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A Very Far Place: Tales of Tawi-Tawi
This collection of nine interrelated short stories is a sequel to The Songs of Salanda, a fictionalized exploration of H. Arlo Nimmo’s anthropological fieldwork among the nomadic boat-dwelling Bajau (aka Sama Dilaut) of the southern Philippines in the mid-1960s. Inspired by some of the people, places and events he encountered during those years, the stories include an American man searching for a father he never knew, a Filipino man seeking beauty and comfort denied him in Manila, the tragic ill-fated voyage of a young family, a broken American expat who finds solace in classical music, a Jewish woman and a German man who carry their mutual enmity to the other side of the world, a teen-age couple divided by their families’ feud and a strange house on a river filled with dead animals. Although the stories are set in a faraway place and a distant time, their themes resonate in the here and now.
236 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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About the author
H. Arlo Nimmo
16 books8 followersHarry Arlo Nimmo August 26, 1936 – May 14, 2021
Harry Arlo Nimmo was a cultural anthropologist and short story writer. He published twelve books and dozens of articles that appeared in both academic and popular periodicals. Most of these publications are based on his Philippines research, but he has also written about American popular culture, San Francisco history and Hawaii's volcano goddess Pele. Nimmo was Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at California State University East Bay, and resided in San Francisco until his passing in 2021.
Also on Goodreads as Harry Nimmo:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Harry Arlo Nimmo was a cultural anthropologist and short story writer. He published twelve books and dozens of articles that appeared in both academic and popular periodicals. Most of these publications are based on his Philippines research, but he has also written about American popular culture, San Francisco history and Hawaii's volcano goddess Pele. Nimmo was Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at California State University East Bay, and resided in San Francisco until his passing in 2021.
Also on Goodreads as Harry Nimmo:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 26, 2024
Tawi-Tawi, a province on its own now in southern Philippines, now looks very far from when H. Arlo Nimmo (1936-2021) had first seen and lived there in the mid-1960's. He had glossed over the major changes of the place in its closing chapter at least up until 2012. Another dozen-year interval to today had introduced even more progress and degeneration as its population have significantly grown.
Arlo Nimmo's prose from the book preceding this, The Songs of Salanda and Other Stories of Sulu, published 18 years prior, retained its quiet magic here. Note: This does not require any prior reading so go ahead and hop on the boat. I would not say that he wrote to make the reader guess, but perhaps it was the opposite that he wanted to lead the reader exactly where the stories were going. However, I should similarly express that Arlo Nimmo, in my opinion, had better introduced and enveloped in his previous book the characteristics and ways of the boat-dwelling indigenous people Sama Dilaut or Bajau, and was generally rounded in its chosen subjects. Only in that sense—the establishing of cultural context that this could be said a sequel.
This opened promisingly, but I felt that it concluded abruptly mellow instead of decisive; like another book is in the offing—that is not to be. The comparisons notwithstanding, it remains to be a Philippine literature worth reading. The ones that made an impression on me were: the opening story of four-fingered woman, the strange house on a river filled with dead animals, and the cursed smuggler launch.
Some of my noted passages:
On the 1960’s Manila,
On forcing outside beliefs to a different culture,
On tropical monsoon,
On Muslim and Christian relationship,
On cynicism,
Arlo Nimmo's prose from the book preceding this, The Songs of Salanda and Other Stories of Sulu, published 18 years prior, retained its quiet magic here. Note: This does not require any prior reading so go ahead and hop on the boat. I would not say that he wrote to make the reader guess, but perhaps it was the opposite that he wanted to lead the reader exactly where the stories were going. However, I should similarly express that Arlo Nimmo, in my opinion, had better introduced and enveloped in his previous book the characteristics and ways of the boat-dwelling indigenous people Sama Dilaut or Bajau, and was generally rounded in its chosen subjects. Only in that sense—the establishing of cultural context that this could be said a sequel.
This opened promisingly, but I felt that it concluded abruptly mellow instead of decisive; like another book is in the offing—that is not to be. The comparisons notwithstanding, it remains to be a Philippine literature worth reading. The ones that made an impression on me were: the opening story of four-fingered woman, the strange house on a river filled with dead animals, and the cursed smuggler launch.
The Sama Dilaut nomadic boat culture that I once knew no longer exists in Tawi-Tawi.
But that's another story for another writer.
Some of my noted passages:
On the 1960’s Manila,
On forcing outside beliefs to a different culture,
On tropical monsoon,
On Muslim and Christian relationship,
On cynicism,
September 3, 2017
I've been to Mindanao only twice. The job-related one was when I accompanied our salesman in Digos, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon and Davao. We visited our customers and tried to sell our automotive supplies and spare parts. The second, a pleasure trip was a week-long stay in Davao with my wife and daughter. I just fell in love with the place and thought that my family should see the city too. We were not disappointed and vowed to come back.
Prior to the trip, Mindanao in my mind was a dangerous place. The trips and my readings about Mindanao changed my perception of the place. Especially this one of H. Arlo Nimmo (born 1936), an American anthropologist and a short story writer. In 1961, he went to Tawi-Tawi for the Coordinated Investigation of Sulu Culture jointly sponsored by the Ateneo de Manila University and the Notre Dame of Jolo College in the Philippines. He conducted field research in the Tawi-Tawi Islands where he investigated the social organization of the nomadic boat-dwelling Sama Dilaut (also known as Bajau) for his MA degree which he received in 1965. He eventually went back three more times in 1977, 1982 and 1997 for other studies. This book, his collection of fictional short stories, "A Very Far Place: Tales of Tawi-Tawi" was published by Ateneo Press in 2012.
