Dahong Palay

Arturo B. Rotor

(Outside Nipa Hut)

NARRATOR: Sebio was proud of his ax cleaving the block of wood with a mighty crash, and felt a
ripple run down his muscles when he tensed them. He was tall, but his chest was flat, his neck long, and
his legs thin. He was one of those boys who grew too fast.

NEIGHBOUR1: He’s so thin

NEIGHBOUR 2: Yeah, he looks so weak and unhealthy.

NANAY: He will become bigger and stouter when he reaches his twenty-fifth year. (maliciously said)

Sebio was known as Sebiong Pasmado (Sebio the weakling) due to his slight figure, spindle-
shanks, and timidity. He could lift two Socony cans with either hand and raise them shoulder-high, and
carry three sacks of rice on his narrow shoulders. He snorted at people's fear of the snake, which is the
most slender, timid creature of the field.

NANAY:Sebio, what are you staring at?

SEBIO:Nothing, Nanay. I was just stretching my cramped arms.
NANAY: Well, it is growing late. How do you expect me to cook rice without firewood?”

SEBIO:Yes, yes, Nanay.”

(THROWBACK)
He seized the ax and swung it back and forth over his shoulder, lost in thought. He had always
failed in these foolish games of strength and skill, and his courage always ran out before a noisy,
bantering crowd.

FRIENDS 3: What strength can there be in those puny arms, in that flat chest?
FRIENDS 1: You have no strength.
FRIENDS 2:You have no fighting heart.”

(End of throwback)

SEBIO:Thunder and lightning Name of Satan. . . !” ( muttered )

NARRATOR: He savagely attacked the wood before him, sweating profusely and his unruly hair getting
into his eyes. In a last swing, he brought down the ax, which passed through the block, through the
stone prop, and into the soft earth beneath. He felt satisfied and went into the house to gather the chips.
NARRATOR: He was silent as his mother sat at their table.

NANAY: Are you thinking of going to Tia Binay tonight?

SEBIO: Yes, Nanay.

NANAY: Take with you our whetstone and thank her for the herbs she used for your uncle's rheumatism.

(Rice fields with farmers)

NARRATOR: Sebio makes his way through recently harvested rice fields, avoiding sharp stubble and
holes where carabao's feet had sunk during the rainy season. The night is full of the sounds and odors
of life, and Sebio hears the dying croak of a frog caught in the jaws of a snake.

NARRATOR: When he reached Tia Binay’s place, The evening's work began with a group of young men
and women pounding golden grains of palay with wooden mortars. Each individual brought down their
pestle in a rhythm and succession, with the gifted voice of someone in the group breaking into song and
the notes of a haunting kundiman wafting into the breeze. At intervals, a sleepy cock would let out an
obstreperous crow, disapproving of the spirit.
(Rhythm music of grains and mortars)

NARRATOR: Tia Binay's bench was a place for people to gather and enjoy suman and bibingka, while
waiting for their turn at the mortar and pestle.

SOMEONE 15: Ho, there, Sebio!

SEBIO: Good evening to all of you. Good evening, Tia Binay!”

TIA BINAY: Who is this?” (She asked kindly)

SEBIO:It’s Sebio, Tia Binay.

TIA BINAY: Sebio?” (she could not place the name)

SOMEONE16: Sebiong Pasmado! (roared someone from a group close to him)

“Ah – yes, now I know.”

(Sebio turned to the cruel joker, but saw only a sea of sneering faces. He turned back to Tia
Binay.)

SEBIO: Nanay told me to give this to you and to thank you for those herbs.

(He found a seat in the farthest and darkest corner.)

(A small white hand held out a package in banana leaf to him, which he was unaware of until a
voice spoke.)

MERCI: Here, Sebio, never mind those people. They are idlers. Try this suman. I made it myself.”

(While opening the Suman, Merci's words helped him regain his old self.)

SEBIO: Merci, you must have flavored this with your kisses. (he boldly ventured)

MERCI: ( Blushed) Give me back that suman!

(Sebio laughed)

(Sebio tries to catch the outstretched hand of Merci, but it is withdrawn and he sits down to
study the crowd. He admires the moonlight and wonders if it is more soul-satisfying than the
champaka-scented breeze.)

(He became aware that the workers were being changed. The second shift was ready. He got up)
TIA BINAY: Here, Milio, and you Kiko work here. Anita, go to that mortar with Tonio. You, Sebio, come
here – and you too, Pacio. (assigning each to their place)

NARRATOR: Sebio is reunited with Pacio, the bully, and Merci, the braggart, to complete the group of
three.

(Pacio would show off his prowess before Merci, and Sebio would have to compete with him in
front of a mocking, unsympathetic crowd.)
(Merci, conscious of the strain under which Sebio had begun to labor, endeavored to relieve it.)

“This morning we chased a big snake across the yard, but it escaped.”

SOMEONE17: They say that nothing can prevent death from the bite of some snakes.

SOMEONE18: If you are bitten on the arm, you may have to cut it off.”

PACIO: Or burn it. (sneeringly)

PACIO: Here, Sebio, try this one.

(He caught the pestle and brought it down just as Merci lifted hers.)

CROWD: Wonderful!

