Showing posts with label Ati. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ati. Show all posts
Saturday, May 05, 2012
When Genes and Indigenous People Matter
Home to one of the indigenous peoples in the island of Panay, Nagpana is nestled at one the mountains of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. 
The Institute of Human Genetics at the University of the Philippines (Manila) with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Region VI and Region VII went to the area last April 24 to conduct some saliva testing among the Ati's, one of the indigenous peoples in the country. I've been to Nagpana before during their Pag-uli Tiriringob Festival last November but this time, it is different. This is now more on health related concerns of the Ati's from the community. I'm doing more field research on the area for my ethnographic writing . The team from the Institute of Human Genetics was made up of a geneticist, an anthropologist, doctor and a biologist. Three of us come from the NCIP, one is the head of Technical Division,the other as the Provincial Head for the Ati's of Guimaras and Barotac and me as the historian and consultant writer. I took some pictures during that day. 
Ati kids taking a bath on a lazy day under the sun. 
Their handicrafts are beautiful. 
I took the picture at the top. 
My favorite kid at the community. 
This is for our lunch. 
The geneticist in action. Explaining the concepts of genes and DNA. 
Listening attentively to the instructions. 
Abundance of abaca at the community. 
I would have wanted to take a dip. 
Beautiful view on top of a huge rock. 
Mother and child. 
I enjoyed my interview with Lola.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Of Indigenous Peoples: Getting to Know the Ati's of Nagpana
Last week was a frenzy.
In the midst of everything, visits to the doctor, the endless readings and the writing of the Panay-Bukidnon claimbook, I took the time out to visit Nagpana, Barotac Viejo. It was their Pag-uli Tingob Festival. Nagpana is the home of one of the indigenous peoples' in the country, the Aetas.
The Ati's performing their native dance.
The place was beautiful. The people were friendly and accomodating. Lush vegetation covers the area. It was a feast for the eyes and soul. I've always been interested to write an ethnography about the indigenous peoples in the country. I've taught at the university for ten years. Academic experience is great. You learn a lot of paradigms and theories inside the four walls of the classroom but then theories are best when they are applied in real life situations. I am thankful and honored for the opportunity to be able to share and use my knowledge to help give the IPs what was righfully their own in the first place, their ancestral lands. For each paragraph that I write and each chapter that I finish,I do it with passion and love. Not because of anything else but more so because of the idea that this is a landmark step for the IPs towards the realization of their right to self-determination. The granting of the title of their ancestral lands would be written in the pages of Philippine history. It is a legacy that would be passed to the generations of IPs.
At Nagpana. Simply beautiful.
Kagang as they call it. This was taken at the nearby river.
In the Philippines, indigenous peoples’ communities are to be found in the interiors of Luzon, Mindanao, and some islands of Visayas. They either withdrew to the hinterlands in the face of colonization or they stood their ground successfully and have maintained a close link to their ancestral past. These communities comprise a diverse collection of more than forty ethno-linguistic groups, each with a distinct language and culture. The indigenous peoples continued to live in their relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities, at the time when most lowland communities had already been integrated into a single colony under Spain in the 1700s and 1800s. They were able to preserve their culture and traditions as reflected in their communal views on land, rituals, songs, dances and folklore.
The little boy who took my heart away.
Mass wedding of Atis.
Uprooting indigenous peoples from their land denies them their right to life and identity. This is also to say that they have continuously related to and established the environment they are in as the material basis of their existence.
Land is a central issue to indigenous peoples because it defines their very existence. For the IPs, their ancestral lands are not just a physical manifestation of their presence, not just a material base but most importantly, their lands are sources of collective memories of their history and culture. It makes their ancestral domain a cultural and spiritual link to the living and their dead. Hence, in this context, as seen in the eyes of the indigenous peoples, ancestral domains are sacred.
Through the years, they have survived as they have striven to maintain the cultural integrity that makes them different while adapting ingeniously to the changing conditions around them.
Shy but smiling. A young mother and her kids.
Simply beautiful. The water was inviting.
Native food. ( At the background, these are the members of the TSK, an NGO.)
Currently, the population profile of indigenous peoples of Regions VI, VII and VIII showed that there is a total of 62, 099 IPs in Iloilo , located within twenty two municipalities of the province.
I will be back at the community soon to write an ethnography about them. I know it's going to be an enlightening, fulfilling and interesting stay.
In the midst of everything, visits to the doctor, the endless readings and the writing of the Panay-Bukidnon claimbook, I took the time out to visit Nagpana, Barotac Viejo. It was their Pag-uli Tingob Festival. Nagpana is the home of one of the indigenous peoples' in the country, the Aetas.
The place was beautiful. The people were friendly and accomodating. Lush vegetation covers the area. It was a feast for the eyes and soul. I've always been interested to write an ethnography about the indigenous peoples in the country. I've taught at the university for ten years. Academic experience is great. You learn a lot of paradigms and theories inside the four walls of the classroom but then theories are best when they are applied in real life situations. I am thankful and honored for the opportunity to be able to share and use my knowledge to help give the IPs what was righfully their own in the first place, their ancestral lands. For each paragraph that I write and each chapter that I finish,I do it with passion and love. Not because of anything else but more so because of the idea that this is a landmark step for the IPs towards the realization of their right to self-determination. The granting of the title of their ancestral lands would be written in the pages of Philippine history. It is a legacy that would be passed to the generations of IPs.
In the Philippines, indigenous peoples’ communities are to be found in the interiors of Luzon, Mindanao, and some islands of Visayas. They either withdrew to the hinterlands in the face of colonization or they stood their ground successfully and have maintained a close link to their ancestral past. These communities comprise a diverse collection of more than forty ethno-linguistic groups, each with a distinct language and culture. The indigenous peoples continued to live in their relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities, at the time when most lowland communities had already been integrated into a single colony under Spain in the 1700s and 1800s. They were able to preserve their culture and traditions as reflected in their communal views on land, rituals, songs, dances and folklore.
Uprooting indigenous peoples from their land denies them their right to life and identity. This is also to say that they have continuously related to and established the environment they are in as the material basis of their existence.
Land is a central issue to indigenous peoples because it defines their very existence. For the IPs, their ancestral lands are not just a physical manifestation of their presence, not just a material base but most importantly, their lands are sources of collective memories of their history and culture. It makes their ancestral domain a cultural and spiritual link to the living and their dead. Hence, in this context, as seen in the eyes of the indigenous peoples, ancestral domains are sacred.
Through the years, they have survived as they have striven to maintain the cultural integrity that makes them different while adapting ingeniously to the changing conditions around them.
Currently, the population profile of indigenous peoples of Regions VI, VII and VIII showed that there is a total of 62, 099 IPs in Iloilo , located within twenty two municipalities of the province.
I will be back at the community soon to write an ethnography about them. I know it's going to be an enlightening, fulfilling and interesting stay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
