and assimilation and passive acquiescence
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| Iraya Journal (Home) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iraya Youth of Mindoro: Towards an Intergenerational Sensitized Ethnography | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ruben Z. Martinez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko[1] are some of the Iraya youth I met during my research in Mindoro. I met them when they were barely past their childhood. In the course of my fieldwork from 1983 to 1999, I withness how each one of them took different path, in search of their identity and meaning. This paper is a story about their individual lives seen within the context of the Iraya households in a rapid transition. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I met Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko in their Guraan (community) in San Teodoro and Puerto Galera during my work as researches, program coordinator and advocate.� Their Guraan are typical Iraya communities that are linked to the other communities through a network of kinship and affinal relationships. Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko together with other Leaders, both adult and youth, from the other communities have also participated in some of the research and community organizing activities organized by OTRADEV staff. Their participation enabled me to get better acquiated with them and also to validate observations made from the community. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research Setting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The story of the Iraya youth, their resilience in face of overpowering forces of change, their hopes and aspiration viewed in the context of the rapidly changing Iraya culture and society is the main concern of this paper. Specifically, the paper will discuss the participation of the youth in the different aspect of the cultural life of the Iraya of Mindoro. How they acquire Iraya culture and in turn create and shape the culture of the future Iraya. Most literature looks into culture from the lenses of the adult. This paper reinterpreted data from my field research in Mindoro to build an intergenerational sensitized Iraya ethnography[2]. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The research will focus on selected guraan (settlement). The term will be used to refer to the settlement area containing a small cluster of Iraya household mostly related by consanguinity or affinity. The guraan can be a small cluster consisting of four to ten households located on the edge of agay (swidden farm). The baryuhan on the other hand a term derived from the Tagalog word barrio (village) will be used to refer to the settlement consisting of 10 to 20 households. baryuhan are established with assistance from outside agency like the government or an organization like the church. Most Iraya Household maintains a house in a guraan near their agay� (swidden) and another one in the baryuhan. Some of the Iraya key informants have used the term interchangeably. However, the younger generation usually use the term baryuhan. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| For the Iraya youth, the baryuhan and the guraan include not only the place of their residence where their house is located. It also includes the river where they take a bath and play around during their spare time. It includes the fruit trees where they get nourishment, choice wood for their slingshot, a cool shade to take the afternoon nap and a place to set-up traps to ensnare birds. As the site of the baryuhan and guraan moves, the former settlements become part of the memory of the place. Today, non-Iraya settlers now occupy most of these sites. The trees they planted now fully grown and the grounds where they used to play are now fenced and occupied by Tagbari(Non-Iraya). Some of them left to avoid close contact with the Tagbari, others were intimidated and left to avoid confrontation. The Tagbari claims ownership of the land on the strength of a piece of paper called titulo (title).� | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saclag and Kaagutayan, San Teodoro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kaagutayan as I remember the baryuhan in my initial visit in 1983 was located in along Subaan river.� The baryuhan serves as a sort of a gateway to the other remote settlement clusters. These clusters together with the baryuhan form Barangay Kaagutayan. This is the formal political and administrative unit of the local government. The baryuhan was an old settlement establish in 1930 during the American colonial period. A school exclusively for the Iraya was established also by the American colonial officials in an adjacent area, Saclag to cater to the education of the Iraya. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| However with the increase in non-Iraya migrants settling in the adjacent areas, most of the Iraya households decided to resettle to the higher elevation areas mostly closer to their agay. Alitawo?s household were among those who moved away from the Kaagutayan baryuhan. Most of the Iraya household moved to avert conflict. One of the reason is the harassment they suffered from the workers employed by Boyet Py, a wealthy Filipino-Chinese businessman. Alitawo?s household decided to permanently settle near their agay in Matbao. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In, 1992, the baryuhan was eventually moved to a site within the perimeter of the school, Saclag. With the help of the Municipal government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), a core shelter housing was provided to attract the Iraya to resettle back to the new baryuhan. Priority was given to households with youth/child studying at the Saclag School. Among those who availed of the housing program was Alitawo and his wife Dyaga. Now a father to five children, he is sending his children to Saclag school with the hope that they will grow wiser and not be a victim of deception and fraud that their family have suffered. Most of the household heads now residing in the new baryuhan were once student of Saclag Farm School. