These days, the popularity of the bahay kubo is once again finding its way into the hearts and minds of our countrymen. Despite the rise of modern concrete and hardwood houses, many people are now choosing to buy ready-made nipa huts and set them up in available spaces on their properties.
Being part of the culture, architects often incorporate the structural elements of this native hut into the design of modern houses using sawali, nipa, bamboo, and rattan.
Even in fine art and decorative painting on canvas, the image of bahay kubo is a must-have to portray the countryside; most often, this kind of canvas painting graces the walls of most Filipinos living abroad.
Especially during the summer, when the heat becomes almost unbearable, staying in a bahay kubo offers a refreshing escape. It is the perfect place to enjoy fresh air, cool down, and spend quality time chatting with friends and family.
Oh, what a good thing that would be, leisurely reading a pocketbook, taking your nap in that native house, and on waking up, you can take a matching snack of bibingka (rice cake) and salabat (ginger ale).
The coziness of staying at Bahay Kubo, especially in hot weather, is a good alternative for entertaining your visitors, especially if you want some privacy, because accommodating them in your living room might distract other family members.
There is one hassle that you might encounter: those pesky mosquitoes. And if those mosquitoes are bothering you, there are some kinds of incense, katol, or offspray that you can use, or if that is not enough, you can cover the house with a mosquito net.
Having a native hut in the city is quite a challenge too, in a way of being a fire hazard.
I remember that time in the early 60s when we lived in an old Nipa House. In some parts of the roof, we had to cover them with iron sheets to protect them from the strong winds caused by typhoons.
Not only that, during the X’mas season when the firecrackers were most prevalent, there was always the fear that the roof made of Nipa might catch fire—I as a young boy was oftentimes on the lookout for boys who were throwing firecrackers in the neighbourhood
The appeal of the bahay kubo is easy to understand. For one, it is deeply rooted in our culture. It symbolizes family unity and simplicity. In the past, most of our kababayans lived in these humble homes, while only the relatively wealthy could afford concrete houses.
Whatever your age and wherever you live, this grade school song “ Bahay Kubo Kahit Munti” is forever part of your psyche, and you can easily sing that song from memory, thereby imagining those vegetables and plants planted around the Kubo’s surroundings.
If you grew up in the city, you may find yourself longing to see a bahay kubo from time to time. More often than not, you would have to travel to the provinces to find rows of these charming native houses, standing as proud reminders of our heritage.
Oh ,” Bahay Kubo kahit munti, ang halaman doon ay sari sari… “ is part of the song lyric that will forever linger in the hearts and minds of every Filipino soul.