Sunday, July 20, 2008
THE SNAKE VENDOR OF MANILA
I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.
Thank you!
*
posted by Señor Enrique at 11:02 AM
24 Comments:
-
said... I would never want to own a snake. very nice shot!
-
ka tony said... Hi Eric,
This is what I really need, a low maintenance pet... "Water Phy Ton" daga, dilis at ipis lang ayos na! Susuwertehin pa ako!!! Can I order ng Extra-Extra Large?
I'll name my pet "Water Phy Tony"
Take good care Erc,
ka tony-
Francesca said...
is he allowed to sell those?
Baka naman kasi kawawa lang yung mga snakes if mapunta sa may ari na never knows how to take care of them.
They are nature's gifts, needs to leave on their own, di naman pala na ngangagat...
Ps, i made turon last night, after I saw it in your photos.
Hanap ko talaga, saging saba, sa asiatic store dito sa France, haha.
Sarap.And balat lumpia, toher wise its not complete.I visit ur blog, i miss philippines.-
Señor Enrique said...
Like you, Luke, though fascinated, I don't think I'd want to have one as a pet. They tend to get very big ... hehehe.
Many thanks!-
Señor Enrique said...
And I'll name mine Monty, Ka Tony. In honor of the 70s hit comedy troupe Monty Python & the Flying Circus :)
By the way, as you may already know, during the American colonial rule of the Philippines, there was an American schoolteacher, Josephine Craig, who chronicled domestic life in Manila in 1904 -- before she proceeded to her final destination in Mindoro.
She claimed that for rats, some local folks believed a snake in the ceiling proved more efficient than household cats. She wrote:
quote
Well, we have a perfectly good snake of the python variety living in our roof! The ceiling of the living room is made of sawali (see third photo), that matting-like material which covers boxes of tea from China. Evenings I hear a slithering sound overhead and the sawali bulges down under the weight of the snake's body; then there is the squealing of rats as he pounces, and all grows quiet again while the snake digests his meal. I asked Austin if there we re any danger of his coming down to make our acquaintance, but he thinks not so long as the supply of rats remains plentiful.
unquote
A python up in my ceiling? No, thanks ... hehehe.-
ka tony said...
Hello ulit Eric,
"Monty" is a cute name, a name with a story, much better than my pet's name "Water Phy Tony." I was just thinking the conveniences of having "Monty" as a pet. You can use "Monty" as a "voice activated" belt or terante by saying... "Hoy! 'Monty', luwagluwagan mong 'konte, 'Monti' na akong masakal"
Thanks Eric for the "Josephine Craig" trivia, I didn't know anything about her. An interesting account of here experience of our cultural house hold of the past.
I sure can relate to her story, because I was brought up in an old ancestral "Bahay na Bato" My dad inherited the house in Binondo from my grandpa. We had one living in the attic, his name was "Berto." My dad (who was a mestizong kastila, pronounced the letter D as a T, like Madrid to Matrit), named him "Berto" for "Bertugo nan mga Taga" I can still imagine my father's face lights up every time we hear the squealing and the "kalabugan" on the roof! I was used to the "kaluskos" sounds, knowing "Berto" is doing his nightly rounds.
Thanks once again Eric for the great photos and video, which didn't need captions. The great visuals speaks for it selves about an interesting story!!!
What again can I say...great job Eric!
ka tony
ps.
Eric please check this out...
http://toning11.multiply.com/journal/item/16/What_How_Where_Was_Is_MANILA_check_out_this_site_Senor_Enrique_httpsenorenrique.blogspot.com2008_07_01_archive.html-
Ang Kuwago said...
Apparently, owning a snake is not so expensive!
I know people who care for snakes as pets and they say it is a joy.
But yes, their real place is in the wild.-
Lola said...
Wow, not only is Ka Tony a wealth of historical information, komiko pa.