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anilao and Talipanan, Puerto Galera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Like San Teodoro, the baryuhan and guraan in Puerto Galera are also constantly changing. There are a number of baryuhan in Puerto Galera, some these baryuhan are part of Barangay that are predominantly Tagalog. One of the most renown is Talipanan. In 1983, the baryuhan was located in the interior near Mt. Malasimbo. In 1987, the baryuhan was moved to the lower slopes as a result of peace and order problem. The increase in the NPA activities in the area and resulting anti-insurgency operations against the NPA affected the Iraya. With the assistance of philanthropic organization, the people were relocated in the lowland along the national highway. The school was also moved. The household of Bakwelsiko was also affected by these events. He spent part of his childhood days in Talipanan and around Mt. Malasimbo until they resettled in Anilao. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ancestral Domain of the Iraya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko have very vague recall of the genealogy of their ancestors who established the claim to their lupaing minana (ancestral domain). The grandfather of Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko as well as some of the Pangamayan (elders) can still trace their ancestry up to the 5th generation and describe the ancestral territory as defined by their elders. It would not be so hard to describe said territory because they follow the natural contour. Thus, the ancestor of Bakwelsiko, established their first swidden in between the ridge west of Mt Malasimbo while the ancestors of Arigbuto first established swidden in the slopes adjacent to the upstream of Bosque. Place names for each territory are often based on specific geographic or botanical features found in the locality. A place may be called Lagundian because of the presence of large number of langundi plant[3]. For Alitawo, Arigbuto and Bakwelsiko, these territories comprising the ancestral domain of the various clan are also place were Iraya mythical character once roamed. One of these myths passed on from generation through generation through the tradition of pamuybuyan (story telling) is the story of Alitawo, Dayaga and their quest for the golden tamarraw. Recognizable geomorphological features such as caves, cliff or waterfalls are given names based on the story of Alitawo. Places where he and his wife dyaga rested, hunted the golden tamaraw. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya People and the Youth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya is one of the six of the indigenous cultural communities inhabiting the highlands of Mindoro. These six groups of indigneous cultural communities collectively referred to as the Mangyans. Numerous ethnographic literatures have already been written about these different groups. However, ethnographic accounts of the Iraya Mangyan are very few and scarce for the Iraya youth. Most of these researches were not focused on the youth but were done as part of intervention programs, family and kinship study or studies on inheritance and succession. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The most common definition of youth is a person between 15 to 24 years of age. However, Iraya youth as a result of their unique cultural experience have different roles and expectations. Even as a child, they already have important function in supporting the subsistence needs of the household. Compare with the non-Iraya, we can say that Iraya have a shorter period of being a child, a shorter period of being and adolescent. The transition from youth to adulthood is relatively shorter than the non-Iraya. Traditionally, both Iraya boys and girls marry at 14 to 17 years old or even earlier. They start having children just after reaching the puberty stage. These have an important implication to their reproductive health, especially to the young women. Teenage pregnancy from the point of view of wester medical science is considered high risk, because the body is not yet ready to support the requirements of reproduction.� | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transition from Child to Youth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko spent most of their childhood days with their parents, who also performed important function in the community. Arigbuto and Bakwelsiko?s father were Mangyan Mayor. This however has no significant impact on their childhood. They play with other children and attended school. However, their exposure to community life may have profound impact on their own experience as youth leader. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Even at an early age, an Iraya child has important function in the household. Thus, we can say that, Iraya childhood is very much abbreviated compared with non-Iraya. But even with the tasks given to them Iraya Child and later youth find ways to enjoy being a child and a youth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A day in the life of an Iraya child is divided into work and play, and those very few who go to school, study. The parents shared that the children have their own ?barkada? (peer group). A barkada is typically made up of children of the same sex and near age-groupings. Mixed sex barkadas are very rare. The children prefer going and working with their barkada to their farms than with their family. They say they have more fun that way.... Work becomes fun for the child because in the farm, he gets to work with his friends and in between real work the can take time out to play. They devise also some sort of play or make-pretend, like a race on who can weed or plant faster, that make the hard work more fun and bearable (Guzman and Hermida, 27:1993).? