Puso: More than hanging rice
By Marigold P. Lebumfacil (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 18, 2012 - 12:00am
CEBU, Philippines - Who would have thought that from its humble spot in food stalls, the hanging rice would become one of the country’s tourism and trade icons? Aside from landing on the cover of the Department of Tourism brochure, the Department of Trade and Industry has also thought of capitalizing on the hanging rice’s unique characteristics – for instance, making accessories shaped like it.
Dr. Reynaldo Inocian, author of “Lukay Art in the Visayas: Cebu’s Cultural Pride of a Unique Ritual Identity†certainly did not think the hanging rice, locally known as “pusoâ€, will generate this kind of commercial appeal.
Back in 2005, he used the “puso†as a model for the decorations in his wedding. For 10 months and with the use of ribbons, he wove 5,000 pieces of “pusoâ€. Yet he explained that the “puso†had a much deeper use than being just decorations.
“I made it as a decoration in the church and at the reception. Puso is not only a kind of stuff. It is a dimension, which can be incorporated with fertility. With the seven years that we’ve been together with my wife, there are no hardships, I believe there’s abundance, we don’t have time to quarrel and it influenced the aura of my strong belief,†Inocian said.
However, this aspect of the existence of the “puso†is feared to be slipping away. Inocian’s colleague, Romola Savellon, said this ethnic aspect of the “puso†seems to have been obliterated by Western influences, not to mention that rituals are being frowned upon by the Catholic Church.
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