The no-frills writing is journalistic rather than poetic. There are many interesting stories that could have been made more heartfelt. Had this book been written by a Filipino writer, I would have shed a tear or two. Maybe that was Nimmo's style being an anthropologist and an American who experienced World War II when he was a toddler. He was born on the same year as my mother and this made my reading more interesting. Both Nimmo and my mom are now living in California. Not together, my mom is in San Diego while Nimmo is still teaching in San Francisco.
Tawi-Tawi and its environs are the main fare in the book. The tales are basically set prior to the armed religious conflict that started in the early 70's. There are many memorable characters (the pregnant woman, the dead child and the father who committed suicide are far mind-lingering followed by the Mr. Bob the American mechanic playing classical music at night) and events that made me want to pack my bag and go Tawi-Tawi for myself. Although Nimmo made a disclaimer that the events and characters are his imaginings, I know the place is still there. I just added this to my bucket list and I will make sure that it will be the next place in Mindanao that my family and I will visit.
For the meantime, I will look for a copy of Filipino movies that have Tawi-Tawi as setting.
Prior to the trip, Mindanao in my mind was a dangerous place. The trips and my readings about Mindanao changed my perception of the place. Especially this one of H. Arlo Nimmo (born 1936), an American anthropologist and a short story writer. In 1961, he went to Tawi-Tawi for the Coordinated Investigation of Sulu Culture jointly sponsored by the Ateneo de Manila University and the Notre Dame of Jolo College in the Philippines. He conducted field research in the Tawi-Tawi Islands where he investigated the social organization of the nomadic boat-dwelling Sama Dilaut (also known as Bajau) for his MA degree which he received in 1965. He eventually went back three more times in 1977, 1982 and 1997 for other studies. This book, his collection of fictional short stories, "A Very Far Place: Tales of Tawi-Tawi" was published by Ateneo Press in 2012.
The no-frills writing is journalistic rather than poetic. There are many interesting stories that could have been made more heartfelt. Had this book been written by a Filipino writer, I would have shed a tear or two. Maybe that was Nimmo's style being an anthropologist and an American who experienced World War II when he was a toddler. He was born on the same year as my mother and this made my reading more interesting. Both Nimmo and my mom are now living in California. Not together, my mom is in San Diego while Nimmo is still teaching in San Francisco.
Tawi-Tawi and its environs are the main fare in the book. The tales are basically set prior to the armed religious conflict that started in the early 70's. There are many memorable characters (the pregnant woman, the dead child and the father who committed suicide are far mind-lingering followed by the Mr. Bob the American mechanic playing classical music at night) and events that made me want to pack my bag and go Tawi-Tawi for myself. Although Nimmo made a disclaimer that the events and characters are his imaginings, I know the place is still there. I just added this to my bucket list and I will make sure that it will be the next place in Mindanao that my family and I will visit.
For the meantime, I will look for a copy of Filipino movies that have Tawi-Tawi as setting.
October 27, 2023
This is the short story collection I have finished the fastest. In three days, I got to dive into this semi-autobiographical sequel of H. Arlo Nimmo’s the Songs of Salanda, another short story collection which I hold highly and dear to my heart. Nimmo’s writing is mainly informed of experience; he wrote both fiction and nonfiction books about the people he’s met, the places he’s been, and the pleasures and tragedies he’s undergone during his years-long stay in the Sulu archipelago as part of his anthropological research. Although he’s white, his use of the English language is never difficult to read. In fact, it feels close to Philippine English. I have to mention this because writing is often misconstrued as an undertaking that needs to be done sophisticatedly in terms of style, when the challenge for writers these days is to make their works accessible to the average reader. Nimmo is also adept at blending his personal experiences with fictional events. Who knows which of the things that are happening in this book are true. The goal is for a piece of writing to grant wisdom, supply information, or simply entertain. Nimmo, through his stories which are often marked with wistfulness, achieves all of those.
January 20, 2025
I haven’t been to the province but Nimmo wrote about a Tawi-Tawi which I barely recognized based on what I have read in the news. The southern islands in his stories are pristine and unspoiled, a paradise before internal conflicts overwhelmed them.
Unlike those who take brief visits to the islands and make misleading accounts, Nimmo learned the language of Sama Dilaut and participated in their lives. He ceased being a stranger and this is evident in his writings. While names of some places, characters, and events are fictitious, the stories in this collection are true to the culture and geography of Tawi-Tawi in the 1960s. Stories include a Filipino man seeking beauty and comfort denied him in Manila; the tragic ill-fated voyage of a young family; a Jewish woman and a German man who carry their mutual enmity to the other side of the world; a teenage couple divided by their families’ feud; and a strange house on a river filled with dead animals.
I liked all the stories. They are funny, heartbreaking, scary, hopeful, best of all, non-judgmental.
Unlike those who take brief visits to the islands and make misleading accounts, Nimmo learned the language of Sama Dilaut and participated in their lives. He ceased being a stranger and this is evident in his writings. While names of some places, characters, and events are fictitious, the stories in this collection are true to the culture and geography of Tawi-Tawi in the 1960s. Stories include a Filipino man seeking beauty and comfort denied him in Manila; the tragic ill-fated voyage of a young family; a Jewish woman and a German man who carry their mutual enmity to the other side of the world; a teenage couple divided by their families’ feud; and a strange house on a river filled with dead animals.
I liked all the stories. They are funny, heartbreaking, scary, hopeful, best of all, non-judgmental.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews