Definitely worth fighting for

Chuyo landscape

Kasifa nu eg tayo idavan...

Chuyo Updates

Early this morning, my sister Jessica brought some folders to the national office of the NCIP in Quezon city. These folders contained the following:

1. Certified xerox copy of the file of the Heirs of Mateo Carino and Bayosa Ortega docketed as BC-0364-CJ presently undergoing processing by the NCIP Baguio office since 2004, including earlier documents from the DENR CSTFAL.

2. Protest filed by the Heirs of Mateo Carino and Bayosa Ortega against the Petition for Validation of CALC and for Issuance of CALT by the Heirs of Ikang Paus docketed as BC-0122-GVJ, dated December 9 2008.

3. Order of the NCIP Regional Hearing Office CAR on the above mentioned protest, dated December 10, 2008, which advised the Commission en banc to suspend deliberations on the CALT application of the Paus family.

Jessica had these folders received in the offices of four commissioners, and by the clerk for the 3 other commissioners. Only one commissioner, Commissioner Rizalino Segundo of Region 2, was present. He informed her that the Commission en banc had already deliberated on the Paus claim positively, in a meeting in Baguio. Since this was endorsed favorably by the NCIP Baguio Officer Gladys Lasdacan, NCIP CAR Regional Director Amador-Batay-an, and Ancestral Domains Officer Myrna Caoagas, the Commissioners are ready and just waiting to sign the resolution awarding the CALT to the Heirs of Ikang Paus.

NCIP Chair Eugenio Insigne was not in his office. Jessica was informed that he would be out for the day, and would be going to Malacanang tomorrow. Hopefully, this visit to Malacanang does not have anything to do with Chuyo.

In a phone call this morning, Commissioner Insigne informed UNPFII Chair Victoria Tauli-Corpuz that the Commission was deliberating on awarding 67 hectares to the Paus family because they showed proof that they developed the area for 60 years.

These developments look bad not only for the Carino claim, but more so for the NCIP, whose mandate is to uphold the rights and well-being of the indigenous peoples. We hope that with proper consideration of the submitted documents, the NCIP Commission en banc will realize the validity of the Carino claim, and give due recognition to our rights to our ancestral land that we have long been fighting for since as early as the American colonial regime.

May the Commissioners be guided by the wisdom of our ancestors and by their commitment to uphold the rights of the rightful claimants and the indigenous people in the country.

And to the descendants of Bayosa: Hey folks, get moving. Don't be a sitting duck in this brazen case of corruption presently unfolding.

A Land Scam in the Making

Engineer Victor Bumatnong of NCIP Baguio Office,

and Atty. Stacey Ann Dumalan of Department of Agriculture

conducted ocular survey of Chuyo with the descendants of

Mateo Carino and Bayosa Ortega

on February 7, 2008.

Despite going through an ocular and actual survey of our family's ancestral land claim over Chuyo, the NCIP Baguio Office recently endorsed the claim of the Heirs of Ikang Paus, over the same piece of land to the Commission en banc.

The processing of fraudulent CALTs by the NCIP may be the next big money-making venture for enterprising NCIP officials.

Resuscitating a Dead Cat

This cat has died many times over. But its creators rage against this fact, and employ black magic to resuscitate the dead.

You can find here and here some links to some chapters in the saga of the ancestral land claim of the Heirs of Ikang Paus to the Baguio Dairy Farm in Chuyo, Baguio city.

Here, and here, you can find decisions from the Court of Appeals on a preliminary injunction issued by the NCIP Regional Hearing Office to the Heirs of Ikang Paus.

Close Encounters With Corruption

94 hectares in Chuyo

is the object of greed and corruption.

I have always known that our government is corrupt. But now, I have the opportunity to witness it up close and personal, as a scam presently unfolds.

 Allow me to share with you updates of our dealings with the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), as we try to get a CALT to  our ancestral land in Chuyo. Being one of the last undeveloped wide areas in Baguio, this land is coveted by the greedy and unscrupulous. Not all the main characters in this drama have been identified yet, but will soon be, as events will soon disclose whose sticky hands are in the pie.

For a background, Chuyo belonged to the family of Bayosa Ortega four generations back. Cows grazed there. A portion was planted to camote. And a few family homes were scattered in the hillsides. It is said that among some rocks in a steep slope are the bones of our ancestors.

