence downstream along her path. However, it provides an all year long of water supplies to our hometown, thus improving our agriculture.

The fertile land in the river basin comprise of hectares of rice fields, vegetable farms, fruit trees, and pasture land along the riverbanks from upstream of Bangar, Puyao and San Antonio down to San Rafael and Sobol. Agricultural products such as rice, corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, vegetable like otong, balatong, parya, papait, sili and tarong; fruits like mangga, santol, avocado, damortis, saba, papaya, langka, bayabas, baybana, kahoy and so forth are grown. Animals are also raised in the pasturelands, including cows, carabaos, pigs, goats, horses and sheep.

Ambayoan river resources, which the people use, include bonog, dalag, udang, agatol, tukak, allucap, susay, egat, tabtaba and carpa. There is also abundance of firewood in the riverbed, pure sand, and gravel, which are essential in the building construction and gray rocks that are used in landscaping business.

At the early years of my nurturing, I had to walk parallel to the riverbank and head east toward our school, perhaps half kilometer away from our house. In the rainy season when the water was high and furious, I had to keep a great distance from the riverbank due to erosion. The color of the water on the river is light brown during downpour and several days later after the rain ceased, the water turns into ocean blue.

As a child I grew up in barrio Lungao and I would always swim and often times picnicking with my friends and siblings on the river, mostly in Puyao where people all over San Nicolas love to picnic. It’s wonderful to reminisce those days I was overjoyed playing on the water. I would always wonder where is this nature coming from and where it end up to? I never would have known that when I grew up that I became close to environment around me. One of the most gratifying times living near the river was to witness her awesome beauty at full moon and tranquility on summer eve. I remember vividly when I was in my elementary years – back then television in the barrios are very rare, so often we have free movies courtesy of the politician in power and it was shown in the riverside. This was usually happened after the harvest.

During my entire college years in Manila I would always miss my barrio and especially the river. Often times when I came home on summer break and Christmas holidays I had to emulate the good times I perceived living near her. Now that I’m here in North America it would not be easy for me to visit the land of my birth considering the distance and expenditures.

Another great advantages living near Ambayoan River were the people that used to dwell near her. Most of them are my kin and some of them are in the same locality with me now in the Maple Leaf City. They have made a positive, profound and lasting affection in my life. Living with these folks had made me comfortable and they are always there to comfort me in time of desolation. It was always a complete sense of relief from nostalgia to be around these people and talk about the past in our hometown.

Manong Gorio had told me once before. "Once the River gets in your blood, it’s there for good". He was right. Although I have turn to a new chapter of my life, the River often calls back for me. It now lives in my picture, my stories, my life and my memories. I was born and raised near her and I know she is always there for me. ---###