Halloween Night

LIGHTER MOMENTS
Hilarion Pawid

Halloween night is the time of the year when stealing a chicken is not a crime.

I heard of this cliché during my younger years in the old town of Kiangan in Ifugao. It is not an Ifugao practice for it runs counter to the old folks’ teachings that “it is better to kill than to steal”.

I heard it from immigrant lowlanders who arrived in the early years of the last century and made Kiangan their home. Surely the practice is not limited to the Ilocanos as I heard various night escapades too from immigrant Tagalogs, Kapampangan, and Bicolanos.

But how can one snatch a chicken while keeping the fowl quiet and cooperative? There are many ways according to the storytellers. However, their methods are not applicable in an Ifugao town where the chicken are placed in hanging cages (called “kubi” in the dialect) under the house.

Roosters which are difficult to snare into cages are the most vulnerable prey. Roosters, proud as they are, prefer to sleep in nearby tree branches for an early view of the coming of daylight so they can perform their natural duty of announcing a new day.

A sturdy stick is the most effective method of noosing a chicken sleeping on tree branches. The first step is a light tap with one end of the stick on the chicken’s feet. The tendency is for the chicken to transfer one foot on the stick followed by the second foot as the stick is slowly pulled away.

Once accomplished, the sturdy stick is placed on shoulder-arm with the chicken quietly enjoying the ride to the fireplace for lagim or pinikpikan then the boiling pot.

I asked the old Justice of the Peace who hails from Tondo, Manila whether the cliché is recognized by the courts. He simply gave a smile. He lost a chicken or two during halloween nights. (-h.abe pawid)