In 1920, a survey plan of the area was applied for and approved by the Bureau of Lands in Bayosa's name. Also in her name is a tax declaration over the property dated July 6, 1929. In 1945, then President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Proclamation 603 which declared roughly 94 hectares of Bayosa's land as public reservation for animal breeding purposes. This is now known as the Dairy Farm located at Green Valley. Since then, our family has been deprived of our rights to our ancestral land.

With  openings in recent legislation to correct historical injustice (eg. DAO 2, IPRA), the family pursued our claims, first under the DENR, and presently under the NCIP. Unfortunately, these claims, though backed by hard documentary evidence, never prospered to this date.

In 2002, I first got personally involved, when we built a small house inside the Dairy Farm. This was my first taste of the corruption and violence involved in attending to ancestral land claims in Baguio city.

In 2004, we filed our application for CALT in the NCIP Baguio office. We complied with all requirements and steps. And this slow and painful process has finally brought us nearer to our goal, as we had accomplished a survey of the Dairy Farm last November 14, 2008, in the presence of officials of the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Animal Industry, and the NCIP.

However, while following up and waiting for the good engineer of NCIP Baguio to finalize his report on the survey, we discovered that another family claimant, with no relation to the Carinos, is like a galloping stallion to our handicapped mare, and is winning the race to the finish line.

We were informed in the NCIP Baguio office, that this other family was able to accomplish in two weeks what we were striving to do, for the past two decades. Well, I believe this is a scam in the making, and I hope getting people aware of these facts will help put a stop to this brazen sins of corruption happening in our midst.

Abangan ang susunod na kabanata...

Masaplora

If you have a taste for ampalaya salad, try another delicious bitter vegetable, masaplora shoots.

These shoots come from the native variety of the passion fruit, which produces egg-sized fruits, which turn purple when ripe. In my childhood, masaplora vines used to thrive around our home, and we collected the tart and deeply-flavored fruit for a delicious snack and to make juice with, for bringing to school. During those days, this variety was the more common one, and when we came across the American masap with fruits that turn golden when ripe, and have a sweeter but less intense taste, we used to fight over these treasures. Now, with the wisdom of my years, I come to appreciate the purple masaplora over its golden counterpart. Unfortunately,  this variety is now difficult to get hold of. The rare times I see them for sale, I buy a few and savor a flavor of my childhood. During the Adivay Festival, I was able to buy a bunch.

Being a city-bred girl, I did not know that the shoot of this vine is edible. Only later, meeting the likes of Santong, did I come to appreciate this food. The leaves are a healthy, glowing and growing shade of green, and can reinforce one's healthy resolutions. They are best prepared simply, by sauteing some garlic then the freshly washed leaves, allowing the leaves to cook in several teaspoons of water. Season with salt, and the dish is ready to be served with rice. A bite of this dish is nutrition-packed, and brings to mind simple lifestyles and less hectic times.

I know some people who swear that their favorite food is lightly sauteed masaplora shoots. A first taste may shock the uninitiated, but as you continue eating, the unique flavor grows on you, which drives some people to regularly search for this vegetable.

The shoots are available for sale in one of the stops along Mountain Trail from Bontoc to Baguio. I have also found them being sold outside the Hangar market. Twenty pesos gives you a good bunch enough to serve 3 or 4 people as a side dish.#

Expertise in Waste Management

Baguio city is experiencing an unprecedented garbage crisis which has stumped our city officials.

Here is my unsolicited advice to the newly-organized City Environment Management office (CEMO): Consult the indigenous experts in waste management. The indigenous migrants in Baguio city are bearers of traditional knowledge and cultures with extremely light ecological footprints. From them, we can learn how to deal with garbage at source, before it needs to be collected and transported to dumpsites or landfills. Before recycling became the rage, indigenous peoples had mastered the art of zero waste management, making optimum use of resources at hand.

One shining example is to be found in Barangay San Luis, where migrant families from Mt. Province continue to practice their tradition of simple living. Geraldine Cacho of ORNUS shares the following innovations and practices of the indigenous migrants in Barangay San Luis, which surely go a long way in reducing, reusing, and recycling wastes.

