a Virtual Village Hearth
Jalipóng /dʒalipɔŋ/ 'hearth' primarily refers to a cooking, dining, smoke-drying and warming area often set in the middle of the kitchen floor of a traditional house among the Vanáw of northern Philippines.
A hearth pad of tamped clay about two inches high is laid out within a rectangular or square space hemmed in by hardwood. A fire grate, now widely replacing the traditional three-stone set called vúga, is positioned at the center for cooking.
Low stools are placed around the raised clay pad for dining in the absence of a kitchen table, or as an extended dining area. Suspended a few feet above this cooking area is the soógan, a wooden frame for storage of anything from jinikót 'firewood' to kalní '[dried] meat', and kanjílu 'pots'.
Oftentimes, wires are strung across or around the bottom of that frame to hang deer or wild boar pangá 'mandibles', sála 'antlers', vijúng 'animal bladder', gadjáng' [boiled] animal hide', and what not.
As an Indigenous writer, I see the jalipóng as a communal repository of meaning – a microcosm of village life – and therefore a platform from which to catch a glimpse of Indigenous worldview which, in turn, can provide insights into doing field research in an Indigenous community.
Jalipóng as the domain name of my website alludes to this village hearth and its representation or symbolism.
