Raydan Tangwayan
Wherever I go, I am always proud to begin with my positionality as a member of the Indigenous tribes – a Sarangani Manobo and a B’laan. My tribal identity informs my stances in life – politically and economically – and especially in relation to my belief system.
I am baptized as a Southern Baptist. Our church emphasizes that we become a new being when we accept Christ. “The new has come, and the old is gone,” says my uncle, who is our church pastor. Unfortunately, this doctrine also means we are encouraged to forget our cultural practices, as they are often linked to animism.
In college, I performed with a theater group called the Kabpapagariya Ensemble. The name comes from the word pagari, used by the Maguindanaon and Maranao tribes of Mindanao, and means brotherhood and friendship. I originally applied as a street dancer, but eventually, my talent for singing was recognized. However, I was considered an unlikely singer because my voice didn’t fit the genre others preferred. Later, I discovered that I am an Indigenous chanter. On hindsight, they were right not to label me a singer.
Chanting, called elem in our Sarangani Manobo language and malem in our B’laan language, is a spiritual mechanism that connects us with our ancestors, spirits, and the creator, whom we call Timanem. From my memory, it is traditionally performed by the babaylan, or in our culture, the tagabusawan who serve as community healers and often described as mediums.
However, within our church, chanters are often regarded as people possessed by bad spirits during the elem. It is believed that the voices from another world, expressed through the babaylan or the tagabusawan, are voices of bad spirits – the fallen angels, as our church elders describe them. Because of this interpretation, our cultural practices are often dismissed as irrelevant. They have linked this indigenous cultural practice to animism or paganism.
But who said our belief is “animistic” or “pagan” by nature? Who decided to call it that? Perhaps it was the historians whose understanding of our culture led them to assign spirits to elements in nature, interpreting this as our way of respecting the creations in our ancestral land. Or maybe it was based on the “wisdom” of the scriptures, as our preachers tell us.
Reflecting on the Laudato Si’ document, I resonated with the feelings of people in Bendum, like Ate Mercy, one of the teachers at the Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center (APC). Pope Francis describes Indigenous Peoples as the first line of defense against ecological challenges caused by human actions while also highlighting the works of God through nature. We, the Indigenous Peoples, ensure that future generations will enjoy the gifts of God to humanity – our ancestral lands.
In 2020, we conducted research titled Malem: A Tool for Cultural Preservation that collected stories from the elders of the B’laan tribe and sought their perspectives on why chanting has lost its significance. The results showed that migration for work, church doctrine, and cross-marriages with non-Indigenous Peoples are the top three contributors to the declining tradition of chanting.
As part of the youth sector that believes in the beauty of our chanting, I see this as a concern that must be addressed. We need to create conversations to explore how we feel, what we think, and what we can do about this.
As Indigenous Peoples, we have a deep regard for all the creations of Timanem, the creator of all things. When we pass a cave, or the kagulangan (forest), and even the kaiwalan (river), we always ensure we are silent and respectful. If we are too loud, we disrupt nature. We can cause damage or we may upset the spirits that guide the peaceful sanctuaries where flora and fauna thrive. It is, in my understanding, how our ancestors ingrained in us the need to respect nature – the land we inherited from them, which they, in turn, inherited from their forefathers.
Today, working with RAOEN is a breath of fresh air for me. It makes me feel included, as the things I learn from the community dismiss the “othering” experiences I have encountered when I share who I am – an Indigenous person. Even though I belong to a different culture, I am accepted and entrusted with the role of managing the Biome-Based Synodality initiative.
My perspective on indigenous spirituality recognizes that respect for nature is the framework our ancestors left for us to learn. We are the new ancestors. As the ancestors of the future youth, we are accountable for all the actions we take and those we choose to overlook – especially in being the guardians of our lands.
As a new voice in RAOEN, my commitment is to advocate for our vulnerable communities and to ensure we strengthen our ties through faith in Jesus Christ as Indigenous communities of Oceania and Asia. May Timanem (the Creator) guide us to listen and discern.
Raydan “Dansoy” Tangwayan is the Project Manager of the RAOEN Biome-Based Synodality initiative. Dansoy can be reached through raydantangwayan@essc.org.ph or raydan.raoenbbs.project.manager@gmail.com.