Tiwi

an essay by Roger B Rueda

A tricycle-ride away (60.42 metres) from the town proper of Barotac Nuevo, Tiwi is seat of the Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF) main campus. Tradition-bearers recount that then a dark cloud of tiwis would come swarming out of their nests and the mangrove swamps all over the ponds or rice-fields. Since then, the place has been called Tiwi by the local folks, who were originally fishermen, who were dab hands at culturing bangos and oysters along the coast. (The cluster of shacks and shanties, grey and weatherbeaten, covered in faded bamboo shingles, was then a scene to see in this peaceful village.)

The bird inhabits the marshland of the place, at the ponds. They have reclusive nature. Cautious and well camouflaged, the tiwi is hardly ever seen these days. They must have gone off somewhere very far in a sulk.

A wading bird, the tiwi eats a variety of bugs, earthworms, small molluscs, shrimps, and some vegetal matter as well as occasional seeds and berries. Its beak is long and flexible, able to find food by feel alone. When I was a young boy all of nine or ten, I saw some tiwis while slogging around swamped bottomlands. When startled, the birds would fly off in a zigzag pattern while emitting a high-pitched call. For one, not confident in its camouflage, being the same colour as dried grass, the tiwi can not stand still when it feels danger.

Their nests are dry grasses put together in a grass tussock at the edge of slushy areas. Usually, the hen lays four blotched eggs. Then, after an incubation of 18-20 days (shared by both parents), the eggs hatch. Like other ground-nesting birds, the young leave the nest almost immediately after hatching and are able to follow the mother in search of food. Within a couple of months, the small tiwi can fly well enough to fend for themselves.

The tiwi measures about 10 1/2 inches long and weighs about 4 1/2 ounces. It is most comfortable in shallow, freshwater marshy ranges. The tiwi’s brown, black, and grey feathering makes for superb camouflage in brambles and low-growing grasses. Its legs are shorter than most wading birds' legs.

I'm afraid that someday the bird will vanish without trace. Most Tiwinians must have not seen this bird. Conservation projects are the only hope of the bird to be kept for future generations. Locals should take pictures of the bird they happen to spot - to capture life that is transient and elusive. For one, the bird stands for the barangay and its people.

Tiwi is the most populated barangay in Barotac Nuevo. In the world of magic and myth, they must be tiwis incarnate, quick-witted and sprightly. And these days, most Tiwinians are no longer fishermen. There are some who are and most of their fishing effort and harvest is focussed on five species: bangos, tilapia, seabass, prawns, and mud crabs. Each morning, you can still see local fishermen unload their catch and an early get up is rewarded by the most spectacular sun rise.

[Did you know? The first settlers of Tiwi were the Bayogoses, the Baitos, the Belgas, the Benbans, the Barsaleses, and the Bondads.]