Quarter Assessment in English 5

Ginum: A Bagobo Festival

by Lina B. Diaz de Rivera

The Bagobo people live in the highlands of Davao. They have lived there for a long time.

Today there are only a few hundred Bagobo. They live far away from the big towns and cities. They still do many things that their ancestors did many years ago.

The Bagobo have a great festival called Ginum. This means time for drinking."

The Ginum may be set any time during the year. The Bagobo leader decides when the Ginum takes place. It must always be when the moon is brightest. The festival lasts for four days.

Many things happen at the Ginum. It is a time for storytelling. The Bagobo have many myths and legends. These stories tell about their beginnings. Many stories tell about the Bagobo heroes.

The Ginum is also a time to offer gifts to the gods. The Bagobo believe in many gods. The greatest of these gods is Pamulak Manobo. He gives life, good harvests, rain and wind. The Bagobos offer food and drink to Pamulak Manobo and the other gods. Sometimes they also offer brass bells, bracelets and fine herbs.

The Ginum has a ceremony for cleansing young Bagobo men. The Bagobos believe that the ceremony will make the young men pure in mind and body.

The ceremony is done as soon as the sun rises. The priestess leads the Bagobo men to the river. There on the bank a little altar is set. The priestess carries a palm leaf that is just beginning to bud. The budding palm means purity.

The priestess dances while the eldest Bagobo prays at the altar. The priestess dips the palm leaf into the river, holds it over the heads of five young men, one at a time. She does this nine times. Then they run to the east. She bathes them nine times more.

At the end of the Ginum, the older Bagobos would talk about bravery. The young men are quiet as they listen to the stories. In their minds, they begin to dream. They dream of brave things they will do when they are old enough. They dream of becoming heroes, too.

Multiple Choice

This story is about ____________.

• special holiday for Bagobo people

• a party for Bagobo heroes

• the people of Davao

Multiple Choice

A priestess is most like ____________.

• a beautiful queen

• a loving mother

• a religious leader

Multiple Choice

The Bagobos offer food and drink to the gods because _____________.

• they want to thank the gods

• the gods want to have a feast

• the priestess told them to do so

Multiple Choice

The older Bagobo tells stories to the young Bagobos ___________.

• to tell them how to celebrate the feast

• to show them how to be brave

• to make them take a bath in the river

Multiple Choice

When the Bagobo young men grow up they will most likely be ___________.

• good drinkers

• brave warriors

• Bagobo priests

Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meaning. Read the following sentences and choose the word that has the same meaning as the underlined word.

Multiple Choice

Loneliness can have a negative effect on the body.

• poor

• bad

• worse

Multiple Choice

Friendly classmates can make someone happy.

• Accommodating

• Exciting

• Appealing

Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning. Read the following sentences and choose the adjective that is opposite in meaning to the underlined adjective.

Multiple Choice

The brilliant idea came from our class president.

• poor

• unremarkable

• questionable

Multiple Choice

My eighth birthday party was the most exciting one!

• unforgettable

• dreadful

• boring

Open Ended

Construct a meaningful sentence using an adverb of manner.

Open Ended

Construct a meaningful sentence using an adverb of time.

Open Ended

Construct a meaningful sentence using an adverb of place.

Open Ended

Construct a meaningful sentence using an adverb of degree.

Open Ended

Connect the two sentences using an appropriate coordinating conjunction.

Emmanuel left early for school.

He forgot to bring his English textbook.

Open Ended

Connect the two sentences using an appropriate subordinating conjunction.

Carlo saves some of his allowance.

He wants to buy a present for his mom's birthday.

Open Ended

Use the following correlative conjunctions in a sensible sentence.

not only . . . but also

Open Ended

Answer the question in a paragraph form.

What is the biggest lesson you've learned this school year? Given the we're still in the middle of a pandemic.