Little Heirlooms

Family heirlooms. I spent some time considering this. The more I thought about it, we haven't really got one on the Filipino side, which strikes me as strange, coming from having read the story. Why? The author sends the idea across that this is a sort of tradition among Filipino families. I get this impression because I was raised away from my Filipino side, and thus have little insight into the subject. Since I was not present during the discussion, I did a little research and learned that the author took up writing at the University of Iowa. So I presume that many or at least some of his readers were Americans, perhaps Francisco was trying to show similarity yet difference in culture. Similar in the sense that Filipinos also have family heirlooms, yet different because of what is considered to be a family heirloom. One expects these things to be rings, watches, trinkets and other oddities, but 'the Mat' as in 'Banig' is something unique to South East Asia.
On to the point: Some European families also practice handing down heirlooms, in my case it is our family crest. This link will take you to a picture of it: http://www.chgh.net/heraldik/b/bue/buergi.htm
Each member of my family has an heirloom depicting this crest. However it isn't handed down until the present holder decides to. My uncle Armin has a gold ring with the crest, my aunt Barbara has a painting, my grandmother holds a book with family history, which she says she will entrust to me when she is no longer able to keep it, while my father holds a mirror with the crest etched on it. Traditionally, crests serve to identify a family. Families sharing the same last name sometimes have similar crests, differing only some minute details, mine is the one from Lyss. The crest gives me a connection with my country, an identity and sense of belonging, yet it sets you apart, because yours is unique. One day, I'm going to inherit that mirror, and just like in the story, it gives me a sense of pride. It sort of gives me a sense of unity.