Organic wastes are put to good use in their home gardens. Animal wastes, ashes of burned dried leaves and papers, and biomass from wild plants like sunflower are used as fertilizers. Those who raise pigs collect left-overs from food chains, restaurants, and hotels; fruit and vegetable rejects and peelings from the Baguio market and La Trinidad Trading Post. Jeeploads of these valuable organic materials are recycled for pig food. Those who cook the food for the pigs use waste paper, cartons, and dried leaves and twigs.

Cans and plastic containers are recycled by the San Luis residents. Big cooking oil cans are used as water containers and for planting vegetables and medicinal plants. Small cans are used in gardens  to help retain the soil at the top of their stone walls.

Due to lack of water in the community, available water is optimized. Rainwater is harvested and grey water from washing clothes is reused to clean the pig pens before finally being channeled to the garden.

These initiatives are not documented by government, but definitely contribute towards reducing the wastes which need to be collected and transported to dumpsites. Hopefully, these efforts would soon be recognized, and these indigenous experts be tapped as valuable partners in solving Baguio's garbage problem.

Learning the Language of my Ancestors

Maumau Chaxadi Clan Reunion 2008

Finally, some city-bred Ibaloi folks are doing what they had previously resolved to do some day: to learn the Ibaloi language.

I have always been a bit shamefaced and sheepish when my relatives would try to start a conversation in Ibaloi, needing to decide quickly what to do. Do I just nod my head and pretend to understand, or be honest and admit that I never learned the language? And when we attend clan reunions, cousins joke each other that we need an interpreter to be able to understand what is going on. 

So, we have started our Ibaloi language lessons. Vicky Macay and Auntie Rebecca from Loakan are our teachers. We are learning the Ibaloi of Baguio, which is slightly different from the Ibaloi of Itogon, and other neighboring towns. Our strategy is to have informal conversations in Ibaloi, and to question each other and our teachers on ways to express common ideas and phrases. Each student takes notes, which are reviewed over the week, in preparation for the next lesson.

Our first lesson was full of laughter as we started to appreciate the humor and culture of our ancestors. Short and simple English words translate into multi-syllabic equivalents. Short is entitikey (NTTK in text language), and up is naikayang. And kayang is naijahangkang! Yes! Ibaloi is a wonderful language, making maximum use of sh, j, and f. 

Our strategy seems to be working. After two lessons, my notebook is filling up with Ibaloi words and phrases. I can understand what is going on and won't allow myself to be sold by my Ibaloi relatives.  We can now text each other in Ibaloi and I look forward to the day when we will be able to write articles, and maybe a song in Ibaloi.

It is said that each language reflects a unique world-view. As we acquire new words and phrases, we take a peep into the world of our great-grandparents. Here's a taste of Ibaloi philosophy: "No towey kad-an ni asok, sikatoy daguan mo". (Go where the smoke is.)#

Home Gardens in Barangay San Luis

Home gardens around the world are now recognized to improve the quality of life for urban dwellers. They promote food security by providing a year-round supply of nutritious food for the family. They complement family income with harvests which can be sold to neighbors or be brought to the market. They provide pleasant surroundings and contribute to greening up the neighborhood.

In Barangay San Luis, Baguio city, home gardens optimize the skill and traditional knowledge of indigenous migrants from interior villages of Mt. Province. For them, it is second nature to maintain a home garden, and those who do not are considered lazy. Gerry Cacho of ORNUS, alliance of urban poor organizations in Baguio,  shares the following:

Common Plants. Among the San Luis home gardens, it is common to find sayote, camote, gabi, and legumes like itab and patani. Sayote and camote shoots are readily available for a nutritious meal. While the root crops of camote and gabi provide healthy, filling snacks for growing children. Several varieties of camote and gabi are maintained: some for their leaves, some for their edible roots, and all useful for particular needs of the family.

Home gardeners also grow a few medicinal plants like lemon grass and ginger to maintain the health needs of the family. Fruit trees like dayap, avocado, guava and bananas are also part of the garden, when the necessary space is available.

Animal Raising. Animals are part of the home garden. Pigs, dogs and chickens are raised to support the practice of traditional rituals related to sickness, death and weddings in the city. Some practices require specific features such as a black pig or a native chicken, thus encouraging families to raise their own animals. Pigs are kept in pens, and are fed produce from the garden and organic wastes from the community and beyond. While chickens are allowed to roam freely, helping themselves to goodies in the garden.

