๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ
The film โFireflyโ, which won Best Film in the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival, depicts the sad state of these blinking bugs โ they are fast disappearing.
Directed by Zig Dulay, the film is set in 1999 as narrated from the perspective of an adult Tonton (Dingdong Dantes) who reminisces about his childhood. A ten-year old Tonton (Euwenn Mikaell) goes on a search for the โIsland of Firefliesโ, a mystical island he learned from his single mother Elay (Alessandra De Rossi) during bedtime stories. He develops a talent for drawing through the nighttime stories of a firefly, which saves a butterfly from a vicious beast.
We are usually mesmerized by the presence of fireflies as they begin to glow in yellow, greenish yellow or orange hues during the witching hours of dusk. Lovely little creatures, glittering, sparkling, throwing fragments of light in the dark night skies.
Also known as โlightning bugsโ, fireflies emit a bioluminescent glow from their light-emitting organs which are found in their abdomen.
Different species blink for different lengths of time, like the dots and dashes of Morse code. And like Morse code, the flashes are used to communicate, sometimes as a warning to predators they are toxic and sometimes to catch the attention of a desired mate.
A unique courtship quirk, the flashing patterns are used to attract a mate where the males usually fly above in search of a female, and when a female is interested, she flashes a light that draws the male to her.
Unfortunately, fireflies are slowly disappearing.
The most serious threat is habitat destruction as many forests and grasslands are converted to residential, industrial, agricultural and commercial uses. Suitable habitat has also been eroded due to more drought-like conditions caused by climate change.
Too much artificial light interferes with the fireflies’ mating rituals.
The last time I saw many fireflies was during one of my visits in Batad rice terraces in Banaue, Ifugao.
Batad Rice Terraces is part of five UNESCO World Heritage sites located in Ifugao, which also include the Bangaan Rice Terraces, the Mayoyao Rice Terraces, the Nagacadan Rice Terraces and the Hungduan Rice Terraces.
The UNESCO website noted: โThe fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environmentโ.
The Ifugao complex of stone or mud walls and the careful carving of the natural contours of hills and mountains combine to make terraced pond fields, coupled with the development of intricate irrigation systems, harvesting water from the forests of the mountain tops, and an elaborate farming system.
Batad is a tiny, remote village in Banaue where the panoramic view of the rice terraces resembles an enormous amphitheater. The Batad terraces are considered the most well-preserved and the best among all rice terraces. Visitors trek along steep mountain trails and rocky or muddy terrain.
The first time I visited Batad was in the 1990s when there was no electricity and our source of light at night was petromax.
In his 1946 study โMythology of the Ifugaosโ, historian Roy Barton identified โTayabanโ as one of death deities that feasted on menโs souls. They revealed themselves to the world in the form of tiny, flying monsters covered with shiny scales, so that by night they look like fireflies.
โBatadโ is a 2004 Cinemalaya film about a boy who wants more from life than what his small village can offer. While his father pursues the mission of repairing the rice terraces of adjoining Ifugao villages, he is obsessed with owning a pair of rubber shoes as he takes all odd jobs and ultimately becomes a tour guide. Upon possessing the long-desired rubber shoes, he attempts to leave his Ifugao roots and chase big city dreams.
The film depicts one of the causes for the deterioration of the terraces as identified by UNESCO: declining interest among the Ifugao youth to work on the land or turning away from farming and looking for higher-paying occupations elsewhere.
Rural-to-urban migration processes limit the necessary agricultural workforce to maintain the extensive area of terraces.
UNESCO stressed that pride of place and culture, including the long-term commitment of its indigenous Ifugao stakeholders, shall ensure the sustainability and conservation of this living cultural landscape over time.
May the fireflies continue dazzling the night with magical flashes of light.
(๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐ด๐ก๐ก๐ฆ. ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ . ๐บ๐๐๐๐โ๐ โ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ , ๐-๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐@๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง.๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ 0917-5025808 ๐๐ 0908-8665786.)
