Preserve the cultural heritage of the Capiznon, defend the Tumandok
(2nd of two parts)
Our culture and traditions are dying because the strongholds of these cultures and traditions are dwindling – our tumandok. What seems to be the problem?
Well, to tell you frankly, we are the problem – we have politicians who like to watch the 'Binanog' performed by our tumandok for tourism purposes but slink back when they are approached for assistance because some of the tribe members are suffering from tuberculosis. We have officials who like to gather tumandok indigenous crafts and display these in museums but turn a deaf ear and a blind eye when they are asked to help with ancestral land disputes. Worse, we have dance companies, choral groups, choreographers, artists, so-so cultural workers, and etc. who use the culture and arts of our indigenous people for their own benefit in the guise of helping our ancestral tribes! The national year for indigenous peoples has unfortunately become a breeding ground for such personages who seem to concern themselves with indigenous culture, arts, and traditions, but never actually take time to leave their air conditioned offices or drop the phone while conversing with the! project management division of the NCCA to hustle for a grant, for a project, that could well be converted into food or health assistance for the starving and sickly tumandok. I may be too harsh in saying this, but let's face it, this is the reality, although I am not generalizing. We all lose sight of the real issue at hand because we are too busy capitalizing on the arts and culture of our native peoples without as much as lifting a finger to help them in their day to day concerns – the concerns of our tumandok are real, material, tangible concerns. Preserving their culture and tradition through surface documentation and duplication is a selfish way to go. We want to harvest the golden egg, but we want to kill the duck that lays that golden egg. We are lucky to have certain programs now that directly address these concerns, but throw in a greedy politician or a hypocritical social worker and everything will be in vain. Remember, even before our tumandok get a t! aste of the banquet that the government offers, it will have to pass t hrough a rotten system first.
So, where do we stand now, and what do we do? If you ask me, I am as guilty as those I have been talking about, because I may have the desire to work for our tumandok and assist them in their concerns but I have not acted on this desire. You know, Edmund Burke once said, "All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." The problem with all of us at this point in time is that we have not done anything yet, really. For many of us who are more formally educated than our tumandok, there are so many things we can do to help them in their concerns. How about coming up with an immersion for starters? Or rally in front of the municipal hall or city hall? Why can we rally about oil prices and GMA but not rally against the disintegration of our identity? Because oil prices affect everything – to include the price of our cellphone load and GMA is such a novelty nowadays that it just seems the 'in' thing to rally about her. Honestly, I cannot ! keep a straight face and say that I have been doing my share as well, but let's just say that in the greater scheme of things one voice is all it takes to make all the difference. Perhaps, I am already doing my part by talking to you now because this is what I am good at. Perhaps, if we all try to do what we are good at with the common objective of helping our tumandok, maybe we could get some results.
All said it all boils down to one thing – what is important to us. If we value our identity then we are ready to take up the challenge of defending it whatever the cost. If we view our tumandok as nuisances – like the drunk ati I once saw with her infant crawling around eating her vomit – then there is no use talking in their defense. Although, if you carefully consider the situation, that drunk ati was merely a victim of the encroachment of modernization into their lives; and it would not have come to this had we all valued our indigenous peoples in the first place. I said encroachment because we are the ones encroaching, they were here way before us. I remember a seminar I attended years back where it was pointed out that going into an ancestral reserve wearing a T-shirt should not be done because this little modern piece of clothing can adversely affect the indigenous point of view of our ancestral peoples. Well, reality check – we are all wearing T-shir! ts now, and those T-shirts are metaphors for the hypocrisy that we are all so accustomed to, a hypocrisy that feigns genuine concern for our identity as Capiznons, a hypocrisy, that if left unchanged will totally and surely erase, delete, wash-out the Filipino or the Capiznon from the vocabulary of the world. I am not saying that we all parade half-naked or in loincloths; what I am saying is that we should strip ourselves of our all our pretentions and finally realize what is important to us.
The Hinilawod is the longest chant recorded, running 35 hours at times. The Binanog comes from the word 'Banog' which means 'the hawk', hence the dance imitates the graceful movements of the hawk. Hiligaynon apparently comes from the word 'ilig' which means to flow because this language is the language of our ancestral folk, the 'iliganons', who used the river to transport their wares like bamboo and lumber. Hiligaynon is a language and not just a dialect. These are only a few of the things that we should value – and value well. In closing, let me reiterate that the only way we can actually help our tumandok is to re-evaluate our priorites and validate what it is that we treasure, that we cherish, that we consider precious. When you can sincerely say that your heritage does not have a price tag, then maybe, just maybe, you have taken the first and most important step.