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playtime | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Play remains the favorite activity of the Iraya Children. Among the toddlers boys and girls alike, playing house and tinda-tindahan (simillar to roadside lemonade/store) is a big favorite Young girls were not observed to engage in a particular play. Most of the time, they help out in the house or in the faqrm or watch over their co-siblings. The children like also to swim in the river or go trapping fish in it (Guzman and Hermida, 28:1993) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family and Kinship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iraya Children and youth grows in the nurturing environment provided by the family, network of kins. These network and local groupings is also known as ?guraan? (cluster of settlement composed on interelated network of families related by blood, marriage or ritual kinship). My observation of the Iraya Family is likewise validated in Francisco (14:1985): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The family is a very strong and important institution among the Iraya. Relationship within the family is observed to be very close and harmonious. Children show their high respect for their parents and elders, inn return, receiving much love and affection. Young and old alike undertake joint activities in the house and in the fields.? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Society in Transition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko to a certain degree share a lot of common traits. The three have attended school and of varying degree adopted non-Iraya lifeways. They can be considered as typical Iraya youth. Among the Mangyan ethnolinguistic groups of Mindoro, the Iraya are considered the most acculturated. However, even among the Iraya, there is also a varying degree of acculturation and assimilation to the mainstream Tagalog Culture. Communities that have high degree of dependence to the mainstream economic life tends to have higher degree of acculturation compared to communities that are relatively self-sufficient. Iraya communities in Baco, a fifth class municipality, have relatively minimal interaction with poblacion market. Iraya communities in San Teodoro and Puerto Galera are dependent to lowland market for their livelihood. Among the gold panners of San Teodoro and Puerto Galera, economic transaction is not only localized but is affected by the fluctuation of gold index in the international market or foreign currency market. Thus, Iraya engaged in gold panning are aware of the relationship of the price of gold to the dollar exchange rate as explained to them by the traders from Meycauayan, Bulacan. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya youth therefore has varied exposure to acculturative forces that affects their daily lives. This acculturative forces includes market transactions, government, non-government social development intervention, educational institutions and mass media. The extent of their acculturation, assimilation and reaction to these acculturative forces will be discussed in detail in the succeeding sections. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Population Movement and Settlement Pattern | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There is no exact extimate of the total population of the Iraya in the different communities convered by this report. Officials from the local government and social development and/or welfare agencies find it hard to conduct census because of katuros (transhumance lifestyle) of the Iraya households.� Different time of the year, Iraya households may relocate their residence for a number of reasons. They may move closer to the seashore during amihan or habagat[4]. They may relocate their residence if one of the family member gets sick or dies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The agricultural cycle also affects their choice of residence. Households relocate their residence near their agay (swidden farm) at the beginning and end of the agricultural cycle when the demand for labor is at its peak. During the preparatory cycle, all the household members help in the land preparation (clearing and burning) in anticipation of the early rain. Prior to the harvest season, household members spend a lot of time guarding the rice from birds and other rodents who are attracted to the nearly ripe rice grains. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Household may also relocate their residence near the community where the public school is located if one of their members attends the school. From 1983 to 1999, I have seen how small hamlet grew into settlements and settlements reduced to a cluster of household as a result of these movements. One typical example is the guraan in Talipanan, which was relocated several times as a result of militarization, the relocation of the school and the intervention of a philanthropic institution. The guraan in Anilao and Saclag are also typical example of hamlet growing into bigger settlement as a result of decision to move their residence closer to the school. The need of the school children became the primary factor in the choice of residence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya youth get their education from two sources, the informal and indigenous learning system and the formal education provided by public schools and church run schools. The indigenous learning system provided by the traditional sources like their household enable them to acquire knowledge, skills, attitude, norms and belief that comprise the different aspect of Iraya culture as interpreted by the source. It is important to point out that there is a considerable re-interpretation of culture since this will explain the variation of cultural experience of the Iraya youth. The behavioral manifestation of this variation in cultural experience can be observed on the present demeanor, habits and attitudes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In Abra de Ilog, Iraya children attend in public elementary school together with other upland migrants. Iraya children take the same lessons like the rest of the students. In Puerto Galera, a special school for the Iraya Children was set-up in Talipanan. This school has a multi-grade set-up. The school has only two class rooms and two teachers handling four grade levels. The grade one and two are combined into one class and the grade three and four in another class. A similar set-up was also adopted in Saclag School. According to the teacher, the Iraya Children are as intelligent as any other children. However, they lack the opportunity and motivation to study. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iraya households have varying appreciation on the importance of education. Highly acculturated Iraya households living near non-Iraya community looks at education as their ticket for social mobility. Through education, their children will not be ?mangmang?