Seed Exchange. First generation migrants carried their traditional seeds to the city, and propagated these in their home gardens in San Luis. They also carried with them their traditional practice of seed saving and exchange, sharing their seeds with neighbors, friends and relatives. This practice has maintained some varieties through the years to the present third generation of migrant families. Some varieties though have been lost, and some gardeners resort to buying commercial seeds in the market.

Children help out. Children are encouraged to maintain their own gardens and raise their own animals. They are allowed to sell their produce, and use the cash for their own needs. However, many children are losing interest in gardening, and are lured to other income-generating activities such as selling plastic bags or fruits in the market or sidewalks of Baguio. These activities are preferred because they are easier and money comes everyday, unlike gardening which requires patience and waiting for months before harvest.

Steps Forward. The community organization recently made an appraisal of their home gardens, and brainstormed on ways to strengthen the traditional practice. As a result, families are gaining inspiration and strength in improving their gardens and setting up new ones for new crops and vegetables, which will help them cope with the food crisis.

The San Luis home gardens are presently invisible to city planners and environmentalists, but surely enhance the city's ecology and increase biodiversity by converting empty lots and unused spaces to green patches which attract beneficial insects and birds.

Agbiag!

IS THE IBALOI LANGUAGE ENDANGERED?

A UNESCO publication (Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing by Stephen A. Wurm) estimates that of the 6,000 languages spoken in the world today, at least half are endangered, seriously endangered or dying.

One situation in which a language becomes endangered and threatens to disappear is when a community comes into contact with carriers of a more aggressive culture, who speak another language. Another is when the habitat and livelihood of the speakers of local languages are destroyed by the actions of people of a dominant culture.

Both situations happened one hundred years ago in Kafagway and neighboring rancherias, home to the Ibaloi. The Americans saw the mountains, smelt the pinetrees, felt the cold winds and were overcome with homesickness. They then proceeded to declare the place the rest, recuperation, and recreation center for themselves, at the expense of the Ibaloi people who lived there since time immemorial. This dislocation led to the marginalization of the Ibaloi and made them strangers in their own lands.

Four generations later, we see the aftermath on the Ibaloi language in Baguio city. Within our clan, the Ibaloi language is hardly spoken, and not at all among the children and youth. This is one sign of endangered languages: a dwindling number of children who speak it.

However, on a more cheerful note, the Ibaloi language is spoken by the children in neighborhoods in the outskirts of Baguio city, in Ucab, Dalupirip, and other barrios of Itogon, and across the province of Benguet. And while there are still Ibalois who speak the language, there is still hope that it will regain vitality.

Calling all Ibalois in Baguio who did not have the opportunity to learn the language. Please join the Ibaloi weekly converstions, by Ibalois and their friends, on Ibaloi language and culture, which will start at 3pm on November 22, 2008. Kidlat Tahimik has graciously accepted to host our conversations at the Victor Oteyza Community Arts Space (VOCAS) at the top floor of the Azotea Building in Upper Session Road. And our aunties from Loakan are willing to guide us in our Ibaloi conversations.

Hopefully, these conversations will lead to our learning and refreshing of conversational Ibaloi, and also spark initiatives to bring Ibaloi heritage and culture in from the margins.

Please come.

Cordillera Green Architecture and Zero Waste Technology

For zero waste, pigs are essential. They will consume all your kitchen scraps and more: the entire gabi, camote, and banana plants, leftovers and surplus food from feasts, and everything else.

In Mountain Province, the design of the traditional pigpen (khungowan in Bontoc) has been perfected through time. It exemplifies the philosophy behind traditional knowledge. It is practical, simple, makes optimum use of resources, serves multiple functions, and gets a job done well.

Though I am no architect, I guess this design passes standards in planning the use of space, based on need and function. Stonewalls define the oval shape with an extension on one end. This extension is the private space for the family of pigs, where they sleep and reproduce. This space is kept private and cozy by a roof and wooden ceiling. The latter also serves as a sturdy floor for humans who visit this space for a certain daily ritual.

