A former colleague in PHILRICE Butuan posted these pictures in her Facebook Timeline, and I quote,
"I caught this beautiful scene on our way to the airport this morning. Its one thing I LOVE about being Filipino."
According to Wikipilipinas,
Bayanihan (pronounced as bah - yah - nee - han) is a Filipino term taken from the word bayan, referring to a nation, town or community. The whole term bayanihan refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective. This good custom is widespread in the Philippines, in fact many ethnolinguistic groups have their own term for "bayanihan". The Waray people of Leyte call it tiklos while those in Samar call it pintakasi. The Ivatans of Batanes call it kapanyidungan. Other Tagalog people also call it bataris or bataresan.
The origin of the term bayanihan can be traced from a common tradition in Philippine towns where community members volunteer to help a family move to a new place. The process involves literally carrying the house to its new location. This is done by putting bamboo poles forming a strong frame to lift the stilts from the ground and carrying the whole house with the men positioned at the ends of each pole. A mural by Filipino National Artist Carlos "Botong" Francisco and painting by Joselito E. Barcelona illustrates the whole process. The tradition also features a small fiesta hosted by the family to express gratitude to the volunteers.
I am amazed that this tradition is still happening. These pictures were taken somewhere in Barangay Libertad, diversion road going to the airport in BUTUAN CITY- Province of Mindanao. Though, there are other forms of Bayanihan (Communal Work) .This is the old tradition of neighbors/community helping a relocating family by getting male volunteers to carry the whole house, and literally moving it to its new location. While women in the community is helping the relocating family in preparing Lunch or Dinner or Snack for those who participated in the BAYANIHAN.
On this first day of February 2015, the love month, we should be reminded of loving our neighbors.
Loving our neighbor would include sharing with the poor and the alien; compassion and absolute honesty and justice in our relationships with others; impartiality; a refusal to be a party to gossip or slander; an absence of malice toward anyone and a refusal to bear a grudge; taking care never to put another’s life at risk and never taking private vengeance upon another. It is also interesting to note that when we have an issue with anyone, we should strive to make it right by going to him or her directly..(Excerpt http://www.gotquestions.org/love-neighbor-yourself.html.)