(uneducated) like them and will not be victim of deceit by non-Iraya. Less acculturated household also value education. However, most of them place greater value in developing what remains of their ?lupang ninuno? (ancestral land). For them it is more important that the household develop, their land for this is the wishes of their ancestors. As a result, they may send their children to school during the period when demand for agricultural labor is at its low. However, they will recall the children back to their home to help in the ?agay? (farms) during the preparatory phase and most especially during the weeks before the harvesting of palay. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Experience in Bosque during school year 1990 to 1991 validates this observation. At the start of the school year, 39 students enlisted (27 in grade I and 12 in grade II). At the end of the school year, the teacher reported that there were only 13 students remained and were promoted to the next grade (Martinez, 1999). OTRADEV?s documentation of situation in Balas provides a typical situation of the education of the Iraya Children. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Only less than ten children in Balas go to school. Most families when interviewed said that they will send their children to school come the next enrollment. The problems commonly encountered by the child in schooling are numerous, he has to walk several kilometers to school, when rainy season comes, he gets trapped by the flood, he has only few clothes, not enough money to buy pencil and paper, endure the taunting of his tagalog classmates for his otherness, his smell and ragged clothes (Guzman and Hermida, 27:1993). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maria Alea A. Artugue, a University of the Philippines Community Development practicum student hosted by OTRADEV foundation wrote in her report about Sitio Malago in Tabinay, Puerto Galera: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ?At present, only five children (mangyan) are in-school, mixed with the children of Tagalogs. They are enrolled in the only school existing in Barangay Tabinay Malaki, and there is one teacher who handles all subject in all grade levels, grade one to grade two. According to the teacher in Barangay Tabinay Malaki, her mangyan pupils are slower in learning than the Tagalogs, she thinks it is caused by lack of food to eat.? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Josefa Francisco (1985) study in Baklayan reports the situation of the school children. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Young Irayas obtain primary education at the Baclayan Elementary School which is found within the core settlement. There are 36 students currently enrolled in various levels who are distributed as follows: grade I (21); grade II (5); grade III (6); and grade IV (4). In terms of composition, males outnumber females in a 2:1 ratio; there are also 5 Tagalog school children among this predominantly Iraya population. The school teacher finds her Iraya youngster extremely shy, noting that the girls usually hide their face when called on, although after some prodding, they are able to perform as well as her Tagalog pupils. They come in class barefooted, in tattered clothes, and without any school materials such as pencil and papers. Several of the school children walks an average of 2 kilometers everyday to attend school (Francisco, 26: 1985). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education Assistance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iraya Youth also gets assistance for their education from NGO like the the Ayala Foundation, Inc. Together with the Sisters of Charity of St. Anne, Ayala Foundation extends health and educational assistance to the Iraya Mangyan youth in Oriental Mindoro. Their program is currently supports 9 college students and 26 high school students with scholarship assistance. A feeding program is also being implemented, benefiting 105 students of the Talipanan Elementary School.Two of those assisted under the educational assistance program have graduated from college, one with a degree in Midwifery and the other in Social Work. Both are now providing volunteer service to the Talipanan community[5]. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender roles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender roles for Iraya youth are not mutually exclusive for both sexes. Generally, boys and men perform tasks that requires greater physical exertion such lifting heavy weights, chopping big trees/trunk, operating band-saw. Women, do mostly chores in the house. However, housechores is not the exclusive activities of females. Males also help in cooking chores, washing, feeding the infant/children. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Participation in economic activities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iraya children and youth play an important role in the survival of the household. Their contribution to the economic and livelihood activities of the household cannot be underestimated. Among the traditional households that are largely dependent from their agay (swidden farms), the children and youth provides the additional agricultural labor during the clearing, planting, tending/weeding and harvesting. Younger boys help in the clearing while young girls help their parents by preparing the food, fetching the drinking water, looking after the co-sibling who are too young to do work in the agay. The youth performs almost the same task as the adult. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Guzman and Hermida validated the observation of this writer on the participation of the children and youth in the various economic activities of the household. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| At a very early age, he has already mastered the use of the bolo and is adept in foraging for edible plants and fruits in the field and forest. He can be relied upon to do simple house chores like gathering firewood and fetching water (Guzman and Hermida, 27:1993). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanishing Indigenous Knowledge (IK) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| At present, there are very few Iraya youth that has intimate knowledge of Iraya IK.