This year’s celebration of the Tribal Filipino Week held at the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary in Baguio City on October 9-10, 2010 with the theme- “ Ipannakkel Kultura a Nakabigbigan, Padur-asen, Aywanan ken Salakniban!” (Take pride in our cultural identity, Develop, Nurture and Defend it) is different from the past conventional celebrations. The celebration is a Cultural Exchange among elders and youth.
A ritual performed by elders followed with a prayer by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) opened up the celebration. Sr. Catherine Encarnacion, the Directress of the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary welcomed all participants and guests. The first day activities include the input on the Roles of Elders for the Defense of Ancestral Land for Self- Determination by Benedict Solang- CDPC BOD Secretary and member of CPA Advisory Council. The input serves as framework for the two day celebrations.
In the afternoon are simultaneous workshops on the different indigenous costumes, dances, chants, music, instruments, and positive values. These workshops are very educational especially among the youths and to non-indigenous peoples’ participants. Tribal elders, musicians and composers from the Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera (DKK), and knowledgeable individuals on indigenous music and culture served as facilitators and instructors in the workshops.
The second day of the cultural exchange was focused on the different indigenous costumes of the Cordillera and the presentation of workshops results. The presentation of the Cordilleran costumes was done per province. Individuals acted as fashion models worn the costumes accordingly. They demonstrate the steps of wearing to educate the participants on the proper way of wearing the costumes. After each presentation is an open forum to facilitate questions and clarifications. Most of the questions were clarified but there are some that needs deeper explanation. It was recommended that all participants need to further enhance their knowledge about their ethnicity and how their costumes originated, especially among the Apayao’s and Abrenians.
Another highlight of the celebration is a short tribute for Ama Daniel Ngayaan of Tanglag, Lubuagan, Kalinga. He was abducted and slain by the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) on October 5, 1987. Ama Daniel was the vice chairperson of CPA at the time of his death. As a peace pact holder, he was among those who actively participated in the formation of the Kalinga Bontoc Peace Pact Holders Association (KBPPHA) in 1982.
The Tribal Filipino Week celebration also remembered and prayed for the victims of Typhoon Pepeng. It is remembered that the Cordillera was one of the most affected regions by typhoon Pepeng in the last quarter of 2009, especially in the mined-out areas of Benguet.
The presentation of the workshop outputs where the participants displayed what they learn on playing the gongs, bamboo instruments, dances and chants marked the formal closing of the two day celebration.
The successful celebration was organized by the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance, Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera, Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary, Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera and the Regional Ecumenical Council in the Cordillera (RECCORD).
(Leonard Cabloy-CDPC)
