Where did the Manongs go?

Imagine a "pabuniag," ( baptism) a "pakasar," (wedding) or a "pamunpon" (funeral) and several Manongs are missing. "Where's Manong Jose, Manong Pedring, Manong Ben, Manong Damian," everyone asks.

Who were the Manongs, what were they, and where did they come from? The term "Manong" comes from the Ilokano word for "elder brother" a term so endearing that denotes respect, yet loaded with familial responsibilities. In the old days, the "manongs and the manangs" of the family carried the responsibility of assisting their parents in providing  the needs of their younger siblings even after they got married and had families of their own. It was quite a responsibility in a place called the Ilocos region where arable land was scant, a narrow strip of land wedged between the mountains and the sea. It's a place unlike Central Luzon and the Visayas where large tracts of land called "hacienda" or plantations were cultivated. The landlords or the landed gentry who owned the  coconut and sugar plantations employed hundreds of workers who were willing to work. But there were no such employment in the  Ilocos region. Although many Ilokanos owned parcels of cultivated land that those in other provinces in Visayas and Mindanao did not have, the produce soon became too meager and not enough when the family's sons and daughters got married and had to provide for their  own families as well.

This explains why 70-80 % of Filipinos who immigrated to the United States between 1920 and 1930 came from this narrow strip of land in the northern part of Luzon.

When an opportunity arose to immigrate to the United States,  many Manongs jumped at the idea. It was 1920 and the Philippines at the time had been under the American colonial rule for 22 years. These Manongs had grown up attending  the public school system that the United States had set up in 1901. They had grown up singing "My Country 'tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty" with the American flag fluttering on the flagpole in front of their school. They had grown up learning about the four seasons of the United States. The thought of seeing the white stuff ( snow) that they only read about in books must have added to their interest. They had grown up reading and learning American history,  presidents and heroes. They had grown up hearing how life in America, the "cradle of liberty" was better.  It was an educational system that was designed to quell anti-colonial nationalism and facilitate obedience to the colonial state.  It was a system that defined what  good citizenship was, which was to be economically self-sufficient, and that  non-violence was considered patriotic and loyal to both the Philippines and the United States.

As the Philippines then was still under colonial rule, Filipinos were not required to have  passports  to officially enter  the continental United States and Hawaii. As long as the Manong's family was able to scratch up some cash for the fare on a ship, that was all that was needed. The "Manong generation" were the first generation of Filipino immigrants to arrive en masse in the United States. The first recorded arrival of Filipinos on the Continental USA was on October 18, 1587 by way of a Spanish galleon that docked on what is now Morro Bay in  California. Other records show of early an Filipino settlement in Louisiana in the late 1500's.

The Manongs  were hard-working and were determined to provide a better life for their family back home. They were known to be frugal and practical, a reflection of the geographical area they came from. They worked on farms in California, at restaurants and at the docks in Seattle, on pineapple plantations in Hawaii, canneries in Alaska, in car manufacturing  plants in Detroit, and many others  like my Uncle Joseph  joined the U.S Army and Navy. It was not an easy life—they experienced a lot of setbacks,  faced racial discrimination but they persevered and overcame. They were not going to give up. Numerous books have been written about the Manongs and how they were very good in organizing themselves and forming little communities. Their sense of organization played a pivotal role on the farm workers movement for better working conditions and fair wages.

It is worth noting however that their story was not that much different from other immigrants between the 1850s and 1900s.  The growing population of Prussia and the independent German states outstripped the available land. Industrialization could not provide decent paying jobs and political rights were limited. Dissatisfied with the lack of land and opportunity, many Germans immigrated to America where they suffered harassment when the country was wracked by fear and paranoia during the Great War. Many states banned German language schools and removed German books from libraries.

The Manongs of the Continental USA and Hawaii are long gone but their perseverance, foresight,  and courage left a lasting legacy that continue to inspire new generations of Filipino Americans. They were instrumental in the effective implementation and adaptation of boycotts. For example, the grape boycott in Delano, California was a complete success when millions stopped eating grapes. At dinner table across the country, parents gave children a simple, powerful lesson in social justice. The Manongs' courage in walking off their jobs in order to demand fair wages and better working conditions resulted in the creation of the UFW labor union which revolutionized the farm labor movement in America.

 

Noralyn Onto Dudt has been a resident in the eastern part of the United States for 51 years but she had met and known several of the  Manongs in Monterey County, California where many Manongs were based at US Army's Fort Ord. Her Uncle Joseph who joined the U.S. Army in the late 1930s was a part of General McArthur's troops in the "I Shall Return"  Leyte landing of October 20, 1944.