Eneriza Menaling
I was happy to be part of a group that visited the Umayamnon community in Sitio Catablaran in February. Catablaran is the farthest sitio of Barangay Canangaan in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon and when we arrived, the village community was waiting for us in a simple shed surrounded by their homes.
Datu Conrado Salimbaon led the pandawat or the welcome ritual and in his welcome message, we felt the warm welcome of the community.
Datu and the tribal elders from neighboring villages shared during the conversations that there are disagreements in getting government recognition of their ancestral domain, with some elders having different ideas on how to go about the recognition process.
But Datu said that they are not allowing the disagreements get in the way of their mutual understanding and care for their village communities. What is important is that their Indigenous culture remains.
As I reflected on this situation with the Umayamnon elders, I am aware that we need unity in the community. This unity begins with the elders so that the youth can follow. If the elders are divided, what then can be expected from the youth? How can unity be sustained?
The youth must know how to stand up for their gaup (ancestral land) and culture because the elders will not be there forever. The elders are in the sunset of their lives. At dusk, when the elders are gone, where will we find the next generation? If today’s generation is not united and scattered, where will the next generation be?
Our formation as youth must be in terms of our culture and gaup. There is a saying that at least one person standing up for the youth is enough. But why can we not stand up as a group and help each other keep our culture alive? In keeping our culture alive, we protect our gaup. And in the protection of the gaup, our culture as Indigenous People will be sustained.
I then felt sad as we went around the village. We saw hills that were completely bare and hills planted with corn and other crops that use chemical fertilizers. These chemicals not only get into the food we eat but are also environmentally harmful to the soil and water.
I hope that we can find ways to regenerate the forests and other resources in the gaup and ensure its healthy future. I feel that we are lucky here in Bendum because there is an awareness of the limits of the land for farming. While people in Bendum farm the land, they are aware of the limits to where the farm is in accordance with caring for the gaup.
Listening to the community talk about education with passion and aspiration, I can sense how education is important in helping Indigenous communities sustain their culture and gaup.
We must be proud of who we are as Indigenous. Even if we are exposed to modern living and the economy that this lifestyle promotes, we continue to live out our cultural traditions.
It is my hope that the Indigenous youth, of which I am part, can be steadfast amidst great change and be able to carry on as peoples caring for the community and our gaup. For it is in the gaup where our identity as Indigenous is rooted.
Eneriza Menaling is from the Pulangiyēn community of Bendum, an upland village in Barangay Busdi in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Philippines.