Andreaj Clyde Godin 11 – HUMSS Weber July 19, 2019

“Ang Hunsoy Sungsongan Usab”

In “Ang Hunsoy Sungsongan Usab” by Marcelino M. Navarra exemplify a terrible life story of the main
character, Malta and her husband Imok during the World War Two. This piece of work reflects the
life of the author for its sentimental composition, as well as the story’s perception. A story filled with
courage, selflessness, and humbleness. A distinction of hope between chaos and tragic.
The story behind “Ang Hunsoy Sungsongan Usab” was part of a bloodshed incident the World War
Two in the place of Lipata which Malta lived. The feeling of anxiousness, hopelessness, and emptiness
was overpowering her that is hard to contain, knowing the fact that her family couldn’t get enough
consistency of eating their meals. Right at that moment of Malta’s grief, she thought of the seven
soldiers that have watched over the cliff where the gun shots have happened. She remembered it’s
her turn to give and provide breakfast to the soldiers, but the dilemma was she got nothing to give to
the men, so she came to the house of Teroy-Sepa. She humbly asked for a rice that’s just enough for
one soldier, and Sepa gave her some in return of a corn that Malta would give in the afternoon. Malta
conspicuously walked towards the cliff and gave the soldiers something to eat and have given them
their requests, even the volunteers gets them food every day. While the soldiers were eating, Malta’s
saliva starting to dribble somehow fighting the sensitiveness of hunger that triggers her. After the
soldiers have finished eating, they left some leftovers for the dogs, however Malta on the other hand
insisted it for she was the one who finished the leftovers.

This piece of literature is supported by expressivism, which a classical theorist named, Plato asserts
the idea of the poem or text as an expression of the writer’s inner being, emphasizing the presence of
the writer in the poem or text.
Marcelino M. Navarra was a Filipino-Visayan editor, poet, and writer from Cebu, Philippines. He was
born in Tuyom, a small barrio in Carcar, Cebu on June 2, 1914. He died on March 28, 1984. He wrote
poetry and over 80 short stories before and after World War Two, from 1930 to 1955. One of his
works including “Ang Hunsoy Sungsongan Usab”, with that he was known as the “Father of Modern
Cebuano Poetry” His works were clearly realistic and sentimental. Realistic in a way of representing
his subjects as the poor people in his barrio of Tuyom or in his literary work “Ang Hunsoy Sungsongan
Usab”.
This line in his story, “Sa tinuoray, naanad na sila nga makaduha da (usahay makausa lang) makakaon
sa usa ka adlaw. Dili man usab kay sila ra ang nagping-it.” It illustrates here the tough experience of
the people of Lipata. Navarra is also experiencing difficulties in providing his own shelter, and most
especially his food. The scenario perhaps states that accepting a tough situation in life is what the
story is trying to tell as well as Navarra being the author is trying to perceive his readers about his
life experiences in his works.
“Dinhay mga higayon nga mahimong limot-limotan ang kagutom, apan karon nga nagtutok si Malta
sa kabuhong nga gisaloan sa mga sundalo, masimot kangilo ang kahaw-ang nga kanunay niyang
gibati.” This is showing that the pain of those people in Lipata have felt was never easy. To fight the
feeling of hunger and worry for they could not do anything about their situation because of the chaos.
Just like Navarra, he wasn’t able to finish high school on the other side if one would think about his
situation that time, he would’ve no other choice but to stop studying and somehow look for another
option to sustain living because he was so poor.
“Wala madugay, nagbaguod ang boluntaryo sa pagbitbit sa mga bukag.” “Living” for the people in
Lipata is hard to bare, knowing they still had the urge to obey and live in order to serve the Guerillas.
They are so selfless to the point that they would give anything just to show respect to the Guerillas
who are protecting them. Serving others before their own is something to take and hold as readers
of one of Navarra’s masterpiece. On the author’s side, despite of the difficulty that he have been
through, his situation did not stop him to better himself and pursue his passion.
The story was occupied by its characters who were experiencing tragic moments in their lives,
making this story sentimental is the thought of its moral value, the deeper meaning of every words
that the characters have said which is pain and poverty but in the other side of it was living in spite
of the tough situation that the people of Lipata have experienced.
Therefore, Marcelo M. Navarra’s “Ang Hunsoy Sungsongan Usab” is a piece of reflection on his past
life experiences, making it as a story relating to real happenings in his own province of Cebu during
the World War II.
References:

https://www.revolvy.com/page/Marcelino-Navarra?cr=1

http://bismag.pbworks.com/w/page/9015524/Ang%20Hunsoy%20Sungsongan%20Usab

http://wikicomp.wikifoundry.com/page/Expressivism