Storyteller
Brand X - my diversified self
Orange bead-earrings from the Mangyan dangle in my ears the same color as the Muslim scarf circling my neck, T'boli bells chime in the slightest movement of my hips, hand woven bag made from Cordillera hangs in my shoulder, Nito bracelets from the Atis in Guimaras adorns my wrists, naive needle work from the Panay-Bukidnon decorates my upper garment, while my feet tap and my body sways in the jambe beat of the Talaandig tribe. I am a mixture of everything.
"Kapwa-2" Conference was successful in gathering the Indigenous People in Luzon Visayas and Mindanao and other countries like the Ainu of Japan and the Maori of New Zealand together with artists and academes advocating the Indigenous Culture. The reunion took place at the University of the Philippines last June 25-28.
Datu Waway Saway of the Talandig tribe spoke of the immortality of the Indigenous Knowledge. Maria "Oyog" Todi from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato with her royal appeal discouraged "dole out mentality" and promoted village enterprise for a sustainable community. Ruel Bimuyag from the Cordilera showed the importance of family in preserving the Indigenous Culture, he attended Kapwa with his wife Irene to promote and share their culture with other IPs in the conference. Amang Baoy Caballero from the Panay-Bukidnon, Calinog as a teacher in the School for Living Traditions inspired fellow SLT teachers to teach with passion not for honorariums. Apo Layon Sansag stood with pride in the authenticity of the Mangyan Script and the melodious Mangyan poetry and chanters Federico Tuohan Caballero, Apo Mendung Sabal and Jason Domling awakened the "Indigeniousity" in us with their soulful spontaneous impressions about the gathering.
In search for my identity I immersed myself in different tribal communities in the Philippines as a result I,'ve become fragments of those little experiences. I left my heart 12 years ago in Lake Sebu, I fell in love with the place, its people and their culture. In my college days I was a lost T'boli wannabee in a university campus in Iloilo. In 1994 I lived with a foster family in General Santos City, they belong to the Tausug tribe of the Muslims. I stayed with them for 6 months. They welcomed me in their home while I was sent away by my family. They respected my diet as a vegetarian, in return I fasted with them during Ramadan. When I started working as a photojournalist I obsessed myself in documenting Atis in the city. I ate with them, hang out with them, laugh with them and listened to their stories all night while they were drunk. In one of my Holidays I spent it in the Cordillera, I had my Christmas in Kalinga, New Year in Sagada and Three Kings in Baguio. I found a mother in Kalinga, "Ina," language was not a barrier for us, we had moments of intimacy. She laughed at me when I crawled as I cross the Chico Dam, she said she was older than the dam but she herself crawls everytime she crosses it. Chanting and Dancing around a bon fire from night til' dawn in Sagada renewed my spirit and my knee was stitched in Baguio City, freshly squeezed carrot juice and strawberries healed my wound fast.
Before Kapwa I feel like I am a mixture of quality rejects of Tide, Ajax, Ariel soap powders sold cheap as Brand X in the market, an imitation of a perfumewhich smells like a pesticide, a fake signature dress which fades in one wash and as disposable as a pirated DVD. For a moment I doubted myself, my identity, then pity came over me. I pity myself for not belonging in a tribe. I pity myself because I don't have a distinct culture to be proud of. Moreover I pity myself because I have this primeval calling, a tribal heart beating and a mind full of "Indigeniuosity" trapped in the mediocrity of life in the city, buried in the hypocrisy of the so called "being cultured and civilized" and weakened by the demanding social public.
After Kapwa, I realized that my Brand X Self is actually an identity that needs no identification, in fact it is a mixture of the best qualities of each tribe, fragrant and beautiful as the strawberries in Banawe, grand and intricate as the Tinalak of Lake Sebu and eternal as the spirit of the mountains. Although I don't belong to a certain tribal group, my greatest discovery was my "Diversified Self". My struggle for belongingness ended because I am welcomed and i am open for more discoveries.
I want to be immortal like the Talaandig. I admire the vigilance and faith of the Muslims. I am trying to be graceful like T'boli women. I want to learn how proud the Mangyans are and yet meek in every sense. The enthusiasm of the Panay Bukidnon taught me to love life. I want to be happy and gay like the Itas and my spirit would like to soar in the mountains of the Cordillera . . .though I am already a vegetarian like the Ainu and loud and expressive as the Maori. . .
Tatay Kidlat indeed strucked me with a thousand volts of inspirations and Nanay Katrin de Guia helped me clear the path to where I am going . . .Thank you for the Kapwa experience.