� This may have resulted from the failure to acquire the Iraya language that has been replaced by Tagalog. Today?s Iraya youth, especially among the highly acculturated households, have low regards for Iraya culture and tradition. Households residing in areas close to non-Iraya communities such as San Teodoro and Puerto Galera are mostly assimilated if not integrated in the market economy. In San Teodoro and Puerto Galera, households rely on gold panning for their subsistence. They work alongside upland migrants searching for gold. In the process, they have acquired the same values and vices. The youth are most vulnerable to this influence. Having tasted vices like cigarette, alcoholic beverage and even gambling. They have acquired these vices and consequently distorted their own appreciation of traditional lifestyle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thus, highly acculturated youth prefer to work in lowland as hired laborer rather than toil in the their agay. The older generation has no apprentice that will learn the knowledge accumulated by his or her ancestor. The traditional Iraya language, the medium for transmitting this knowledge is no longer understood by the younger generation. In the domain analysis based on the dictionary compiled by Karl-Joseph Barbian (1977) conducted by this writer showed that a lot of the Iraya words compiled in the said dictionary are no longer used and understood by the youth sampled in the study. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Another example of vanishing indigenous knowledge on agriculture is the rice variety. Iraya elders know at least 9 traditional variety of rice. Iraya youth from highly acculturated households can only recall 3 to 4 varieties. Their knowledge about other cultivars like sweet potatoes and banana is even less. Most of the varieties they know are high yielding variety (HYV) that they learned from their interaction with rice sellers. Among the household that practices agriculture, some of the youth has knowledge of 7 varieties of sweet potatoes and at least 10 variety of banana/plantain. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moreover, Iraya youth in highly acculturated households no longer speak the Iraya language. Together with the loss of indigenous language is the wealth of indigenous knowledge and practice. Research showed that a lot of the indigenous medicine and health practice are reinterpreted and syncretized with the non-Iraya perspective. This is evident between the ?Marayaw? (medicine man) and indigenous health practitioner interviewed by the author for a case study commissioned by the Department of Health (Martinez, 1994). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adaptation: Resistance, selective integration and assimilation and passive acquiescence |
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| Response of the Iraya youth to the acculturative forces ranges from resistance, selective integration and assimilation and passive submission. The experience of Arigbuto, Alitawo and Bakwelsiko are examples of these responses. However, even as they represent modality of response, Iraya youth exhibits dynamism and continuously negotiate and adjust to the changing condition. It will be useful to examine how they respond to the various pressures. The most important of these pressures include adaptation to health problems, which relates to the key issue of survival, militarization, social discrimination/exclusion, and poverty. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adaptation to Health Problems | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya children are the most vulnerable member of the family as a result of lack of access to health services. Households have different coping mechanism, response to sickness and vulnerabilities. Less acculturated households have retained their indigenous knowledge and most often have access to the services of traditional health practitioners. Most of these households are located near the forest and prefer traditional herbal remedies. Highly acculturated households on the other hand rely on the services of professional health providers and non-Iraya remedies. Both kinds of households move their place of residence as part of the health-seeking behavior. The more traditional household moves their residence based on the belief that spirit may be responsible for the illness. The more acculturated household moves their residence to avail of the services of a health provider. Thus, when a child gets sick, the entire household is affected, their livelihood and even the schooling of the co-sibling. Josefa Francisco (1985) study in Talipanan provides detailed account on the response of a highly acculturated household. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Obtaining health services in the lowlands is both time and money consuming for the Iraya. When a child is sick, the entire family descends from the hill and seeks temporary residence in the lowland for the duration of the child?s treatment. This means that agricultural labor in the swidden fields is interrupted and so is the schooling of older children in the family. The amount involved is also a drain in the resources of hill people. Medicines are brought from establishments in the town proper where prices have tremendously increased as a result of the lucrative tourist boom in the area. Two Iraya families are known to have incurred huge debts to cover for the treatment of their sick children. These families have led to sell their livestock and borrow cash from a ?tagbari?� landowner (Francisco, 24:1985). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social investigation conducted by OTRADEV Foundation as part of its community organizing and program development activities describes the Iraya Child as: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Typically, he has distended stomach, runny nose, scabies and persistent cough. His nutrient-deficient body is susceptible to many diseases. His face is caked with smudges of dried snot mixed with dirt which he doesn?t wipe away. His clothes, if he has one is tattered and dirty from prolonged use (Guzman and Hermida, 27:1993) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Health Situation in Talipanan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In 1982, a group of doctors conducted a medical mission in Talipanan, an Iraya village in Puerto Galera, and found out that 100% of the children have primary complex, 97% have worm infection, 90% have skin diseases such as boils, scabies, acne and ringworm, 90% suffers from frequent coughs and 20% of the adult population have tuberculosis in varying stages.