Next to the bedroom is the open dining and living area. On the wall are several protruding stepping-stones, for easy access of food servers. There is a feeding trough of carved wood or stone. The floor is made of stone, and is slightly sloped downwards, towards the pit at the other end. This pit serves the important function of collecting wastes. Once a year before planting season, this pit is emptied of its precious contents into baskets called gimata. The chosen one then positions a pair of baskets on either end of a pole, carries this on a shoulder then races to the ricefields with this offering of organic fertilizer.

Care for the pigs is a family affair and provides precious bonding moments and quality time together. Twice a day, the pigs' food has to be prepared and served. This makes a good and acceptable excuse for going home early.

This house design makes everybody happy: the pigs, the rice fields, the daily visitor, the family, and the community, which will occasionally partake of feasts of organic pork.

From Baswit to Tiyom to Cultural Master

When Baswit was in college in the eighties, he was active in the national minority youth and student movement in Baguio city. He so generously shared his knowledge and talent in Kalinga music with other youth who were searching for grounding in Cordillera indigenous culture. He told us stories of heirloom gongs, whose sounds invited neighboring villages to festivities, and which his father buried when his hometown was militarized because of their opposition to the Chico river dam project. He initiated us in the finer points of striking a gong, with a palm held flat or cupped, or with a stick, for various Kalinga rhythms. He taught us to distinguish the ullalim from the uggayam from the salidummay. He, along with Macoy, Rito, and Kennedy, patiently translated the protest songs, which originated from villages along the Chico river during their historic and heroic struggle to keep the river flowing.

When asked if he could teach us how to play the instruments, Baswit would start with scheduling a trip to the bamboo groves outside of Baguio city, and then identifying which type of bamboo is suitable for particular instruments. He told us of the right way to harvest bamboo, so they would last long. He taught us how to use our palms, elbows, and fingers to get the right measurements for a Kalinga flute. He introduced us to the ballingbing (zithers), tongatong (stomping tubes), paldong (mouth flute), kullitong (bamboo guitar),  kalaleng (nose flute), and the kulibao (jaws' harp). 

Nobody can play the kulibao like Baswit. His mastery of the kulibao certainly deserves recognition. Several times, I have witnessed people, upon hearing Baswit play the kulibao, look around for the hidden speakers, and laugh out loud in wonder, when they realize that the rhythmic sound they hear is produced with a tiny bamboo instrument.

Through the years, Baswit participated in recordings of the Salidummay, and is responsible for much of the instrumental music which you hear in the first to the sixth albums. It was also he who informed us that our gongs needed tuning, and then borrowed the set to perform the needed procedures.

Recently, we bumped into Baswit. He related how he survived a severe sickness which almost killed him. And he was given a new name, Tiyom, by his tribe in a ritual.

With a new lease on life, he presently conducts music lessons among the Kalinga youth based in Baguio city. He is passing on his knowledge and skill to others, ensuring that this musical heritage is kept alive.

If you wish to learn Kalinga music, try to find Baswit, also known as Tiyom, cultural master of Lin-awa Center for Culture and Arts, with office at Room C203 Lopez Building, Session Road, Baguio city. Ask him, too, to tell you stories of the Baguio market.

The Gift of Traditional Knowledge

Thanks to Borky for the artwork

Here are the lyrics of one of the songs in Chuwassi, Salidummay's 6th album, to be released in a launching concert on November 18, 2008, 6:30 pm, at the UP Baguio Auditorium. Don't miss it...

The Gift

The gift was nurtured through the times to be a guiding light

The gift was handed down the ages from the elders to the child

I learned to love my land of birth, the mountains and the trees

I learned the secrets of the earth, the sky, the wind, the seas

It taught me when to work the land, and when to watch and wait

When to sow and when to reap and when to celebrate

I learned to share my time, my skill, my harvest and my labor

I learned to give and to receive the caring of my neighbor

To give respect to nature, each creature has its ways

To celebrate all cultures, each people has their ways

Walk lightly on the planet, this message must be heard

The gift of simple living, we offer to the world

The gift was nurtured through the times to be a guiding light

And now it teaches me that I must carry on the fight

Ibaloi Centennial Initiative: In from the Margins

Some scenes from the founding congress of Chiva ni Doakan

top: lunch cooked in silyasi

bottom: Rosela Camte-Bahni explains Chiva

Some recent developments show the Baguio Ibalois taking steps to assert their identity and heritage.

