BRIDGING THE GAP
Kapwa, the relevance of indigenous knowledge in the age of globalization
One of the most significant features of the indigenous knowledge systems and practices, especially in Asian countries, is the tendency to see the world with all its beings, both human and lower forms, as a holistic system where everything operates interdependently and inter-relatedly. This orientation is referred to by some anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists and cultural workers in the Philippines as kapwa - the shared self - in the Filipino traditional system. It is a system where harmony with other people and the environment is a much-needed trait. However, because of modernization and globalization, this particular trait is being threatened into oblition in today's global village.
In the last week of June 2008, scholars, culture-bearers, cultural practitioners and cultural workers from many parts of the Philippines and from other countries gathered at UP in the Visayas in Iloilo City. Focusing on the relevance of indigenous knowledge and practices in the age of globalization, the week-long gathering consisted of a conference, art exhibits, ritual and dance performances, film showings, epic chanting, workshops, round table discussions, symposia, and many more.
The international gathering provided the proper venue where academic scholars, artists and living practitioners of indigenous knowledge discussed the need for a more balanced approach to education where non-Western value systems and ways of knowing are duly recognized. It highlighted the contributions of indigenous value systems and traditional ways of knowing and evaluated these alongside the more familiar Western approaches.
In the 1990s, Dr. Virgilio Enriquez, a UP professor and scholar, introduced a scientific model of the Filipino personality that has sparked academic discussions, especially in school campuses. He advanced the idea that, despite centuries of colonization, Filipino culture bearers have maintained the unique holistic approach of their ancestors, i.e., their "inclusive" sense of personhood (kapwa) which is profoundly different from the "exclusive" orientation of the "self-centered" personality in Western societies.
Presenters in the conference included the scholar Dr. Melba Maggay from Quezon City, Dr. Elizabeth Protacio de Castro of the Pambansang Samahan ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino, the American scholars Dr. Lily Mendoza and Dr. Jim Perkinson, the Japanese professor Reiko Ogawa, the Australian -based Filipino researcher Dr. Rogelia Pe-Pua, the Magdalena Jalandoni chronicler Prof. Alicia Tan Gonzales, the anthropologist and central Panay specialist Dr. Alicia Magos, and the Panay-Bukidnon epic chanter and GAMABA awardee Federico Caballero.
The other invited resource speakers were the UP scholar Dr Brenda Fajardo, the Filipino composer and theorist Felipe de Leon Jr., the West Visayan historian and sinamay researcher Dr. Henry Funtecha, the Waray language specialist Dr. Victor Sugbo, the cultural advocates Mr. Al Tesoro of Capiz and Ms. Ma. Felicia Flores of Antique, the Ilonggo psychiatrist Dr. Henrietta Cabado Espanola, the Director of the Tokyo Mineikan Research Institute of Films on Folk Culture Mr. Himeda Tadayoshi, the Ifugao ritualist Jason Domling, and others.
The main sponsors of the multi-layered conference were the Heritage and Arts Academy of the Philippines, Inc., represented by Dr. Katrin de Guia and the film-maker Kidlat Tahimik, and the U.P. in the Visayas through Dr. Ma. Luisa Mabunay, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension.