TINGLAYAN, Kalinga - -Residents of this
village take comfort from their belief that the spirit of a
beautiful maiden watches over them. They only have to look at
Mt. Ta-ugnay to see her sleeping form.
The slopes of the mountain resembles the
profile of a sleeping maiden, The Sleeping Beauty in the
village.
They identify her as Chinayao, she of gentle
charm, who waits eternally for her lover Finsay, killed in a
tribal war.
Historian, Abdon Aboli said there are many
versions of the story of the two lovers but all of them end in
the same tragic way.
The place is rich in produce and in generous
inhabitants.
The local tourism council headed by Noel
Macabia, Joseph Olao and Mayor Johnny Maymaya is thinking of
holding an Unoy Festival. Unoy is the red Upland rice now
favored by many people because.
Unoy is native to the Kalinga province. He
said that in Tinglayan alone there are several varieties of the
upland delicacy. Unoy is grown organically and is bigger and
more glutinous than commercially marketed rice. "We do not use
any fertilizers," the mayor added.
A the three-day festival next month will
highlight the diverse culture and practices of the 20 villages
that will participate in various cultural presentations
featuring dances, chants and music in a grand display of color,
culture and crafts and local artistry.
Products from nearby villages will be
displayed. In the village of Sumadel clay pottery thrives with
12 families keeping the trade alive.
There is also the story of a generous tourist
who fell in love with a local, stayed on and helped send to
college more than a thousand youth.
Fifty-eight year-old German Otmar Holz has
livede in Tinglayan since the 1980’s. He also married a local
and set up the Riverside Inn in barangay Lulupa, Holz He and his
wife Isabel have lived among the locals for almost 25 years.
Holz yearly invites Germans to experience the
beauty of the province. "The place is improving, especially now
that we have electricity, " he said.
Holz also helped over 1,500 teenagers in the
area to enter college. He seeks sponsors from Germany to help
send the kids to college. "Each sponsor gives about P4,500 a
month for the schooling of a child," Holz said.
Maymaya remains optimistic more people like
Holz will visit Tinglayan and experience the beauty of Kalinga.
The elders believe that when a pregnant mother stares at the
slopes of Mt. Ta-ugnay, she will give birth to a beautiful
daughter in the likes of the legendary Chinayao. But the innate
beauty and gentle elegance of Tinglayan plus its generous
residents have proven to be more beautiful than the tragic
legend.