Yesterday, a forum at the Baguio City Hall focused on the displacement of the native Ibalois in the formation of the chartered city, and called for rectification of the historical injustice. Joanna Carino presented a case study on how Mateo and Bayosa Carino were legislated out of their home in what is now the site of Baguio City Hall. Other Ibaloi clans were also in attendance, and shared similar stories of their families. Representatives of government agencies listened and responded that the Ibalois' voice must certainly be heard when the comprehensive land use plan for the city shall be updated at the end of this year.

Another welcome development was the founding congress of Chiva ni Doakan (Center for Ibaloi Heritage and Loakan History), held last October 18, 2008. The Ibaloi community of Loakan gathered to formally launch their efforts to collect, document, preserve and educate people about Ibaloi heritage and Loakan history. Their vision is for the Ibaloi and Loakan residents to be knowledgeable and proud of their active heritage. The initial result of their documentation efforts are presently available for public view at the Baguio Mountain Province Museum near UP Baguio.

With these, the Baguio Ibaloi clans are slowly making their presence felt in preparation for the Baguio Centenial, and coming in from the margins...

WANTED: Gaki from Balas-iyan

Lola Wilna and grandsons,

who were successfully breastfed

with the help of tengba.

Women from Besao would nod their heads in agreement. But for the rest -- gaki are small freshwater crabs, and Balas-iyan is the place where the right variety is found for a successful tengba.  And of course, tengba is that fermented mixture of gaki, salt, and pounded rice, which is said to help a mother produce enough milk to nurse her new-born baby.

When I gave birth to my first-born, my mother-in-law who hails from Besao brought me tengba. She explained the difficulty in getting the right crabs. Attempts to use available crabs in the Baguio market called kappi, resulted in a bitter batch. While crabs from the river in Besao resulted in a tasteless one. Thus, experience has taught the women of Besao that it is essential the crabs come from the river near Balas-iyan, found in the tri-boundary of Mountain Province, Abra, and Ilocos Sur, which is apparently clean, and not affected by pollution.

In Besao, tengba is served with etag and chicken to guests who come to celebrate the birth of a first-born. This is an occasion for the community to give support to a young mother, to help bolster her self-confidence as she faces a new task to care for her new-born, and to share experience and advise on motherhood. Of course, the tengba itself offers the right nutrition for a nursing mother. I guess calcium and protein from the crabs, and Vitamin B and carbohydrates from the rice, and possibly other vital nutrients for milk production still unknown. 

What a fine practice to show support to a young mother, far superior to the situation of urban-based mothers who, when confronted with problems in nursing their babies, run to the grocery to buy a can of formula milk!

Well, if you are fortunate enough to have some gaki from Balas-iyan, here's the procedure. Place your prized catch in an earthen or glass jar. Separate the legs from the bodies. Place lots of salt, and leave it to ferment for two weeks. Then pound some rice (the ordinary rice, not the sticky variety) and mix it with the fermented mixture. Allow the tengba to rest for at least one week and up to a year. You can use the paste for soups, with vegetables, or chicken. Enjoy!

Certified Organic by Mother Petra

Mother Petra needs no certification from the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), and has no plans of going through the lengthy and expensive process of getting one. She has been practicing traditional organic agriculture her whole life, and has put to good use the practical traditional knowledge (TK) she learned in her hometown Mainit, Mountain Province (named after its hot springs) and also from her visits to demonstration farms of the Montanosa Research and Development Center (MRDC).

Ten hours away from Baguio city is Mother Petra's farm in Maligaya, Nueva Vizcaya Her crop is rice, and she has succeeded in convincing her neighbors that farmers do not need to buy chemical inputs to have a good harvest. Such a radical idea, but proven right by many seasons of bountiful harvests that continue to improve as years pass.

Instead of chemical fertilizers, Mother Petra scatters taep or rice husk after planting. She goes to the rice mill to ask for or buy so many cavans of taep to fill a kuliglig (tractor), and she applies 10 - 15 cavans per hectare each season. It if food for the bisukol (edible snails living in the rice paddies), and when it rots, it is organic fertilizer. Applying the rice husk is laborious, and it helps if there is a wind which can carry it further. Only thing is, her face gets covered with the rice husk powder which makes her look like al-alya! But no problem. What is important is that her land continues to get more fertile, her expenses are low, and she has a stock of organic rice, which she shares with her fortunate family and friends. 