The very idea of having a snake in the house, albeit in the ceiling would scare the hivyjivies out of me. I just don’t like snakes of any kind. Or rats. Ewww……
I couldn’t hardly stand to watch the video.-
said...
For a no maintenance, no problem pet, try a pet rock LOL. It will even help you protect yourself against an intruder as long as you are willing to supply the muscle power LOL.
-
Señor Enrique said...
don't think he's allowed to sell them nor any wildlife creature for that matter in the streets of Manila, Francesca. He could get himself in big trouble.
Yes, these reptiles do have a purpose and having them as household pets is not one of them. Baka ma-adobo lang mga yan ... hehehe.
Wow! Good for you! At least you have saging saba in France!
I think it's time for you and your hubby to come home for a visit, eh?-
Señor Enrique said...
Your father kept a python up in your ceiling, Ka Tony? Amazing!
Is your 'bahay na bato' ancestral house still standing? Perhaps, when I find myself in the area I could take a photo of it.
And thank you very much for the plug. I am truly humbled that a truly learned and artistically-talented compatriot such as you appreciates my blogging efforts.
Thank you, Ka Tony!-
Señor Enrique said...
But snakes are not so responsive and animated as dogs, Kuwago! But then again, since they remain still most of the time, they're probably relaxing to have as pets much like maintaining an aquarium of tropical fish.
-
Señor Enrique said...
You're right, Pat! Ka Tony is quite witty as well :)
By the way, my mom's Italian friend in New York has a son who has two giant pythons as pets. One time, one of them got loose and ventured out of her son's bedroom into her kitchen. Well, she almost had a heart attack when she saw it slithering its way on her kitchen counter top.
She then threw her son out of the house (he was already in his 20s by then), and said he could only come back if he got rid of his pet snakes.
The son has since been living in his own apartment with his snakes.-
Señor Enrique said...
That pet rock!
Would you believe, bertN, that I almost bought one when I first saw it being sold in Bloomongdale's in NYC? I thought the instructions for its care that came with it was hilarious.
Anyway, from what I was told, the person who came up with that novelty idea was only 18 at that time, and decided to live a quiet life after earning more than a million dollars from that product. Awesome, huh? If not mistaken, the kid was from Connecticut.-
said...
hey Senor E!
would you believe i actually considered buying a baby python for a pet? hahahaha! my mom wouldn't hear of it though. she said it was bad luck daw? then again she just hates anything creepy-crawly so there goes ...-
Señor Enrique said...
Whoa! Astig ka pala, Caryn ... a python for a pet. I don't blame your mother, though ... hehehe!
-
Unknown said...
i'm having a fit of laughter while reading the comments here.:D a pet snake? no way, kahit low maintenance pa sya at swerti pala sa nigosyo!:D i find snakes fascinating but i don't want them in my house! there were snakes in my grandfather's old house when i was a kid. we sometimes found snakes on top of the kulambo when we woke up in the morning, and under the old trunks in the cellar. my lolo said they had no venom so my brothers and cousins would sometimes play with those snakes.
-
ka tony said...
Yeeaah Eric,
We had Berto 'till my father past away in 1974, siguro malaking-malaki na siya.
My siblings & I all got married, my mom sold the "Bahay na Bato" to a Chinese who had the house demolished and built a commercial building. Up to this day I'm wondering what might have become & happen to Berto?
Maybe, during the demolition of our Bahay na Bato he became the "Phy Ton"..."Bertugo nan mana Carpenteros"
Thanks Eric!-
Señor Enrique said...
Ayyy, Luna. I remember my aunt's house in Subic which attracted constant visits from pythons and 'bayawaks' because of the poultry she had in the backyard. One time a giant sawa was chillin' under the kitchen sink and was mistaken for a pile of rags by the maid. Yikes!
They're indeed fascinating creatures but better left alone in their natural habitat.-
Señor Enrique said...
Naku, baka na-adobo at nagawang pulutan si Berto ng mga karpentero, Ka Tony!