� In 1983 alone, 15 infants died in a span of one week when an epidemic of bronchitis swept throughout the village for four months. Worse, the death toll among the children ages one and above is higher than the rate of infant death. 46% of the people reported to have experienced at least one child death in the family, a ratio of 13 deaths for every 15 families. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The situation in Talipanan typifies the abject health situation in other Iraya villages of Puerto Galera. The inaccesiility of government services, poor sanitation and the very fact that the Iraya simply do not have enough to eat, further aggravates the already dehumanized health condition of the tribal people (OTRADEV, 7:1986).? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Josefa Francisco concurs with the above observation in her study in Baclayan and noted how pervasive impact of illness to the household. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sickness is an accepted reality among the Irayas. A local informal leader revealed than not a single family has been spared of a sick child. He then recalled the time when the OTRADEV COs were around to educate and assist parents in providing home remedies, supplementary food and contacted health workers to check on their children; he said it was when their youngsters appreared relatively healthy and lively. Now that the workers are gone, rarely do midwives and nurses from the Rural Health Unit (RHU) enter the community, and the Iraya health volunteer group has ceased to be active (Francisco, 24: 1985). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malnutrition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ?Malnutrition is prevalent among the Iraya of Puerto Galera especially the children and pregnant and lactating mothers. Dry hair, dull eyes, bloated stomachs and swelling on the pale skins and thin bodies, all indicative of protein and vitamin deficiency, are common sight among the Iraya (OTRADEV, 7:1986).? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Militarization and Child Research | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OTRADEV in partnership with other NGO working in child welfare (CRC) conducted research on the impact of militarization among Iraya Children.� A participatory research was conducted in selected communities of Puerto Galera and Abra de Ilog where heavy militalization has been experienced. The people were receptive but suspicious on the intent of the research. They also fear for their safety from the military who might not like the result of the research. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ?The Iraya child also suffers from increasing militarization of the area in which he lives. The Iraya say that what they and their children fear most are not the soldiers themselves but rather the guns they brandish and the things the soldiers do that frightened them. Today the military still patrol the area. They have recruited some young adults, among them a boy age thirteen in their CAFGU contingent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occassionally they visit the homes of the Iraya to inquire if they have seen NPA soldiers around. Occassionally also they ask for some rice. A chicken or vegetable as support to the government. The helicopters don?t frigthen them that much anymore, Nasanay na rin kami? (we are used to it) they say. But sometimes also, the low-flying helicopters sends them rushing to their homes or to the bushes (Guzman and Hermida, 28:1993). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Exclusion and Discrimination | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya youth are not different from the other indigenous cultural communities in the Philippines. Their relationship with the dominant Filipino culture is characterized as minority-majority dichotomy.� Iraya are mostly described by non-Iraya as nomadic and uncivilized. Thus, the label minamangyan (literally becoming a mangyan) has been synonymous with being deceived or taken advantage of. Transaction of the Iraya with non-Iraya has been a one sided affair with the non-Iraya taking advantage of the Iraya non-familiarity of the ways of the majority. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| For instance, Iraya Mangyan who sells their produce to the market (banana, avocado, coffee, gold and other forest products) are brough at the lower price than what is normally paid by a non-Iraya to another non-Iraya. Iraya are paid lower wages or works for longer period than their counterpart non-Iraya laborer. Iraya youth have been articulating this uneven relation between the Iraya and non-Iraya. Some of them have been vocal about their views on the issue of land grabbing of their ancestral land by migrant non-iraya. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extreme Poverty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Iraya youth also faces the complex issue of extreme poverty. In the past Iraya youth as a result of abundance of resources and less dependence to external resources are well off if compared with the present day Iraya youth. The declining productivity of whatever remains of their ancestral domain coupled with changing needs that are more dependent to market has produced situation of extreme poverty among Iraya household. These households are located near the non-Iraya communities and are heavily dependent on non-Iraya households for their subsistence. These are unlike the Iraya households who are located in interior areas and have continued their traditional ways of life. These types of households are fast disappearing. The established swidden together with broad-spectrum gathering and occasional hunting activities provide them with adequate subsistence. These enable them to sell some surplus items such as forest products they gather, livestock, handicrafts and perennial crops like banana or coconut. