The Ghosts of Bud Daho

This is a very interesting story about a mysterious white agong in Jolo. I repost the full story of the inq7. net about this.


The ghosts of Bud Daho return to Jolo
By Germelina LacorteInquirerLast updated 12:55pm (Mla time) 01/22/2007

WHOEVER made or put the mysterious white “agong” in the small cave at the foot of Bud Daho remains a mystery to this day.

The “agong” is a musical instrument which produces a single note when pounded with a mallet or a large drumstick. It is commonly used by many Asian tribes along with other native brass instruments and is largely associated with religious rituals or festivities.

The people living near Bud Daho even believe that the silver gong is enchanted and that nobody has dared take it away from its nesting place.

IN villages near Bud Daho (Mt. Daho) in Jolo, Sulu, where over a thousand people died in a massacre by American forces over a hundred years ago, the sound of the puting agong has often been heard as a warning.

“When the weather is bad, the agong plays and different voices seem to come out of it,” said Normina Hadi, a Tausug artist.

“Usually, it comes when something is about to happen, as when there is a calamity or a really big storm is brewing. When people hear the sound, they would stop on their tracks and pray,” Hadi added.

So, when playwright Arnel Marduquio came up with the idea of the antigong agong (ancient agong) after a two-month research and immersion in the communities of Bud Daho, he was surprised to discover that one already existed in the people’s mind.

“I was amazed when they told me that such an agong existed,” Marduquio said.

Community people, equally surprised, had asked him how he came to know about it. Not everyone could go to that cave where the agong, (it’s made of silver), would make itself appear at certain times, Marduquio was told.

The place where it is found is sacred ground among the Tausug and anyone who goes there has to go through a certain ritual, lest something bad will happen.

Musical
“Antigong Agong,” the musical, recounts the killing of over a thousand Tausug on Bud Daho by American forces over a hundred years ago. The story starts with the quest for an ancient agong to raise dowry for a traditional Tausug wedding, but which eventually leads to the discovery of the March 8, 1906 carnage at the foot of the mountain.

With Popong Landero as musical director and Mario Leofer Lim as assistant director and choreographer, Marduquio directed the show with a cast of 20 young Tausug artists who desire lasting peace in their homeland.

The show was mounted on Dec. 2 last year and presented in Sulu, Zamboanga and Davao, in time for the massacre’s centennial and as part of the group’s peace advocacy in Mindanao.
This year, it will be brought to the rest of Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon to culminate at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City.

The group aims to bring the show to Filipino-American communities in the United States, said Marduquio, who was earlier involved in another musical performance tour of Salima.

He talked about a community in Barangay Danag in Patikul, Sulu, near Bud Daho, where 80 percent of those who lived are descendants of a massacre survivor. The tragedy was never written in history books.

“But their (the Tausug) oral history is still very much alive in the form of a lugo (chant), kissa (historical account chanted with the accompaniment of gabbang and viola) and istorya (storytelling),” said Marduquio.

“That was how the story of the massacre survived to this day,” he said.

Mission
Unlike other theaters, however, Antigong Agong is not meant just to entertain. It wants to bring about the message of peace, to turn Sulu from a war zone into a land of peace.

“This show has a mission,” Marduquio said. “The play may not be able to change the situation of Jolo but a good story can be the start of the long process of resolving the conflict.”

It is ironic, though that a hundred years after the Bud Daho massacre, American forces are back in Jolo for the Balikatan military exercises.

“They have never left the place,” said Marduquio.

Through telling and retelling of the tragic event, the people of Sulu seek a formal closure of the incident. Up to now, however, the US government has never admitted its mistake or openly gave public apology to the aggrieved, said Marduquio.

“At this point, history needs closure but that closure should include the healing of the wounds of war,” he said. “Justice should be delivered.”

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/philippineexplorer/philippineexplorer/view_article.php?article_id=44860

My Image As Angel?

I got this photo from the internet when I search for the pictures about angels. I don't know who created this image and the origin of this, and I just wanted to download it for my own personal reference or just a wallpaper for my computer monitor and cellphone. It took at least two to three weeks until one of my officemates named "Yeng" one day called my attention and asked me if where did I get this picture. Beforehand, about a week after I downloaded this photo, I shared this to Yeng because she told me that she's also interested about angels and and asked me if i have some photos that I could share to her. To make the story short, when Yeng closely looked at the picture, she was amazed when she can recognize the structure of face of the angel - same as mine. I can't believe myself when I saw the photo and it looked like me....."Oh my GOD, whoever created this picture or image, he must be kidding". How did he/she did this without any knowledge that a person might looked like this angelic being. Yeng called other people around and their impressions too were the same as hers - the angelic being's face was me. Even my wife and kids could see my face in this picture, saying "parang sinadya" (intentionally crafted). One of my friends actually teased me and maybe I intentionally manipulated the image of the photo to look like me, we'll I just said "How and why should I do it? I would only fooling myself If I did it. Being an honest person, If I really did this then I must admit it saying sorry, but no and never, because in the first place I have no software and I don't want to waste my tine manipulating a picture like this, but of course everybody knows that everything especially photos can be manipulated today. Well, just to defend my integrity about this "I am calling the person, whoever you are who did this please contact me (asap) and we can make some friendly discussions about this. I would ask some questions for curiousity, how and why you did this without any knowledge of my face. I'm sure this person might say I just did it. The simplest explanation to this is maybe at the time he did this, he unconsciously received an idea what might be the face of an angel comforting Jesus Christ in this picture.

Roles of Angels

The Bible has many things to say about the roles of angels. Mostly, we thought that angels are guardians, guides, protectors and messengers. Personally, all of these are true but angels function according to what God has given them, or what could be the wishes from human beings and other entities who need their help.

Now, there are verses in the Bible that could describe angels roles. In Matthew 18:10, we read, "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." If we interpret Matthew 18:10 as referring to "guardian angels," it would seem that these angels are not on active duty, but rather, "always see the face of" the Father in heaven. The active duty or "oversight" role seems then to come more from God than the angels. In our society today, it's "in" to believe in angels.

In context, "these little ones" could either apply to those who believe in Him (Matthew 18:6) or to the little children (Matthew 18:3-5). This is the key passage pointed to when people discuss the possibility of guardian angels. There's no doubt that good angels help protect (Daniel 6:20-23; 2 Kings 6:13-17), reveal information (Acts 7:52-53; Luke 1:11-20), guide (Matthew 1:20-21; Acts 8:26), provide for (Genesis 21:17-20; 1 Kings 19:5-7), and minister to believers in general (Hebrews 1:14). It's not so apparent from Scripture whether each person or each believer has an angel assigned to him or her. In the Old Testament, the Nation of Israel had the archangel Michael assigned to it (Daniel 10:21; 12:1), but there's really no place in Scripture where it states that an angel was ever "assigned" to an individual (they were sometimes sent to individuals on different occasions, but no mention of "permanent" assignment is given).



http://www.allaboutgod.com/Angel-Picture.htm