Malikongkong

Time was when the mountains north of the metropolis of Davao were robed in dense virgin rain forest, and where the deer, wild boar, the great horned bill and the monkey-eating eagle outnumbered the occasional scantly clad Matigsalug hunter. This particular mountain flanked on one side by the grand Davao River and a pointed steep hill on the other, had a sweet water spring gushing from one unusually high point to run a tortuous and steep course, disappear and take a subterranean path and again resurface and then crash pell-mell into its final ascent into the Davao River.

It was this unusually large spring that inspired the naming of the mountain by the Matigsalug who came way ahead of the unscrupulous and greedy loggers of the 40’s and the 50’s, who then stripped the mountain bare and deprived the wildlife of their habitat. The natives were no match for the gun-wielding loggers whose chainsaws not only crashed the centuries old trees but also sent the tribesmen scampering for safety.

Words and names have a way of suggesting their associations and links to the mysteries of their origin. Some words defy the articulate movements of the tongue while others have a way of warning us to go slow and careful on unfamiliar language terrain. The Matigsalug had no idea that the name that they christened the mountain with would evoke such complexity. To them it was an endearment and a way of conveying the idea of an easy and peaceful existence beside the life-giving spring.

No one knows exactly when this mountain was given the name Malikongkong. It could have been a century ago or even just a decade or two before this writer came into this world. That moment is not important or even worth a sentence of thought. What matters now are the barefoot, half-naked, sunburned and malnourished children who come running to greet the panting and sweat-drenched doctor who just reached the clearing on the top of the mountain after a backbreaking, knee-buckling and lung-bursting climb from Maluan.

These kids know nothing about the implications of grasping my hand to bless me with their sticky hands that had just wiped the slimy yellow fluid perennially dripping from their nostrils. Their innocent minds only care to show love and respect, and their simple way of saying thank you for visiting us again. To hell with microbes and delicate stomachs.

Malikongkong, your past is painful while your present is an aching reality. The future may seem bleak with all the prospects of the exploitation of your resources and your children. But you will survive and your stubborn resolve will somehow usher you into an era of peace and prosperity.