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concluding Remarks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iraya society and culture is in rapid transition brought about by various forces of change. The most common explanation is to attribute this changes to the dynamics of political relationship where the Iraya are always in a subordinated status. Even as the political and ecological perspectives are important in understanding the change process, it is likewise important that other views be considered. This paper attempted to provide an intergenerational perspective to explain variation in adaptive response on the changes taking place in the community. Some of these responses include active and passive resistance to change, accommodative adjustment resulting to syncretic response and passive adaptation to change. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major findings includes, observation that across the guraan (network of social relationships) in selected communities in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro; Baco, San Teodoro and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro there exist varying level of acculturation, assimilation into the mainstream culture and integration into the market economy. These variations have significant impact on how the children and youth develop their adaptive response and resilience in face of the overwhelming forces of change. This adaptive response manifests how the youth continuously interpret and reinterpret the world and therefore in the process shapes the culture of the future Iraya. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bibliography | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian Development Bank (Regional TA 5953) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 2002 ���� Indigenous People/Ethnic Minorities and Poverty Reduction, Philippines. Environment and Social Safeguard Devision, Regional and Sustainable Development Department. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Karl-Josef Barbian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1977����� English-Mangyan Vocabulary. Cebu City, Philippines: University of San Carlos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Josefa S. Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1985����� Community Report on the Baclayan Iraya Settlement, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro (Preliminary). Unpublished manuscript, Role of Tribal Women Study, Research Center, Dela Salle University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mary Ann Guzman and Jet Hermida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1993����� A Community Profile of the Iraya Mangyans of Balas, Camurong, Abra de Ilog, Oriental Mindoro. Unpublished manuscript, OTRADEV Foundation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yasushi Kikuchi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1984����� Mindoro Highlanders, The Life of the Swidden Agriculturist. Quezon City: New Day Publisher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organization for Training Research and Development Foundation (OTRADEV) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1986����� Iraya Integrated Health and Nutrition Program: A Project Proposal. Unpublished manuscript | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ruben Z. Martinez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1994����� Community Health Development Among Indigenous Community: Lessons and Insight from Selected NG Experience. Unpublished manuscript, commissioned research submitted to the Community Heath Service, Department of Health, Republic of the Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ���� 1999����� Ideolohiya, Kapangyarihan at Ekolohiya: Nagbabagong Sistema ng Pagmamay-ari ng Lupaing Iraya. Unpublished dissertation submitted to the College of Social Science and Philosophy, University of the Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [1]The names were changed to preserve confidentiality. Arigbuto, Bakwelsiko and Alitawo are names taken from Iraya pamuybuyan (folk lore). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2]For detailed discussion please refer to my dissertation, Martinez (1999) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [3]Langundi also known as Vitex negundo is a medicinal plant used for cough and is a good expectorant. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [4]In the Philippines, we have two major winds and that is the Amihan and the Habagat, both monsoon winds that recur annually. The winds that most windsurfers look forward to is the Amihan or northeast monsoon, sometimes called the winter monsoon. The air stream originates in the cold, intense Asiatic winter anti-cyclone. It follows a path across Japan, toward the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and finally reaches the Philippines as a northeasterly air stream. The Amihan usually first affects the Philippines in October as a weak air stream, attaining maximum strength in January. It gradually weakens in March and disappears in April. The surface air that flows over the Philippines in January under the influence of the Amihan is generally steady. At times it may pulsate in surges or outbursts. Though rare, it could be a very weak stream and in extreme cases it may be interrupted by lulls. The Habagat or southwest monsoon originates as the Indian Ocean trades from the Indian Ocean anticyclone during the southern-hemisphere winter. Upon crossing the equator, the winds are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, generally arriving in the Philippines as a southwesterly stream. The Habagat usually first appears in the month of May. It attains maximum intensity in August, and gradually disappears in October. It has been known to appear as early as in April over the Philippines and persist up to November or December. This air stream is generally constant, although at times it may blow in surges, due to the effect of a tropical cyclone, or may subside, and even be replaced by the North Pacific tradewind. The Habagat is warm and very humid. Its surface temperature is generally between 25.5 and 27.5 deg C. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [5]Source: http://www.ayalafoundation.org/csd/csd_programs_proj.asp?article=197 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||