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.)#

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.