Sayang, wala na pala yung 'bahay na bato' ninyo.
By the way, I was told by a friend that a cobra was found on the roof of a house in Blumentritt last week. Can you believe that? A cobra? Fortunately, it was captured and handed over to the Manila Zoo.-
ka tony said...
Hi Eric,
About the multiply plug...you are very welcome, I should be the one thanking and be grateful for all the sacrifice, hard work, late night conceptualization, location shooting, writing, layout, setting it out on the web, dead line, replies on the comments, monitor, maintenance, etc... Boy! Your Senor Enrique is a blood, sweat & tears project, a work of art & love, a gift for the Pilipino people, our country & the world. I'm just one of the many thousands of people who salutes you for all your dedication and hard work on a project well done.
The plug I did was just to communicate to anyone that I can reach, inform them that there's an overwhelming information on "Senor Enrique" site!
Now about Berto...the "pulutang adobong Berto" will take those forever hungry karpenteros, a week supply of food for their "cuatro cantos" Biro mo ang haba at ang taba ni Berto. Not only during the last years of his life hindi lang "Bertugo nan mana Taga" si Berto, but naging "Bertugo nan mana Taga y Pusa" A lot of our neighbors were complaining about their "missing kuting at pusa" and my mom will just roll her eyes and looked up then sigh "...ahhh ehwan koh h h h h?"
Sorry Eric, na giniba na ang aming Bahay na Bato! What was really sayang were; to be able to save the "piedra china" floor, wide wood floor flanks, capiz windows, red spanish with tails bricks, ect... According to my mom (after selling the house she stayed with our relatives across the street), when the Carpenteros was demolishing the house, they tried to cut the columns that supported the facade of house ( like the ancestral house you shot at H.R. Hidalgo) in order to load them in the truck. My mom went to Tabora, Divisoria at 8:00 am to shop and saw the Carpenteros cutting a column with a big saw (the one they use for timber). She came back from Tabora at 4:30 pm , hindi pa tapos putulin that one particular column.
This hard timbers were Yakal & Molave hard wood, the same timbers that was use for the Spanish Galleons. Kaya hindi tablan ng kanyon, hindi inaanay. Mabubungi ang maga anay pag kinagat nila ang mga kahoy na ito. Nakakita ka na ba ng Anay na naka Pustiso?
Thanks again Eric,
ka tony-
Señor Enrique said...
Our house on Misericordia Street in Santa Cruz was supposedly built with hard wood that may be similar to the ones used in your bahaya na bato, Ka Tony. Although we no longer own it, I oftentimes drive by to take a look at it. After all these years, it remains standing upright and proud as its early years -- unlike some old wooden houses in Manila that look crooked or misaligned. Nonetheless, wish many more old houses like yours have been preserved for our new generation to appreciate but progress does have its precedence at times.
I'm sure Berto surprised the heck out of all those carpenters when they found him. Hope he was handed over to the Manila Zoo instead of being made a pulutan like what some local folks do with found sawas.
As for the praises, coming from someone of your stature, I am indeed honored and humbled. Maraming salamat, Ka Tony!-
just me said...
I was close to buying one.. during college. Lagi sila sa recto area nun ewan ko lang this days.
First time here and I'm in awe. Already added you in my blogroll. I'm currently here in the Middle East and I am officially missing Manila. I love your article about Recto.. reading it is like Im warped to the past.. during my college days. Its not one of the nicest place in Manila but its special to me.
The Chronicles Of the Desert Prince
http://noypiexpats.blogspot.com-
Señor Enrique said...
You're indeed right, UR_Prince! Recto is not the nicest place in Metro Manila, but for the thousands of young people who go or had gone to school in the area, this will remain a special enclave. Its spirit and energy are truly unique.
I haven't seen the snake vendor at his usual spot in Recto. He must've sold out his entire supply and now hunting for more :)
Many thanks for your visit, I shall add your site to my del.icio.us bookmark.