(Sebio felt uncomfortable with Pablo's challenge, despite his focus on his work.)

SOMEONE19: Sebio is an industrious worker who should be considered for a son-in-law.

MERCI: Nanay does not need any son-in-law. I am still strong enough to do work at home.
(crowd laughed)

SEBIO: Tia Binay, what must your son-in-law be like? ( he asked with a confident smile)

(But Tia BInay refrained from answering after a long look at her daughter, so somebody
answered for her)

SOMEONE1 : He must have rice fields!

SOMEONE 2: No, first of all, he must be industrious.

SOMEONE 3: Above all, he must be handsome.

MERCI: You are all wrong, my mother’s son-in-law must first be my husband.

(That seemed to silence them – for a while.)

SOMEONE 4: Well, well – your husband then – he must be kind and obedient and loving, eh?

SOMEONE 5: And fleet of foot and strong of arm?

MILIO: Here then, you beautiful men, can anybody do this?”

NARRATOR: It was Milio, the village clown, he was holding a rod that looked like iron and was trying to
bend it. His body was contorted in a bizarre way and the rod cracked into splinters. It was only a cleverly
painted piece of bamboo.

(While they were still holding their sides and slapping their thighs, Pacio stood up. He stepped
up to one of the mortars and took from it a horseshoe that was nailed there for good luck.)

PACIO: Here, Milio, is an imitation of your feat!

(Paco seized each end of a curved piece of iron and strained his muscles, but the audience only
saw the curved piece being straightened out.)

(A murmur of admiration rose from the crowd.)

CROWD:Bravo!”

“Unheard of!”

“Incomparable!”

PACIO: Try that, Milio. But don’t crack it! ( tossed the piece of iron)

MILIO: No, thanks. Suppose I vomit blood! (Milio tossed it to Sebio.)

(The young man seized the horseshoe with a bound and seized it, sparking derision from those
who wished him well.)

SOMEONE 6: Aba’t, what is he going to do?

SOMEONE 7: Hey, Sebio, drop that! That’s iron – not bamboo!

NARRATOR: He gripped the two ends of the iron and strained, his lips clamped together, his face went
pale, and his eyes bulged. After an eternity, he felt the iron give way and opened his eyes to see it had
bent only a little.

SOMEONE 8: Ho, my strong man, what now?

SOMEONE 7: I told you it was not a bamboo!

SOMEONE 9: Sebio should eat more to become stronger and more powerful

(Sebio cursed himself as he searched for a place to hide the horseshoe.)

MEN 1: No strength.
WOMEN 1: No fighting heart.
(Sebio wanted to leave, but realized it would be an admission of his desperation and
hopelessness.)

MERCI: Sebio, I want to make a fire so we can roast some corn. Will you help me get some hay?”
(Softly she said)

NARRATOR: Like a drowning man who suddenly found a floating object to cling to, he eagerly followed
Merci to the hay pile. Here was someone who understood him.

SEBIO: How could I do anything with that crowd?” ( murmured a little apologetically)
MERCI: Yes I know. ( she sympathized)

SEBIO: Just let me try again!

(Sebio struck savagely at the hay pile, and as he turned away a blood-curdling scream from
Merci pierced the noise. )

MERCI: AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

(He turned around to see what had frightened her, and a snake had emerged from the bundle. It
was poised to strike, and Sebio knew that it would strike before his next breath. Instinctively, he
made a move to place himself between the girl and the danger.)

(He attempted to strike the snake with a bundle of hay, but his attempt was so ill-executed that he
fell on his face and was bitten on the calf of his leg.)

(Sebio staggered up and looked at his leg, where blood was beginning to ooze. He felt an
impulse to run, dance, and do anything, but only the excited voices of those around him
prevented his mind from becoming numb.)

SOMEONE 10: “The deadly dahong palay!

SOMEONE 11: Get some vinegar!

SOMEONE 12: Sebio is dying!

(He rolled in the dust, clutching at the air and looking for something solid. He came up against
one of the mortars and found a horseshoe. He seized it and saw light, as if out of a dark hole a
stalwart hand had lifted him. He waved the babbling group away.)

SEBIO: A fire here, quickly!

NARRATOR: Merci scooped up hay and husk, lit a fire, and bound up the dying man's leg with a piece
of her skirt. Her powerful hands tightened the ligature above the wound, leaving the others paralyzed.

SEBIO: A knife, for the love of Christ! (yell)

(Several people rushed to get a knife, and a large knife was handed to him, relieving him of his
cramped foot and coldness.)

(Sebio seized a horseshoe and straightened it before the crowd, then wrapped a piece of cloth
around one end and thrust the other end into the fire. There was no applause from the onlookers,
just heavy labored breathing as they stared at the colorless face of Sebio, grim and twisted, and
the piece of iron turning an angry, luminous red.)

SOMEONE 13: What is he going to do?”

SOMEONE 14: Merciful God!”

(Sebio slashed two pin pricks with a sharp knife, then grasped a red-hot iron and plunged it into
the wound. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and several of the women fainted.)

NARRATOR: Sebio laid aside the iron and smiled, but before unconsciousness he saw their eyes and
was told he would never be called "Sebiong Pasmado".