LEARNING FROM THE AETAS OF KANAWAN

The kulot and unat children of Kanawan

We started from the Bataan Technology Park which used to be the sanctuary for the Vietnamese boat people decades ago. We took a ten minute ride to the hanging bridge and a 15 minute walk up the mountain to Sitio Kanawan, Morong Bataan, home to the Aeta community. 

We were there for a third in the series of  cross visits or Lakbay Aral of the Traditional Knowledge Network. 

This time, we wanted to hear the voices of the Aetas, and learn from them. And lessons were plenty: on sustainable hunting and foraging, on respecting the sacred sites, on understanding the signs of the seasons. The Aetas over generations built their expertise on surviving on the fruits of the forest, while conserving the biodiversity it contains. We were told that the US troops in Subic and Clark used to invite them to share their knowledge and skill in jungle survival.

Ka Rudy and Joseph told us of the livelihood seasons which the Aeta follow. They gather honey from December to May, after which they do not disturb the bees, and allow them to reproduce and produce more honey. May is the time to plant the upland rice, just enough to feed their families for the season. June starts the season for hunting the wild boar, which ends in September. In September, the wild boar are mating; in October and November, they are pregnant; in February, they give birth; and by June, they are big enough to be hunted.

The Aeta possess rich and precise knowledge about the creatures in the forest, which forms the basis for their sustainable management of the forests they live in. They can teach us simple living, being content with what is available, and knowing the meaning of enough.

Our lunch was a concrete lesson in traditional knowledge.  Our rice was cooked in bamboo tubes. Our lunch was served in giant leaves from the forest. Everyone enjoyed the simple shared meal with gusto.

sharing lunch, the Aeta way

The Traditional Knowledge Network is a loose network of indigenous peoples from different corners of the Philippines. It was born from conversations among indigenous leaders who meet each other during occasional conferences on IP concerns. It is a learning network, where the experts are the traditional knowledge holders, and the students are those who recognize the value of such knowledge in caring for the planet, and biodiversity conservation.

The cross visitors to Aeta land

Sitio Kanawan, Morong, Bataan

April 17, 2009

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

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...

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.#