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.

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...