Alfred P.
Dizon
(Alpine Killa, municipal
information officer of Bontoc, Mountain Province local government writes this
week’s issue)
BONTOC, Mountain
Province -- With his perfectly groomed white hair, a mix of white and black
eyebrows and welcoming smile, Ikit or Lolo (grandfather) Coteng sits
comfortably on a wooden chair as the sunlight streams through the window of the
balcony when we arrived at his home in a remote village in this capital town.
His welcoming nod and
gracious smile relieved the tiredness we felt from hiking from the national
highway going up the hilly mountain village of Barangay Alab Oriente where he
lives.
I first saw this man of
his photo taken in December 2018 when I wrote a news story about him as one of
the centenarian awardees in Mountain Province recognized by the Dept. of Social
Welfare and Development.
At that time, I based my
news story on the details and personal interview conducted by the Municipal
Social Welfare and Development Office to him.
Believing that Ikit
Coteng has lots of things to share, we endeavored to learn his story. And it has been an awe-inspiring and humbling
experience to know the story of this wizened man.
Herbert Malecdan Todyog,
popularly known as Lakay (old man) Coteng or Ikit Coteng has reached another
milestone in his life when he turned 101 years old on March 10, 2019- a long
years of living that most people cannot reach. Based on his Certificate of
Baptism, he was born on March 10, 1918, in the small village of Alab Oriente,
Bontoc. However, per accounts of Ikit Coteng, he was already a teenager when he
was baptized by certain Father Dogum of the Anglican Church in their village.
Thus, he could be more than 101 years old.
Talking to Ikit Coteng
is like travelling a time machine that brings back the past into life. With his jovial personality and sharp memory,
it can make anyone sit with him the whole day and listen as he clearly recounts
his life experiences. He answers questions in detail and correctly remembering
every person’s name.
He recounted his
blissful adolescence when they used to go to the river banks to play “walakda”
after a back-breaking day of plowing the rice field. The “walakda” or known as
“fagfagto” in central Bontoc of which the group of men who hit most of their
opponents with stones win.
He narrated how he and
his family, together with the other villagers had to evacuate and seek shelter
atop the forested mountains during World War II.
Pointing to the road, he
recalled how the now concreted and improved Bontoc –Sagada Road had been a
narrow trail of Spanish soldiers riding on their horses.
But what other best
question to ask a centenarian, but his secret that he was blessed with a long
and healthy life with hopes that we can reach his age too.
For Lolo Coteng, there is no secret recipe for
his long life. When asked by this writer of the question, he laughs and said
that they ate what they grew. They ate what they had, and it was healthy. It
came as no surprise that having a longer and healthier life is choosing the
right and healthy food to eat and living a healthy lifestyle. According to him,
their only staple food is what they have planted from the uma located far from
where they leave.
He reminisced how they
navigated the hilly mountain village going to the uma and going back home with
his mother carrying on her head bundles of “safog” or “sabog” while he, his
brothers and their father carry on their back big sized camote, ube and
cassava.
They paired the locally
grown food with sabeng or fermented cassava. He narated that sometimes, his
parents exchange a plate of pound sabog or safog to a plate of pound palay from
the Kadangyan (rich family) in their village.
When he reached his
adulthood, he did not drink liquor but sometimes drank basi (sugarcane wine)
produced from the processed sugarcane. He also smokes tobacco on his pipe up to
present but never tried to smoke a cigarette.
With the simple living
in the village and the way of life their parents taught them for survival, he
learned the process of fermenting cassava and turning it into “sabeng”, which
has been part of his daily food.
Pointing at the backyard
of his home, he shared that he used to plant sugarcane in his backyard and has
a sugar cane milling station in place where they process the sugarcane into
basi.
Having never been
hospitalized, he witnessed two most significant events in the country – World
War I and World War II. He can still walk, has clear eyesight, has a sharp
memory and has good hearing sense. We cannot argue more of the reasons how he
attained that span of life.
Ikit Coteng is the third
born of the five children of the late Todyog and Tagibanay. Lolo Coteng’s siblings are the late Mangabo,
Ballogo, Bartolome, and Gayak.
He is married to the
late Janet and they are blessed with one child who also joined the Creator.
From his only biological son, he has four grandchildren. From his four
grandchildren, he has now 23 great-grandchildren and eight
great-great-grandchildren. Aside from
his biological son, he has an adopted daughter, Emma who is now staying in
Baguio City.
Not given the
opportunity to obtain formal education because of the hardships of life, Ikit
Coteng worked hard to send his daughter Emma to school who finished a course,
Bachelor of Commerce.
The 101-year old Coteng
lives alone in his house where his grandchildren, great-grandchildren,
great-great grandchildren, and adopted daughter visit him and provide him his
basic necessities. The family of his grandchildren, Anthony Coteng and his
better-half Wilma Coteng together with their children attend to his needs as
they live near the centenarian’s home. Lolo Coteng prefers to live separately
from his grandchildren’s families despite their efforts to convince him to stay
with any of them.
Talking to Ikit Coteng
and learning from his wisdom of leaving the 100 is worth the effort. Like
climbing the mountain to reach his home, we should aspire to reach that height,
not just because it is there, but because the view from the top is unsurpassed.
(Note: The interview was
done on April 15, 2019, at the home of
Herbert Malecdan Todyog a.k.a. Coteng in Barangay Alab Oriente, Bontoc,
Mountain Province. The writer was accompanied by Vilma Peckley, a Bachelor of Science
in Tourism student of the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College
undergoing on the job training at the municipal tourism of the Bontoc local
government. They were assisted by the granddaughter-in-law of Lolo Coteng -- Ms
Wilma Coteng.
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