WATWAT

WATWAT
Inomsiangak jen ekibihat

Balang wa’y may-ahad ja watwat,

Say wara’y isagpaw ni pising

Jen sikdopen ni aanak.

Eki-adivayak iran’ma nangkaama.

Nantetnengak ni bah-diw sha.

Nanbujaak ni tayao tan sarong sha.

Imparas ko fay enolibaw tan engalsa.

Idi inmaharak, kak dinibkan ima watwat

Ja shi sengeg ni kape nak inba-jat,

Nem naha nemnemnema ima adivay ko’d nangkaama

Asdeg to ngo reshan ima watwat jen in-ahan sha!

photo courtesy of Et-chel

Whenever an Ibaloi household hosts a ritual feast, there is usually a WatWat.  The meat is sliced into big chunks and boiled without salt then come eating time, people line up for their 3-4 slices of meat as their viand.  People bring home their leftovers because the WatWat is more than one can eat in one meal.  Then there is the raw meat, called boki,  which is distributed to the whole community whether or not they are in attendance.  Those who attended the feast are asked to deliver the boki to their neighbor who did not attend. 

The WatWat stands for sharing of one's blessings so everybody must bring it home to their own families. It should not be stolen nor given away because everybody in the community gets a share, whether one attends the feast or not. It should not be gambled away either because it is a disrespect to the blessing that is shared. Of course, we also get a lot of takeaways when we have conversations with the community during the feast.

 

I do wish such practices stay with the Ibalois for more centuries to come because we still have a lot to discover and learn from our culture.

watwat/gwatgwat/vatvat/batbat - the distribution of meat to the attendees and non-attendees but are within the community (ka-boki) or are the relatives of the hosts (in this context), it is also one's share of meat itself
boki - raw meat distributed

bihat/bikat - large, prestigious feast