TIMAKO HILL
Every time Grandma and I are together, she would always tell me stories from her past. Some of which I don’t know what I would not give just to live on that moment. *can someone please give me a time machine or Dumbledore’s pensieve?*
So anyway, here’s one of my fave... when her family passed by the Timako Hill.
Earlier in 1950′s when she was a teenager, grandma’s family planned to spend the new year at the Kusiong beach (amazing this tradition’s still existing til now). Their Christian neighbors and friends in the barangay were also invited as Cotabato City wasn’t that populated long ago so you can’t help to be acquainted with the entire community. Her Aunt, leader of the pack, already prepared the things they needed for the occasion and also bought foods including a LOT of bananas and sugar canes a day before.
No form of vehicle was available which can travel from the city proper to Kusiong so they rode a ship. When they got to the ship, her Aunt warned all of them specially the Christians that whatever they would hear or see, they should remain silent. Grandma’s other relatives, being that they are Muslims, already know that what it meant was that the ship will sink if they misbehave. According to grandma you can’t reach the Kusiong beach without passing the Timako Hill. Before they did, her Aunt ordered to stop by the big rock at foot of the island, the hill is protected by Bongo Island . Her Aunt laid a clothing on the rock and put all the bananas and sugar canes at the top of it. All of them were silent which was broken later on by the noise made by the trees. Grandma said the noise was because a great number of monkeys were swinging on the trees approaching them lead by two monkeys bigger than the rest. So basically, the fruits was for the monkeys and was a form of sacrifice in exchange for their safety. In the end of her story I was like “You really saw them, Grandma? How do they looked like?” And she said “I don’t know if I can describe them but it made all the hair on my skin stand.” So was mine.
I doubt there’s a Cotabateño that will not believe this story as until now, we still consider the hill sacred or something. The Island’s view looks the same from wherever you are standing.
