Maguindanao pearls

 Maguindanao pearls

Maguindanao pearls is a story about a girl named Sinag-tala,

Sinag-tala loves pearls and for her having a shiny, shimmering pearl necklace would make her beautiful. Years later

Lakambini called Sinag-tala to make a basket for Walang gulat’s mother. So, she went to the riverside to get some

bamban reeds and bamboo joints.

While doing this, she met Magiting. They were talking but didn’t realize someone was watching them. This person

happened to be Lakambini’s slave. The slave reported everything to Lakambini, it made her furious. Because of this

she no longer needed Sinag-tala to create the baskets and hid the pearls. Sinag-tala was then accused of stealing

the pearls.

She was put to trial, Magiting even came and tried to save her.

The judges did not accept. So, the judges decided to put Sinag-tala’s hand in boiling water. What she needed to do

was dip her hand and try to get the stone at the bottom,

and if the hand comes out with no signs of burns, she was innocent. Pirang Kawayan stood,

Lakambini saw what he was about to do and screamed. Pirang Kawayan accidentally stabbed his own daughter.

Lakambini confessed, Sinag-tala was innocent. It was too late, Sinag-tala was dying.

I Felt really sad for Sinag-tala, she didn’t have any justice. Lakambini’s jealousy and rage went too far and killed

someone. Lakambini should be taken accountable for what she did. Lakambini’s actions was very selfish. We get

mad and jealous sometimes, its normal but getting someone killed in the process of revenge is really depressing.

Lakambini reminds me of a cartoon character from a French show called Miraculous Ladybug her name is Chloe and

she would go far sometimes, she would make lots of people cry. She also had a “best friend” who seemed like a

slave to me. Sinag-tala really wanted a pearl necklace, I conducted a research and from what I read pearls is a

woman’s best friend, its like that saying “a mans best friend is a dog.”

Last assignment was like this, I talked about the pearl. The Philippines are a traditional source of natural pearls and

shells. The Badjao people are well known for their diving skills and the search for rare natural pearls. At present,

cultured pearl farming is important. The Philippines is known as an important source of golden South Sea pearls.

The jewels of the sea have recently been named the country's national gem. These could easily be some of the

world's finest and biggest pearls. Either black or white, these gems make beautiful pieces on their own, or they can

be set with other precious stones. They are Philippine south sea pearls -- the so-called pride of Filipino women. Even

further back in history, pearls would be used to adorn Spanish colonial jewelry worn widely by mestiza and native

Filipina women alike. Accessories like a creolla (earrings), pantoche (hairpin), and peineta (ornamental combs) were

essentials worn every day.

In the story it mentioned how Sinag-tala is a basket weaver, what is basket weaving? Basket

weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-

dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in

making baskets may be known as basket makers and basket weavers. Basket weaving is also a rural craft.

Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials—anything that will bend and form a shape. Examples

include pine, straw, willow, oak, wisteria, forsythia, vines, stems, animal hair, hide, grasses, thread, and fine wooden

splints. There are many applications for basketry, from simple mats to hot air balloon gondolas. It is constructed from

bamboo and rattan and often a combination of the two. Plaiting and twining produces a wide range of sizes and

forms. Filipinos use baskets for transportation and farm work, food service and storage, fishing and trapping, clothing,

and to carry personal items. For tourists, handwoven products are a common souvenir. But in remote villages across

the Philippines, they are revolutionizing communities and helping to continue a tradition that has been passed down

for generations. For women of the Tagbanwa tribe from northern areas of the country's Coron island, a collection of

bags and baskets weaved entirely by hand form the lifeblood of their livelihood.

Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by

subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. The ordeal consists of ordeal

of fire, by boiling oil, by hot water, by cold water, by cross, by ingestion, by poison, by turf. In the story it talked about

the ordeal by hot water, the ordeal of hot water required the accused to dip his hand in a kettle or pot of boiling water

(sometimes oil or lead was used instead) and retrieve a stone. If the accused was innocent, the water would not burn

their skin, but if they were guilty then the burns would reveal their guilt. If they were innocent, they would sink, and if

they were guilty, they would float.

In conclusion the story taught me that actions can have consequences. Hate is very strong, in Lakambini’s case her

hatred and jealousy made some circumstances that killed someone. Being negative about things and acting in

impulse out of emotions such as anger and hatred could lead to damaging one’s life to which these are irreversible.