Mother Petra is now 76, still going strong, as she makes her rounds to visit her children and grandchildren to give them their supply of organic rice, in Baguio, Bontoc, and Metro Manila. Asked about her secret to good health, she answered: Eat organic, work, and when you are tired, rest. Words of wisdom which I should pay heed to...

Watch for Chuwassi, Salidummay's sixth album

New generation of Salidummay

When we started out 21 years ago, our goal was simple: to record the protest songs which we heard, as we joined fact-finding missions, multilateral peace pacts, Macliing Memorials and early celebrations of Cordillera Day in the 1980s. The result was our first album released in 1987, which we named after the chorus line of the indigenous song form.

Since then, we released Dong dong ay in 1992, Elalay in 1995, Diway in 2000, and Ay ay in 2003. Presently, we are working on a sixth album Chuwassi, soon to be released on November at UP Baguio. It is produced by the Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera (DKK) with support from Tebtebba Foundation and EED Task Force on Indigenous Peoples (EEDTFIP). 

Chuwassi focuses on the contributions of indigenous peoples in caring for the environment. The album has 12 original compositions, with each highlighting various angles of the Cordillera people's efforts to conserve their mountain ecosystem.

Kullilipan ni Kaigorotan traces back in history the roots of the discplacement of Kaigorotan from his homeland. It translates into song the mime and verse "Ako si Kaigorotan", originally written by Nonilon Queano and directed by Lulu Gimenez in the 1980s, for a cultural production against the government-sponsored Grand Canao. The song blends the traditional melody kullilipan with a nose flute and acoustic guitar.

Bakir tackles the indigenous knowledge and practices involved in caring for forests. It brings forward traditional values such as generosity, reciprocity and concern for community, which play a key role in preserving forests and present a stark contrast to the profit-orientation of modern society. 

Chumma, written in Ifontoc language, highlights the importance of saving our heirloom seeds and genetic resources, which do not require buying chemical inputs, but make use of naturally organic fertilizers and pesticides. The song expounds on the negative impact of high-yielding varieties and genetically modified seeds threatening the food security of the mountain folk.

Lubong Ko tells the story of the indigenous peasants and mineworkers of Mankayan, as they deal with the devastation brought about by the large scale mining operations of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company. Welga recounts the victorious strike of the Lepanto Workers Union in 2005, which asserted workers rights to higher wages and better working conditions, and also resulted in a stronger and consolidated union.

Datayo nga Agrigrigat, composed by the ladies of ORNUS (Organisasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Syudad), relates the hardships of indigenous migrants in Baguio city, as they seek greener pastures, resulting from their displacement and marginalization in the Cordillera countryside.

Women of Asia was first sung in 1993, in the first Asian Indigenous Women's Conference. It highlights the role of indigenous women in society, and signaled the birth of the indigenous women's movement in Asia. Remember Your Children is a reprise of the song first recordedin 1993 by then nine-year old twins Karlo and Maria Cleto. It reminds so-called "development" planners to consider future generations when planning dams, mines, and logging operations. It also calls on the Cordillera people to safeguard their heritage.

Hustisya calls for justice for all victims of political killings in the Philippines, and pays tribute to the martyrs and victims of extrajudicial killings, who gave their lives as the highest sacrifice in the movement for national liberation.

Underground relates the growth of a mass movement starting with a few seeds transforming into a powerful force unleashed towards a change in social structure. Entayo shares the experience of joining Cordillera Day, which celebrates the solidarity among peoples fighting for freedom.

Finally, The Gift pays tribute to the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples, nurtured through generations, and passed on from elders to child. Traditional knowledge teaches sustainable and equitable ways of living, supportive and respective of the environment. It contains practical guides for living off the earth, while teaching values for community, simple living, hard work and generosity. Valuable lessons can be learned from traditional knowledge, which is gaining recognition around the world, as a stock of viable ways of living and caring for the planet in these days of global warming and climate change.

