‘To sleep, perchance to dream’

The prized place in my bahay kubo, my nipa hut, is the corner where my rattan hammock (we Pinoys call it  duyan) hangs. I wanted my kubo to harmonize with the precolonial Filipino homey look. Thus, I even seriously considered installing the duyan on the hut’s facade!

The duyan is designed to invite oneself to relax; setting it high over the cascading angle of the property enables one to enjoy the surrounding sights and sounds and thus add to the bliss.

For generations, Filipino mothers have used the duyan to lull babies to sleep before transferring them to a bed, a crib, or the banig (mat) laid on the floor. The idea of having a duyan brings me back to my own earliest childhood memories. I find the pampering and the sweetness of the gentle rhythm slowly rocking me to sleep most precious.

To start one’s day on the duyan, meditating on the calming blue waters of Puerto Princesa Bay while the sun slowly rises, soothes one into an ethereal appreciation of creation. Swaying on it while watching the birds flying to and fro amounts to a privilege. (A friend of mine who works as a bird-watching tour guide counted 16 species of transient aves stopping over my joint.)

On a lazy afternoon, one can gawk at the airplanes that circle around before leaving or landing at the Puerto Princesa airport, or count the fishing boats languidly crisscrossing the harbor. But on a hot Palawan midday, with freshly harvested coconut wine on hand and an irresistible sea breeze, my duyan becomes the perfect tranquilizer far more effective than Valium.

Most nights, the mood changes as the pitch black darkness shrouds the bay. One can imaginatively sail on the duyan as the sight of the fireflies enchants one’s heart and ushers one to the land of make-believe. Far out to sea, the flickering gas lamps on fishermen’s boats synchronize with the twinkling stars and other heavenly bodies, completing the display of grandeur. Sometimes, the red winking lights of airplanes travelling over Palawan airspace serve as extra eye candy. And oh, the moon, ever translucent, ever the “faithful witness” to the grand cycle of creation.

With some lit candles strategically placed in corners of the balcony and excellent wine on the side, the duyan soothes my wife and me to a whimsical evening.

As Shakespeare would put it, I count myself a king of infinite space…

On my duyan, I feel like an ace.

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Marvin Balcos, of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, migrated to Austria in 2005. He works at the Vienna International Airport-City Air Terminal as train attendant and sales officer.