BRIDGING THE GAP
Birdin: Almost forgotten folk hero of central Panay
Birdin is another case of an almost forgotten hero of the Philippines because the Spanish colonial masters branded him as traitor and a tulisan or outlaw. But a Filipino perspective of looking at the role of these men labeled by the Spaniards as enemies of the state would show that the traitors of yesterday are the heroes of today! Such is the case of Birdin.
Birdin was a man known for his superhuman powers who fought the Spaniards during the revolutionary period in the late 19th century. It is claimed by the folks in central Panay that he was born in Ginbunyagan, Calinog, Iloilo. Ginbunyagan is a mountainous barangay twenty kilometers distance from the poblacion of Calinog.
Because Birdin belonged to a family of high socio-economic status, at least in the standards of his community and time, he was known to have nine wives. Men of economic and social standing in the interior places along the Halawod and Pan-ay Rivers usually had several wives. One or two of their daughters oftentimes became binukot or kept-maidens. They were generally chosen on the basis of their physical beauty and of their talents (dancing, doing embroidery and committing to memory epics).
Birdin was a defender of the rights of his people. He rallied them not to submit to the Spaniards and to the impositions of the latter. He refused to pay taxes to the Spaniards because he reasoned out that why should they give something to these people whom they did not know and who were not doing anything good for them?
It was because of his refusal to recognize Spanish control and of his influence over his folks that his name and fame came to the knowledge of the colonial authorities. They sent the guardia civil to his mountain abode to arrest him. But the brave Birdin did not surrender and instead, defied the Spaniards. He organized his own band of blood relatives and made Marandig, another mountainous barangay in Calinog, as their hideout. They armed themselves with bolos, spears and paltik (home-made guns), and constructed fortifications made of stones in the barangays within their control. They also established an encampment, complete with stone fortress, in Tinagong Dagat in Lambunao, Iloilo.
Birdin was well-known to have special abilities. He was a busalian, a babaylan with supernatural powers. A study made by Dr. Alicia Magos (1998), a noted Bisayan anthropologist, reveals the many extraordinary deeds of Birdin. Among these: enabling water to gush out of a boulder or the soil by striking it with a wooden rod, causing rain or typhoon to occur by just raising his hand, transforming rice chaffs into a swarm of bees that will attack anyone who had bad intentions on him, and traveling long distances in an amazingly short period of time. It was also reported that Birdin had a special hideout where anyone who happened to intrude could never get out not unless accompanied by him.
Because Birdin had special abilities, it was not only the guardia civil who were after him. Many wanted to kill him in order to possess his anting-anting. Others desired to eliminate him to eat his liver so that they themselves will be transformed into a busalian. It is not clear how Birdin died and where he died. But all indications point to the fact that he was never captured by the Spaniards. The confusion as to where he died, whether in Calinog or Lambunao, could be the result of the intention to mislead his enemies.
Now, is Birdin a folk hero? A hero is a person who has given his life for a cause or principle that is greater than him. In order for one to be considered a hero, he must have an extraordinary courage in advancing a cause that cannot be done by ordinary people. If so, Birdin was able to do this. He sacrificed himself to protect his family, relatives and fellow mountain dwellers from the oppression and injustices of the Spaniards. Due to the long years of trying to evade the guardia civil sent to capture him, he sacrificed his own well-being and peaceful existence only to defend his cause. He organized his fighting band so that the foreign enemy could not violate their inalienable right. In resisting Spanish domination, he also protected other sitios or communities in central Panay. And, because of his courage and reputed super powers, Spanish troops from the lowlands became afraid to enter his mountain fastness. In the eyes of the people whom he led and protected, he was a genuine hero.