Preserve the cultural heritage of the Capiznon, defend the Tumandok
Firt of Two Parts
(The following article was taken from a talk delivered by the columnist.)
Since the mid-1990s the central government of Botswana has implemented a relocation policy, aiming to move the Bushmen out of their ancestral land on the Central Kalahari Game Reserve into newly created settlements. Although the government categorically denies that relocation has been forced, a recent court ruling confirmed that the removal was unconstitutional and residents were forcibly removed. On December 13, 2006, the Bushmen won a historic ruling in their long-running court case against the government. By a 2-1 majority, the court said the refusal to allow the Basarwa into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) without a permit was "unlawful and unconstitutional." It also said the state's refusal to issue special game licenses to allow the Bushmen to hunt was "unlawful" and "unconstitutional" and found that the Bushmen were "forcibly and wrongly deprived of their possessions" by the government.
In the same manner, the native Americans, or the Indians, as we know them also encountered the same challenge. Euro-American theft of Native land and disruption of the traditional tribal economies, coupled with consistent governmental failure to live up to solemn treaty obligations [part of the "Supreme Law of the Land"], created a perpetual economic depression for Indian people long before the Industrial Revolution. As a people, Native Americans have been consistently characterized by the highest unemployment and the worst economic deprivation, the poorest health conditions and the lowest life expectancy.
There are problems like these all over the world; where native or indigenous peoples are forcibly displaced, their health concerns neglected, their women and children abused and exploited, and their arts and culture are adulterated with modern ways; but we are not like the rest of the world, we are Filipinos, first and foremost, Capiznons to say the least. The Bushmen are considered the oldest living indigenous group, they are even genetically proven to have had the genes of the first humans, hence their being called the 'genetic adam'. The native American Indians are considered the guardians of ancient American culture and tradition, which is why they have been repeatedly referred to as the 'medicine people', not because of their disease relieving practices, but because they apparently hold the key to the resolution of America's ills, both physically and intangibly. Here in our country, there are countless disputes related to the displacement of our indigen! ous peoples, the lumads, the agtas, the aetas, to name a few; and now, our very own tumandok.
This is not new to us, and neither are the concerns of our indigenous peoples. It is just unfortunate that we are unable to seriously take these concerns into consideration the way we should. Most of the time we are more concerned of how we could acquire the latest cellular phone, or how ur email in boxes become swamped with spam – I am not saying that these are not genuine concerns, of course they are, but if we have time to tinkle with our gadgetry, how come we don't have time to concern ourselves with our identity, our culture, our traditions, our being a Filipino? Our indigenous peoples are the repositories of our traditions and culture. Most of what we have now are merely offshoots of the struggles of our ancestors. The comforts that we have at home when we switch on a stove or turn on a microwave oven are still mirrored in the 'papakut' of our indigenous peoples; the OPM that we hear on the radio can be directly traced back to the 'composos' and th! e 'sugidanons' of our indigenous peoples. We are nothing without them and what pains me the most is the fact that, we, who are merely much improved versions of our ancestors, have taken a passive and dauntless stance regarding the plight of our tumandok. Perhaps we think that because of the comforts we are already enjoying, the land disputes, the health concerns, the exploitation of our native Filipinos should no longer be a concern of ours, but think again – all these things we have now we owe fully and totally to our indigenous peoples. The reason why we get the unsavory definition of 'domestic helper' for the word Filipina in some prestigious dictionary, or why we have television show directors choosing the Filipina over other Asians to portray a sex slave in some comedy show is our apparent loss of identity. If the British are known for their tea, the Americans, for the Statue of Liberty and Marilyn Monroe, can we easily say that the Filipino is known for ! our salabat, or our rice terraces, or our tinikling? I don't think so – we are only living in an illusion when we seem to promote and propagate our native culture but lose sight of the real issue at hand. (To be continued next Monday, Nov. 3)