Anthropologist says Dinagyang can identify more 'roots'
Anthropologist-Educator Alicia Magos said in an interview with the Philippine Information Agency that the Dinagyang can become a "well-rooted" heritage festival if organizers and tribe leaders try to do more research and interviews with indigenous peoples who live the culture.
Magos, who holds a doctorate in Anthropology and one who immerses herself in cultural communities, said that there are groups in Panay which the tribe performers can study and consequently depict their genuine culture in their performances.
She cited the beautiful epics of the Panay Bukidnon under the tutelage of Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) awardee Federico Caballero, of Bgy. Garangan, Calinog, Iloilo. From their lengthy epics the Dinagyang tribes can get authentic stories of the nature and customs of the people that can best exemplify Ilonggo tradition.
Caballero runs the School for Living Tradition (SLT) with the assistance of the Office of the President through the National Commission for the Culture and Arts (NCCA) in Bgy. Garangan, where he teaches the younger generation the various cultural rites and traits of Panay Bukidnon.
Magos said that with the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation's thrust in promoting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the festival has projected social relevance, which must find expression in the cultural presentations of the Dinagyang tribes.
She added that housing, poverty alleviation and ecological balance, including gender issues and especially education, have indigenous expressions and implications from where the Dinagyang can find roots.
Magos appreciated the efforts of the Dinagyang Foundation as she wished it would lead to the point where foreigners who come to see the festival will not see a "poor substitute" of Ilonggo culture, but something that gives the Philippines a distinctive mark in global tourism, anchored on a spirituality and genuine devotion to the Sto. Nino.
(PIA 6/ESSubong)