All 12 songs are inspired by and grounded on the musical tradition of the Cordillera. They use traditional melodies and rhythms, bamboo flutes, tuned percussion instruments and gongs. But because Salidummay is a contemporary music group, it also employs modern instruments and musical instruments, such as guitar, harmonization, and instrumental accompaniment which are innovations on the traditional and the fruit of creative effort of the group. Like earlier albums, Chuwassi showcases contemporary Cordillera music which expresses the issues that face the Cordillera people today, advocates and asserts cultural integrity and self-determination, in a package that focuses the spotlight on a rich and colorful musical heritage.

The Salidummay has gone far beyond our initial modest goal of recording the indigenous protest songs for posterity. Instead, it has proven to be larger than us individual musicians. It has grown into a musical crusade and battlecry, which involves the youth, children, women, elders, community folk, as we assert our cultural identity and pursue our self-determination.#

Traditional Knowledge is Alive Among the Talaandig

Jill and Manang Vicky from Baguio City

 joined the Cross Visit

to the Talaandig Tribe

 in Barangay Sungco, Lantapan, Bukidnon.

On September 8, 2008, fifteen of us indigenous people from different areas in the Philippines visited the Talaandig Tribe, to learn from them. We had heard about their successful efforts in consciously reviving the ancient wisdom of the tribe. We went with a desire to see for ourselves what they had accomplished, and whether we could bring home lessons for our own communities.

Indeed, the Talaandig tribe shows the way to bring culture to the heart of the struggle to assert identity, and rights to territory and ways of life. The whole community is involved in the regeneration of their culture. Datu Vic Migketay Saway compares the various groups in the community to the different parts of the body, which have particular contributions and work together harmoniously.

The women and elders play the role of peacemakers and mediators. They have revived the tribal ways of resolving conflicts, and offer an effective and cheaper way of maintaining peace than court litigation. They were successful in resolving critical feuds which had involved murders. They also effectively confronted outsiders who threatened the Talaandig territory.

The cultural guards were organized to defend the territory of the tribe. They are the enforcers of customary law. They conduct patrols and fight against those who threaten the tribe and their territory. They employ ancient weapons and magic that have proven effective against their foes.

The elders also teach in the school for living tradition. They share their expertise in such fields as chanting, embroidery, dance, and story telling.

The youth are active in reviving and further developing their tribal arts. Waway made a first drum in 1996, based on his memory of a community drum during his childhood. And now, all children are adept in playing the traditional rhythms on their drums. Instead of discos and benefit dances, the youth are engaged in creative work in music, earth paintings, production of musical instruments and accessories, and traditional dance.

All of us cross-visitors were quite amazed that here in the Philippines is a community that is consciously pursuing their cultural identity, keeping alive their ritual, arts, and traditional knowledge in the face of the ever-present and never-ending invasion of western/modern ways. Our lessons were many, which I hope to share more of in future posts. Meanwhile,  I am digesting this experience, and seriously thinking about ways to revive the Ibaloi culture in Baguio city...

Why Traditional Knowledge?

This stonewall keeps the road out of my front yard garden.

It was built by master stonewall builders from Maligcong, Mt. Province,

and has withstood many a storm.

Herbs that heal, wild edibles, the best time to plant the seeds, the right crop for a long dry spell. These are some of the practical knowledge learned and nurtured through generations, passed on from elders to child.

Traditional knowledge, TK for short, is gaining recognition worldwide for its invaluable contributions to the well-being of planet Earth, and the creatures it hosts. This knowledge is valuable, not only for the bearers or those who use it for their daily survival, but also wider society. TK is the source of many widely used products such as medicines and food. TK also teaches sustainable and equitable ways of living, in contrast to the excessive consumption and profit-seeking of the modern world.

 This blog focuses the spotlight on TK, many times taken for granted, but which actually plays a great role in keeping our world upright and stable.

Let's give credit to the kabiteros, those stonewall builders, whose sturdy creations allow the mountain city of Baguio to carry ten times the number of people it was planned for. Those able-bodied men and women hail from Cordillera mountain villages, where they learned from their elders the art of stonewall building, which is essential in their ricefields, gardens, and villages built along steep mountain slopes.

TK is a gift from past generations and the birthright of future generations. Before it's too late, let's go visit our elders and learn from them.#